I, me, moi — I am the opposition. All this ‘right side of history’ nonsense, and (read EJ Dionne in the Washington Post for the best manifestation among pundits) naive faith in the inexorable march of progressivism is the largest problem, in my opinion. The core of the push back against progressivism is not coming from the intellectually stunted or the recently ( and temporarily) empowered bigot class. It is coming from people like me, people who either didn’t vote for Trump, or who really voted against the ‘Establishment,” of which Hillary is the poster woman.
I am pretty sure the Earth is more than 6,000 years old, and I am also pretty sure that the scientific community can read a thermometer. On the other hand, I am not of the persuasion that automatically believes that humans can reverse the effects of 200 years of massive industrialization. My point is that any reluctance to jump on the green team renders me a Neanderthal rejector of science. Your leader from WI is a dope, but is he any more of a dope than the Maxine Walters or Elijah Cummngs of the world who believe we can fund health care AND education by dismantling the military?
Turn on MSNBC — though they are pretty inconsequential these days — and listen to Rachel Maddow. She is very smart, and certainly well-informed, and yet the core of her message is consistently to demonize anyone who disagrees on the basis of his or her ignorance and lack of sophistication.
The votes that Trump won came from two distinct demographics, in my opinion. The one I have referenced here as responding to the smugness most overwhelmingly, are the Hillbillies who are at the core of JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. This demographic were able to access the middle class for two or three generations, without the benefit of a higher level degree or advanced tradesmen skills. They joined the middle class on the strength of manufacturing and labor unions. They ought to have seen the writing on the wall, but they didn’t.
The second group is comprised of doctors, lawyers, and more highly educated people. They reject Hillary, and embrace Trump, precisely because the established system is corrupt, wasteful, and broken. They are willing to risk upheaval and disruption because maintaining the status quo via Hillary is repulsive to them.
I have gone on, but here is a final annoyance. ACA failed to deliver in any regard, save one: people who previously had no insurance were forced to sign up for coverage, at MY expense, and the expense of people who fit into my demographic. If it worked, I might be less inclined to rail against the perpetuated lie. Compensation increases — raises — that I have ‘earned’ over the past four years or so have been swallowed up by increased health care costs — either in terms of co-pays, deductibles, or a higher contribution rate. Meanwhile, 6 million people deliberately evaded coverage, paid a fine, and still aren’t covered. Moreover, millions of people whom the progressives never mention, did not qualify for subsidies that truly made coverage affordale. My own children left the umbrella of age 26 during the past five years, and are saddled with terrible coverage — high premiums, high deductibles, and limited scope of services — and yet the progressives perpetuate the lie that whatever plan is beign bandied about by the GOP will throw this many million off of coverage.
Most of those millions will come from the ranks of the poorly covered who will spend their limited funds elsewhere, and hope for the best. Most of them will come from the ranks of those who were afraid to face the penalty of not purchasing poor coverage that didn’t help them very well anyway.
What we keep hearing is that we must maintain a stranglehold on ACA even though it is still generally not liked? Why? ACA didn’t work, and yet the Progressive/Democratic position is that moving on to something else is a heinous thought grounded in selfishness, callousness, and greed.
(Based on the little bit I know of the ‘skinny repeal’ and the GOP plan in general, I am not in support. However, the ACA as it is currently ‘empowered,’ is a drowning swimmer.
I know I was all over the place with this answer, but I hope I covered enough territory to make it plain. If your kneejerk reaction to some of my points is to think how dumb or foolish I am, then you ought to see the crux of my problem. I am not foolish, nor intellectually stunted. I see an alternate view or approach, and most or many progressives arrogantly dismiss the idea that such is possible.
