Make Politics Boring Again

Politics used to be boring. When we listen to our former presidents their words were more measured and their message more centrist in its attempt to try and appeal to the left and the right. There was a decorum that came with being president because one misplaced word or an incorrect syllable or ill-advised banner could distract from their agenda indefinitely.

One of the most important powers of a president is his ability to frame the narrative. Pick a popular issue. Use the bully pulpit to focus the media’s attention on it. If the president, however, has ADHD then it will be virtually impossible to build consensus on any issue because the president would have already moved on to creating the next headline. Entertaining? Perhaps. Effective? No.

It’s this lack of focus and decorum that so many American’s found appealing in Donald J. Trump. He reflects our ADHD society. He speaks his mind! Caution to the wind! Trump has tweeted more controversial statements in a day than George Washington did during his entire presidency.

It’s this reality show aspect of his presidency that has caused many of my friends who have little interest in public policy to then take strong positions against Trump as if voting for a president was like voting for America’s Next Top Model, “Have you heard what Trump said today?!” Oh boy, what is it now?

Unfortunately, what 2020 has demonstrated is that name-calling, tribalism, negativity, and fear-mongering is capable of churning out a massive amount of views and votes. It definitely wasn’t the appeal of either of these candidates that got people to tune-in and turnout, but it was the circus show itself.

If it wasn’t already clear before, in 2020 and beyond, the way to get attention and win elections is by out-insulting and outshouting your opponents. ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK!

How do we turn away from this impending idiocracy? Things won’t change as some hope by electing Joe Biden because the incentives in the system are still there. In fact, the incentives are even stronger on the House and Senate level where it’s much harder for candidates to break through the noise to get the attention they need to win their primary and general. Both sides will continue to demonize the other to the point of irrationality. When they go low — go lower!

How can make politics boring again?

EASY VOTING: I’m a conservative, but I recognize we need to make voting easier. It’s hard to convince people with logic why they should wait 2 hours on a Tuesday morning to vote for mediocre candidate A or B in a state that’s virtually guaranteed to go for A. If appeals to patriotism don’t work then a campaign can increase turnout by making people feel that if they don’t vote for candidate A then they’ll be complicit in electing Hitler. And also if they don’t vote all their friends and family will find out, drag them out of their bed, and give them 54 Hell Mary’s as they choke them out until they say, ”I can’t breath!” Exactly! Go vote! But if we made voting easier (more polling places, same-day registration, effective mail-in ballot system like in Oregon) then Americans’ wouldn’t need to be level-10 angry to feel inspired/pressured to vote. They’ll vote because it’s as easy and essential as brushing your teeth. And guess what will happen to our politics? Politicians will spend less time screaming at you to vote (VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!) and more time persuading you on why you should vote for them. Both sides will appeal less to the extremes (smaller portion of the electorate and less necessary to drive it) and more toward the boring middle again.

You can read this full (video) essay @ https://qr.ae/pNWnm3