The red versus blue characterization from the MSM, is an intentional distortion to try to gin up a series of continuing and false confrontations. They are attempting to save their declining viewer and reader base. The MSM is losing power, influence and prestige daily, as people are increasingly defecting to platforms and information sources outside the MSM control. Their temper tantrums are in part due to the fact that no one is paying attention to them with the deference they believe they are owed.
A recent comment in one of my posts challenged me to define a winning election strategy for the Democrats for the mid-term 2018 elections.
I'll decline to do that.
Instead I'll provide advice on how to appeal to the 80% of the "purple voters" who are solidly in the middle of the road. We should not be letting the 10% red on the far right, or the 10% blue on the far left, grab control of our democracy and push agendas that are not aligned with the 80% purple in the middle.
#1 - It's The Economy Stupid
The majority of people take pride in self reliance. For most this means a full-time job. Full-time jobs that can generate the income needed for self reliance are created in a strong and growing economy. The part-time 30 hours per week jobs created as a side effect of Obamacare aren't as helpful to spreading self reliance as more traditional full time jobs. But the fragile state of the economy predates Obama by at least eight years.
When Bush took office in 2001, there were approximately 19.5 million people on foodstamps (SNAP program).
When Obama took office in 2009, there were approximately 32 million people on foodstamps.
Foodstamps usage peaked at 47.5 million people in 2013, as the economy bottomed from the 2008 financial crisis.
When Trump took office in 2017, there were approximately 43.8 million people on foodstamps.
But the government reports that the current unemployment rate is below 4.5% and falling; based on a specific narrow definition that the government invented for measuring unemployment. If you lose all hope and give up looking for a job you are not classified as unemployed. You go onto the foodstamp SNAP program, the modern version of soup kitchens, but you don't count as unemployed.
Any party that wants to do well in the mid-term 2018 elections needs to confront facts head on:
- the economy is not doing that well in 2017 when we have 45.5 million people on foodstamps. Compare to the economy in 2001 when only 19.5 million people were on foodstamps. The majority of the 26 million added to foodstamps roles since 2001 would prefer to have a full-time job and be reliant on themselves, not reliant on government
- we don't need more "government jobs" to try to provide full employment. We need the government to get out of the way of free market job creation, by reducing onerous regulations and government overhead that slow down new business formation.
- US businesses currently have approximately $2.5 trillion held overseas due to the corporate tax policy in the US. If the corporate tax policy in the US was changed to be more competitive globally, and a significant portion of the $2.5 trillion was repatriated, job creation in the US would explode and US workers would see raises for the first time in decades.
#2 - Foreign Policy and War
There are a large number of foreign policy hawks in Washington, who view war as the answer to every foreign policy issue. These hawks exist on both sides of the aisle. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio from the right. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Joe Lieberman from the traditional left.
The 80% of purple people occupying the middle are tired of all the foreign adventures that Washington regularly gets us entangled in. The majority of folks in the US are no longer willing to sign up to provide free services as the world's policeman and the world's social worker. No more of the nation building nonsense that Bush pushed.
Any party that wants to do well in the mid-term 2018 elections needs to confront facts head on:
- their is no appetite to continue providing "free" military services to the rest of the world. We will help our allies in times of crisis, but we expect and should require that they make appropriate preparations in advance and pay in advance for their own self-defense.
- their is no appetite for continuing open-ended skirmishes that bleed US treasure and resources for decades. If we confront threats that are direct threats to US national interest we should engage with decisive overwhelming force in battles that are over before they start.
The other areas that will be important for the 2018 mid-term election cycle will be:
Immigration - the purple view is we welcome immigrants who follow the rules and are invited in, but the borders need to be secured against illegal immigrants. You cannot arrive illegally and expect to be welcomed or allowed to stay.
Health care - the purple view is the government is not efficient at any task it undertakes and it will not be efficient at providing heath care. Evidence the VA. Compassion suggests some number of people will always need medicaid financial support, but otherwise the government should not get more deeply engaged in directly managing or providing healthcare services than they already are (20% of US pop on Medicaid, 15% on Medicare, 5% on military healthcare).
Social security - the purple view is many have paid in for years and years and they deserve to be paid out based on the promises that were made over 40 years of paying into the system. Social security needs to be put back onto a solid financial setting, which requires the government to get itself onto a solid financial setting. Stop the national debt from growing. Both Bush and Obama failed on this goal.
Education - the purple view is public schools should be held accountable for producing great outcomes. The issue is not lack of money in most cases. The issue is bad policy and mis-use of funds. Too many overpaid administrators, too few excellent teachers. If the public schools cannot fix policies and use funds appropriately, then we should adopt voucher systems to encourage competition.
The six point platform that can win in 2018 mid-terms:
- Jobs, jobs, jobs. Corporate tax reform can repatriate $2.5 trillion of job creation funds, all in the private sector without a single new government job being required.
- Don't engage in any new avoidable foreign adventures and extended wars/skirmishes.
- Stop illegal immigration. Then fix the broken immigration system.
- For healthcare, don't break what is still working for 55% of the population who get healthcare through their employer. Otherwise allow individuals to make their own decisions on what healthcare plans they purchase, and remove Obamacare policy mandates that drive up costs.
- Shore up social security finances so promises made can be kept
- Ensure that the public education system is allowed and expected to provide excellence against global benchmarks
This platform is not traditionally red. Or traditionally blue.
This is a purple platform that would lead to a landslide victory in 2018 for whichever party adopts these policies and communicates in a credible and effective way to the 80% that are the purple heart of the US.
The 10% idealogical Blues can argue with the 10% idealogical Reds in their own separate echo chambers.
The 80% of us in the middle just want common sense policies - that can Make America Great Again.
Thanks for reading.
Please upvote if you stopped to think for a few seconds during the read.
STEEM On!!
Source material from malu-aina.org, yellowgrannie.blogspot.com, washingtonpost.com
Nice
how in the hell did my "nice" comment gets .56...LOL.
I moved more BTC into Steem, so you are up to 0.58 now.
Rewarded for your pithy wisdom. LOL
And as an intentional welcome to the steemit platform
I keep bringing over more BTC, and your pithy comment continues to gain in value
You are all the way up to $0.59
Pithy is the way to go !! LOL
Great post as aways my friend!
Upvoted.
Congratulations @davebrewer! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPnice post purple is taken over.
very good
Excellent post. I do definitely agree that the number one issue is the economy. I believe that economy weakening in 2008 is primarily the reason that doomed McCain's presidential campaign.
He didn't help himself by wandering aimless around the stage during one of the debates, looking like an old geezer with Alzheimers.
I think one of the main reasons he lost was his history as a hawk, willing to go to war at the slightest provocation. The US was war weary after the foreign adventures that Bush took us on. And McCain seemed like the person with the temperment to get us into more foreign entanglements, not less.
STEEM On!!
some nice points you make out that make sense.
After the Clintons lost the election to President Trump they conceded wearing the color purple. Purple is the color of royalty since it was the most expensive dye.
The Soros backed Clintons are not royalty. And we the people of The United States of America are definitely not purple.
Hi @jordanlindsey
Clintons may have worn purple to represent that they think they are royalty, as a parting phuck you to the deplorables that they despise?
Maybe they wore purple to represent penitence in the Methodist tradition, as an apology to their supporters for having run a poor campaign?
I'll try to be graceful and give them the benefit of the doubt. The most common interpretation was they wore purple as a sign of unity, to represent the coming together of the blue and the red, in a single country, with a common purpose - support and perpetuate American values.
So purple can represent unity.
That was the meaning in my post.
STEEM On!!
Amazing, I love these temples.
@davebrewer
click here!This post received a 3.8% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @davebrewer! For more information,
excellent post, perhaps I can add comments later
permission granted, LOL
The economy has been doomed since the decline in 2008, the question is , how much will it recover ? @davebrewer
All politicians in power are Israeli Zionists and communist/marx neocons.
Not sure if that is more racist or more paranoid?
I'll mute you for now, maybe we meet again in 50 years on a higher or lower plane
davebrewer: All opinions are racist and by default wrong except for my opinion, mute and shut it down.
I have faith in our steemit audience to decide who is right or wrong here.