The Partisan Divide on Issues

[Bob Butler 54]

It seems that the 2020 election is becoming a referendum on whether we need a scientific response to the virus, with lives considered more important than dollars.

It is pretty much recognized that Trump is off.  He’s narcissistic, sexist, selfish, shuns checks and balances, elitist, shuns long term military alliances, swampy, flirts with Russia and is in general off.  

That does not bother the elites or the sexists.  As long as the elites get to keep their big bucks, as long as the sexists can keep some pretense of superiority, they will let the other ‘minor’ flaws go.  These are not the only factors.  It is possible as well to fall into the unravelling dream of small government and lower taxes, of discarding any science that tells you something you don’t like, to ignore something that forces you to spend money if you acknowledge it.  

But these factors are enough to make a difference in a time where the White House swings back and forth between parties.

But the American People do value lives over dollars.  This is why the governors who are following strict scientific isolation policies get high approval ratings, while Trump and the other open-it-up-regardless folk get low approval ratings.  It is why the strategy of making the economy look better is faltering.

All this seems clear enough.  In spite of attempts by those who want to kill grandma to misunderstand the numbers, the People want to keep grandma alive.  The people are not being fooled, and do not like being lied to.

The question becomes if this issue causes people to favor the other side.  Do people want to keep grandma alive in spite of an elite’s losing a few extra millions, or a racist keeping less of his supposed superiority.  Will small government people understand that keeping grandma alive will cost money, and be willing to pay for it.

It looks like enough true Americans are ready to embrace the science.