A resurgence in the sentiments of the Old South and Confederacy plus a rise in anger and resentment among people who haven’t been to college, and these two things in the context of a greatly expanded role for money in politics and money in broadcast media have divided the Nation into two opposing camps. I won’t deny that each of these camps are coalitions of people with overlapping but not exactly the same perspectives and goals.
On one side there is the majority of people who believe that our country is an example of the best possible governments. The believe that the rule of law is in place to protect the interests of the common person. These folks also believe in science, regulation of the environment, the United States’ role internationally, the separation of church and state, human rights, a woman’s right to choose her own family outcomes, and the right of every citizen to vote in public elections or run for office.
The other side is a minority. But they are a well-funded majority because moneyed interests have captured and amplified a number of issues held dearly by various members of the coalition. One group considers themselves Christians; they pursue limitations and reversals of personal freedoms regarding cultural issues and they vote for people who claim to share those values. Moneyed interests spend a lot pandering to this group because this group fears they are being made irrelevant by cultural progress and they respond to overtures insisting they are right.
Another group is cobbled together out of un-reformed Confederates who harbor weird ideas that our nation is somehow illegitimate or lacks authority in key areas of their value system. Some of these are the regulation of guns, regulation of public lands, regulation of mining and petrochemical operations, oversight of public schools, equal access to schools and other public facilities, as well as the actual right to vote, which they believe they can constrain in various ways. This group is also well-funded by moneyed interests who are willing to support the pro-gun, anti-school agenda to attract this group of anti-regulation, anti-government, anti-tax activists to their side.
There are lots of other components to the coalition of Trump supporters. I showcased the above groups so that I could introduce the “jiu jitsu” aspect of this post. Both of the above groups have adopted a “white nationalist” point of view and they pursue it by agitating against abortion rights and by agitating against immigration. So there are two common themes. The Christian right adds into the mix the idea that the United States should be a Christian nation (their idea of “christian”). The Confederates add into the mix the idea that States have rights that preempt the Federal Government. This where the jiu jitsu comes in.
Democrats should respond to the “Right to Life” movement by offering subsidies and child credits to everyone, especially people of color, who want to have children. This would be proposed as massive increase in child welfare spending. People of color should be the “poster children” for this initiative. The message is, “Hey, you want an end to abortion rights? Then let’s help people have more babies. Statistics show that wealthier and higher educated people tend to have less children, so let’s help poor people have more children.” Since folks in this group greatly fear a more inclusive nation and a more diverse population, the abortion issue has been turned against them.
In terms of States Rights, it is a well known fact that the so-called red states are net takers of Federal aid and infrastructure spending, while the so-called blues states are net givers to the Federal budget, receiving less than they contribute. Yet certain people in these red states insist that the Federal government should keep out of the State’s business. Democrats should agree. For any State whose Congressional Representatives or Senators vote against any particular spending bill, that State should be prohibited from receiving any funds pursuant to that legislation. With that initiative on the table, I wonder how many Confederates would still be happy to leave their State in the hands of “balanced budget”, anti-tax naysayers at the Federal level? Again, the issue has been turned against them.
Of key importance, none of the above needs to actually be implemented to have a desirable effect - these are campaign discussions intended to knock some sense into people who refuse to see the linkages between their pet issue and the interests of the moneyed interests who fund candidates, media stations and “dark money” contributions in their efforts to shape our government in ways that make those same moneyed interests wealthier and even more influential.
Well-researched, well-thought-out, well-said: Well done, sir!
You nailed it; you have been at this a long time, I can see. If only all of us were as rational, logical, and reasonable as you! Yet that's not the hand we were dealt: We must work with the downside of the bell-shaped curve. They, too, are human, but less educated, less informed, and with lower IQs (not trying to be condescending here, but it's just a fact of life). Feeling frustrated and angry and goaded on by very effective propaganda from both domestic and international sources, they are wreaking social and political havoc throughout the land. We're in a difficult spot. Failure may not be an option, but it is a possibility. Thank you for trying to prevent that. Keep up the very good work, sir.
Americans have devolved into fat and phony and religious: wellness is just gluttony and sloth revisited. 256 million Americans are entitled to vote but only 158 mil do vote so the outcome is meaningless. In addition, since it is the Electoral College deciding the results are even more skewed. Without Compulsory voting; no EC; and campaigning funded by public $ for FIVE weeks only we will continue to decline.