… according to this article from Egypt’s Arabic-language publication, Ahram.
Says Ahram,
Each time an American elections starts, the Arab political mind raises the same question: Which is better? –The Democratic Party or the Republican? And which will support more or less the interests of the region?
According to the article, the question is mis-stated:
A careful examination suggests that there are no radical differences between the positions of the two big parties of America: the differences are only in the detail.
And the article analyzes the reasons, which come down to this:
The classical sense of the party no longer has value in the context of the rule of interest groups and voting blocs…
For example,
Observers of American politics over recent years notice for example how the majority enjoyed by the Democratic Party in Congress has not changed the orientations of the American administration regarding their external policies and that the majority agreed to everything that had been asked in the special American Security budgets, and so on
Ahram argues
that the predominance of special interests – and in particular of religiously motivated groups – explains a fundamental and systematic disenfranchisement of the voting majority. (Considering the origin of the article, a completely Muslim country, which shares the social conservatism of the religious right in the U.S., this is particularly interesting.)
Neo-conservatives have succeeded … in turning the religious bloc voting base into a social movement, even though it includes various social groups … the core of the association of these groups is religious, and it does not matter that the new administration has passed legislation that offers tax breaks for the rich and increase the gap between them and the poor, disregarding spiritual and moral values of justice and equal opportunity. The poor did not object because the legislation and the privileges it offered the rich came under the cover of religion.
Read here the whole analysis from Egypt’s Ahram, translated from Arabic by WATCHING AMERICA.com
Robin Koerner is a British-born citizen of the USA, who currently serves as Academic Dean of the John Locke Institute. He holds graduate degrees in both Physics and the Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge (U.K.). He is also the founder of WatchingAmerica.com, an organization of over 100 volunteers that translates and posts in English views about the USA from all over the world.
Robin may be best known for having coined the term “Blue Republican” to refer to liberals and independents who joined the GOP to support Ron Paul’s bid for the presidency in 2012 (and, in so doing, launching the largest coalition that existed for that candidate).
Robin’s current work as a trainer and a consultant, and his book If You Can Keep It , focus on overcoming distrust and bridging ideological division to improve politics and lives. His current project, Humilitarian, promotes humility and civility as a basis for improved political discourse and outcomes.