Donald Trump’s surprise victory in 2016 motivated Democrats to embark on a soul-searching journey to reconnect with the plight of the white working class in the upper Midwest. Countless op-eds about laborers left behind made the rounds. The author of Hillbilly Elegy rode its success to a term as senator. Fast forward six years, and Democrats have produced stars like Pete Buttigieg, John Fetterman, Tim Ryan and Eric Adams.
Republicans face the same dilemma. But instead of losing a key demographic in just one election, they’ve lost “the suburban voter” in three elections. Will they learn from these concrete results? If they are the capitalists they claim to be, they’ll have the marketing capability to listen to those voters who have rejected their brand yet again, and the dexterity to adjust their product so it appeals to those potential customers. Those voters are oft cited as:
- White
- College-educated
- Suburban
- Middle-aged
- White-collar
I tick those boxes. In fact, I tick an even more important box you don’t hear about: politically agnostic before Trump but now a reliable Democratic voter (icing on the cake, I wrote in a House candidate because I can’t bring myself to vote for my House rep). You’ll find nothing on this blog about American politics before Trump came down the escalator, and there have been a dozen articles since. So, if anybody in the GOP is listening, here are my demands.
No Drama Queens
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First and foremost, no reality TV actors or WWE stars. A cameo is OK, but a fulltime job in reality television or professional wrestling is disqualifying. I don’t watch cable news and don’t need someone to create compelling television.
Once upon a time, an article came across my radar titled Obama dislocates shoulder reaching across the aisle. The leftist fringe was frustrated at his valiant efforts to win bipartisan support for his initiatives. Fortunately, the adults of the Democratic party are more adept at ignoring their base than the Republicans. Unfortunately, the Republicans were transitioning to Banana Republicans.
I don’t want politicians who vow to “stand up to” anybody. I want them to “sit down with” the opposition. Like adults do. I want to see Republican candidates who reach across the aisle and compromise. That is the secret sauce of the American experiment. The Spanish holdings in Latin America splintered into two dozen small countries and city-states because they were unable to compromise. Hence “Banana Republicans.”
Orthodox Economics
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There was a time when it was fashionable to say, “I’m fiscally conservative and socially liberal.” Trump turned that on its head by ushering in a Republican Party that is fiscally liberal and socially conservative. I don’t want anything to do with socially conservative policy. Not fossil fuels, abortion bans, unfettered access to guns, the war on gays, none of it.
What would appeal is a return to their capitalist roots of orthodox economics as taught in universities, the fiscal conservatism of Milton Friedman and Adam Smith. No trade wars to pay for farm bailouts. A healthy skepticism of industry subsidies and other forms of protection. More human capital via immigration: high-skilled, low-skilled, whatever we can get.
More Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, less Herbert Hoover and Donald Trump.
No Blame America First
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Once upon a time, conservatives disparaged woke lefties as the “Blame America crowd.” These are the people who saw American influence as the cause of every ill in the world. It was a reflex and an instinct. Ironically, conservatives have become the Blame America crowd. They blame previous administrations, the opposition, elites, the deep state and intelligence agencies of the United States for all the world’s problems. They want to withdraw from the world into an impotent isolationism.
I’d like an old-school Republican who will proudly defend the postwar order: NATO, the EU and the alphabet soup of geopolitical alliances — we built this order! Only anti-American radicals should want to tear it down. The Republicans used to be optimists to a fault, deemed “naïve.” Reagan would be rolling in his grave if he heard conservative Republicans genuflecting to a former KGB agent.
I’d like a leader with a cocksure, speak-soft-but-carry-a-big-stick disposition looking for win-win arrangements internationally.
Internal Locus of Control
The Republicans used to be the party of personal responsibility, but now it’s the party of grievance, blaming America and “the system is rigged.” I don’t think that way. I am not a $1500-per-hour attorney or investment banker in Manhattan, not because the system is rigged, or China, NAFTA and the ruling class. It’s because I did not work hard in high school. I was a loser delinquent with substance abuse issues. That’s not the system’s fault, it’s mine. That’s how responsible adults think, and I don’t hear that orientation in conservative messaging since Trump.
Stop talking about the “ruling class,” unless you’re going to end your sentence with “comrade,” because that’s how socialists talk. And there’s no fucking matrix. I’m old enough to remember when The Matrix came out because I fell asleep during it. You know who liked The Matrix? Nerds. The matrix and red pills is nerdery without the smarts of cool nerds like Milton Friedman.
Republicans used to support immigration not only because it’s good for business, but because immigrants are living proof that the American Dream is alive. If semiliterate peasants who don’t speak English can earn a living, and smile while they do it, then what’s the excuse from the deadbeats asking for protection and handouts? I don’t wholly agree with that statement, but it illustrates why true capitalists who espouse personal responsibility hold immigrants up as an example to be proud of and as proof the system works.
Newspapers that Cost Money
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Twenty years ago, Republican leaders were in fact informed by newspapers that cost money, but would occasionally pay lip service on right-wing propaganda outlets. Today the right-wing mediasphere has exploded in size and influence, and many Republican leaders don’t just pay lip service. The echo chamber has been around long enough that there are true believers who haven’t known anything else. Trump was the first U.S. president who is wholly informed by Fox News.
I’m not voting for anything that smells like Fox News, talk radio, that YouTube channel, that podcast, Substack or Patreon. American conservatism has gone so far from reality that I need to see a seed of premium intelligence. Reporting behind a paywall.
There are still Republican leaders who are informed by newspapers that cost money, but they are in the closet. I need them to come out and wear it on their sleeve. Obviously they won’t say, “I read a newspaper that costs money.” They’ll find some kind of dog whistle, and I’ll know it when I hear it. This issue is the kind of silver bullet that can take care of all the problems on this list. The suburbs will come back en masse if conservative leaders dump the fever swamps of influencers and for-profit pundits shilling pills, securities for the apocalypse and the rest.
MAGA Must Die in Public
The path of least resistance will be “Trumpism without Trump,” but that is not going to win my vote. We suburban dorks want atonement. We want to know it won’t happen again.
Conservatives today have no problem trashing previous GOP leaders including Mitt Romney, John McCain, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Someday the Republican leaders will gladly denounce Trump and all the sycophants. Until that happens, I’m a no. It will take time, but the day will come. Some are starting to speak out. These candidates are unviable for now, but I like what I hear from Charlie Baker, Chris Sununu and Larry Hogan.
If I had to name a name, I liked everything I heard in this Charlie Baker interview.
Conclusion
Old and boring, I know. But this is what dominated suburbs for generations. Voting for a Republican who does anything less is a nonstarter absent, say, the Democrats inspiring a mob to sack Congress and overturn an election.
Are you a newly anti-Republican voter? What are your demands?