"The energy in the 2020 Democratic campaign has been coming from the left. Candidates are pushing Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, a wealth tax and other ideas that are more progressive than anything a recent Democratic nominee has favored. Much of this shift โ which has been focused on economic policy โ is smart. Republicans may cry socialism, and affluent centrists may not love it. But the American public leans decidedly left on economics. A clear majority favors higher taxes on the rich, a higher minimum wage and expanded government health insurance. After four decades of slow-growing living standards, people want change. And yet there are also risks in the Democratsโ move to the left โ risks that the sillier criticisms of the partyโs new progressivism sometimes obscure."
Not only is a stupid idea, it's stupid how much of a partisan our country has gotten -- 85 percent of Republicans support the idea, while 91 percent of Democrats oppose the idea. Whatever come out of independent thought, and considering proposals on the merit or lack thereof?
I have a lot of liberal friends that are very dismayed with Donald Trump. I tend to disagree with their dismal view of the president — they pay too much attention to what he says, not what he does. Two and a half years into President Trumpโs presidency, I am actually fairly happy with the job heโs doing.
Not that I like his AM-radio style commentary on his conservative ideas he espouses on Twitter and television, or his views more generally, but because he seems like he has been a fairly competent administrator, even if he has a rather strange fetish over a wall that lead him to a rather pointless shutdown the federal government in January. There really was no excuse for that behavior by the president.
Morever, I donโt honestly understand the big deal over the wall — or the opposition to the relatively small appropriation to built it. In the grand scheme of things that wall is pretty inconsequential. Itโs not like the wall is particularly expensive or unaffordable, or that itโs construction puts many Americans in grave risk. Construction accidents occur, but itโs not a war. Itโs a an appropriation of a few billion a year, which really doesnโt add up to much when you think about a 20 plus trillion dollar economy.
While I would rather see more environmental reviews before constructing the wall, I am not sure it will be as devastating as critics say it will be. It might actually help ecologically sensitive areas by turning them into no-mans land where wilderness can thrive. And itโs a sure lot less devastating that war, which is a refreshing change from the war-mongers of both parties seem to elect.
Is Trump a good president? Well, he’s not done a bad job when it comes to growing the economy or keeping us out of war, even if he’s obnoxious. Could the Democrats offer somebody better? Maybe. I don’t really get involved in politics on a personal level anymore, but I will say that I will vote, although I may cast a protest vote for a third-party candidate in 2020, much like in 2016 with Jill Stein.
I think in many ways, the power of the presidency over our own lives is much overstated. How much more would Hillary have done on Climate Change compared to Trump? What I think matters more then whose elected, is that we continue to have competitive elections, with people having a serious discussion of the issues. Certainly, I would like to see more action on ensuring healthcare is affordable, and more action on climate change, but I’ll take my time to decide how I want to vote once the candidates are better known.
"Rural voters are an often-mentioned base of support for Donald Trump and Republicans generally. But there's a deeper story behind the rural-urban divide in US politics โ and a danger in oversimplifying it. Fifth in our โDemocracy Under Strainโ series."