What's Next for PurpleAmerica?

Where Do We Go Now?

I have to be honest, I’ve been having some conflicting thoughts about what to do next. I’m utterly disappointed the vast majority of moderates swung away from Democrats this past election, but I completely understand why. For those that basically argue or simplify it down to the “price of eggs,” it wasn’t just that. It was an administration that failed at elaborating to the general public all the great things it had done and was doing. It was an educated liberal elite more focused on forgiving student loans over working class relief. It was a coastal cultural identify politics elitism that alienates and belittles people of all backgrounds across the country. It was a party that tried so hard to have it both ways on Gaza that it failed to appeal to either side, and convinced many Palestinian Americans (who pissed off just about EVERYBODY, but also provided the winning margin in the state of Michigan in 2020) to just stay home and not vote, or to vote third party. It was a party that worked so hard to focus on women that they completely condescended to and pushed away men. It wasn’t any single one of these items, but when added up they amounted to 95% of all counties in America trending toward the GOP this election.

We’re about to face a really rude awakening from those failures. Donald Trump, probably the worst President ever, is going to be the recpient of all those failures, and is going to use it as a mandate to do even worse things than he did before.¹ He has a party more eager to appease him and line up behind him than he did before. He will appoint more toadies and bootlickers who will do his bidding, law be damned, than he did before. He will be a lame duck, meaning he could care less about what the voters think in four years.² He’s already talking about taking a more aggressive tone about going after his adversaries or aribiters of truth, who have all the sudden cowered before him. It’s disappointing and disgusting to me.

So we go from a moderate administration who spent way too much time trying to cater to its left, to a far right wacko administration who is going to say “Take it or leave it” on everything. It’s a disaster in slow motion and it hasn’t even started yet. Our institutions will grow weaker. Our adversaries will get stronger. And when he leaves office he will leave behind a steaming pile of dogshit on the step of the next President who will have to clean up the mess. Unless Republicans find a spine³ , we are about to endure a real harsh next four years.

But the chorus of those who will oppose him? The resistance who will speak truth to power! They’ll be the same uber liberal activists who pissed everyone off last time. They’ll wear their Handmaid’s Tale outfits, they’ll protest and march and scream racism(!) and sexism(!), they’ll occupy some college quad, they’ll grandstand about the patriarchy of the right, they’ll argue everything they have already beat to death for the last 8 years. You know what? All it will do is put at a further distance the moderate voters they’ll need to win in 2028 too.

And that’s what really scares me about the next four years the most. People don’t seem to understand that Trump has maybe a solid 40% voter base that will follow him no matter what. That still leaves another 10% of voters to get to a majority. The only way he gets there is if the left says and does things that will genuinely piss these people off; you may think that’s a stretch, but it just happened and the left is SO GOOD at doing everything possible to do just that. They would get so much farther by just shutting up and going away and picking and choosing their fights better, than they currently do of arguing 24/7/365 about how rotten, imperfect and unfair everything is. Life’s not fair. The world isn’t perfect. America is FAR from rotten. Most of all, most voters don’t want to hear activists’ utopian dreams about it either.

The Democratic Party in its current loose affiliation of various groups is not a winning coalition. It was fashioned together in the aftermath of the disaster that was the W. Bush administration and Obama, a once in a lifetime political talent, seized and took advantage of the opportunity. Nobody else has. Biden needed a pandemic and a once in a lifetime horrible President in a crisis to win in 2020. Barring some form of Armageddon the next four years, the Democrats will have to have a better answer and a broader group than what they currently have. Looking at the options, and the social media atmosphere they play to, it seems to me they’re much more likely to go in the opposite direction and lose by even more.

So I’m geuninely at a loss. Most PurpleAmericans sided with the Republicans this year. Against the better judgment and likely consequences of a Trump term, they decided the Democrats would be worse. I think that’s wholly incorrect, but also don’t blame them for coming to that conclusion. I can only hope and pray that Congressional Republicans aren’t rubber stamps and actually do keep guiderails on a Trump administration primed to run amok. He’d been impeached twice already, legitimately, for real issues. The only thing keeping him in office were Republicans unwilling to cross the line into decency and the rule of law. If he runs afoul of the law again, would any of these Republicans vote to kick him out of office? I’m dubious of it.

So how do we PurpleAmericans move forward? I don’t know. I’m genuinely at a loss. I’ll continue to be opposed to things Trump does that are unhelpful to America’s standing in the world, but will also give him credit when it’s deserved. I’ll support those that corral his worst impulses and maintain the rule of law, particularly those that push back on Executive overreach. I’ll support Democrats who make legitimate arguments about various Trump initiatives so long as they are sound. I’m NOT going to be a nonstop opposition, but I will have no problem critiquing and expressing outrage when it is warranted.

In short, I’ll continue what I feel a good American citizen should do. I hope you’ll continue to join me in doing so, offering your suggestions and opinions and giving me honest feedback as we wade through these uncharted waters together.

God Help Us.

PurpleAmerica’s Recommended Stories

I have been active on various social media sites trying to spread the word on PurpleAmerica. What I am seeing though is that these social media sites are really nothing but partisan information silos that really have no interest in nuance or thoughtful discussion. They are more about hammering you over the head with their opinions whether you want to listen to them or not. I had some serious moments this past year where engaging on social media was not very good for my overall mental health and needed to outright disconnect from it.

As such, I am getting off social media sites and will be deleting my accounts. It is just my way of staying sane and healthy. I really would like to encourage all of you however to share and repost PurpleAmerica stories that you enjoy and want others to read. We’ve built up a good community here, and I look forward to adding more to our merry little band of misfit toys on the political spectrum.

PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day

A “zugzwang” is a chess term, describing situations where any move results in a worse situation than previously. That’s what I feel like we are in… a zugzwang.

PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject

“A liberal mind thinks about how great things will be in the future, and makes extravagant, broad-based decisions based on simple notions that lead to that.

“A conservative mind thinks about how great things were in the past and makes decisions that roll back things to a simpler time.

“The moderate mind looks at the present in all its complexities, considers items objectively and makes important incremental decisions in the moment of how to make things better. Great change may not happen all at once, but you gradually get there.

“Be the moderate.”

—PurpleAmerica

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? MAKE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!!!

Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. Yes, I am aware that the election was close and there are questions as to whether it is a mandate or not. You know who won’t be questioning it? Donald Trump and Republicans. If there is one thing they consistently show, its that when given the reins of power, even if by a single vote, they assume ALL the powers that office holds without worrying about whether there was an overarching mandate tied to it. They won, that’s the mandate.

2. And to those who don’t think he’ll abide by the Constitution’s two term limit, that’s even MORE of an argument he could care less about voters, or the rule of law.

3. I’m not counting on it.