Wedge issues are pulling us apart
Democracy is a messy business. Almost all of my adult life has been spent participating in the political ecosystem in one form or another. I’ve seen the evolutions up close and personal for the last three decades and often find myself mourning the firm middle ground most Americans seemed happy to occupy 25 or 30 years ago.
Populism has replaced governing, and is destroying the foundations of free markets, limited government and the rule of law. The days when our nation’s leaders would seek policy compromises to serve the majority of Americans are long gone. All of us seem subject to the populist flavor of the cycle from Team Red or Team Blue, driven by loud voices from the fringe.
I’m conservative and a Republican, firmly rooted in my beliefs in the foundations mentioned above. Many like me are referred to as “Establishment Republicans” or “RINOS.” Perhaps a better label would be “Governing Conservatives.”
Regardless of the labels, the majority of conservatives care more about governing, fiscal responsibility, smaller government and public safety than they do about hot-takes and divisiveness. Good-faith debate and principled political compromise seem like radical concepts today. But they are required if we are going to unite as Americans and find solutions to America’s biggest problems.
Here’s how we got here, and how we can find our way back.
There are two illustrations that define the cause and effect of modern day politics: the wedge and the pendulum.
One key to winning any campaign is to find key issues in public opinion that, wedged apart, will provide the majority of the electorate a choice on election day. What was once an occasional strategy on key issues has turned into a populist bullhorn on everything.
Operatives on both ends of the political spectrum have found the 24/7 pounding of those wedges very profitable. The national media profits from their ratings. The political fundraisers profit from the emotional desire to respond. The digital advertisers profit on every email, Facebook post, and search term.
This has given populism its advantage and elected several officials with very little to offer regarding intellect or ability. Entertainment seems to be the most valued “skill” of all.
Therefore, those wedges have sunk deeper into our national soul, causing Americans to be pushed further and further apart ideologically. That’s how, particularly in presidential campaigns, we’ve come to just accept that we’re doomed to choose between the lesser of two extremes. Neither candidate comes close to representing where the majority of us stand on “front porch” issues that truly impact our lives. But vote for that other guy? Not on your life.
The result is the pendulum effect, illustrated by Newton’s cradle. It’s the visual representation of the current state of politics in America. When America is in good health, the great pendulum of our democracy trades control back and forth between left and right over the ideological center, switching power every few years, keeping time in our long national experiment.
But in recent years, as the national parties have been pushed apart by extremists and profiteers, the pendulum has had to swing further and harder, from extreme to extreme, each side sure they have to be more conservative or liberal to serve a noisy fringe. The problem is the rest of us are stuck in the middle, being pounded by both sides.
It’s reached the point now that we risk tipping over the entire machine, gifted to us by geniuses like Jefferson and Madison, tended by giants like Washington and Lincoln, oiled with the blood and tears of brave Americans for 247 years.
The irony is: Poll after poll shows most of us aren’t on the fringes. We’re center-right and center-left, suffering the consequences of our limited choices, getting hammered by both sides and hoping the whole thing doesn’t come apart. We need a change.
It’s time for Americans of all political ideologies to proclaim and live the truth of what used to be obvious: We are not each others’ enemies, and political extremes do not represent the majority of us. Even if our opinions differ, we can debate our ideas and find meaningful compromise that benefits most Americans. We can choose and vote for candidates, right and left, that care about, talk about, and work to reach consensus on the issues that truly impact our lives, instead of the manufactured nonsense that constantly divides us and empowers our foreign adversaries.
We don’t need another divisive electoral circus. We need candidates with solutions that work for America. As a nation, we have to find our way back to the governing center, and support those candidates and leaders that have the maturity and experience to get us there. America is not a onesize-fits-all republic. We have to recognize and resist the emotional wedges that keep us apart, and embrace the issues that unite us. Each section of the nation is culturally different. We need to embrace those differences as something that makes us stronger, and tune out the voices that make us resent another point of view.
Regardless of what you may have heard, no candidate or political party owns exclusivity to good ideas. The freedom to explore different approaches and work together for the common good is our birthright as Americans.
When we stand firmly in the governing center and stop generating energy for the extremes, we will find solutions that move us forward and provide a path for leaders that care about governing more than approval ratings.
Our future depends on it.