In 2020 we spread a lot of political crap. But will it fertilize the garden? Okay, so which way will we go? The election was a month ago. We now have some perspective. Maybe we can offer some observations about the state of our politics. Your job here is to put on your mask and read on.
This election crystallized many political trends. Acolytes of multiculturalism and “anti-racism” are crowing America is split along racial lines. But, maybe reality is different than their perception. President Trump, made substantial gains among both young Black men and Hispanics. Very interesting, no?
The donor class, the elites of Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and corporate America broke big for Biden. Big money, big business, and big tech are Democrats. Gone are the days where the Democrats were the Party of the people. They don’t care about the downtrodden, oppressed and the “little guy”. It’s all show me the money. Who’s in the pocket of big business? Very interesting, no?
Reality today appears to be Party role reversal. It is the Democratic Party disproportionately comprising and representing college educated elite. They are the expositors of “woke” dogma. Democrats are the dispensers of redistribution trickle down welfare. Just shut up and do as I say not as I do.
The Republican Party is disproportionately comprising and representing the multiethnic, non-college educated working class. They are Hillary’s “deplorables”. They represent the people who still cling to guns and religion. America today is broken along class lines rather than race lines. Elites are puzzling over this.
Democratic elites are in denial about how unpopular “defund the police” and the Green New Deal are. Republican elites are stuck on laissez-faire fundamentalism and limited government as ends unto themselves. They are not picking up on them as instrumental means to an end. They are in denial about how small the political constituency is for a free market liberalism. It is detached from the daily needs of the average American.
But there is no stopping the change underway. Our political realignment will not slow any time soon. Assuming the Electoral College votes Biden our next president, God forbid: The next four years are ripe for crossover opportunity.
The political realignment puts much in flux. There may be more overlap than meets the eye. Conservatives must remain vigilant about the far-left capture of the deteriorating Biden. It seems unlikely, but perhaps it is a mistake to prematurely write off the possibility of any bipartisan cooperation whatsoever.
On economic matters, there is room for legislative deal-making. There is a need for an industrial policy re-shoring strategic supply chains. America is advantaged by spurring greater domestic investment. We need to address advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors. This does assume someone in the political world cares about something besides power and control. Those would be facts not in evidence currently.
The GOP’s more populist wing is already vocal about hawkishness on China. They see downsides in free trade absolutism. They advocate the need for greater economic resilience on the home front. Their concerns were supported/vindicated by Coronavirus outcomes. Some of their worst fears were realized.
Biden is expressing support for some variety of a pro-manufacturing industrial policy. Republican watchdogs need to ensure such a policy does not manifest itself in crony capitalist boondoggles.
On Big Tech there is strong bipartisan outrage at the status quo. All sides are angry at Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, if for different reasons. It is still foreseeable there may be room to work together on antitrust or on Section 230 or both. The era of legal immunity giveaway to the Big Tech giants looks to be over. Both sides are coming to the view; these goliaths must be reined in.
Barring a successful “hail Mary” Trump appears headed for defeat. The next four years will be rough if that happens. America as a free society will be lost. We appear headed into a repressive socialist tyranny. But there may be silver linings to be found amid the rubble… We can hope. In the meantime, it continues to smell bad and the garden isn’t producing much of anything.
