MUSINGS ON THE CURRENT SCENE: NOVEMBER 2020

Well, that was fun wasn’t it? The 2020 election is finally over…yes, diehard Trumpers, it’s over. And its the type of antics Trump is engaging in now that are the reason. Trump lost because he was too lazy to just show the least bit of discipline in his campaign. Trump is about Trump, always, which makes it remarkable he was able to convince people he was “fighting” for them.

Now I can go back to fighting for myself instead of hearing how some politician is going to fight for me. I follow the Carolla Rule, first enunciated by Adam Carolla: I never vote for any politician who tells me they are fighting for me. Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll stick up for myself. Please, Mr. or Miss Politician, stop fighting for me and focus on doing your job, which involves something more like ensuring the garbage is picked up.

So, how much do you think we’ll be hearing about how terrible the Electoral College is over the next few years? Not much I suspect, since Mr. Biden won there. Funny, when I hear progressives gripe about it, I always hear how it’s not fair that sparsely populated Montana or Idaho gets the same representation in the Senate as California or New York. I never hear how its unfair that tiny states like Vermont or Rhode Island or Delaware get two Senators also.

Its not just progressives who have this annoying habit. How long will it take Republicans to start griping about the federal debt and overall spending now that Democrats have the presidency? They somehow forgot about those things when their guy was in there. There’s an old political joke that says you only hear about the homeless when a Republican is on office. Kind of makes you wonder how serious these politicians (who are fighting for you, remember) are about tackling real issues, or are the issues just talking points in service of their gaining or keeping power. The question kind of answers itself…

Speaking of Trump and Trumpism, you probably guessed I am not a fan of Trump. Not my cup of tea, as they say. He just reminds me of the blowhard at the end of the bar who is always spouting off about something he doesn’t really know that much about, but he says it in such a colorful and sometimes humorous way, that people just smile and let him do his schtick. Some people, heck, many people obviously, loved it. The common theme to me with his supporters was that Trump annoyed the people that annoyed them. It was more about who his enemies were, not him really. I mean, who would guess that a rich kid from Queens, who inherited his money, would be the hero of the working class? Only in America.

But what of Trumpism, if there is such a thing? Many Republicans are no doubt scrambling this very minute to figure out how to tap into that phenomenon. I think they will fail miserably (and, more importantly to me, further damage the viability of conservative ideas) if they try to adopt his style, which I think when you boil it down, is all there is to Trumpism: Style. You love him because he annoys your opponents so much. He’s the classic player you love when he’s on your team and hate when he’s on the other, which add up to…he’s just annoying, period. He had no political philosophy to speak of. He had some instincts I agreed with. With the help of those dastardly establishment types like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, his administration achieved some very conventional republican goals: cut taxes, push back on regulatory overreach (particularly in the Department of Education), appoint judges who will do their job, not the job of a legislator, etc.

I will give Trump credit for this: By so thoroughly getting under progressives collective skin, he brought out the worst of them and their most extreme ideas, allowing the average citizen to peek behind the facade if you will. I guess he was like Toto, pulling back the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. I think that is the big takeaway from the election results. Americans agreed with the Democrats primary argument, i.e. it was time for Trump to go. Joe Biden is President (wow…is he the luckiest career politician or what!) because he fulfilled the biggest requirement of the American people: to not be Donald Trump. But any fever dreams of progressives that this election was going to be some big blue wave and affirm a transformation of American politics along progressive lines were definitively dashed. Americans saw riots and heard them described as “mostly peaceful”, listened to progressives talk of Green New Deals, and packing the courts, and adding states, and said no thanks. Mitch McConnell, hated by progressives and Trumpers alike, is the most powerful man in Washington now.

I think, if you are of a conservative sensibility like myself, you may look back on this election as the turning point toward better days. Trump, the bull in the china shop, has done his job. There is no more china to smash, if you will, and it is time to go. One needn’t worry about Biden…he is a placeholder. He will be pushed by his left to implement their progressive wish list, but he will not be able to as long as the Republicans control the Senate. A potential President Harris will run into the same problem. The Republican party, which beyond anyone’s expectations, actually picked up House seats, many of whom are women and minorities, and may have a good chance of taking the House in 2022. Maybe by 2024, some Republicans will figure out how to speak the language of conservatism to more people, be able to move that Overton window back toward the right a bit. But if they take the easy way and just try to be mini-Trumps, it will be a disaster. Playing the politics of demonization doesn’t work for left or right for very long.

My goals politically are not for the Republicans to win per se. It is to try to convince as many people as possible to look at things from a more conservative viewpoint. If you’re always arguing about things with a progressive set of assumptions, its really hard to sell conservative solutions. Hell, its hard to sell conservative solutions anyway. They tend to be for grown-ups. We seem to have less and less of those in either party, and the electorate as a whole, these days.

Which reminds me…can we put to rest these calls…mostly from the progressives I must say…to lower the voting age? If anything it should be raised. My son had a homework assignment a few weeks ago in which he was asked to answer the question, “Should 11 year- old kids be allowed to vote?” I should have had him answer, “Only if they are allowed to smoke and drink.” But I didn’t want him kicked out of school. I think the voting age should probably reflect the average age of adult responsibility in a society. I could sign off on the 11 year old vote 300 years ago. Heck, those kids were getting up at 5 am to milk the cows. Then they spent most of their day in some kind of hard labor. They were a lot more adult than most 25 year-olds today. Today, unless one gets married and has children, i.e. is forced (presumably) to think about someone else’s needs, we have delayed adulthood on average into one’s 30’s. I mean, under Obamacare, people can ride their parents healthcare until age 26. Under that standard, maybe the voting age should be 27.

So, what will the Republican and Democratic parties look like in 2024? Things seem to be shifting. In my lifetime, Republicans were always characterized as the party of the rich and big business…the monocle guy from Monopoly. Democrats were portrayed as the party of the working class, unions, and minorities…Joe six pack. Doesn’t that seem like it is flipping around, or at least changing somewhat? Even the minority vote, which among blacks is still overwhelmingly Democratic, is starting to not be so monolithic. There is a lot of egghead talk going on about how the Republican party post-Trump is now a multi ethnic, workers party. I’m not so sure. As I said, conservatism works best with an adult electorate. We are a juvenile society. But maybe we’re ready to move beyond the temper tantrums of the last few years and grow up. If so, then maybe a conservative message has a chance. I won’t be holding my breath.

A LITTLE LANGUAGE

To end with a little mental enrichment is always a good thing. I love this word: Animadversion. It means criticism or censure. A comment or remark that is censorious. The word just tickles my senses for some reason. Anyway, thought you’d enjoy learning it too. Until next time…