Occasionally a reader will suggest I am overly critical of Republicans. It’s a reasonable criticism but lacks depth. Historically, political parties were monolithic groups comprised of approximately half the voters. However, as the parties moved further towards the extremes of the political spectrum, the differences in political ideologies have become increasingly noticeable. For example, the 2020 Presidential election fractured voters into blocs;
- Those who voted for Biden,
- Those who voted against Biden,
- Those who voted for Trump,
- Those who voted against Trump, and
- A smattering of ‘others.’
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to. You would cry too, if it happened to you (Lesley Gore)
In his book, Unstable Majorities, Morris Fiorina uses a data base that began polling voters in 1948 to demonstrate that voter’s views on policies have not changed an iota since the 1970s. Most People (see graph below), prefer a few policies from the left and a few from the right. The fact is most voters, especially those in Nebraska’s 2d Congressional District, have moderate policy views.
What you see depends upon where you stand.
For the Average Person (see above), 50% of political views are to her right and 50% are to her left. Since 1994, policy views, rhetoric, and actions of both political parties began moving towards the extremes, as labeled, Some People with Republicans to the right and Democrats to the left.
Subsequently, as the party’s moved towards the extremes of the political bell curve, the majority are forced, by design, to choose ‘the lesser of two evils.’
Nobody knows where Donny has gone, But Joey left the same time
This movement allows the party to be distinctly different from their opposition. For example, at the extreme, as depicted by the blue star, 80% of voters are politically to the left. Based on Fiorina’s study, American voters have not become more liberal (or conservative). In reality, the views of those depicted by the blue star became more extreme. This is true at both ends of the bell curve.
American politics is shifting from a Right versus Left debate to the Middle versus Extremes. Readers of my columns will notice I’m critical of extremism since, as Fiorina proved, their loudly voiced views , reverberating and echoed by hyper-partisan media, are not the views of Most People.
Play all my records, keep dancing all night. But leave me alone for awhile
Split ticket results of 2008 [Obama (D) & Terry (R)] and 2020 elections demonstrate [Biden (D) & Bacon (R)], Nebraska’s 2d Congressional District voters are among the most moderate in the nation. This is the view I try to represent.
Furthermore, most Opinion Columnists discuss policies. Instead, I focus on character. Policies ebb and flow as social norms evolve, but national mythology focuses on character. For example;
Washington’s, “I cannot tell a lie” (he didn’t),
Truman’s ‘The buck stops here’ (it did),
Nixon’s “I am not a crook” (he was), and,
Republican RNC's, "legitimate political discourse”(it wasn’t).
Another criticism is citing obscure authors. I give credit where credit is due. Anything less would infer these ideas are mine and thus be dishonest. Naming authors allows fact checkers to do their own homework. Finally, obscurity is relative. If one reads my body of work, their vocabulary of ideas expands and the unknown becomes familiar.
In grad school I argued knowledge without application is trivia. I still believe this. I understand that citing authors causes some readers to sense they’re being snowballed by some ‘smarty pants.’ I’d rather be an honest engine of change by sharing good ideas from the ivory towers into our lives. After all, teaching is what I do.
But it's my party and I'll cry if I want to. You would cry too, if it happened to you
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