Steelmanning Democrats & Republicans

Introduction

I frequently am amazed and dismayed by the attitudes and opinions of others.  How can people be so stupid?, I think.  At times like this, it's good to remember the trick of steelmanning:

Steelmanning is the act of taking a view, or opinion, or argument and constructing the strongest possible version of it. It is the opposite of strawmanning.

We all have mental models of how the world works, and as Sun Tzu said in "The Art of War":

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

It pays to understand one's "enemy".  With that in mind, and in my current status as neither a Democrat nor a Republican, I attempt here to steelman a Biden voter and a Trump voter.

Democrats: The Party of Progress

Democrats appreciate the human traits that have brought us this far -- to a world of unparalleled prosperity and human rights -- but also understand that we will have to change if we are to avoid extinction.

A Biden voter is aware of the tremendous injustice that has been part of human history, and wants to be sure that we maintain and expand the gains we have made in this regard.  Powerful forces including autocrats such as Putin may wish to hold the line on the expansion of human rights, and perhaps even turn back the clock.  Trump's "Make America Great Again" theme threatens to roll back the progress we've made.

In addition, human technology has reached the point that we threaten to destroy our earthly habitat.  Progress in controlling technology is not optional if we are to survive as a species. 

Our opponents have thwarted efforts to deal seriously with these issues.  We need to up our game and show that we can and will overcome the often inhuman or corrupt resistance to progress and sustainability.

Republicans: The Reality Based Party

Republicans appreciate the American traits that have brought us this far -- to a world of unparalleled prosperity and human rights -- but also understand that we must be vigilant in asserting and defending our values. 

A Trump voter is proud to live in a democracy where the majority rules and minority rights are respected.  We value our shared culture as Americans and recognize the need to actively support it.  We are a nation of immigrants, but we have come together to form a new identity, and it is that shared identity which must take precedence if we are to live together in peace and prosperity.  A Trump voter accepts that progress that has been made in human rights in the face of opposition by conservatives, as historic racism is universally acknowledged and segregation no longer promoted.  This acceptance is the objective truth as shown by the public positions of all top Republicans, but is denied by many prominent Democrats.

And the denial of objective truth is now more of a problem with the Democrats than with the Republicans.  I'm amazed to hear myself say this, but this happened when Trump was elected in 2016.  Democrats blamed Trump's victory on an unfounded Russian collusion conspiracy theory, and used loose accusations of racism to divide the country along ethnic and partisan lines. 

This was again clear with the COVID-19 pandemic, where opposition to Trump trumped scientific evidence with regard to the origin of the virus, the efficacy of various treatments, and preventative measures.  Amid a tremendous amount of scientific uncertainty, the Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media were overly certain in disagreeing with whatever the Republicans said.

We've reached the point where the national discourse, led by the Democratic leaning mainstream media, can best be described as social hysteria.  See, for instance, Due Process Is Good, He Said Controversially. 

After (Greenwald's) article about the Matt Gaetz case, trolls and blue checks rolled out an innuendo parade. He was a hypocrite for saying the New York Post’s Hunter Biden expose shouldn’t have been blocked, a “MAGA troll” who defends “40 year-olds who sleep with kids” (the contribution by “antiracism educator” Tim Wise), and a defender of white supremacists who hates women and is himself an ephebophile who groomed his own husband, among many other things.

This was the reaction to an article claiming that more evidence is needed before we pass judgment on sexual misconduct allegations against a Trump supporter.  Similar hysteria is rampant with regard to issues such as trans rights, me too claims, Russian sympathies, etc.  Numerous media figures and educators have lost their jobs for speaking rationally and trying to confront the hysteria.

Many Trump voters recognize the threats of war and global warming, yet feel that damping unwarranted social hysteria should be the priority.  Social hysteria gets in the way of the kind of progress we need.  

Conclusion

As I write this, I recall writing something similar a year ago:  The Democratic Reconquista.  The Democrats have been getting owned by the Republicans for decades (my entire adult life).  They finally decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and have a gone all out with the tactics of Republicans prior to Trump:

●      Hysterical overreaction and name calling.

●      Accusations of being pawns of the Russians.

●      Using the intelligence agencies to smear the opposition.

●      etc, etc, etc

The 2020 presidential and senatorial election results may seem to validate the merits of this win at all costs approach.  Now that Biden is in, there are signs that better policies may follow.  The odds of ultimate success will be greatly enhanced if we step back from the xenophobia, identity politics, and social hysteria and consolidate our gains, while recognizing that the "enemy" makes some good points.