Ball!

Q: What is “wedge” politics?

A: A wedge is a tool used when splitting large pieces of wood into smaller pieces.

Q: So wedge issues are used to drive people apart?

A: In part. A wedge is an issue so strong that a voter will make a decision based on it and no other issue. But there’s more to it – it also has to be an issue that is of no concern to party leaders. Abortion, guns, mosques, rape pregnancies … none of that matters to real power. Wedge issues, in addition to driving votes, also fill up vacuums and distract from issues that they want the public to ignore.

Q: Why not talk about real issues?

A: It’s dangerous. Discussion of real issues might lead to public pressure to act on those issues. Public policy is not a matter for public discussion. Say, for instance, that candidate Romney were to discuss AfPak or the apparent new wars-to-be in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. What good would that do? It would only show that he and Obama are in harmony and that no change is in store. That might awaken the sleeping dog in all elections: The candidates are of a single party of ideas.

Here’s an example of how the manipulation works: In 2004 health care was a huge concern among voters, but not an issue between the candidates, John Kerry and George W. Bush. It was not discussed. In 2008, it was equally a huge issue, and this time it was discussed. Why? The answer is readily apparent now. The health “care” sector – that large bloc of insurance and pharmaceutical companies, had written a bill that was ready for passage after 2008, an awful bill that candidate Obama had pledged to get passed. Ergo, health care as a political issue slipped through the gate. It was not an issue until it was allowed to be an issue.

Campaign “issues” are only those issues allowed to be discussed.

Q: Aha! I gotcha here. 2006 election centered on the Iraq war, and Democrats who were opposed to it won a huge victory. Real issue.

A: And after the election, Democrats voted to continue funding that war, even expanding it. Sometimes real issues are unavoidable, but still don’t affect policy. No rule is hard and fast except that public opinion is to be managed, not heeded.

Q: Missouri senate candidate Todd Akin committed a real gaffe when he said “legitimate” about rape, apparently inferring that some rapes were not. That’s a real statement that has real implications for women. How can that be a “wedge”?

A: Easy – Akin is probably clueless, but he might have “gaffed” with the intent of sparking controversy. Notice that he has not quit his campaign. If party leadership really wanted him to quit, he would quit. He’d suddenly discover that he likes his family and wants to spend more time with them. They have ways. There will also be a “Bachmann effect” – that is, no matter how dense a politician, a reactionary element (which is alarmingly large) will rally around him or her if cornered.

Q: But it’s a real controversy, a real issue, and it is being discussed! How can this be bad?

A: “Bad” is not the operative word. It is merely useful. American campaigns are long drawn out affairs, months longer than they need to be as financiers sort among various candidates trying to pick useful tools. There’s a vacuum of ideas that can be discussed without interfering with public policy. So something has to fill that vacuum. While rape is certainly not a trivial affair, once the election is over, the elected officials will resume the real business of state, divvying up the commons, subsidizing special interests, clamping down on civil liberties, eviscerating the Bill of Rights and enabling the war machine. None of that is talked about.

Q: So even though rape is a tragedy, it’s a wedge issue?

A: Of course. It eats up band width, has no effect on public policy (that anyone really cares about), engages and enrages the voters, segregates voters into manageable blocs … win-win.

Q: So how do they get away with it time and time again?

A: Think of the movie “Up” where the lead character Carl is threatened by a pack of dogs, and the situation is bleak. What does he do? “Ball!”

A: Works every time.

A: Yeah. Works … every … time.