Correct Strategy Is Essential to Actually Achieve Some Turn Around
Recent Trump/Musk actions, and the beginnings of some resistance demonstrations and actions could easily grow into even greater and more dangerous division than we already have. But the only path visible toward actually turning things around heads in a different direction.
First, a caveat.
Even recently there have been some people talking about how we just need to listen to one another and find compromise. I’m not one of those. I know some Trump voters were conned by disinformation into thinking Democrats were going to overthrow the nation or that immigration is an almost existential crisis, etcetera, but they still chose to cast their vote for someone who tried to overthrow Congress and change an election, among other things. Being misinformed might be corrected, but there’s no denying how wrong their vote was.
But the manner in which a resistance effort moves forward needs to be about accomplishing improvement, not just about venting anger. If such demonstrations and actions are focused on pushing even harder on how bad Trump is and how culpable Trump voters are that’s just going to lead to a vicious us-vs-them stand off, or worse, neighbor-against-neighbor violence. Likewise regarding some other ideas I’ve seen considered, such as that blue states should secede, and other ideas that have at their core separation. Plus some of these ideas would be easily twisted to feed the narrative that, “See, we told you they hate us, or hate America, or want to subvert it” and just play into that game.
So is there an alternative? One that is not a matter of yielding ground but rather actually moves us closer to regaining sanity? It is to focus on the actual issues. Demonstrations demanding that medicaid cuts, which seem to be imminent, be restored. Heading off the headlong rush into recession because so many purged immigrants were essential to the economy. The restoration of sufficient control tower personnel because having too few increases danger or reduces flights. The restoration of funds for crews fighting wildfires when fire season makes the need urgent. Restoration of funds and personnel to track the progression of bird flu when it inevitably breaks out and Trump’s cuts make him look culpable.
And on and on because every one of those will be things some MAGA voters will be onboard with too. The ones with gay children who had reluctantly learned that some people just are. The ones whose business is hurt because the immigrant workers are gone, and they had gotten to know those immigrants and knew them as good people and see the purge as purging a lot of good people. The ones affected by medicaid cuts. The ones worried social security will be next. The farmers affected by agricultural cuts and the factory workers affected by tariff-driven trade wars. Rather than being a movement of one group against another it becomes a movement of people against damage. A movement where both the left and some disenchanted MAGA people might participate against common problems.
I have no desire to let Trump voters off the hook, but the way to a better condition is for some portion of them to be drawn, with the left, to go for different leadership. That’s really not far fetched. The popular vote was only different by less than 2%. Many MAGA people are probably now disillusioned. Many are likely easily switched to whoever they think will do best for them. New leadership would have to offer dramatic change because that’s clearly wanted but it could be constitutional change. It could be positive change if it sounds like it would benefit those MAGA voters as well as everyone else. There are changes that could be suggested that would have that appeal.
Tempted as I am to be divisive too, that’s a path to worse trouble. The opportunity is to use the disappointment caused by cuts and changes that hurt all people of both camps, and to offer our own radical changes. Changes that are constitutional and positive in ways that help everyone. A huge portion of the electorate is not loyal. They will go for whoever seems to offer the best results in things that affect their life. Drawing some of them and adding them to the almost 50% of voters the left already had last time is the only desirable path toward returning to some sanity and at the same time moving forward to some much needed changes for the benefit of all.
3 Comments
I fear that to persuade disillusioned MAGA /Trump voters to be moved is for them to be seriously hurt by high and increasing prices, not getting Social Security checks and affordable health care, contracting preventable diseases, etc., etc. Trump opponents can demonstrate and warn of these things, but until Trump voters are directly affected – and seriously affected – they will likely not be convinced that our country is being led in the wrong direction. When they are hit with the worst, that will be the time to reach out to them with alternatives.
Dan Rumelt, you’re right. It is when pain is felt that some Trump voters will be open to alternatives. Some are already feeling the pain or seeing it coming very soon. So even now, if resistance is focused on damaging moves by the administration that lays the ground work for some voting for Democrats for Congress in less than two years. (Hmm, referring to this as “the administration” doesn’t sound quite right. They’re not really so much administering as just grabbing whatever power beyond the office they can and trashing things and profiting. There are better names for that than “administration”.)
What I find most troubling is the fact that Republican’s seem completely unconcerned about future elections knowing full well that they will never ever win the popular vote again. This is the most scary thing to contemplate. Is Putin involved?