One of the problems that constantly emerge in political parties -- and that we are seeing reflected in DU of late -- is the fragmentation of the broad-based coalition due to ambition, mendacity, or even honest dissatisfaction with the majority goals. Most parties I can think of off the top of my head began splintering almost at once, and this is also true of social action groups fighting discrimination of one stripe or another. The test of "purity" or adherence to the official party line can often be used to isolate and exile the more outspoken of the critical voices within the party. This can often lead to a hardening of attitudes among the excluded members, which can lead to a "my way or the highway" mentality, best expressed in the attitude "If X doesn't win the primary, I won't vote for Y in the general." Which is a naive attitude, IMO, since even if Y is not the best of candidates, if he is chosen as the party's figurehead, then one's vote becomes a matter not of voting for the one you want, but for the one will do the least damage. Many find this unpalatable, and some even seem to think that voting is a kind of moral act, and to compromise in the name of practicality is somehow hypocritical. Some even express the opinion that, if their own preferred candidate doesn't make the cut, they don't care if the polity is destroyed quickly or slowly, and in fact would rather get it over with. Seems rather an impatient way of looking at things to me, but then I tend to avoid braining myself on brick walls.
I think, also, you might go even farther than you have with the tendency of voters to be more interested in the glamorous and controversial, the media darlings and the high-profile offices, while ignoring the importance of the local structures which have a much greater impact on our day-to-day lives than the question of which celebrity wins the executive election, be it for governor or Chief Executive. The genius of the GOP in recent years lies precisely in the region of these elections, for school boards, county commissioners, and particularly legislators, which they control far in excess of their proportional numbers, to the detriment of the polity as a whole. This is lamentable, for it was not so very long ago that the Democratic party was the leader in these areas. How the small coterie of dedicated RW enthusiasts managed to accomplish this revolution is the major story of the politics of the past generation... yet too many of us ignore that, and instead whine about a stolen Executive election or who "won" a media extravaganza. (It would probably also make an interesting study to determine how, exactly, we allowed the media to gain such a prominent role in opinion-making, since their function is and always has been entertainment).
-- Mal
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