Today, the partisan divide in America has never been deeper, save 1860.
Conservatives versus progressives, Republicans versus Democrats is a deep and agonizing wound across our political landscape.
In South Carolina, Tuesday, we saw the most shocking evidence of that divide.
Mark Sanford, former Governor who faked a trip to Argentina to visit his mistress, using governmental funds lying about walking the Appalachia Trail, won against his Democratic opponent.
Now, in regular circumstances his loss this would have been a no brainer, but the immoral jerk won.
The Congressional District is heavily Republican, a Democrat has not won there for decades. So the fact a Republican won is not a big shock.
But Sanford was a proven adulterer, in a Chritian Conservative area, and had even mis-used government funds.
Worse, we must remember that he did not resign as Governor, but served his full term. He basically thumbed his nose at "family values" the Republicans chant, and did what he wanted to do.
And Tuesday he was rewarded with a seat in Congress.
My conservative buddies cite Clinton's moral lapses, but forget he was already elected. Sanford won AFTER his indiscretions were discovered. He simply asked for forgiveness, and won.
The Republican Party is obviously for "family values" with an askerisk.
My Facebook buddies responsed to a critical cartoon about Sanford, by chanting the "smaller government" bit, as if that counters the fact that a person of dubious character just was elected by a party that brands itself as the "family values" party.
The partisan divide is so deep, that even adultery means nothing to the electorate.
They literally would elect "Donald Duck" if he/she was a Republican.
Sanford is a hard right conservative, who campaigned debating a cardboard cutout of former Speaker Nancy Polosi, makes no secret of his distain for the African-American President, in a Deep South state: racism and sexism count in South Carolina.
So, the two sides polarize more and more. The hatred continues, The lack of bipartisanship grows as the United States political system becomes more dysfunctional by the day.
Today, in the Record Searchlight had yet one more letter to the editor, attacking the Affordable Care Act as a disaster. The author totally disregarded that the past Republican presidential candidate's biggest political accomplishment was the passage of the same law in his state. The attacks on "Obamacare" ignore that the law is at its core a conservative/moderate idea.
Partisanship means victory at all costs. Literally "we saved the village by destroying it" is the partisan call today.
Sensible gun regulation was defeated. Law that we once lived under; universal background checks, are now stonewalled so that another partisan victory can be achieved.
The preponderance of this is occuring on the right; but progressives share some of this irresponsibility.
Some Democrats have taken a no compromise position regarding climate change, pushing for immediate change to non-fossil energy, when a radical change would lead to chaos. Lawsuites are lodged against rapid transit by environmentalists, who value a few trees, over more economical (and less polluting) transportation.
The genius of the American Political System has been its moderation and common sense government. The Constitution is written so radicals cannot govern, moderation and compromise is the only way to get anything done.
Today we are faced with a political dysfunction that could once again plunge the nation into the same chaos we endured 1860-64.
And who "wins" then?
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