Election 2020

[Bob Butler 54]

(11-11-2020, 03:27 AM)Classic-Xer Wrote: It's not just my opinion, it's the opinion of half the country right now.

The Republicans during much of the unravelling were an alliance of several issues.

There were the Neo cons, who thought to use US status as sole superpower to use military force to reintroduce a disguised colonialism. They ran into an insurgent proxy war and managed to drive the US public of both wings war adverse. They destabilized the Middle East rather than opening up war profits. They are not a major factor today.

There are the elites. They increased profits by shifting jobs abroad. They shared little interest in the cause of improving the state of the working man. The Tea Party originally was intended to get rid of the elite influence in the Republicans, but they eventually fell in love with Trump which brought the establishment back into the fold. Right now Trump and the establishment are both in their ways poison.

There are the racists. They have much to do with the idea of a small government, cutting taxes, cutting domestic spending. If you make life miserable for the working poor, you make life miserable for minorities, which is considered a good thing. Except, the younger generations have become the working power, and Black Lives Matter brought another round of racial equality. While in Nixon’s and Reagan’s times it was a win to hurt the working man, to shun minority votes in order to gain racist votes, it is not clear that this is a win today.

Then there are the religious elements, trying to use the government to force practice of their religious motivation on those who do not share their culture.

Then there are the true conservatives. They would desire things like small government, cut spending, balance the budget, and the idea that what is good for General Motors is good for America. I have some sympathy. They have seen their rightful road usurped by the influences above, have seen their party usurped.

All together, this alliance was stronger for a time than the progressive for the worker movement which came out of the New Deal. It is not clear that this alliance is dominant anymore. Trump tried to run with it a little longer, but he only discredited the elite and racist elements. The younger generations have borne the brunt of small government, of trying to hurt minorities by hurting the working poor.

Now I have been thinking on Pbower’s posting that Biden’s much fewer but I assume more populous and more urban counties are responsible for 70% of the GDP. I suspect Trump’s many more less populous rural counties are a result of the Republican alliances more culture wars oriented motivations. Ship the jobs overseas to increase elite profit. Attack minorities by attacking the working man. I can sympathize a good deal with the rural population. The wealth moved to more urban areas. The rural population got schrod. I would be angry too. The original Tea Party motivation of distancing from the elites was sound. But to a great degree they did it to themselves. The elitist, racist and religious motivations did not serve them well. If they strove to minimize domestic spending, well, they got what they voted for. 29% of the GDP.

This makes me interested in the upcoming fight for the Republican Party. The elites, racist and conservative wings have got to fight it out. In the meanwhile, the Democrats are left striving as ever for the working man and the minorities. While the Republicans are going after each other, they will leave the Democrats room.

I am also wondering about Georgia. It is looking clear that the Republicans are continuing with obstructionism. They are striving to ignore the election results. Do you think the voters of Georgia will notice? The elections there are turning into a referendum on whether the unraveling conflict and obstruction will continue. Do the people want a functioning government, or do they want it crippled? I don’t see what they are doing now as helping their chances in Georgia.