The Disengagement of the Rich, the Role of "Woke" in Education and Lawyers vs Voters

 

There are so many variables infecting voter choices, even outside of the diehard adherents behind each major party. Let’s start with the detachment of those with high net worths or those making at least $200,000/year. According to a Yale University study (Affluence and the Demand-side for Policy Improvements: Exploring Elite Beliefs About Vulnerability to Societal Problems), published on July 29th based on extensive surveys:

“An important stylized fact about American government is that many societal problems persist despite expert recognition that better outcomes are technically feasible. What explains the weakness of the political demand for more effective public policies? This study investigates one factor that may contribute to the attenuated demand for policy improvements: namely, the belief among many affluent citizens that they are personally insulated from societal problems. Drawing on a national public opinion survey, we show that affluent Americans believe their resources and ability to activate powerful social networks affords them a measure of personal insulation from key problems in areas such as education, healthcare and neighborhood safety. We also find that the affluent express a more optimistic view than other respondents of the average citizen’s financial situation and capacity to manage problems in several domains. Taken together, our results have important implications for understanding how highly influential Americans think about public policy in an era of inequality.”

Simply put, wealthy Americans can live behind guarded gates, can get any medical need fulfilled even if they have to travel to get there, and can afford private schools for their children. Abortion, good public schools, healthcare, and public safety are at best secondary issues for them. They can buy their way out of those threats. For those who only care about money, they will vote for anyone championing low taxes and minimal if any financial or environmental regulation. Otherwise, voting can be extremely optional. That society be may severely polarized and crumbling around them is “not my problem,” even though a highly unstable society is a very real threat to their wealth… and perhaps even their survival.

What’s more, too many Americans really do not believe in bona fide science. Ryan Summers, writing for the North Dakota Monitor (September 3rd), a periodical in a deep red state, calls it as it is: “Scientific theory has had a rough time in America’s public schools… Almost 100 years ago, science teacher John Scopes was convicted of violating a Tennessee law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. Although his conviction was overturned on a technicality in 1927, laws banning classes on Darwin’s theory stuck around for another 40 years. They were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968.

“Over the past few decades, conservative or religious groups that object to including the theory of evolution in science classes have tried a different approach . Now, they argue , if the ‘scientific’ theory of evolution is taught, other views, such as ‘intelligent design’ – a stand-in for creationism – should also be taught …. The approach is not limited to evolution . Legislatures across the country are proposing or passing laws that purport to encourage scientific discussion, but instead encourage students to treat established, scientific theories as equivalent to ideas that lack scientific study .

“In 2012, legislators in Tennessee – the same state where the Scopes trial took place nearly a century ago – approved a law that obligated teachers to present the ‘scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories.’ What constituted a scientific ‘strength’ or ‘weakness’ was not defined… Similar bills were introduced in North Dakota in 2019 and Oklahoma in 2023 . If the Oklahoma bill passes, teachers will be encouraged to explore scientific theories in class and to help students ‘analyze certain scientific strengths and weaknesses.’

“And a new law in West Virginia allows teachers to discuss or answer ‘questions from students about scientific theories.’ The bill’s author, state Sen. Amy Grady , said the law is about ‘encouraging students to think, encouraging students to ask questions and encouraging our teachers to be able to answer them.’” Red state school districts are keeping their students from learning about subjects they need to succeed, from accurate history, award-winning literature referencing the challenges of minorities and even science.

Those that stand behind these “anti-woke” statutory mandates are gathering lawyers and money to challenge what increasingly seems like a potential loss for Donald Trump in November… and they’ve got GOP backing for the expected challenges. A USA Today poll reported on September 3rd noted that 42% of Republicans do not believe the November vote count will be fair, and 27% will deny any result that does not elect Trump… “The consequences of the strategy could be dire. John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, who spoke at the Democratic national convention in August in support of Kamala Harris’s campaign for the presidency, said that former president Trump and his allies ‘will throw everything at the wall and see what sticks’, if Trump loses… He added: ‘They’ll claim everything went wrong if they lose. I’d be surprised if Trump doesn’t try to foment insurrection if he loses the election.’

“Twin drives by Trump and Maga allies echo some falsehoods from 2020 about fraud due to voting machines and drop boxes, but now promote Trump’s conspiratorial attacks on federal and state prosecutors who filed criminal charges against him for trying to subvert his loss in 2020, and push baseless claims that noncitizens are poised to vote in large numbers… Turning Point USA, for instance, has touted a multi-million dollar drive to get out more votes for Trump in key swing states, while holding a few big rallies for Trump where bogus claims are still being made that the 2020 election was rigged, and new fears are being raised about potential fraud this year” Peter Stone, The Guardian UK, September 3rd. Culling voter rolls and using voter suppression before the election are just the beginning. The RNC and local GOP groups are already engaging lawyers and raising financing across red and swing states to mount a battle royal if Trump fails.

But even in blue states, diehard MAGA supporters have poured money into local elections to defy the states’ blue majority. In California, Huntington Beach and Solvang are extremely red. In liberal Washington State, two rural communities in Clallam County were overwhelmed by far-right radicals before the normally non-voting majority woke up to the MAGA threat. “From the presidential election to the insurrection at the Capitol, Donald Trump and the MAGA movement are usually portrayed as a national news story. But the impact it's had on local politics is just as serious — and often quite devastating. Taking advantage of the low turnout at local elections, QAnoners, election deniers, and anti-vaccination extremists have been able to gain power on city councils and school boards, where they often proceed to wreak havoc on the local community.” Amanda Marcotte, in the September 3rd Salon. With millions and millions of dollars, cadres of lawyers and powerful elected MAGA officials will do whatever it takes to “reelect” Trump.

I’m Peter Dekom, and while too many voters still believe that November will just be one more “issues oriented” election, the rising propensity of severely “my way or the highway” MAGA groups to use any means, whether legal or not, to reelect an avowed autocrat to the presidency should alarm us all.