The following is the third and final part of a series of articles briefly summarizing the left and right in this country and this state. In this article we will focus on the modern and statewide political shifts.
In 1992, after a long twelve years of Neo-Conservative control of the Federal Government, Bill Clinton led the charge in rebranding the Democratic Party and redefined the party as more closely aligned to the center. The Clinton administration adopted policies to match. This center move did not do much to stop the growing divide between the two parties, however, and partisanship grew more acrimonious in the Clinton administration than ever before.
The Republican leadership under Newt Gingrich provided staunch opposition to Democratic initiatives and in 2000, an extremely close election recount was ended by the Supreme Court in favor of the Republican nominee George W. Bush. Following the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001, the Bush administration focused on the Neo-Conservative desire for military action overseas but often neglected fiscal conservative values. Despite his many and vocal critics, Bush was re-elected in 2004.
Barack Obama, despite what detractors might say, continued in the Clinton “New Democrat'' model of a centrist leader. He maintained some policies from the Bush administration particularly around armed conflict, but pushed for measured social reforms like a Republican inspired “affordable” healthcare system. Like Clinton, the more Obama pushed to the center, the more he was resisted by the right. Barack Obama’s mere presence in the White House aroused a more populist movement in the Right called the Tea Party, a loosely affiliated group of voters and politicians united under opposition to Obama and around Birtherism, the conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in America. One notable Birther, Donald Trump, rode a wave of bigotry and resentment to the White House.
Donald Trump’s administration has been marked by bitter divisions between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party due to racist and xenophobic policies as well as a lack of care for historic norms. This has led to the growth of a progressive wing in the Democratic Party containing Socialists and Democratic Socialists. While not as dominant as the Tea Party, these young and enthusiastic Democrats have primaried establishment candidates and have become key figures in the party.
The rest of the nation has moved back and forth between political parties since 1992, but Delaware has not. There has not been a Republican governor since then, nor has the state cast its electoral votes for a Republican president.
The State Senate has been under Democratic control for over 40 years, as has the State House since 2009. In the 2018 election, Democrats won in every position of state leadership. However, this states seemingly solid Blue belies a more complicated story.
Part of the story is geography. Delaware is made up of both rural and urban spaces, with New Castle County being by far the most populous and therefore politically dominant. Like most of the country, the larger urban centers of Delaware are left-leaning whereas the rural towns and less populous southern Kent and Sussex counties tend to vote for Republicans. Changing demographics might also contribute to the change of Delaware into a Democratic stronghold, but this political structure is not destiny. Nor does it paint an accurate portrait of Delaware’s politics.
A scenario that might better describe the state as a whole is the 2010 Senate Race. Joe Biden gave up the seat that he had held since 1973 in order to serve as Vice President. Former U.S. Representative and Governor Mike Castle ran in the Republican primary against Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell. Despite Castle’s pedigree he lost to O’Donnell due in part to Castle’s moderate record. However, O’Donnell was defeated easily by Chris Coons. Polling indicates that Castle was favored over Coons in a General election while O’Donnell was not. Though not definitive proof, this indicates a strong preference in Delaware as a whole for long serving moderate candidates despite the Republican Party of Delaware having a preference toward more extreme figures. During this election season, Coons defeated his primary challenger, the more progressive Jess Scarane, and will go on to face the Republican nominee, Lauren Witzke, a strongly anti-immigration candidate with ties to the conspiracy group QANON.
Delaware is a moderate left state. For a long time the names that dominate Delaware politics have shuffled around, but have not substantively changed. Nor have the policies. There are exciting candidates on the local level which could mean more movement in the future but for now, Delaware, like the nation, is in the center looking out.
It might seem like the only throughline that one might draw through the twists and turns of American political history is ultimately one of sound and fury, signifying nothing. However, the Left, in the Democratic party, may trace concern for the “common man” (though grotesquely and narrowly defined to deny the humanity of many individuals) and individual rights from Jefferson to Jackson to Bernie Sanders. Likewise the concern for banks, Wall Street and the importance of law is a connective thread that ties Hamilton and the Federalists to the Whigs and to the Republicans of today.
It is worth examining the shifts in social justice and what progress has meant for us in this political moment. What may have seemed progressive in its time will be judged harshly by history. When Donald Trump harkens back to the Jackson administration, he is not doing so because of Andrew Jackson’s calls to abolish the Electoral College, nor is it because of his reforms to limit the length of office holding, nor is it about his efforts to root out corruption in the Presidency. Donald Trump does so because he values Jackson’s use of military might to commit war crimes, his xenophobia, and his inexcusable racism.
When talking about the political history of America, we must acknowledge that many people have been excluded from politics entirely. The story of America is uniquely tied to race, specifically that of Black Americans and Indigenous Peoples. One cannot look at America’s past without seeing the moral failings of Americans. Thus, those that seek to return to a past age or institute social traditions of the past have to look hard for those that do no harm to marginalized people. To look forward to a new way has far greater potential to yield a more inclusive social system, but it is far from guaranteed. Both the Conservative and the Liberal have to work to examine their beliefs for harmful effects. The Left and the Right need not be enemies of purpose, just policies. If that is to come to pass, then it is up to all of us to make that a reality by supporting those that are concerned with the wellbeing of all Americans.
Comments
Post a Comment