Is USA 2012 a mirror of Singapore Wikicity 2022?

Are four more years enough for Obama to fix the divided USA?  And will LHL’s ten more years develop Singapore into a Wikicity as described by IPS?   

There is always a time lag in development. USA has the most open immigration policy among developed countries. So do Singapore among the newly industrialising countries or Asian dragons.  The open immigration policy has not only contributed to divisions in a society but also affected the outcome of the elections.  In a closely contested election, immigrant voters are king makers.  Their preference and favour can influence the election results.

Like it or not, we may see this coming in Singapore.  And like it or not, the PAP seems to benefit from the immigration policy even though its pro big business policy looking more like the Republican.  

Nevertheless, like the Democratic Party, the PAP is more open to immigration.  Ten years later, it may give big advantage to the PAP, especially in hotly contested parliament seats.   

 

Obama win shows demographic shifts working against RepublicansFirst-time voters, including many young people and immigrants, favored the president by large margins, while older voters leaned to Republican Mitt Romney, Reuters/Ipsos Election Day polling showed.
Obama won an estimated 66 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to Reuters/Ipsos election day polling, at a time when the Latino population is growing rapidly in states such as Florida, one of eight or so politically divided states that were crucial in the presidential race. Other estimates put Obama's share of the Hispanic vote above 70 percent.http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/08/us-usa-campaign-diversity-idUSBRE8A62MO20121108

Another great invention after GRC

Singapore voters who prefer two-party or multi-party political system may be disappointed by the above news.  The open immigration policy is just another great political invention after the GRC system. GRC has prolonged the life of the PAP and now with the new citizens, its life of one-party state will most likely be extended beyond 2022.  Who say the PAP does not have a long-term political planning?

And a divided Singapore may not necessarily work against the PAP as what they have always claimed.

But this development will deepen the political divide in Singapore, as seen many times in social media.  Here is an example from the USA about the divide:

The 2012 presidential election likely will be remembered as marking the end of long-standing coalitions, as voters regroup in cultural, ethnic and economic patterns that challenge both parties—but especially Republicans. Older voters and white working-class voters, once core elements of the Democratic Party, have drifted into the Republican column. Rural and small-town voters, whose grandparents backed the New Deal, now fill the swath of the U.S. that leans reliably GOP.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324073504578105360833569352.html?mod=WSJ_hp_us_mostpop_read

Election Day indicates nation’s political divide is deepeningThis was another paradoxical election. An increasingly conservative Republican Party held onto the majority of seats in the House, while Democrats retained the White House and Senate, Wisconsin elected a gay senator, Maine and Maryland approved same-sex marriage, and Washington state and Colorado legalized marijuana.http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/election-day-indicates-nations-political-divide-is-deepening/2012/11/07/94a306c6-28e9-11e2-96b6-8e6a7524553f_story.html?hpid=z3

  

We know the PAP is losing traditional supporters – the old, the lower income, the heart-landers etc. like the Democratic Party.  However, its gain from the minority and new immigrants are well enough to offset the decline in older workers and white working class.

You can see more of the political divide in The Washington Post:  (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/2012-exit-polls/table.html)

Democracy is noisy, messy and complicated

If we will really end up a Wikicity in 2022 and a multi-party political system, the future political leaders must accept the choice of the people.  Like Obama in his wining speech acknowledge the democracy principles and the liberty to select:  

“Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated,” he said. “We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy.“That won’t change after tonight, and it shouldn’t. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that, as we speak, people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.”http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/election-day-indicates-nations-political-divide-is-deepening/2012/11/07/94a306c6-28e9-11e2-96b6-8e6a7524553f_story.html?hpid=z3

The PAP has always stressed that we are a small country and cannot afford the Western-style democracy and liberty. But we are an international city and well educated, don’t we?

We have yet to see the PAP showing respect to democracy and liberty, especially to alternative views.  It is time they accept the noisy, messy and complicated democracy.  And at the same they should respect the passions and controversy of other people.