This Week in PurpleAmerica (1/6-1/12)

Chris Christie! Aaron Rodgers! The Michigan Wolverines! Bill Belicheck! We dive in!

So next week is the Iowa Caucuses marking the quadrennial descent into campaign season hell for many American voters. We all have to jump through the hoops, listen to Wolf Blitzer and the rest drone on about this or that, watch five separate panels on one network break down the very obvious results ad nauseum and then quickly move onto New Hampshire.

We’ll have more to say about these next week, but the Iowa Caucuses really don’t mean that much. Quite often, the winner fails to win the nomination and in this year particularly, the outcome is very much an afterthought (Trump is likely to win by the largest margin in Iowa Caucus history). Iowa used to be a good indicator of how things would play around the rest of the country,¹ but demographic shifts, changes in issue focuses and the pious nature of Iowa voters just doesn’t really translate to the rest of the country anymore. As famed Political Science Professor Larry Sabato discusses here, it’s more of a screen to weed out also rans than it is determinative of who ultimately wins. There are usually only 3 (maybe 4 if its close) tickets out of Iowa. This year though, you have Trump, you have Haley (who is putting all of her chips on NH) and possibly DeSantis if he can eke out second (I’m doubting this—DeSantis voters are going to go for Trump).

As Iowa as veered from swing state status to evangelical GOP bulwark, perhaps its time to reconsider its status as first. True, Iowans take great pride in their first in the nation status, ask good questions of the candidates and its become a tradition of sorts, but it’s also true that other states can do just as good a job of vetting for the rest of the country these candidates as well. Iowa is a test of retail politics, which is important but can be done in most any non-huge state really. And a caucus system, where you are forced to stand up and group yourself in full view of your friends and neighbors and how they are voting, lends itself more towards being lemmings than thoughtful voters.

So here is what I propose. The state that represents the 270th Electoral Vote, that is in ordering margins of victory from furthest red to furthest blue and selecting the state where the 270th Electoral Vote occurs in the previous election, that state should go first. The logic behind it is simple; based on the previous Presidential election results, this state represents the median point in the country at which a candidate would most likely have to win in order to win the Presidency.

But there are also caveats. First, the state should not be overly large or remote. Running for President costs a LOT of money and should the state be Texas for instance, the likelihood is that the winner would be the one who just raised the most and spent the most on expensive market television ads. Our values typically demonstate that we would want people to get to know the candidates firsthand as opposed through (often negative) television commercials and online memes. The first state SHOULD be a retail politics state. Second, it should not be too remote as it will likely require many or our leaders from Washington to fly out to campaign; sorry Hawaii and Alaska, it’s just true. If were to be Alaska, more often than not, the candidates would just skip it out of hand. Lastly, if the state doesn’t want to go first, or chooses to trade it’s status for various considerations beneficial to that state, it should have that opportunity to do so. So if Iowa still wants to go first and needs to trade with say Tennessee, Tennessee and Iowa should be allowed to negotiate terms of mutual interest. This whole process will be better in that we will get a more diverse set of voters, candidates and issues of focus, and will also not be as rigid as it is now where only a handful of states get to decide. The system needs an overhaul and this seems to me to be a good solution.

What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments section.

And now, onto the rest of the week in review.

PurpleAmerica’s People of the Past Week

The Good

Bill Belicheck & Nick Saban. I have to admit, I really am not a fan of either of these two. Maybe it’s because they routinely pounded the opposition to the point it was an afterthought they would win every year. Maybe it’s just envy at the number of Championships both of these storied coaches have in their legendary careers. Maybe it’s just style. Nonetheless, there is no denying that they have been the two most successful coaches of the past 25 years and that they deserve huge recognition. Congratulations, and Happy Retirement. Now, we can see some competition in football again.

As long as we’re on the topic of football, congratulations to the Michigan Wolverines on their National Football Championship and undefeated season. Strong second to the Washington Huskies for a great season and a superb title game.

I’m not a fan of the Golden Globes. The Hollywood Foreign Press who hands them out tends to be the biggest suck-ups to celebrity and fashion of all the awards shows that come out. Nonetheless, I want to give some big kudos to Oppenheimer, which looks like its going to be on the glidepath to a huge Oscar haul, and also to Lily Gladstone for her win for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. She was the only good thing about the film and based on her performances here and in Reservation Dogs, she has a great future ahead of her.

The Bad

Chris Christie suspended his Presidential campaign on Thursday, ahead of the Iowa Caucuses next week. Christie had been the only one willing to say the truth about Trump and hammer him, the way candidates should go after the frontrunner. Alas, it was to no avail. Now you may think “Why do you have him under “The Bad” then? The answer is that this isn’t about him, it’s about the other GOP candidates who refused to tear into Trump and the GOP voters who are so delusional that they refused to listen to what he was saying.

Seatwarmer Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced he was negotiating a deal to avert a shutdown with Democrats and the mindless GOP Crazy Caucus blew a gasket. With retirements and other GOP representatives unable to vote, he has an even narrower margin than McCarthy did which only brings up the question, “Who’s Next?”

The Ugly

The GOP Oversight Committee. It’s bad enough when they constantly yell about Hunter Biden’s white privilege while praising Donald Trump (who unironically, is also the scion of white privilege), but they had subpoenaed Hunter to testify to the committee in a closed door session (largely so they can come out and say whatever they wanted about it). Hunter called their bluff and showed up willing to testify in front of an open session and the Committee refused to call him. Cowards.

Still on the subject, modern day Karen wannabe Nancy Mace screamed at Hunter Biden that he has “no balls.” Since this very same committee that made it a point to exhibit graphic naked photos of Hunter from his stolen laptop, not only should it be apparent to Mace and everyone on the Committee that he has balls, but that it is sadly a part of the Congressional Record.

Aaron Rodgers had a horrible week even by his anti-Vax anti-common sense standards. First, the fallout from his crack about Jimmy Kimmel was still going, but then ESPN announced that he would no longer be appearing on the Pat McAfee show in the future. Probably worse than that though, while Rodgers was unable to play for the Jets this season, with Jordan Love and the Packers cruising to the playoffs beating their rival Chicago this week, Rodgers has lost ownership of the Bears to Love. Time to go back into that darkness retreat Aaron.

Lastly, speaking of ESPN, this article from the Athletic is a Doozy. In short,ESPN entered fake people into Emmy categories, convinced enough people to vote for them based on the production quality of the segments, and then when they won their Emmy’s, re-engraved them to give to on-air talent that were ineligible for those categories. Among the “winners” were Kirk Herbstreit, Samantha Ponder, Lee Corso, Kirk Fowler, Desmond Howard, and Shelley Smith. Not only did they get caught by this scheme, but those that received the Emmys had to return them when they never realized they had not earned them. I’ve said it a number of times, the quality of ESPN and how it is run and organized has just collapsed in the last past 5-10 years.

Have a nominee for us to consider? Send an email to purpleamericanunity@gmail.com!

PurpleAmerica Pop Culture Random Top Five

This week: The Top 5 Posts as Selected by PurpleAmerica.

It’s been a great week here at PurpleAmerica as we celebrate a year of this. Earlier this week, we mentioned the 10 most viewed posts from the last year, some of which were expected and others pretty surprising. I have to admit though, some posts I’m prouder of than others, even though they may not get the same level of attention. Granted, some of those that were the most viewed I’m exceptionally proud of (Is MAGA Really a Cult is for my money the best one I wrote this year), but for purposes here, I’ll leave out those on that list and encourage you all to check that page out. So my Top “other 5” as selected by PurpleAmerica.

5. “It’s Not You, It’s Us.” A ‘Dear John’ Letter to Marjorie Taylor Greene regarding her stupid ‘National Divorce’ idea.

4. “Playing Devil’s Advocate” This Halloween timed article focused on a growing schism within the performance artist community known as “The Satanic Temple” regarding it’s general purpose and it’s constituency who wanted a more vocal political agenda. It was fun to write this one.

3. “Tsutoma Yamaguchi Survived Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” With Oppenheimer filling theaters across the country, but little coverage of what the bombs actually did to the Japanese, I thought this story about the only person to survive both atomic bombings particularly relevant.

2. “Should ‘Life Imprisonment’ Mean Life?” This was about the release of former Manson Family member Leslie Van Houten. Aside from the macabre fascination the Manson Family inspires, this is a serious philosophical question when it comes to our penal system.

1. “Hello, is there Anybody In There?” This was about being a fan of Pink Floyd’s music and being further disillusioned and disappointed in founding member Roger Waters. I loved working as many Floyd lyrics into the actual piece as I could. It was fun to write.

PurpleAmerica’s Subscriber Mail

When we here at PurpleAmerica Respond to the Teeming Millions (well, we’re still working on that first million)

Dear PurpleTurd-

I read your “Year One Recap” and can’t believe that one of the most viewed articles was of that Right Wing Country Song. It just confirms to me that you’re a right wing bonehead and the people who come here are MAGA boneheads too.

[name and email address withheld, but we’ll just say “VoteBlueDude”]

For those who want to know to what he is referring, it is this post that was the 2nd most viewed post of the year.

Dear “VoteBlueDude,”

Have you even listened to the song? I don’t mean listen to what liberal writers, snobby critics and bougey youths say about it; I mean just sit down, close your eyes and hear what he is saying. Did you even read my post for that matter? Because if you did, I articulated why it was a good song.

First off, it’s a rant taken from his perspective. Great songs often take a perspective. Right now, the biggest singer on the planet is Taylor Swift, and one of the reasons she is so huge is that she articulates a particularly young, female perspective so very well. The biggest country song of the year was a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” which is about a person trying to escape their current situation. People can relate to that; people also related to Oliver Anthony’s perspective as well. As I wrote at the time…

What follows is an unvarnished expression of frustration, disbelief and even class envy, perfectly encapsulating what many Americans below the median feel. It points out hypocrisies, wrongful outcomes, huge obstacles for the working class and the disconnect with the political and economic elite. It’s an articulate, and yes honest, expression told from a perspective of a working class southern male. You don’t have to agree with it, but you should appreciate the artistic expression, the emotive experiences he conveys and the quality of the recording and song he does it with. You don’t have to be a girl to appreciate Taylor Swift or from the inner city to appreciate “Gangsta’s Paradise.” You don’t have to be troubled and impoverished to appreciate “Fast Car.” You can disagree with Anthony’s politics and still appreciate the song in which he expresses them, again, from his point of view. I doubt anyone else could have sung it, because then it would ring hollow.

Second, it’s a bare bones song. When everything is auto-tuned, formulaic and overproduced, here is a just a guy, with a Gretsch guitar in the woods, singing into a mic acoustically. It was like a breath of fresh air and we need more of this.

Lastly, and probably the thing you object to most, are some of his lyrics. But the very first lyrics of the song sets his point of view perfectly. “I’ve been selling my soul, working all day, overtime hours for bullshit pay.” I mean, who couldn’t relate to that? Young liberals especially! It’s the same sentiment as their argument about a higher minimum wage and student loan forgiveness. It’s the mantra of someone trying hard to do what’s right and falling further behind. It’s a sad and prevalent problem in America. And then he follows that up “It’s a Damn shame, what the world’s come to. For people like me, and people like you.” Yes, yes it is!

And who does he blame? Washington mostly. He doesn’t choose liberals or conservatives, just those in control. But he doesn’t directly say that, he uses a southern colloquialism, “Rich men north of Richmond.” We all know who he’s talking about with that phrase. Everyone always complains about Washington. Its practically a national pasttime. Why are you upset at that? Is it that he didn’t include women in the blame? “Rich people north of Richmond” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

And the song goes on like that. Some smart wordplay about miners-minors and pining to help poor people “folks on the street who ain’t got nothin’ to eat…”. These are LIBERAL values.

I’m sure one of the reasons it was such a well viewed post is because of this. I had responses at the time from many liberals who didn’t listen to it until my post and came away with a different point of view about it. That’s what we’re about here. Giving people an opportunity to review or reconsider their thoughts and moderate their perspectives a little.

You see, you can always tell those who have read or listened to something and those who just troll for the sake of it, such as yourself. Next time, I hope before commenting you take a moment to actually listen and think about what it is you are commenting about. If we all just pause and do that, people wouldn’t be as extreme in their beliefs and adamant in their wrongful confidence.

Thanks, and keep reading,

PurpleAmerica.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at purpleamericanunity@gmail.com

PurpleAmerica’s Historical Note from This Week

On January 12, 1991, the United States Congress authorized President George H.W. Bush to use force to evict Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, which he had invaded 5 months previously. Up until this point, American forces were amassing in Saudi Arabia as a multi-national force called “Operation Desert Shield.” Soon after the Congressional approval, the military went into Kuwait under “Operation Desert Storm.”

Within 48 hours, Iraq had pulled out of Kuwait and waving the white flag of surrender. Ground forces commander Norman Schwarzkopf negotiated a surrender that included no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq and other concessions. George H.W. Bush’s approval ratings went up to a record 89% following the invasion and it’s aftermath.

The reason I bring this up is that it’s important to remember how approval and polls are just snapshots in time and ultimately fleeting. People genuinely thought at the time there was NO way Bush could lose in 1992. However, the rest of 1991 was dominated by financial news; a recession, a Savings and Loan scandal fallout, a greatly increasing national debt and the closing of factories in what was then the “Iron Belt” but now derisively referred to as “The Rust Belt.” Bush’s approval plummeted, spurring a primary challenge (to a sitting President! who was at 89% at the start of the year!) by Pat Buchanan. Bush ultimately lost the 1992 election to pot smoking serial philanderer and draft evader Bill Clinton.

So let this be a lesson. When you hear the media constantly spouting how far Biden is behind, how he needs to do this or that, or how Trump is so far ahead, a lot can happen in a year. The election in November is likely to be determined by factors and issues that are currently unknown even. There’s plenty of time left, and plenty of the race left to complete.

PurpleAmerica’s Dad/Uncle/Cheesy Joke of the Week

How can you tell if you’re colorblind?

You hear reds music, you taste blue beans and the news comes out of the purple!

And with that…

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Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. The adage went “Will it play in Peoria?”