Political Identities

I actually wrote this in February 2021,

 I don’t think I am making some sort of grand discovery by observing the mush of political identities that have surfaced in the last several years. A number of commentators have suggested that the Trump years, climaxing with his Senate acquittal for the insurrection of January 6, 2021, have left the Republican Party in disarray and may assure the Democratic Party some dominance in a divisive and hostile political climate. There is probably good reason for that expectation, and I am in no position to refute it. Rather, for my own clarity of thought, I want to outline my perception of what each party faces.

 The Republican Party seems to me to be a sort of home base for several mutually exclusive, but slightly overlapping  subgroups, none of which is substantial enough to be a viable party by itself but, especially during the Trump years, have found themselves either manipulated to marginalized.

1.      Classic Republicans along the lines of Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, G. Ford

2.      Libertarians (who may or may not identify with the splinter party of that name) who take a cue from Jefferson’s “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” whose champion is Reagan in the pursuit of minimizing government and taxation

3.      Authentic, principled conservatives such as David Brooks and George Will who were not taken in by Trump but espouse personal and public responsibility, market capitalism that works for the common good, and respectful dialog. George W. Bush seemed to try to move in this direction with “compassionate conservatism,” but it didn’t gain traction.

4.      Nostalgia seekers whose longing for a return to the 1950s, as though they were the pinnacle of American normalcy and greatness. Feeling left behind by the turmoils and trends since the 60s, the Make American Great Again (MAGA) mentality awakened them and gave them a voice that will not silenced.

5.      Trump personal loyalists are closely akin to the MAGA group but are empowered by his brash demeanor and angry rhetoric, having felt disenfranchised for decades they have rallied to his voice.

6.      Fringe groups, generally characterized as “white supremacist” or “conspiracy theory advocates” have worked, with some measure of success, and positioning themselves in the mainstream of the party.

 Of course, the Democratic Party is hardly monolithic. Obama and Biden may represent a quasi-moderate (though they get branded as radically leftist and even socialist/communist by some Republican voices, inaccurately I believe) who work smoothly with the established patterns of power and profit. To the left of them are figures such as Bernie Sanders (self-identified independent democratic socialist) and some of the younger, insurgent voices in the party, perhaps most often identified with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hillary Clinton, though receding, does represent those who have articulated the voice of the party. In my mind, at least, I don’t recognize quite the same distinct sub-groups that I do for the Republicans, so their internal jockeying is more nuanced and obscure, but nevertheless real and potentially debilitating.

 My sense of the challenge for the Democratic Party going forward in the post-Trump era, is to present a cohesive, compelling vision for the US that leaves behind being anti-Trump and even anti-Republican, but something positive and hopeful. It needs substance in which all in the country benefit from practical realities of a future that promotes the common good while celebrating great diversity. It needs to demonstrate justice and compassion benefit all, not just those who have been oppressed and marginalized. Somehow, gratitude for the past doesn’t gloss over serious flaws but embraces a future of continual development. A vision in which economic and technological advances find their purpose in human fulfillment.

 I have to say that I do not really expect to see such a vision emerge from the Democratic Party in the current political climate. Nor do I think the Republicans have any interest in such a vision for the country. Each would shoot down the other should it emerge. On the one hand, this could be an opportunity for a true visionary to rally people around realistic hope for all people in the country that would transcend party loyalties. That probably means getting enough distance from the Trump years for the anger to subside. On the other hand, drifting without rudder opens the country to the danger of a demagogue. I think the dynamics of the last several years does indicate the country is susceptible to that.