The latest bipartisan George Washington University Battleground Poll rightfully received media attention because of its depressing data.  There is historic political pessimism and cynicism.  But something is more troubling than the data on the dire views of Americans about their elected representatives and government.  It is that 72 percent of voters still believe that "voting gives people like me some say about how the government runs things."  Unbelievable!  Such confidence in a system that has failed them.

The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll results vividly show a population incredibly dissatisfied with their nation's political system.  In other countries in other times such a depressing level of confidence in government would send a signal to those running the government that a major upheaval is imminent.  But not here in the USA.  Why?

First, here are the highlights of the poll that surveyed 1,008 adults from June 8-11, with a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.

A whopping 68 percent think the country is on the wrong track.    Just 19 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction - the lowest number on that question in nearly 15 years.  And most of those with the positive view are probably in the Upper Class.

Condemn progressives for voting enthusiastically for Democrats and the inevitable response is something like "just imagine how much worse voting for Republicans would be."  Similarly, many true conservatives and Libertarians see voting for Republicans as a necessary evil.  With many progressives regretting giving Democrats a majority in Congress and many conservatives regretting putting George W. Bush in the White House, it is timely to refute lesser evil logic.

Joel S. Hirschhorn

What is this thing called democracy?  So easy to talk about, so difficult to make real.  Pure democracy is not what our Founders gave us.  Who would want a simple majority to control the minority?  Instead, America was given a representative democracy within a constitutional republic where laws that protect all people trump majority rule.  Standing between majority-won elections and government power are elected representatives: writing, overseeing and implementing laws.  But when you can no longer trust the elected representatives what happens to American democracy?  It becomes an oxymoron.

Will Americans learn to trust their fellow citizens or stay stuck on stupidly backing serial political betrayers?

I have been watching films from the 1940s and 1950s about World War II.  It was well known that Adolph Hitler was truly delusional.  His delusions prevented him from accepting wisdom and facts from experienced military officers and others, and caused millions to suffer and die.  Surely George W. Bush resembles Hitler psychologically.  His obsessive delusions about his Iraq war are also causing incredible suffering and death, as well as squandering our nation's wealth.

It's hard to avoid labels.  I am a proud political dissident.  Could the majority of Americans be dissidents?  Think of the two-thirds of the country that believe the nation is on the wrong track, the 52 percent that believe politicians are dishonest, the majority that do not vote, and the vast majority that think of themselves as centrists, libertarians, moderates or independents, rather than liberals, Democrats, conservatives or Republicans.  And definitely think of the many thousands of Americans out in the streets in recent months to protest the Iraq war, and the larger numbers reading Internet sites to sidestep the mainstream corporate media.  Dissidents exist because placing faith in mainstream politicians is as delusional as George W. Bush believing that sending more American soldiers into the Iraq cauldron is justified.  It flies in the face of reality, experience and sanity.

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

Across the political divide Americans understand our democracy has stopped working for them - unless they happen to be comfortably wealthy. Prostitutes are held in higher esteem then today's politicians because at least they're providing a service. Our elected leaders appear to only service themselves and their cronies as Hurricane Katrina exposed to our national shame in 2005.

Honest Centrism for Populist Democracy

Joel S. Hirschhorn

The United States has lost its center through destructive centrifugal politics.  America seems spinning out of control.  It has become a non-populist, dollar-driven, elitist democracy.  Centrism can be a powerful metaphor and tool for national renewal, if it is also populist.

In the world of politics, language is used to deceive, distract and divide.  Some words become so abused that they lose meaning.  In recent years, enormous numbers of liberals and Democrats decided to hide under the label of "progressive."  Many politicians want to be seen as "moderates."  A newer subterfuge is "centrist."

Forget political correctness.  The revolution has NOT arrived!  Bush is still president.  The corporate state is safe.  The Upper Class has little to fear.  Lobbyists will be writing different names on checks.  Winning Democrats will entertain more than they will produce historic restorative reforms.  Did Republicans deserve to lose?  Of course!

However, Americans who thought their votes would bring much needed change to our political system also lost.  They just don't know or admit it yet.  As usual, the third-party movement lost, because the two-party duopoly maintained its stranglehold on our political system.  Populists and true progressives lost.  Who or what was the biggest winner?  The short-term and delusional tactic of lesser-evil voting won big.