Behind the Curtain: Americans teach a lesson — again
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Voters were unambiguous on Tuesday: Don't B.S. us. Don't say you'll lower prices and end wars and corruption, then do the opposite. It's really that simple.
- This isn't so different from when Americans told Democrats not to B.S. them about Joe Biden's health, or about the words they should use, or social behaviors they should adopt.
Why it matters: Most Americans agree broadly on most things, most of the time. They want competent politicians to focus on issues that meaningfully impact their lives.
- Like clockwork, every two years, Americans feel the party in power fails to deliver this — so they punish the incumbents at the polls.
Politicians and some journalists tend to treat the American people as dopes and dupes who don't get what's happening in front of their faces.
- Tuesday's midterms, which will live in history as a Watergate-level reset for democracy, show that voters were paying attention and hit a boiling point. They didn't hide it. Polls consistently showed that all they really care about is rising inflation, job insecurity, ending the war, and stopping the rampant corruption.
- This was a repudiation of overreach, incompetence and corruption. People will tolerate it in small doses, but eventually reject it.
In an age when people trust institutions less all the time, our institutions held. Courts restrained executive-branch excess. The press kept doing its job. Voters did theirs.
- But for all the hand-wringing that America is crumbling, that democracy is fading, or elections are eroding, the system worked. Remember: most Americans are normal and resilient.
- We should celebrate that. Despite it all, America works.
For years, we've been reminding you about the power of Normal America: The vast majority of people — including our siblings, who are scattered from Oshkosh to Oregon — don't marinate in cable news, obsess about X or wake up thinking about Washington.
- They volunteer, they give to good causes, they'll help you in a pinch.
- They're good, they're fair ... and they're smart.
Between the lines: That's Normal America. Sometimes when we're making a tough call about journalism or business, we ask ourselves: "What would the person at the bar think?" It's a useful, clarifying proxy for: What would seem on the level through the lens of common sense and plain fairness?
- The person at the bar, and the voter in the booth, didn't want their soccer coach deported, didn't want their business to crumble because of a war of choice that's dragging on and on, didn't want the president's family and friends to enrich themselves while Normal America was wheezing.
What we're watching: Democrats will be tempted and pressured to overreach. If they overinterpret their mandate the way Republicans did, they'll be punished, like clockwork.
Here's what Republicans and Democrats will do if they're smart: Watch Texas. A seemingly impenetrable red state turned all blue, from the U.S. Senate to the governor's office to the state legislature. If Democrats can keep Texas, Republicans have no path to the presidency.
- Look at what happened in those southern border counties in Texas. These were the people who demanded tighter borders and punished Democrats when they wouldn't listen. But they're the same people who are saying stop with the thuggery and targeting of nonviolent people. Republicans were obliterated in those areas for not listening.
- Then look to the Texas suburbs, where you have many more traditional Republicans and moderate Democrats. They looked at Ken Paxton and said he's simply not on the level, even if they might agree with him on a lot of ideas. Corruption is never a good look. Enabling it and elevating it is even worse.
The bottom line: This remains a 50-50 nation — a simple fact that every party and power instantly, constantly ignores. Once again, Normal Americans spoke: Ignore or B.S. them at your peril.
