It hasn’t been as far back as the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, butit sure seems that long since we’ve had a great debate about ideas.Today’s politicians seem too caught up in hanging on to power(Republicans) or getting it back (Democrats) to care much aboutwhich ideas are better than others.

There was a time when people actually debated such things, butin a day of focus groups, polling, fund-raisers, blogs, talk radioand hyperventilating cable TV hosts, ideas and ideology seem inshort supply.

I like the first and second definitions of ideology in mydictionary: “(1) visionary theorizing; (2) a systematic body ofconcepts, especially about human life and culture.”

Among the definitions for “idea” is this: “a plan foraction.”

Isn’t this what’s missing from much of contemporary politics:visionary theorizing, a body of concepts, and most especially aplan for action that benefits the most people?

Perhaps this reflects a culture that is so fixated on self thatit has no regard for much else. Are politicians merely a reflectionof this narcissism, or are they contributing to it by their failureto lead? What Democrat has had an interesting idea in recent years?Democrats mostly oppose whatever Republicans are doing and see nomerit in any of their ideas. Republicans, who once had ideas, (theReagan Revolution; the Contract with America) behave like theDemocratic majority they replaced. The ideas that put Republicansin power seem to have evaporated. Instead of advancing those ideas,too many Republicans pander to various constituencies, hoping theirsoon-to-be former supporters will overlook their prostitution.

If a party mostly focuses on winning the next election, ratherthan giving voters a reason to vote for its candidates, thelikelihood of success is greatly diminished. Electoral victory,like happiness, is usually a byproduct of something moresubstantive. If winning the next election becomes the only goal andif one’s sole platform is “elect us, because we’re not as bad asmembers of the other party,” voters will be turned off and eitherswitch sides or stay home.

Some believe Republicans should lose this fall to show the partybosses that its conservative wing cannot be taken for granted. Thisis Richard Viguerie’s argument in an essay in Sunday’s WashingtonPost. About the prospect that “millions of conservatives” mightstay home this November, Viguerie, a veteran of the 1980s “NewRight,” writes: “And maybe they should. Conservatives are beginningto realize that nothing will change until there’s a change in theGOP leadership. If congressional Republicans win this fall, theywill see themselves as vindicated, and nothing will getbetter.”

Democrats suffer from a similar affliction. Ultra-left groupslike MoveOn.org claim Sen. Hillary Clinton isn’t liberal enough, asshe cloaks her liberalism with moderate talk for a possible run forpresident in 2008. The Democratic agenda in Congress isnonexistent. It merely repeats the familiar lines about class andrace. Democrats lack new ideas that would benefit the mostAmericans and move the country forward. The Democratic “policy” inIraq is to get out. The Democratic economic policy is higher taxes,more spending and bigger government. Republicans aren’t muchbetter. Their policy is lower taxes, more spending and biggergovernment. That’s an echo, not a choice.

The death of ideology reflects public apathy and cynicism aboutpolitics, which is partially the fault of politicians whoincreasingly lack convictions that cannot be swayed by a focusgroup. Alternative media allow people to tune in or read only thosethings that ratify their points of view. This self-imposedideological segregation prevents minds from being stretched by thepresentation of ideas different from one’s own.

In the description of a course he taught in the fall of 2004 atThe University of Washington, Dr. Steven W. Collins wrote,”Ideologies link political ideas to organized political action,helping individuals orient themselves within their social, economicand political circumstances.”

What happens when ideologies and ideas evaporate is that thepublic becomes politically disoriented. With too many Republicansacting like Democrats and both parties seeming to want power forits own sake, the public has understandably become not onlypolitically disoriented, but disgusted.

Write to Cal Thomas at 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1500,Chicago IL 60611. E-mail reaches him at Cal@CalThomas.com.