About the Red Wave (or lack thereof)

Perspectives (i.e. ramblings) from a self-proclaimed #WalkAway Democrat on the current political landscape

As it is becoming more apparent, the supposed “Red Wave” or “Red Tsunami” that was expected to appear didn’t show up.

The votes in many places aren’t in, and the fight for both the Senate and Congress are still highly contested, but many places considered to be shoe-ins for Republicans hasn’t quite happened.

I’ll be quite honest and state that I wasn’t considering voting this year, mostly because of two facts:

1. I haven’t been keeping up with local elections, and as someone who encourages being knowledgeable before weighing in on a subject I found it rather hypocritical if I didn’t take my own advice.

2. I live in a true-blue, vote blue no matter who type of state where the number of Democrats to Republicans isn’t gauged by percentage points but by proportion (i.e. 3:1, 4:1, 5:1 Democrat: Republican. you get the idea). There were even signs that just blatantly said “Vote for the Democrats” with no indication of who the Democrats were or what platform they had.

But with that being said, I still decided to vote.

I didn’t have much to go off of in a blue stronghold state but to imbibe Trump’s comment of, “what do you have to lose?”

It’s certainly true that my state, and in fact various counties here, is becoming more crime-ridden. Even a neighbor who moved in recently had a floodlight system and cameras installed as soon as they moved in, possibly because they were broken into (likely the same night we were).

This is all, once again, happening in true-blue districts, and yet as many people lament the fact that crime is going up, that prices are reaching ridiculous heights, many voters still turn to out for the same stuff that they complain about.

I was once one of those people, being the stereotypical Democrat voter in college who didn’t even know who I was voting for. My first time ever voting was because a friend from school kept encouraging all of us to vote. I didn’t know who to vote for, so I just turned up and circled anyone who had “Democrat” next to their name. When I mentioned to my friend that I didn’t know who to vote for and just went the “vote blue no matter who” route he commented, “as long as it was a Democrat then it’s fine”, as if to suggest my voting method was the right one.

Let’s just say that over time my thoughts have changed given the cultural and political shift that have come about since then, probably starting with the first cultural iterations around something called Gamergate and the college campus hysteria that also emerged around that time.

I didn’t vote much since that time until current years, but I grew even more critical of the party that was intended to be the welcoming, open party that was accepting of everyone.

I’ll be honest and say that I actually never challenged my political leanings, although I probably should have noticed I was the odd-one out in my high school poly-sci class when I was the only person to get “Libertarian” as their party affiliation and having no idea what the heck that was (thank you public schooling!).

Although I was very reticent to vote in 2016 I decided to vote in 2020 for the so-called “Orange Man”, partially spurred on by what was going on with COVID, but also the sudden cultural shift including the media frenzy that surrounded Kyle Rittenhouse, essentially marking a shift in the gun control debate.

The Response to the Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict Encapsulates why I Walked Away

So to put it lightly the air was different in 2020, and it was different in 2022 as well.

This wasn’t just a referendum on Biden and his constant guffaws, but also a referendum on the COVID madness and the vaccine hysteria.

I was immediately reminded of the COVID hypocrisy when I went to a local school to vote, noticing the signs on the front door essentially stating, “Wear a mask; don’t wear a mask. IT’S YOUR CHOICE! Please respect my masking choice!”

That sure as hell wasn’t there two years prior, and in fact I’m sure many of the teachers there would have been glad to force masks onto the children.

Given all of these factors, and given that reports have constantly suggested an incoming Red Wave, what exactly happened?

I’ll warn readers that this post isn’t intended to provide answers, but it’s written from the perspective of someone who was once a Democrat, never considered myself a Republican but has voted "Red” in multiple elections, and who continues to feel politically homeless and unsure of the future of politics..

Trump vs DeSantis -Who does the GOP rally behind?

Given the great upset that was 2020, I would have been on the 2024 Trump train because who the heck could vote for Biden in 2024?! Even given all of the drama surrounding Trump there was no doubt that running him again would have been an almost easy victory for Republicans.

Or at least that’s what I would have thought before recent events.

One thing that the GOP must deal with is figuring out whether Trump is an asset or a liability. Prior to this the progenitor of MAGA may have been the perfect candidate to put up against Biden, or heck any other candidate thrown given the horrible rates of inflation we are seeing right now.

But there’s also the fact that the pure aversion against Trump (whether through TDS or just some other disdain) will put off a lot of voters.

I remember one video in which evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, who has been very critical of the current gender ideology, mentioned on Joe Rogan’s podcast that he wouldn’t vote for Trump in 2024 but would definitely vote for DeSantis, which Joe Rogan agreed with.

For many people the aversion to Trump and the interest in DeSantis makes for a dangerous paradigm within the GOP, as even those who are critical of the cultural landscape are finding it hard to vote for Trump.

Take last night in which DeSantis’ won by historical margins. DeSantis’ near 20% win over his competitor, with more than 1 million votes is a clear declaration of Florida’s want of DeSantis.

More importantly, previously argued Democratic strongholds such as Miami-Dade with a near 70% Hispanic population, appear to be leaning more Red:

It’s not a secret that tension has been brewing between DeSantis and Trump in recent months (although this could be more mainstream media gossip fanning flames), but for many Republicans one has to wonder what direction the GOP should move towards.

Given that many Trump-backed candidates did not do well, is this a sign that the touch of Trump is not something that can hold, and that the GOP should be moving in the direction of DeSantis come 2024?

As someone who was a Trump voter in 2020, who has no vetted ties, I am beginning to question whether Trump 2024 is actually a viable idea, and many Republicans (and Democrats) are likely thinking the same.

The cultural divide doesn’t seem to be leaving any time soon, and so who the GOP decides to prop up is critical to whether they will win come the next election season, and those paying attention may want to raise some questions as to who will better fit the future of the party.

Political Divide and Zealotry at Max Volume

I’ve been thinking about last week’s Oster piece and the idea of accountability before amnesty. Although I’ve made my comments known in a prior post, I’ve generally only seen things from the perspective of COVID critics.

I’ve recently wondered what the other side may have felt, to the extent that vaccine zealots themselves are more likely than not to not want amnesty for those who were critical of the vaccines.

In essence, Team Blue was just as likely to vote for vaccine zealots if it meant that those who were critical of the vaccines did not get into office. It would make sense given the level of reported “anti-vaxxers” running for congress (along with those who were supposed “Trump allies”) as noted by many media outlets.

“Jab me harder” voters may have wanted their own referendum, and I personally wonder if that was something that may have been overlooked by the GOP, or heck even both sides who may not realize how much of the voting process may have been against a perceived rebuttal of an amnesty.

But aside from the vaccines, consider the fact that John Fetterman appears to have beaten out Oz over the Senate seat in Pennsylvania.

I never heard of Fetterman prior to a few months back, but he was sold as the blue-collar man who touched base with many working class citizens in Pennsylvania. His persona of wearing a hoodie and selling himself as a gentle giant may have won some voters over as appearing approachable.

That apparently wasn’t the case, and many reporters didn’t seem to discuss that he may have had a far more wealthy background than he led on.

So Fetterman’s farce was rather telling, especially given his criticism of Oz being an out-of-touch wealthy individual.

Which is made all the more ironic given the charcuterie fiasco, which media pundits used to criticize Oz as being wealthy and not understanding the poor man’s plight in not understanding what charcuterie is.

I found this laughable for the fact that this seemed more akin to the soft bigotry of low expectations. My family was never wealthy, and yet I knew what a charcuterie board was (a party platter of cheese and crackers counts right?). Hell, I know what hors d'oeuvres are even I may not have any money for it or the French class needed to pronounce it.

It’s thoughts like these that made me critical of the Democrats who aren’t aware that their attempts to seem earnest and connect with voters come off rather belittling.

Hint: there’s a big difference between being educated and being intelligent. Many people who don’t have money definitely know what a charcuterie board is; don’t think a college education with a six figure debt is needed to figure that out!

But add to the fact that Fetterman, in his only actual debate against Oz, appeared to not know what he was talking about.

I was watching Tim Pool’s stream of the debate and I had to mute it several times because I was just aghast at how horribly he was doing (or his inability to form cogent sentences).

And given all of these issues, given Fetterman’s controversy over chasing a black man with a gun, he still came out on top.

Such a win for someone who, by all accounts, can’t hold his own in a discussion, makes me wonder what the heck was going on. Even aside from funny business with voting, I can’t help but see this as an example of the extent that our culture continues to be divided and that zealotry continues to reign supreme over anything of substance. It’s unfortunately the fact that many voters may rely on emotion rather than fact in voting, and some have argued that a vote for Fetterman may have been done out of sympathy given his stroke.

“What do you have to lose?” VS “What do you have to offer?”

This all leads into my general sentiments. As of now it appears more and more that many Democratic voters are moving towards party lines, essentially voting blue no matter who with greater intensity.

But where does that leave the GOP, or those of us who may not be Democrats anymore but aren’t quite fully on board with the Republicans?

My biggest issue is that Republicans hardly have much to offer aside from being a counter to the craziness that is the Democrats.

Michael Malice once stated that when Democrats push for late-term abortions Republicans should respond with something such as abolishing the ATF. Instead, many Republicans don’t offer up solutions of their own.

Rather, it seems as if progressives are the ones to offer legislation (albeit ridiculous ones) to which Republicans generally counter with a “no” rather than their own legislation.

In essence, progressives/Democrats push hard on the gas towards extremism while Republicans only serve as a speed bump on a path going in the same direction.

My voting record in the past few elections were never ones in which I was in favor of what the GOP offered. It was generally a vote against the craziness that was the left. Given how blue my state is, I voted under the notion of not being offered anything else but a red alternative.

But that same voting record won’t hold up in the coming years. I won’t continue to vote against the left because of the craziness of the left if the right has nothing else to offer. being the less of two evils will eventually have voters look at both parties as being evils to which they will no longer support.

I wonder if voter turnout this year may have been sparked by this issue as well, in which many people who voted against the left may have just decided to stay home during midterms.

The GOP needs to figure out where their values lie and what voter they want. COVID is a serious issue, but there’s far more than just COVID, and certainly voters must be greater than a one-subject voter.

In the coming weeks we’ll see how things play out. But in the meantime the GOP needs to have some introspection and figure out exactly what policies they are fighting for and focus on being proactive policymakers rather than reactive ones.

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Anyways, these are just a few thoughts for what’s been going on. I suppose it’s not much about the midterms more than it’s my feelings on how things have played out (seriously, Fetterman winning is so confusing!).

As someone who continues to feel politically homeless I hope that both parties sort themselves out, but as the left continues to go crazy the right doesn’t seem to respond in a similar manner with useful legislation. Many are left feeling politically homeless and are wanting to find a political party that fits their ideals rather than voting as a reaction to what they don’t want.

With that being said, I would like to hear people’s thoughts or if anyone has questions about my perspective. Apologies if this seems rushed together- my thoughts are all over the place and I’m trying to sort them out!

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