By Daniel Nardini
For now it seems that a bare majority of Americans have chosen former U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican Party to be in charge of the federal government. I say a bare majority because in the popular vote Trump only won 49 percent of the electorate. Also, the Republicans have a very bare majority in the U.S. House of Representatives by 217 to 215 for the Democrats. What this means is that Trump will have a harder time getting his legislation through and fulfilling his agenda. Of course, Trump being Trump will try to force a square peg into a round hole and could just as easily wreck the machinery as he did between 2017 and 2018.
The big problem with American politics is that it is a seesaw. It has tilted towards the political right at this moment because so many Americans were dissatisfied with the Joe Biden administration (and by extension Vice-president Kamala Harris) on inflation and the cost of living. More than anything, the vote for the Republicans was a protest vote. And how long before Americans become totally unsatisfied with Trump’s policies? This is the problem with things beyond the control of any one administration. Inflation is the result of supply chain disruptions due to the Covid pandemic that hit almost the entire world. Worse, the Covid restrictions has meant that even things made in the United States have been in short supply because of Covid.
And what about Trump’s threats of tariffs on any and all goods from Canada, Mexico and China? As if our prices for food and consumer goods are not high enough they will become way higher under Trump. And when his policies become unpopular, the American populace will move further to the left and reelect Democrats in ever greater numbers. This is what happened in 2018. The U.S. Congress became Democrat. In 2020, the whole process was completed when the Democrats seized control of the whole federal government. For the Republicans who are gloating about their wins now—remember that American politics is a seesaw and that they may be able to slow down but they cannot completely stop change and radical change at that. Any attempt at dictatorship will only hasten that change.
The Seesaw of American Politics
By Daniel Nardini
The big problem with American politics is that it is a seesaw. It has tilted towards the political right at this moment because so many Americans were dissatisfied with the Joe Biden administration (and by extension Vice-president Kamala Harris) on inflation and the cost of living. More than anything, the vote for the Republicans was a protest vote. And how long before Americans become totally unsatisfied with Trump’s policies? This is the problem with things beyond the control of any one administration. Inflation is the result of supply chain disruptions due to the Covid pandemic that hit almost the entire world. Worse, the Covid restrictions has meant that even things made in the United States have been in short supply because of Covid.
And what about Trump’s threats of tariffs on any and all goods from Canada, Mexico and China? As if our prices for food and consumer goods are not high enough they will become way higher under Trump. And when his policies become unpopular, the American populace will move further to the left and reelect Democrats in ever greater numbers. This is what happened in 2018. The U.S. Congress became Democrat. In 2020, the whole process was completed when the Democrats seized control of the whole federal government. For the Republicans who are gloating about their wins now—remember that American politics is a seesaw and that they may be able to slow down but they cannot completely stop change and radical change at that. Any attempt at dictatorship will only hasten that change.