Thursday Thread: The Unfortunate Political Binary
On the paucity of good options
On yesterday’s episode of “Whatever This Is Called,” Sarah and I discussed the looming reality of politics. Pro-gender identity Democrats fared well in this week’s primaries and anti-Trump Republicans fared poorly. Increasingly, it seems we’re going to have the same choices we’ve had for the last twenty years (although we didn’t realize it for the first decade or so): Democrats who support gender identity in law and policy, or Republicans who don’t.
I don’t think there are that many single-issue voters, but it’s hard to tell. I am not one of them, so I know which I choose. What about you? Are there any other options? Candidates to watch? Effective messaging? Model policies? Discuss.
Here’s something I wrote for Unherd about it, too.
I have seen various analyses of why our parties have polarized so—the rise of primaries, which may attract fewer median voters; the dying off of the WWII generation, who had fought a common enemy and so were willing to compromise across the aisle; and, of course, the ascendancy of outrage as the primary strategy for attracting attention. For whatever reason, maybe all of these, this is where we are now.
I have never voted for a Republican; however, I am planning to because in my deep blue state it is not only the gender insanity I want to vote against but also the horrendous management of public education, public safety, and tax policies. I am disillusioned by how the “welfare state” has become rife with fraud, with how crime reform has harmed crime victims, and how the tax dollars that I cheerfully paid are too often lining the pockets of the corrupt rather than improving our communities.
Would I be reconsidering my political affiliation if the gender insanity hadn’t tipped me? I doubt it. I would probably have continued to have a basic faith in Democrats doing the right thing. Do I have faith in the current Republican Party? No—I wish people like McCain were back. So, yes, perhaps I am a single issue voter. I will vote against Democrats primarily because I view the gender insanity as a fundamental threat to safety and sanity.
I keep saying I'm not a single-issue voter, either, and I pulled a straight Democratic ticket in the primary here in Texas; however, I am feeling more politically homeless every day. It is impossible to ignore this issue, since popular culture, social media, and news are saturated with it. Women's sex-based rights are a "single issue" about like clean water is a single issue. I may be a Communist, after all - why not - rednecks have been calling me that for years. lol