There is one division in America, one rather substantial, that does catch my attention. It was clearly seen, not only in the 2020 election, but in every presidential election since 1964. In 1961, the 23rd amendment to the Constitution gave the residents of Washington, DC the ability to vote in presidential elections, garnering them 3 electoral votes. Since that time DC residents have always voted for the Democratic Party's candidate. The highest DC percentage total any Republican has gotten is Richard Nixon's 21.5% in 1972 when he swamped George McGovern nationwide.
Since that time, Republican candidates, though winning nationwide, still get clobbered in every DC contest, seeing their DC percentages consistently fall into the single digits. The lowest point was Trump in 2016 at 4.1% of the vote. He actually improved on that in 2020's election, attracting 5.5% of the DC voters.
The reason this catches my attention is this schism is at the heart of why we are told by the trendsetters, tastemakers, East Coast elites and certainly the dominant news providers that, in ways subtle and blatant, Democrats are normally spot on and Republicans clearly out of touch.
One example is how the party's VP candidates are either lionized or savaged, particularly when they are announced. Witness: Gore (Boy Scout stability), Edwards (so good looking), Biden (experienced), Ferraro (1st woman) or Harris (mega-grievance groups) versus Quayle (Bozo), Cheney (Darth Vader and gravitas to light weight Bush), Pence (the sap who'd run with Trump) or Ryan (not a whole lot of experience). And to this very day, Sarah Palin holds a special place in media bashing hell. In Obama's recent 750-page tome, he takes time to remind us just how out of her league she was.
Overlooking Tara Reid, exalting Christine Ford, Florida's chads needed the Supreme Court intervention, Pennsylvania's vote count is accurate let's move on, if Hillary doesn't mind, why should we, Colin Powell sent email via a personal computer so it's okay, Ronald Reagan's just an actor but Obama's "The One" and on and on the comparisons go from the Inside-the-Beltway crowd, AKA The Swamp.
The larger point, however, is something that should concern all Americans of whatever political stripe. Presumably most Americans are voting for good governance, policies and programs. But when the denizens of DC are of one mind that is aligned exclusively with the Democrat Party, it puts any Republican administration at a significant disadvantage in implementing their platform's planks. The four-year hounding of Donald Trump is just the most egregious example that created a large roadblock for any reasonable progress in this country. And if progress is made, the hounding continues to drown out any successful narrative.
Certainly we do get different policies/programs as administrations change, but those in Washington DC are a position to implement, influence, delay, deny or thwart that administration's actions. In most cases, their approach in their duties to our country is of one mind, that is, grow government and hew to the Democrat Party's line. Even Obama, in his recent memoir, moaned at how hidebound the State Department was in his efforts to implement foreign policy, though no one seemed to get in the way of sending pallets of cold, hard cash to Iran,
In Nancy Pelosi's one moment of truth, "We have to pass the bill to find out what's in it," she tells us that we are really governed by an administrative state, a state that is exclusively in the pocket of the Democrat Party, in word and deed. Couple DC's single mindedness with the concentration of media and entertainment in New York City and Los Angeles, that is equally like minded, and we are fed all the necessary promotion of the Democrat's agenda, willingly and enthusiastically.
Yes, we are a divided nation where the division is clearly and consistently seen inside the Beltway. It takes a masterful politician with a real mandate from the rest of the country to bridge that chasm. Trump tried. The Empire fought back.
Wow! Someone actually read my post and responded. You are exactly correct, but we will have to eat this elephant one bite at a time. Keeping the Senate and taking back the House in 2022 might slow the administrative state. Then if we can get a congress whose average age is under 75 we might make some legislative progress. Keep reading and keep responding. Thanks again.
I so agree, Mike. I have liberal friends who say, "We just have different values." I say, "No, we have the same values, we just have different ways of defending them." We need to keep looking for more ways to bridge the gaps. Thanks for opening the conversation.
Divided America? Hmmm. . .
There is one division in America, one rather substantial, that does catch my attention. It was clearly seen, not only in the 2020 election, but in every presidential election since 1964. In 1961, the 23rd amendment to the Constitution gave the residents of Washington, DC the ability to vote in presidential elections, garnering them 3 electoral votes. Since that time DC residents have always voted for the Democratic Party's candidate. The highest DC percentage total any Republican has gotten is Richard Nixon's 21.5% in 1972 when he swamped George McGovern nationwide.
Since that time, Republican candidates, though winning nationwide, still get clobbered in every DC contest, seeing their DC percentages consistently fall into the single digits. The lowest point was Trump in 2016 at 4.1% of the vote. He actually improved on that in 2020's election, attracting 5.5% of the DC voters.
The reason this catches my attention is this schism is at the heart of why we are told by the trendsetters, tastemakers, East Coast elites and certainly the dominant news providers that, in ways subtle and blatant, Democrats are normally spot on and Republicans clearly out of touch.
One example is how the party's VP candidates are either lionized or savaged, particularly when they are announced. Witness: Gore (Boy Scout stability), Edwards (so good looking), Biden (experienced), Ferraro (1st woman) or Harris (mega-grievance groups) versus Quayle (Bozo), Cheney (Darth Vader and gravitas to light weight Bush), Pence (the sap who'd run with Trump) or Ryan (not a whole lot of experience). And to this very day, Sarah Palin holds a special place in media bashing hell. In Obama's recent 750-page tome, he takes time to remind us just how out of her league she was.
Overlooking Tara Reid, exalting Christine Ford, Florida's chads needed the Supreme Court intervention, Pennsylvania's vote count is accurate let's move on, if Hillary doesn't mind, why should we, Colin Powell sent email via a personal computer so it's okay, Ronald Reagan's just an actor but Obama's "The One" and on and on the comparisons go from the Inside-the-Beltway crowd, AKA The Swamp.
The larger point, however, is something that should concern all Americans of whatever political stripe. Presumably most Americans are voting for good governance, policies and programs. But when the denizens of DC are of one mind that is aligned exclusively with the Democrat Party, it puts any Republican administration at a significant disadvantage in implementing their platform's planks. The four-year hounding of Donald Trump is just the most egregious example that created a large roadblock for any reasonable progress in this country. And if progress is made, the hounding continues to drown out any successful narrative.
Certainly we do get different policies/programs as administrations change, but those in Washington DC are a position to implement, influence, delay, deny or thwart that administration's actions. In most cases, their approach in their duties to our country is of one mind, that is, grow government and hew to the Democrat Party's line. Even Obama, in his recent memoir, moaned at how hidebound the State Department was in his efforts to implement foreign policy, though no one seemed to get in the way of sending pallets of cold, hard cash to Iran,
In Nancy Pelosi's one moment of truth, "We have to pass the bill to find out what's in it," she tells us that we are really governed by an administrative state, a state that is exclusively in the pocket of the Democrat Party, in word and deed. Couple DC's single mindedness with the concentration of media and entertainment in New York City and Los Angeles, that is equally like minded, and we are fed all the necessary promotion of the Democrat's agenda, willingly and enthusiastically.
Yes, we are a divided nation where the division is clearly and consistently seen inside the Beltway. It takes a masterful politician with a real mandate from the rest of the country to bridge that chasm. Trump tried. The Empire fought back.
Wow! Someone actually read my post and responded. You are exactly correct, but we will have to eat this elephant one bite at a time. Keeping the Senate and taking back the House in 2022 might slow the administrative state. Then if we can get a congress whose average age is under 75 we might make some legislative progress. Keep reading and keep responding. Thanks again.
I so agree, Mike. I have liberal friends who say, "We just have different values." I say, "No, we have the same values, we just have different ways of defending them." We need to keep looking for more ways to bridge the gaps. Thanks for opening the conversation.