The End Of The Two Party System

Instapundit notes an analysis by Joe Trippi that says the internet may very well be undermining the two party system. That may, in fact, turn out to be the case despite the rather dismal record third parties have had in the past. Glenn's conclusion is interesting:

But if you examine the two big political parties as businesses, their key advantages are informational and social: Informational, in terms of their ability to coordinate people and money, and social, in terms of being able to cultivate and make use of people's loyalties to the group on constructive ways. The former seem to me to have been undermined by technology, and the latter seem to me to have been undermined by the parties themselves.

That may actually define the problem more clearly than I have seen it stated before. The parties themselves seem intent on squandering the good will capitol they have built up through the years. And they've become rather good at doing so. Ultimately, that may very well be their undoing.

However, thus far nobody has shown yet that an internet centered effort can really succeed. One can't help but point to the Daily Kos' track record which I believe stands at 0 for 18.

No Cole In Yale’s Stocking

Powerline reports that Juan Cole won't be going to Yale. He was soundly voted down by the Senior Appointments Committee. One can't help but wonder if his virtual meltdown over Christopher Hitchens column a while back didn't help decide the matter.

Nail Yale does not have a confirmation of this yet. In fact, Clint has the opposite rumor up from several days ago. Clint's also got some new stuff about Hashemi.