American politics… chaos and imbalances

American politics is unmistakably chaotic and dysfunctional — even though the United States never tires of berating other countries for their lack of democratic institutions or failure to protect democratic values.

This was clearly demonstrated last week when President Joseph Biden, in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, urged other countries to join the United States in defending democracy in Ukraine. Then, during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden mildly criticized the Israeli leader’s efforts to weaken that country’s judiciary.

As we continue to call on other countries to stand up for democracy and its values, a recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that Americans’ trust in our political system has fallen to dangerously low levels — and for good reason. Congress is paralyzed by hyperpartisanship, stubborn ideologues, and complex and arcane rules that permit and encourage obstructive behavior. In the House of Representatives, the Republican Speaker has become a hostage of a handful of hard-liners who have pledged to abstain from voting in favor of passing a very “Republican” budget unless he responds to demands for deeper cuts in domestic spending and foreign aid.

As a result, the United States is once again facing the specter of a federal government shutdown. The “Democrats” have only nominal control (51-49) of the US Senate, but they face problems from two self-described “independent” senators, whose votes can never be guaranteed, as well as from the rules that allow a senator to “ “Obstruct” presidential nominations regardless of the candidates’ qualifications.

It is mentioned here that a senator blocked 200 military promotions and appointments due to a disagreement with the Pentagon’s abortion policy. What is certain is that after Republicans blocked consideration of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee — later approving President Trump’s nominee — and were given the opportunity for another position because an elderly judge refused to resign before it was too late for Obama to fill his seat, the court took conservative positions on… Separation of church and state, abortion, and environmental laws.

Although approximately two-thirds of voters express their dissatisfaction with the possibility of renewed competition between Biden and Trump, both parties appear to be heading towards renomination in 2024. However, the problems do not end there. With the complete collapse of campaign finance systems, our elections and the entire political process are increasingly controlled by the billions raised by parties, political action committees and corporate interest groups to pay consultants and massive negative campaign advertising expenses that fuel polarization and pollute the political waters.

Add to this the similar problems faced by state and local governments, and a biased major media that no longer reports news but shapes it according to their own political agendas — and you have a toxic cocktail of dysfunction resulting from increasing polarization. In fact, what we mentioned above only describes some of the problems facing the major institutions that worked in the past to secure democracy in the United States. Therefore, it is not surprising that the recent Pew Center study found that Americans have lost confidence in the country’s policies and institutions. The center’s findings include the following:

• Only 4% of respondents say that the American political system is working well, while 63% express little or no confidence in the future of American politics.

• 56% are unwilling or unable to identify any strengths in the American political system.

• 65% always or often feel exhausted when they think about politics, and 78% are rarely or not at all enthusiastic about politics, while the majority seems not optimistic.

• When asked to define their feelings about our political system, only 2% used a positive term, while 79% used negative terms such as “divisive,” “corrupt,” “chaotic,” or “chaos.”

• More than 80% say the cost of political campaigns is so high that they prevent good people from running and give big donors and lobbyists too much power. Pew concludes its study by asking voters to evaluate a number of ideas that would reform policy. Among the proposals that enjoy a great deal of support among them are imposing a maximum on the number of terms for members of Congress, imposing a maximum age for elected officials and Supreme Court justices, imposing a maximum on the amount of spending on election campaigns, whether by individuals or groups, and requiring an identification document bearing A copy issued by the government for voting.

But the chances of success and passage of these proposals remain slim, given the necessity of their approval by Congress, the president’s signature on them, and their constitutional approval by the Supreme Court. Therefore, the dysfunction of our political system will continue, leaving voters disengaged from politics, disillusioned and vulnerable to exploitation by demagogues like Trump, and others hoping for change, difficult as it may be, but unsure how it will happen and whether it will be for the better or worse. For the worse.

*President of the Arab-American Institute, Washington