I have a job. I’m starting as soon as I can get my classes in order (or earlier than that).

Also, I’m publishing my more long-winded pieces to NowPublic. I’ll continue using this LJ for mostly personal stuff.

And finally, should there be a seat limit for political parties in legislatures to protect from outright majoritarianism? Or would a seat limit simply drive activists to form decoy parties in order to secure an ideological (or, worse, an executive-biased) majority? How can the perfectionists of electoral democracy, particularly those who are biased to multiple-winner systems such as party-list PR or STV, avoid outcomes such as the last few which have happened in South Africa and Namibia (both being party-list PR domains) since independence, in which big tents such as SWAPO and ANC manage to secure a majority in every election?

I think that party-list PR may be the best way to channel the energies of a number of our most partisan of extralegislative activists away from the precedent of fighting with each other for control of town hall events, among other notable acts and antics which have taken place since Obama was inaugurated. Why should we have to fear civil war – an oft-cited threat or fear which pops up when a number of related politically-motivated acts of violence or expressions of rage take place within close proximity of time – from various constituencies – yes, even those which are well-monied – who feel ostracized from the political process and, thus, must react through the wildest of organized, emotional expressions outside the political process?

Because, goodness knows, the anti-Obama crowd, in their various shades of philosophical thought, are despairing of their ostracization, their fragmentation and their (somewhat well-anticipated) demonization in various circles of thought. Alot of them do not want to share the same tent with others with whom they often collide in closed-door debate, but they still want to gain seats at the table of the House. So if they want to be able to represent their own particular political beliefs in more disparate tight-knit cliques of ideological cohesion (as Neoconservatives, as Libertarians, etc.) at the primary legislative organs of the U.S., then I’m fairly certain that organizations like Club for Growth (which has infamously advanced the "Republican In Name Only" meme) and OpenLeft (which targeted "Blue Dog Democrats" as "Bush Dogs" in 2008) should be most favorable towards an ensurer of strong party-ideology links like a party-list PR system in both the House and state legislatures.