Political ideology is a very strong vote-influencing factor. Many—too many—people regard politics and voting (especially for national office) as a matter of affirming one’s allegiance to their “team.” If you are a Northeastern Jew, for example, chances are you’ve been raised in a liberal household that has always voted Democrat. No amount of abstract economic theory regarding how lower federal income taxes actually increase the federal tax haul or theoretical arguments about how a tough American foreign policy stance against radical Muslim nations eventually redounds to Israel’s benefit is sufficient to change the mind of a committed Leftist.

When confronted with their contradictory positions on the issues, the rationalizations fly: “I just hate seeing rich fat cats like Mitt Romney getting a tax break, even if it means that millions of other Americans are as well. Keep the rates where they are. Or just raise his.” And regarding Israel, even though many American Jews look upon Israel as their “second country,” if a Republican policy is better for Israel than the Democrats’ approach, suddenly the blindly loyal Democrat voter will say, “Well, I’m an American first. Israel will survive on its own.”

In the past, a liberal’s commitment to Leftist ideology remained strong, as long as it didn’t negatively affect them personally. A great example is affirmative action, specifically as it relates to college admissions. From a safe distance, a good liberal would be all in for affirmative action, so long as it didn’t affect their child’s admission status. But let their super-qualified son or daughter be denied an ivy-league slot that September so that some box-checker with 1025 SATs and a GPA of 2.7 from an inner-city high school can take their place, and watch what happens next: there are calls to influential “insiders,” privileged strings are pulled and nothing is taken sitting down until they get the desired outcome. After all, affirmative action for thee, but not for me. Still, such an event didn’t change any voting loyalties. This was merely a bump in the road that needed to be smoothed out. Whew. Now, everything is good again, so I’ll pull that D lever like nothing ever happened.

But this time, things are different. As Glenn Younkin’s win in Virginia and Jack Ciattarelli’s virtual win in vote-corrupt New Jersey showed, some committed Leftists will actually change their vote from D to R when bad progressive policy affects them and they can’t make a phone call or send an e-mail to change it. Mr. Company Owner can get his son into Haaa-vaaad by calling Mr. CEO/Big Donor and having him pull the appropriate strings on the admissions board, but there’s nothing Mr. Company Owner can do about President Brandon’s grocery store inflation or the $3.92/gal gasoline price or the unrestricted illegal immigration disaster occurring at our southern border. This time, calamitous progressive policies are wrecking the country before our very eyes, in real-time, and everyone is suffering, up and down the economic spectrum. The difference this time is that those Democrats at the upper end—the designer clothes-wearing, NPR-listening, chardonnay-sipping, Broadway play-going blue bloods—are directly affected. The streets of New York City are unsafe to walk. Their favorite theaters and restaurants are closed. “Undesirables” are smashing and grabbing what they want and the police are just letting them get away with it. Well, I never!

Of course, it’s not merely the high end of the economic spectrum that is suffering. Far from it. The vast middle class is hurting too.  The raging inflation, triggered by uncontrolled government spending and handouts, is not ”transitory.” Whatever the prices are now is where they will likely remain. This is the so-called new normal you hear so much about. The best that can be hoped for is that the rise in prices will slow. But groceries, building materials, cars, etc. are very likely to stay where they are.

At least as bad as this administration’s ruinous inflationary economic policies is the woke influence of their warped social agenda:

• School committees promote the teaching of CRT and revisionist American history while approving of boys in girls’ bathrooms
• Unscientific, arbitrary mask mandates and vaccine passports cripple the population, with no end to Government control
• Military readiness takes a back seat to things like teaching on-duty personnel about supposed American historic racial crimes and promoting women’s pregnancy flight suits
• The weaponization of the DOJ by Merrick Garland to pursue this administration’s political enemies undermines long-trusted confidence in our justice system

All of the above, both the economic and the woke-social, are responsible for tangibly hurting the quality of daily life in America. There is a real fear that things will never return to the way they used to be just a few years ago. Enough Leftist voters are scared to death about how this affects their own lives that they are actually voting against historical form and closing their eyes as they pull the R lever, as evidenced by Virginia and New Jersey.

If the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential elections are substantially honest and reasonably free from corruption—and that’s a huge if, because the progressives will work even harder than they did in 2020 to rig them, given how horrible the results of their governance has been—then the traditional kitchen table issues of personal finances, family safety, and their children’s education should cause enough life-long Democrats to switch their votes and ensure a huge Republican wave.

Theoretical arguments don’t sway the Dem-cheering Leftist. That’s their team, always has been, always will be. But when you can’t walk safely down the street, when it costs $73 to fill your Lexus with premium, when your child is being taught—remotely!—that George Washington was a traitor, and having pot roast is a once-a-month treat, then it’s time to vote another way.

Now, it’s personal, not abstract. Now, you can’t correct things with a phone call. Enough (but certainly not all, that’s for sure) of the Dem-cheering crowd is very likely to abandon the apologist, woke-inflationary ranks of today’s Democrats and vote in their own self-interests, putting Republicans back in power and denuding the “Squad” and other high-profile progressives of any semblance of influence, relevance or power. It’ll be fascinating to watch it unfold.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License

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