The Questions Democrats and Republicans Should Ask Each Other
Two questions can set us on the path to healing. It won't be easy.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
If there is one thing that both Republicans and Democrats worry about this election morning, it’s the prospect of violence post-election.
My former Free Lance-Star colleague Steve Deshazo expressed this worry in his post “Disunited states” this morning.
I cringe to think about what will happen whenever the winner is declared. I fear it will involve bloodshed, loss of life and serious damage to our fragile democracy.
In private conversations with my Republican friends, these same concerns are expressed.
No election in my lifetime has come with this level of dread.
Not 2020 when Trump refused to accept the outcome of the election and chose to fly off to Mar-a-Lago rather than attend the swearing in of Biden.
Not 2016 when half the country was in denial about Trump’s chance to win.
Not 2008 or 2012 when Obama’s election led to massive increases in gun sales.
Not 2000 when George W. Bush’s election hung on a Supreme Court ruling and Al Gore’s decision to respect the court’s decision.
Not 1980 when liberals worried that Ronald Reagan would usher in an age of conservative extremism.
Not 1976 when Jimmy Carter rode a populist wave to the White House.
Not 1974 when Richard Nixon accepted the inevitable and left the White House (not an election year, but a test of the Democratic process).
Not 1960 when John F. Kennedy won what to that point was one of the tightest elections in U.S. history.
Over the past 60+ years, the concern that there would be violence post-election was there. But not to the extent that that feeling exists this morning.
It would be naive to suggest that we can simply look the other way. The rhetoric before us makes clear the tension that exists just below the surface.
However, it’s not naive to suggest that finding our way forward will begin by learning to listen to what those who disagree with us have to say. To that end, I would like to offer two simple questions that Democrats can ask Republicans, and vice-versa, that may begin to help us better understand one another.
For Democrats
Simple answers to why half the population is supporting Donald Trump do not exist. The thought that half the country supports Trump because of racism, or sexism, or because Republicans are predisposed to authoritarianism — as many Democrats have argued — ignore the very real concerns that motivate Trump’s supporters.
Immigration is a problem that we have failed to address for more than 40 years. The economy, while improving, is creating pain for anyone who visits a grocery store. And questions about America’s involvement in maintaining global stability are hardly new. George Washington was the original isolationist, working from the early days of America to keep us out of European conflicts.
To better understand why Trump’s supporters back him, set aside the simple answers, and ask a member of the Republican Party. Over the past two years, I’ve received many answers to this question. Some answers are easy to dismiss, others have forced me to think harder about how we approach our Republican neighbors and understand the concerns that they have.
For Republicans
The trauma of January 6 is not to be dismissed as a simple protest. It was an unprecedented assault on the outcome of an election that has withstood withering criticism and been shown to have been fairly administered and fairly counted.
The peaceful transfer of power is the defining trait of the American experiment and has set America apart from other democracies and non-democratic states in the world. No nation has ever safely transferred power for as many elections as we have in the U.S.
Downplaying that event, coupled with Trump’s language threatening journalists, “enemies,” and Democrats, rightfully has Democrats concerned about where Trump and his supporters are headed. (These also have deeply disturbed a number of Republicans — see, for example, the Bulwark.)
To understand why Democrats are so bothered by these issues, Republicans should ask their Democratic neighbors. Some of the answers will not resonate; others will likely open the door to deeper conversation and understanding.
No Panacea
Such simple questions may not sound like much. But in a country where our citizens are increasingly segregated by their politics, learning to break our echo chambers and hear our opponents is more important than ever.
Our problems are not going to resolved by what happens at the end of the day today, or who sits in the White House on January 20, 2025. Our problems will be resolved one conversation at a time, neighbor-to-neighbor.
It’s a long road. It’s the only road worth walking.
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