Why are so many voters staying home? Why did Latinos move toward Trump in such big numbers? Why did states like New Jersey move right in 2024? These questions plague the ivory tower types. Their confusion stems from living so high in the clouds that they no longer see the ground beneath them.
The idea of the “Left” and the “Right” in politics originated during the French Revolution to delineate where members of the Assembly sat based on their beliefs. Those on the Left were the republicans and revolutionaries; focused on radical change and secularism. The Right were monarchists and conservatives, often represented by the nobility and the clergy.
Here in the US, we use these terms to describe Democrats (the left) and Republicans (the right.) But as we head deeper into the 21st Century, further into the Trumposcene Era–and away from the Post-War political order–they no longer adequately represent Americans’ belief systems.
Political scientists, pollsters, and consultants attempt to plot where a voter resides along the horizontal “X-Axis,” from Left to Right. An individual’s position along this continuum may be assessed from individual surveys, qualitative research, regression analysis, or grouping together by certain demographic or economic traits.
During the 2004 Bush-Cheney reelection campaign, the first to utilize ‘micro-targeting,’ a Republican might be assumed to drink Budweiser and drive a pickup truck, while a Democrat was more likely to drive a Mercedes and drink chardonnay. For decades, this brute, over-generalized mix of politics, economics, and culture to assess a voter’s standing was never sufficient, but it came close enough. Horseshoes and hand grenades.
However, in 2025, we’re focused on the wrong axis. For the economic, political, and media elite, the top of the Y Axis, the vertical, is a place of comfort, authority, and superiority. The nearest analog is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If you’re able to live in Cloud City, NATO, narrow-bore social issues, and the latest scandal are worthy of thousands of words, hours of video, and countless dinner-party conversations.
Most Americans, though, and more everyday, live much further down the Y Axis, closer to the Ground Zero of American politics, the origin, (0,0) where there isn’t much time or energy beyond the immediate worries of rent, the next meal, childcare, healthcare, or which bills to pay and which put off.
According to Market Watch Guides, 57% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, that is, an individual who’d be unable to meet their financial obligations if unemployed. Of this cohort, the majority are Millennials or Gen Z, who now represent more than half of the US population. Nearly three quarters of Gen Z respondents are living hand to mouth, which, given their youth, may be a result of their recent entry into the job market after an educational experience heavily disrupted by Covid.
That 65% of Millennials claim they have little-to-no disposable income or emergency cash is beyond troubling, and their economic reality is already expressing itself as political apathy; the next step is systemic instability. This is a flashing red light for the political and economic elite. So far, too few are either aware or willing to heed the warnings.
Per Pew Research, in 2024, 48% of non-voters said they were Democrats or leaned left. However, of that same universe, only 40% said they would have voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. This eight-point delta is yet another indication that traditionally left-leaning cohorts are neither hearing nor seeing candidates that are speaking to the reality of their lives, demonstrating a concern for the issues facing them, or an understanding of their core values.
Moving down the Y-Axis is crucial not just in political strategy or philosophy, but in how and where political organizations and campaigns are spending their time and resources. As I saw first-hand last fall, showing up to a poor Black neighborhood just weeks before Election Day is insufficient to convince voters you care about them.
Even if a candidate is willing to spend the time and effort in these communities, they must be prepared to check their litmus tests at the door. Decades of de-industrialization, rising costs, and stagnating wages require new, dynamic, and honest discussion about how we as a country should proceed.
And this is where too many political elite become stuck in a web of their own making. To spend time in Grand Rapids, South Philadelphia, or rural Iowa means first accepting that these voters have as much right to the American Dream as anyone else, that their concerns are valid, and that an honest conversation (listening included) is possible.
The consultant class of both the Republican and Democratic Parties have bought multiple beach houses keeping the American people divided on cultural fights while their quality of life sees a steady decline and uncertain future.
To spend time in Grand Rapids, South Philadelphia, or rural Iowa means first accepting that these voters have as much right to the American Dream as anyone else…
A could-be authoritarian like Donald Trump is not the cause of our disarray; he’s the result–perhaps the ultimate result–of a status quo that too many voters wanted nothing more to do with. While an inveterate liar, Trump was able to personally connect with many voters’ sense of anger, humiliation, and disconnectedness.
When left with two unpalatable choices, voters have responded by selecting the populist, anti-establishment candidate promising to ‘do something.’ Democrats continue to put their political prospects in peril by their unwillingness to see the country as it is, not as they’d like it to be from tony coastal enclaves.
If the American Experiment is to survive this era, we must get back to the (0,0) on the political axis. We’re beyond “left” and “right.” We must now politically, economically, and physically get back to the people who will decide the direction of the country in coming years and decades: Not those at the top of the Y Aixs, but those at the bottom.
Listening to them is not just good politics, it is our responsibility.
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The right/left paradigm is an artifact of the duopoly. Being limited to only two parties make politics similar to sporting events where the audience splits up into supporters for each of the two respective teams. Depending on what team you support you are informed about what opinions you should have and which television stations you should watch. A duopoly is no way to run a democracy.
In turn, the root cause of the duopoly is the voting system we use. It has long been thought that we have the duopoly because we use plurality voting. That association is called Duverger's theorem. It's not really a theorem, it should probably be called Duverger's hypothesis. But that does not mean that switching to just any other voting system is going to fix the problem. One that will do the job does exist, however. It is called balanced approval voting:
https://www.opednews.com/articles/What-is-so-Special-about-B-Approval_Balanced-Voting_Voting_Voting-Machines-241208-232.html
Listening and actually hearing followed by a good conversation is a challenge. I think all of us need to do a better of this whether with youth, young adults or those viewed as "old". Well, I know I do. Thanks, Reed for trying to keep us honest as we work for a future together. Take care.