Commentary
A centrist friend of mine recently sent me a link to a transcript of a focus group organized to determine if individuals from the left and right could find common ground.
Organized by The New York Times and moderated by focus group veteran, Frank Luntz, the group was made up equally by Republicans and Democrats, who had one thing in common – they all shared the outlook that they were “mad as hell and not going to take this anymore,” a line from the 1976 movie, ”Network.”
Before I continue, I want you to know that in my opinion, finding common ground in politics isn’t possible. Those candidates, who say they will cross the aisle to work with the other party may mean well, but they’re just whistling Dixie. I need only point to the failures of the late John McCain.
During the two-hour focus group session, polarization in America was clear. Each side blamed the other. A black woman blamed the majority of white America, a Hispanic fellow disagreed, blaming people on the left. The white vs black thing continued with no common ground.
The questions and responses were too lengthy to include here, but I wanted to give you a feel for the lack of any conclusion of common ground being reached.
As a conservative Republican, I found responses to the question, “Why is America Broken?” revealing when Luntz asked the participants to “name someone from either party who isn’t broken, who has ideas, who would bring us together or a least bridge the divide we’ve had right now.
”I’m seeing Pete Buttigieg. He has a clear head. He’s down to earth. He can communicate with respect and differing opinions. – A white woman, 65, college instructor, Biden voter
“It’s a long shot – Andrew Cuomo.” – a black woman, 58, customer relations, Biden voter.
“A.O.C. She’s young, passionate, energetic, intelligent, and she has a very, very strong work ethic.” – A white man, 41, school psychologist, Trump voter.
“What would make you less angry,” Luntz asked. While a white 56-year-old Trump voter would “like to see bipartisan support on major issues,” Sean, a white 57-year-old Trump voter conceded, “Compromise does not exist anymore.” A white, 44-year-old Biden voter would like to “see more balance in the Supreme Court.”
“If you could do one thing to make the country more united, what would you do?” they were asked. A white, 49-year-old Biden voter said, “a universal stipend.” Three Biden voters suggested term limits.
In hiring Luntz, the Times wanted to know “Where does democracy go from here?” It seems that the group was only able to agree on a few things: a low opinion of Congress, term limits, and that neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump run for president in 2024. A focus group was hardly required to come up with those wishes. Deciding on a complex piece of legislation is quite different.
Consensus
“Consensus” is another term often used by lawmakers attempting to get approval of a piece of legislation. Like the terms “common ground,” and “groupthink,” to gain consensus one side must give-in, rather than living with difference.
America was founded on adversarial argument.
“Efforts to shut down such discussion whether through direct censorship or creating a false appearance of ‘consensus’ are inherently undemocratic. In many ways, consensus is the majoritarian tyranny that the Founders were deeply concerned with.” – John Schroeder
Climate science is all about “consensus” where consensus is impossible, noted Schroeder, citing a piece in The Atlantic. As if the reduction of global temperature changes is the only goal, Schroeder views consensus as essentially “spitting in the wind of global climate.”
“Consensus is coercive and tyrannical,” says Schroeder. “Adversity is democratic. The next time someone starts telling you there is a consensus, walk away.”
Finally, from Forbes magazine’s “7 Reasons Why Decision-Making by Consensus Is A Bad Idea,” Prudy Gourguechon nails it in #1, “It doesn’t work.”
And Other Thoughts
The Polls
Friday’s Generic Congressional Ballot produced by Rasmussen Reports, revealing that 46 percent of likely voters would vote for the Republican candidate over the 41 percent who would for the Democrat if the election were held that day, got me thinking about the midterms, just 77 days away.
Polls are interesting, but there are so many things that can alter the minds of voters day to day. There are those who write about the coming Red Wave, however, I prefer my readers ignore them and simply encourage people to vote Republican. It’s imperative that we take back the House and Senate.
Media Bias
It’s bad enough when the left-leaning media fail to truthfully cover the news, but when one of their ilk, like Sam Harris, is willing to deceive you and laugh about deceiving you is not his only sin.
He lies about Trump’s corruption being a fact when he hasn’t been convicted of anything, despite the six years and billions of dollars used against him in the media, law enforcement, the impeachments and now the January 6 partisan House witch hunt.
On a podcast, Harris recently claimed, “Whatever the scope of Joe Biden’s corruption is … if we could go down that rabbit hole for a second and understand he’s getting kickbacks from Hunter Biden’s deals in Ukraine or wherever else, like China – it is infinitesimal compared to the corruption we know Trump is involved in.”
Like Rep. Adam Schiff, who often claimed he had the evidence to “hang” Trump, Harris has nothing. He’s lying about Trump corruption, when the former president is perhaps, by now, the most vetted man in the world.
Thank goodness, “Sam Harris” isn’t a household name.
LAUGH OF THE DAY: Novelist Stephen King tweeted @StephenKing – “The one show on CNN I never missed was Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter. It has been an invaluable window into how the media covers itself. Today CNN cancelled it.”
To which journalist Jon Gabriel cleverly responded @exjon – “Ah, so you were the viewer.”
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
