[x]

It would be nice to think that throwing out the moderates or forming a new party would end all of this, but it won't.

Politics is growing more ideological and more lobbyist-dominated at the same time and at the same pace.

The two trends have gone hand in hand in recent years. Why that is, I don't know.

[danielmryan]

Politics is growing more ideological and more lobbyist-dominated at the same time and at the same pace.

The two trends have gone hand in hand in recent years. Why that is, I don't know.

People who are more ideological have easier-to-press hot buttons. Among other metiers, lobbyists are good button-pushers.

But so are professional politicians. If a lobbyist relied on button-pushing when lobbying politicians, he'd just be scoffed at and no elected politician would take him seriously.