The Divided States of America

by Doug Raymond

The election is over and as with any election, there are a lot of people who aren’t happy about the results. But this election brought out a lot of unhappy people long before the votes were tallied.

I started hearing stories of discontent even before early voting started.  Citizens were fired up, especially when it came to the race for President.  On one side, I heard about a need to verify what was seen as a true shift to the political center and a hope that America had truly become a more compassionate and caring country.  On the other side, a consistent mantra that this was “the most important election of our lifetime” and that the results would “decide the future of our children and grandchildren”.   Political hyperbole is nothing new; but when I started talking to elements from both sides, the desperation came through in alarming fashion.

Well the votes have been counted and despite the now predictable claims of voter fraud, President Barack Obama won reelection to another term.  As in 2008, Obama proved to be a master politician and the Democrat political machine once again understood the importance of stressing simple, easy to understand messages that motivate General Election voters.  Midterm Elections are about philosophy; General Elections are about feelings.  At the risk of sounding condescending,  voters who only show up every four years vote with their hearts, not their heads.

The reality is that American electorate has spoken.  But the problem now is the two ideological factions that dominate the political discourse in this nation aren’t speaking to each other.   When it comes to politics, we are the Divided States of America.

Disenchanted citizens are logging on to the White House website, signing petitions for their state to secede from the Union.  (Amazingly, the same people who have the ultimate distrust of the Federal Government are including their names and email addresses to the White House in the process)   I’ve personally seen several American flags flying upside down in a recognized symbol of distress that has become another nationwide movement in response to this election.  Recently, I received an email from a local political activist that included the obituary of the United States of America, saying it “passed away on the night of November 6, 2012 with an almost silent whimper”.

So the question to be answered is why has this election produced so much negativity and rancor?    There is no doubt that access to information, both factual and fallacious, is easier than ever before.   Today, the Internet has replaced the local tavern of the Revolutionary era as the meeting place for political discussion.  In both cases, one has to question the choice of location as a facilitator of truth.   But it is my belief that the fundamental political philosophies that were put forth in this election produced a volatile mixture.

Even the most liberal of thinkers would acknowledge that our nation was founded with a healthy suspicion of government and a fear that a central government that gains too much power is as dangerous as a foreign invader. To Conservatives, Barrack Obama is the embodiment of Big Government/Big Brother.   His push for the expansion of the size and scope of the Federal Government lies in direct conflict to their beliefs of the limited government intentions of our Founding Fathers.

By the same token, it is tough not to recognize the modern Liberal/Progressive movement has foundations that include a fear of corporate greed and the perceived inequities of capitalism.   To this group, Mitt Romney is card carrying member of the privileged elite, who succeeded by exploiting a flawed system of crony capitalism.

It would be hard to pick two candidates that could bring out more passion from their opposition and it was manifested throughout the election cycle.   Elections are most often won by the most likable candidate but this match up brought two names to the ballot that were easy for the opposition to hate.

Political rancor has been commonplace in American politics from the very beginning, when George Washington’s critics accused him of being a “gambler, horse beater and a most horrid swearer and blasphemer”.   However, this election stirred particularly strong emotions from the rank and file.  Their feelings are genuine and not orchestrated.   As a Conservative, I hope this energy can be channeled into positive and productive avenues and not be spent solely on the raising and lowering of their flags of distress.

Doug Raymond owns and operates Campaign General, a political consulting company