Tip of the hat to http://all-hat-no-cattle.blogspot.com
As I write this we still don’t know who will be in power in Congress. Will Democrats retain control of the US House? Will they retain leadership in the US Senate? Or will the extremist Republican Party take control of one or both chambers? One seat one way or another will make a huge difference in how this country is governed for the next two years.
If Republicans take control of one chamber or the other, Americans can look forward to two years of government stalemate. There will be nothing getting done. What there will be is a huge waste of time and government institutions chasing the phantasmical demons that the extreme right has created.
They will be investigating Hunter Biden of course. That is almost a given. Then no doubt there will be impeachment hearings on President Biden. From there who knows what bogeys they will pursue – something involving Hillary Clinton perhaps? Maybe chasing down all those stories about furries in schools? Perhaps Dems drinking the blood of babies?
They will make a great show of using the investigatory power of the US government to go after total crazy and bullshit conspiracy theories. Anything that they believe will once more “own the Libs.” To the Republican extremists doing anything that will make Democrats look bad is worth any price.
What may happen if they get one or both chambers is using the debt ceiling to hold the country hostage. As Republican leaders have already stated, they want huge concessions on Social Security and Medicare as the price for America making good on paying the bills they have already racked up.
Think about that. Congress has already contracted for goods and services that they put the full faith and credit of the United States behind in order to get the credit to obtain those products. If Republicans get their way they will destroy the full faith and credit of the US to hold the country hostage to their demands.
Because of insane ideas such as this, the extremist Republican Party was rejected in an historic way in this recent midterm. Unfortunately it was not an across the board rejection by age group. Young voters voted heavily Democratic and saved the day for the country. As Al Jazeera reports:
“According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), an estimated 27 percent of US youth aged between 18 and 29 cast their ballot in this year’s midterm election. That makes it the second-highest youth turnout in any midterm vote, which generally have lower turnouts than presidential election cycles. There were nearly 52 million eligible voters in the age group in the US in 2022.
Young voters tend to skew Democrat, with 63 percent of them identifying with the party in 2022, as opposed to the 35 percent who identified with the Republican Party.
The age group has considerably more Democratic voters than any other, with voters split between parties in the 30 to 44 demographic, and increasingly favouring Republicans in the 45 to 64 and 65 plus demographics, according to CIRCLE, which analysed Edison Research exit polling data.”
Al Jazeera does not delve into why youth skewed so heavily Democratic, but I will take a shot at it:
This group of youngsters has seen perhaps the worst governmental responses to societal problems of any generation in American History. Perhaps the only parallel would be the incredible lengths that slave states were able to stop action on slavery for about 8 decades until it erupted in the civil war.
Let’s look at some of the issues that radical extremist Republicans have been able to block or make worse since Richard Nixon:
Climate change. Young people have been living under the shadow of a known problem that could cause mass extinction of all life on earth. Our government has done little thanks to Republicans blocking any action.
Guns. Most of today’s coming of age voters spent some portion of their lives learning how to try to avoid the very real threat that they could die in their schools on any given day at any given time because some crazy person was able to easily get a gun that could kill dozens in a few moments. When they ask why they are told by extremist Republicans that guns are more sacred in the society than they are. Going to school under a constant threat of death is pretty hard.
Poverty and Hunger. Thanks to some insane policies pushed by the radical right since the days of Nixon and especially Reagan, that make the poor so poor that they can’t afford food, a good portion of America’s lower classes probably spent several days when they were not able to eat lunch. It’s hard to learn on an empty stomach, especially when others eat well and even throw food away.
Inequality. Very closely related to the previous problem just a broader view. Kids at a young age become quickly aware that their families are poorer than other kids. They understand early that their Mom or Dad is out of work and there is no money coming in. They feel the sense of embarrassment that poverty brings. Yet they also understand that this is the richest country in the world and among their classmates and family friends are some wealthy people. They eventually learn that their situation is often due to extremist right wing policies that punish them for their skin color.
Access to Abortion. Young women are in the unique position to see a right that they had vanish on the whims of six unelected judges. Along with that went a slew of medical options that became unavailable because they might in some way interfere with a pregnancy. Extremist republicans did this. And contraception is in their sights.
For Profit Health Care. Many of these youngsters or someone in their family were blocked from health care because they had no insurance and couldn’t pay. Thus they had to live with pain and worry. In the richest country ever. Yet they see other countries that have much less wealth but give all their citizens health care. Once again these policies are the result of extremist right wing policies
Race. Those moving into voting age often went to school in schools that had quite a mix of races – white, black, brown, Latinx, Arabic, Jewish, disabled – often just about any race you can think of. Early on they made bonds with kids of many different backgrounds. They learned that what makes a person is who they are not what they look like.
Religion. Religion is becoming less and less of a factor in the lives of younger voters. Especially since the current formal religions are often used to justify policies that cause poverty and inequality etc.
They are coming of age and having a hard time reconciling America’s supposed opportunity for all and what the reality is. In recent years especially it is very obvious which party is at least trying to make the American Dream a possibility for all and which party is hide bound racist.
These youngsters have spent a good portion of their lives online and many have come to understand when someone is trying to hustle them and is lying to them.
As you look at the age breakdown of voters it is easy to see that the older voters that skew Republican will be dying off soon. The up and coming generations are increasingly liberal. They are asking questions and find only one side is listening.
They seem to reflect the words of Robert Kennedy:
“Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.”
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