Subject: Re: 12 White House Lawyers Walk Into a Bar
OK, I think this is a good post, and maybe I can respond piecemeal. :)

Here are the trends in party affiliation from 1939 to 2014. Now this would have encompassed the entire Southern Strategy Era. We can say that both Democrats and Republicans suffered and Independents grew. We can also say that except for 2 small spots where they touch, that more people always identified as Democrats than Republicans. That Democrats and Republicans are actually coalitions with things in common I would agree with. and there are always influential groups in coalitions.

https://www.pewresearch.org/po...

The trend has been:
SNIP
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Forty-eight percent of U.S. adults on average in 2020 identified as Democrats or were independents who leaned toward the Democratic Party, while 43% were Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. The five-point Democratic advantage is consistent with the partisan balance Gallup measured over the previous four years, and is similar to the average four-point Democratic advantage (47% to 43%) over the past two decades. SNIP

This trend continues, and I suspect that one reason people become independent is because of the polarization. I tried it, but all you get is an earful of MAGA - who needs that? Conversation is generally precluded. Some MAGAs have hot buttons that come out at parties. Last one was a fellow claiming that Liberals were recommending self-euthanasia for a sexually confused teenage individuals. I looked later and it was tabled to 2027 and it was for people who didn't have a survivable medical condition and a certain depressed condition. I could see why it got tabled.

But in any case, I disagree that there are more Republicans than Dems. My point with the vote still stands. If you can say anything, we can say that this year the Dems and Repubs are more evenly split, but history shows us that is temporary and it will diverge in favor of the Dems, as has happened in the past. But how does that affect RULE? Well, in the last contest, Dems won, therefore not minority rule. We can't ignore the legislature, nor can we ignore how voting affects the legislature and the Presidency. Many Americans have accepted that for four years they aren't going to be happy. I still think we can survive a second Trump term and think I'm more moderate than liberal.