“ity” bitty (Poll, DB Exclusive, 11.9.24)

The case for a political pivot.

I’m puzzled by the tendency of the main political parties in the United States to consider a 49% or 50% popular vote victory as a “mandate”. I recognize the pressure to “deliver” for your base, but I think it ultimately shows a certain disrespect for both the people who voted for you, but perhaps more importantly, those who voted against you.

If something approaching 70 million people felt someone else was the better candidate, would it not make sense — even if you are cynically self-interested — to govern with common sense facing that constituency? At this moment, when the sense of disappointment with the leaders of their movement is the greatest, you have their attention. Why not use it well? Naturally, there are going to be “unpersuadable” constituencies with whom your policy disagreements are the most stark. There is little to be gained by tailoring your effort and rhetoric exclusively towards them - but this is what the language of “mandate” projects (“I won, you lost, and now I’m in charge”).

Why not try something different? Perhaps you could focus on the people for whom this was a close call. Many of them went your way, but many of them did not. This group did not give you a “mandate” of any kind. But some of them decided to take a chance on you. Their vote is a tangible representation of that most precious, but fleeting, commodity: trust.

Would it not be sensible to steward that trust well, and to lay the groundwork for a more enduring agenda with broader support? In so doing, I suspect you will not only win over voters on the fence, but you could also bring over those “unpersuadable” voters who are open minded because they are emotionally (rather than merely politically) invested in the betterment of the constituencies they care about. Republicans: by all means, serve your base. But a smart strategy would also grow it (while avoiding the mistakes your opponents made in 2020).

Photo by Miquel Parera on Unsplash

We have forgotten what unity, comity, humility, civility and many other “-ities” look and feel like (including community, levity and gravity). Perhaps we could have a decade in which our political conversation pivots away from “-isms” and “-phobias” to these “-ities”. I don’t see how we can Make America Great (Again or otherwise) if we can’t do these well. The path to true greatness and exceptionalism requires us to put aside our self-regard and devote ourselves to greater regard for others. (This is why exceptionalism is so closely associated with the appropriately named “Greatest Generation”).

I am studiously apolitical in my writing, but I offered more reflections along these lines in this post from earlier in the year, and I think they remain relevant today (and would have still been relevant even if Tuesday’s election went the other way):

For those of you who don’t know Deeply Boring, I am focused on the role each of us can play as individuals in the unbreaking of the world. I believe we each have so much more capacity to do good through the individual agency we have been blessed with than we may realize. Without good people, we cannot have good institutions. Deeply Boring is a conversation about getting back to these basics.

I’d like to end with a call to action. I invite you to take part, and if you choose to upvote the sentiments expressed here, please take the conversation forward in some way.

-J