Prediction

Some prognostications from the Dynesometer, the device that tells you things that you don't want to hear (but maybe you should).

There is good news and bad news. First, the anticipated losses of the Democrats in the election next year will in the long run be good for the Democrats. The Republicans, who desperately need to change, will feel justified in the bizarre policies they have increasingly embraced in recent years. By contrast, the Democrats will in fact experience the need for change, to escape from their devotion to the echo chamber in which they seem to feel no obligation to do anything but recite their partisan talking points, and of course to bash, bash, bash Republicans. Indulgence in bashing may be psychologically satisfying for the faithful, but it turns off centrist voters who prefer a more cooperative approach - or at least its semblance.

The bad news is that it won't much matter. The panic that has become almost habitual in the face of threats perceived to be coming from abroad will reinforce the dominance of the National Security state and its well-financed organs, as people become increasingly willing to sacrifice liberty for the illusion of protection. Politicians come and go, but the grip of the permanent insiders is unrelenting.