I'll ignore the discussions about the candidates which has made dKos into a fan club, not open to much policy discussion, and focus on what I think are the generalities being expressed.

I think there is a false dichotomy being defined. The real split (as always) is between the haves and the have-nots. In the US, until recently, the haves were WASP's (white anglo-saxon protestants). This has been broadened to now include white catholics and certain Asian groups. The have-nots disproportionately include Hispanics and blacks, but a surprisingly large sector are also WASP's (especially in the South).

Racism is one of the defining areas of discrimination and has been used successfully by the GOP to hold control of the government for most of the past 40 years. This may be changing somewhat, but the substitution of immigrants from Latin America and Muslims for blacks may just indicate a new focus.

We see a similar thing in Europe as a new wave of racism is starting to appear based upon new immigration patterns.

On the economic side the libertarians and free-marketeers have had too much influence on fiscal policy and this has resulted in gross income inequality and economic inefficiency. The current downturn may give those with a more rational outlook a chance to restore the balance, but this is not a sure thing - the Dems get their financing from big business just as does the GOP.

The next battle will be over resources. There is a possibility that the US will turn into a real police state. It is already on the way having installed the infrastructure needed to control the populace. This includes eliminating legal protections against search and seizure, unlimited surveillance, and a huge police, prison and military sector. All that needs to happen is for the government to redirect its propaganda focus from "terrorists" to domestic "subversives". The game plan is well established. It is what the Nazis did, it is what the Bolsheviks did and it is what Putin seems to be doing at the moment.

One defines a vague set of characteristics that the subversives have and then anyone who opposes those in power is lumped into the class. The US has done this, itself, several times in the past, the most notable being the Palmer Raids (10 - 15,000 imprisoned) and the Japanese-American Internment (120,000+ imprisoned).

There is a path to avoid the looming police state, but no one is willing to discuss it or work towards it. This requires that the population in the developed countries redesign their societies to be sustainable and not based upon excessive consumption. Unfortunately no politicians are willing to consider this possibility. All that we hear are various schemes as to what are the best way to promote "growth" and the need for ever stronger military power.

The DoD already has plans on how to fight the next war which is assumed to be either with China or Russia. The explicit motivation is the need to control foreign resources so that we can maintain our "national interests".

Certainly the election of one person over another can have some important effects, but these are small compared with the long-range trends that haven't changed in 100 years.  

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape