People of a certain age (mine) who have been involved in politics for a long time often wax nostalgic about a time when Republicans and Democrats could have heated but substantive arguments about policy and still get along socially afterward. If you tried to explain something like that to a young American who is just coming of age politically, he or she would think that your memory is probably failing you.
About a week before President Trump's inauguration, I wrote about the ever-widening political divide in this country. We all know that coastal, Beltway, and social media lefties are not emotionally well under the best of circumstances. Donald Trump being in the Oval Office again is most definitely not the best of circumstances from their perspective. They're all permanent residents of Straitjacket City now. These are the lefties who are going to keep making sure that we're a divided nation.
While I truly believe that it's going to get worse before it can get better, I also think that President Trump has a unique opportunity here. He's focused on getting rid of the violent criminal horde that Joe Biden let waltz into the country. He has also been quite vocal about bringing new levels of wealth and prosperity to the Republic.
Domestic peace, security, and prosperity are pretty strong salves for political wounds.
A point I made repeatedly from the earliest days of the Biden presidency was that I didn't think that regular Democrats in flyover country were on board with the radical insanity that was being implemented by the people running Joe's brain. I thought that the pushback would come as early as the 2022 midterms, but we all know how off I was on that one. I blame the nation's COVID hangover.
When diving into Trump's gains with formerly stalwart Democratic voting blocs and in blue states, we found that Democrats all over were willing to vote based on their personal realities rather than the diaper-filling rhetoric spewed by the party leaders.
A month after the election, a hand-wringing article appeared in the Huffington Post about a poll that had been conducted by a Dem-leaning company which revealed some harsh truths to the Democrats about why Kamala Harris was so soundly defeated. The author couches everything in J6 laments and lies as he struggles with poll results that revealed "key voters" in the swing states were "more concerned about inflation and other pocketbook issues."
The poll also showed that the Democrats' hyperbole and gaslighting were utter failures:
A more basic problem Democratic campaign operatives had, Ahamed added, is the assumption that most Americans saw Trump the same way they did.
“Themes like ‘stronger together,’ ‘restore the soul of the nation,’ ‘we’re not going back,’ all are predicated on a hatred of Donald Trump that voters … and the voters specifically that we lost, don’t necessarily feel,” he said.
This paints a picture of voters opting for reality, the mere thought of which terrifies Democrats.
In just a little more than a week, we've seen Trump repeatedly deliver on campaign promises. The economy isn't a quick fix, obviously, but Trump will fix it. Very few people doubt that — even the haters. While he's working on that, he's also shoring up our southern border and getting violent criminals off the streets.
Related: The Morning Briefing: Trump's Rebranding Will Bring an All New Clientele to Guantánamo Bay
A safer, more prosperous America appeals to a wide part of the political spectrum. President Trump can make it happen. People who not only aren't afraid to go outside but can also afford to go somewhere tend not to spend as much time digitally screaming at one another. A healing plan for America is born.
Seriously, the man that the Left has been vilifying and portraying as the Great Divider is now positioned to be a unifying force. Younger voters didn't buy the Dems' "Literally Hitler!" shtick, which means they'll give Trump the due he deserves when his policies enrich their lives. I've written many times over the years that voters want to be given someone for whom they can vote rather than someone they can vote against. The Dem and independent voters Trump brought with him last year might just end up hanging out on the Republican side of the aisle if Trump keeps giving them things to vote for.
The most toxic political players among us will always be toxic. Fortunately, there aren't as many of them as it seems. They're just louder than everyone else, which is why they seem so numerous.
The sane people who aren't spending their days pulling the wings off of flies and muttering, "J6," over and over have a lot to look forward to if Trump comes through on all of his promises. Political divisiveness will start to lose its luster when people don't have to take out a second mortgage to buy a dozen eggs (and not even the good kind).
Imagine, if you will, the angst among the Democrats when President Donald Trump is being hailed as a unifier and a healer because he brought back commonsense governance and made the citizens of this great land happy. I'm not saying that we'll all be linking arms and singing "Kumbaya" when Trump finally turns things around; I'm saying that there will be more opportunities to enjoy a beer with people and not talk about politics.
I'm dreaming big on this one.
Click the button below to get the Morning Briefing emailed to you every weekday. Have your coffee with me, people. It's free and it supports conservative media!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member