I am certain of very little in life. Other than the fact that all living things eventually die everything else is up for grabs. Negotiable. And change happens. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes not. We’re dealing with that second one now. Anyway I doubt we’ll ever make sense of why a little over half of voters made the choice they did in the Presidential race. What makes their seeming insanity so hard to figure out is that on some things, even in ruby red states when it’s not the legislators but the voters who get a direct say they vote in significant numbers the way we wish they would all the time. So was the case Wednesday when even voters in Nebraska and Kentucky rejected ballot proposals that would allow public funding to be used for private schools!
USA Today has an article explaining what happened in Colorado, Kentucky and also Nebraska on Tuesday:
Voters rejected separate proposals in Colorado and Kentucky aiming to add language supporting school choice, an issue that has divided parents and school staffers across the nation for years, to their states’ constitutions.
And voters in Nebraska chose to repeal a $10 million school voucher program passed by its state legislature earlier this year, which aimed to help private school families with state funding.
Don’t get me wrong. As has happened each time voters, especially in red states have solidly (even strongly) supported abortion/reproductive rights ballot measures (a valiant effort in Florida fell shy only because it was unique in having a 60% threshold for passage) I’ve been pleased. Yet wondered why they voted for (and pretty much have again) the same a-holes who have fought to outlaw abortion. And have their sights set on birth control next. Now we are seeing that contrary to what I at least expected rural/small-town voters even in red states do NOT want their public schools messed with. At least not with their tax dollars. For once the rural/urban divide is working in favor of protecting something that needs protecting. Urban conservatives want “school choice” and public funds to go to it. Rural voters, and that means a lot in that big swath of red states made up mostly of rural/small town voters see it as a threat to the one school system any student has access to. Basically they don’t trust the conservative bigwigs and actually see through the bad intent – of ruining public schools by cutting funding to give to the handful of students who MIGHT have a charter or religious school in their town:
The measures likely failed because voters in Kentucky and Nebraska rely heavily on the success of public school systems.
“Across the whole landscape of choice programs, the programs are successful legislatively in red states, but there’s a contrast when they’re put to the voters,” he said. “This was consistent with rural state voters’ qualms with voucher programs … they’re not going to see benefits from the programs.”
It’s easy (for me at least) to see the people who voted for Trump as unthinking lemmings but between abortion and this it’s clear they do think about issues to a degree. And while they keep voting for people who want to do the opposite of what they want when given a chance to weigh in directly they almost always do what we progressives would do. WTF? I don’t get it. I really don’t.
There are plenty of other issues where polling (it’s clear voters are ashamed to be truthful when it comes to Trump so I’m starting to think of him as an outlier. That it was always a waste of time to poll on his electability) shows even these rural/small town voters align with us. Even in those place at least a little gun control like universal background checks and red-flag laws have strong bipartisan support. These red state voters, and those in big chunks of red counties in blue states want the same things you and I want.
They want good jobs with good pay and benefits. Safe working conditions. They want quality healthcare at an affordable price. They want the water they and the critters they hunt and fish rely on to be clean and not polluted. Same with the air they breath. Climate change is a bit murkier but not necessarily a deal breaker. They want good roads. You know the stuff as well as I do. WE, and our political candidates have a track record of fighting for and getting done so much of what these people want. Yet they keep voting for conservatives. Again, Trump is a different kettle of rotten fish but those other politicians partake of that kettle.
We are, as we long have been selling what even voters in these red states (and red areas of blue states) want but they aren’t buying. I don’t want to be glib and talk about it being as simple as better messaging or being better salespersons. Yes, that’s part of it but we keep at it and try new people with pumped up versions (i.e. Lincoln Project, Meidas and I guess others) but clearly that’s not getting through either.
I don’t pretend to know how to address this. I’ve got some thoughts but nowhere near coherent enough to talk about at this time. My emotions are so raw it would be too easy to write something that is ill conceived or flat out stupid that can never be taken back. Sometimes discretion truly is the better part of valor. But I hope you’ll all think about this going forward. And keep in mind the crazy notion that those voters who’ve given power to Trump and the GOP aren’t quite as clueless as we thought. That sometimes they actually DO take a little time at what Trump and the people they vote for are selling and say “no.” Sometimes resoundingly.
It doesn’t make sense. Hell, little does these days. But there you are. I think what we, and by we I mean our political experts who assist campaigns have to do is figure out how/why these voters chose to think through the two issues (abortion and school choice) I’ve discussed and decided when given a direct choice are rejecting what the leaders they have voted for have tried to shove down their throats.
A bit of irony on that abortion measure in Florida. About 20 years ago, the voters approved an amendment that would require future bills to receive a 60% majority in order to be added to the state’s constitution.
BUT . . . . it only takes a simple majority of Florida’s legislators (in both the House and Senate) to pass legislation that either becomes a simple law or becomes a constitutional amendment. (I’m assuming a “simple” majority–I can’t find anything that indicates something like the 3/5 or 60% majority that ordinary voters have to provide. It does take a 2/3 majority for the Legislature to override a governor’s veto as well as a 2/3 majority to make any changes to a bill.)
Floridas abortion measure fell short because of deathsantis’ threats to any media who played ads that encouraged voting for it. My opinion
While here in Texas, Abbott keeps trying to shove school choice down our throats. That, like abortion, voters never see on the ballots. We are just subject to the fealty of the legislature to Abbott.
They favor certain issues and vote that way, but Trump appeals to.their worse angels, by making it acceptable to be a racist and misogynist and homophobic and xenophobic.
Not to mention, loving close encounters with under-age girls … so many times his pedo tendencies are overlooked, just recently, the reveals in his past communications with Epstein, point to a terrible person, that, as we all know by now, NEVER gave a shit about ANYBODY, unless they gave him pleasure in someway, but that concern was cut short as soon as he had his way …