06-08-2020, 08:02 AM
I think that the actual battle lines of this "Cold Civil War" 4T were set in the botched election in Florida in the year 2000. The fact that there was no clear winner on Election Night, and that it actually went to the SC to determine a winner were very jolting at the time. The Shock of that election was largely forgotten because Team Blue accepted the result even if we were not happy about it. And of course because 9/11 happened less then a year later.
But, that was the night that "blue state" and "red state" became widely understood terms. Because those were the colors that the networks used that night on their Electoral College maps. I believe that before that night Blue was incumbent party in the WH, and Red meant challenging party. It was that disrupted election night that set the tone for the cascade that has followed. That being said, the fact that the Blue States accepted it without too much protest shows that it was a 3rd turning event. But it gave the Culture War two teams and a Map.
But, that was the night that "blue state" and "red state" became widely understood terms. Because those were the colors that the networks used that night on their Electoral College maps. I believe that before that night Blue was incumbent party in the WH, and Red meant challenging party. It was that disrupted election night that set the tone for the cascade that has followed. That being said, the fact that the Blue States accepted it without too much protest shows that it was a 3rd turning event. But it gave the Culture War two teams and a Map.