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Op-Ed: Dumb demographics, deranged elections, and the Great Divide

The latest demographics for the United States 2020 election are highly revealing. What’s surprising is the exact nature of the massive gap in the Great Divide between Republicans and Democrats. Electorally, they have nothing at all in common. It’s a split as wide as the Civil War and actively generated by hate media. The only thing they have in common is geography.
The Republicans have a single base, called “whites without college degrees” in The New York Times. Note the built-in denigration in this term. Note also that the current Republican incumbents in office all claim to have college degrees, but can barely survive to the end of their own sentences on any subject. It says nothing good about American education, yet it’s an actual working demographic?
Then if you’re lucky you get a mention in these alleged demographics. For example, there’s “Latinos”, that wonderful word for multiple groups also in all sorts of economic and social situations. How simplistic can a description get? Too simplistic, and for no good reason. It simply proves how anti-inclusive America is in so many ways. It’s a bit hard to be the “United” States when you spend so much time excluding people.
If you were studying demographics and produced a statistical base as sloppy as that, they’d just throw you out a window. With good reason – You’ve got nothing to analyze, let alone a stats base.
The Democrats are a mix of progressives, issue groups, and a mishmash of political perspectives. Like most progressive groups who lose elections, the assumption seems to be that you MUST vote for them. That’s a pretty dumb assumption in countries where voting isn’t compulsory.
The actual voter turnout in US elections is nothing like the number of eligible voters. At best, it’s around 70%. 30% can’t be bothered. That means that in a 50-50 race, about 35% of voters decide who wins, an instant minority in real terms. It may be impossible to sympathize with the apathetic non-voters, but 35% isn’t a majority of citizens in any sense of the word. Two out of three people have to live with something they didn’t vote for.
Organized vs self-righteous
These demographics do reflect some facts, intentionally or otherwise. The facts go rather well with the slapdash demographics and bone-lazy election campaign management. As a progressive myself, the constant sight of utterly disorganized, rhetoric-addled progressive election campaigns is nauseating to me. It’s inexcusable. This Great Divide is practical politics, and the morons keep winning.
Say what you will, and must, about the GOP campaigns, they get voters to vote. The Democrats often don’t, thanks to a stunning lack of organization. In 2016, some Sanders supporters had hissy fits, wouldn’t vote for Clinton, and therefore helped to elect Trump. Great move, guys; just keep the self-righteousness coming, it’s so interesting.
In the UK, the same sort of thing applied in 2019. The fraudulent nationally suicidal subject of Brexit was a big issue. Johnson’s opponent, a fence post called Corbyn, generated no interest at all. Johnson’s opposition was totally disorganized at all levels and barely managed to make any real statements on any subject. The likely result will be the end of the UK, but it was all about politics, nothing to do with reality. Johnson won a lot of seats by small margins, but won.
Progressives should have won in both elections based on basic issues, and didn’t. Well? What are the excuses? There are none.
Disorganization is unforgivable
The disorganization is criminally irresponsible. People just keep right on suffering for decades because you fruit flies can’t get your act together? If I see one more idiotic ideological butterfly on my side of politics, I won’t be held responsible for anything I do about it. That includes “ancestry modification with steel-capped boots.”
This world is in a hideous condition, and you damn pseudo-academic gerbils can’t be bothered to do things properly? How dare you screw around at a time like this? Who the hell do you kitschy ornaments think you are? This isn’t about you or your tantrums. It’s about humanity.
There’s about 40 years before the human fan gets hit by absolutely everything this world can throw at it thanks to decades of conservative neglect. …And you can’t be bothered to get people voting?
You don’t even manage to get out straight messages about:
• Poverty
• Housing
• Education
• Health
• Environment
• Corruption
Get off your overpriced backsides and get it happening.
There is no “progressive ideology” and never has been. It’s just humanism. Ideologies are too small to fit in everyone anyway. You can stick to the rest of the useless descriptors. Your responsibility is to humanity and the world, and nothing else. Get on with it.

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Editor-at-Large based in Sydney, Australia.

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