Ya basta. Let's really divide the country.

[LaMouffette]

I am starting to believe that due to the right's insistence on their way or the highway on everything from abortion to gun rights to what books can be taught in school, that it may be truly impossible to find common ground with them. Maybe it's time to physically divide the country into left and right. Yes, a gargantuan task, and how would this even be possible? I don't know.

I'm just writing this out of sheer exhaustion from the right's relentless attacks on democracy and individual freedoms, and it's early in the morning and I haven't thought it through—at all. But wouldn't it be nice if we could have our half of the country in which people were elected to office based on their qualifications and experience and intelligence and good intentions and desire to serve their community? A country where social and economic policies are based on common sense and concern for the success of everyone instead of just a few? A country where environmental and health policies are based on science? A country of inclusion, not exclusion, where people of all hues and sexual orientations are valued? A country where education seeks the truth above all things?

This is, I know, just pie-in-the-sky thinking, and I know I'm going to get a lot of "That'll never happen" responses. But damn, I'm just so tired of this, and I wish we Dems could just create our own little Denmark and let the Repubes just go and have their Taliban-esque society if that's what will finally shut them up.

[evemac]

1. I think this is already happening

I am a Texan who grew up in Houston, and reflecting back, I had an excellent education in public schools, grew up in a progressive family, and although I knew I there were conservatives all around me, most of our family and friends were center or progressive, too.
I am now in Boulder and as I look at my home state, I can't imagine living there ever again. Watching it from a distance, it IS a completely different place than what I knew growing up.

[LaMouffette]

2. I lived in Austin for several years, and back in the nineties it seemed to be the lone liberal oasis

in the Lone Star State. The rest of the state was definitely conservative, as you say, but back then there didn't seem to be the intense hostility toward liberals as there is today. I blame it on Fox News and the other right-wing media teaching those on the right to hate liberals.

[SoCalDavidS]

4. I Keep Hearing How Democrats Have A Chance In TX

I just do not see it. Beto is a great candidate for us, but IMO, he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in TX.

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Yeah, that would be great if my wife and I could just pull up roots and move after

67 years of living in a red state. One, we are too old, two, we don't have the resources. I know you are frustrated, but it will never happen, nor should it.

[LaMouffette]

12. You're right, Ferrets. I'm in a deeply red state, too (Montana), and don't want to leave it.

But what if (in a perfect world) each state had to declare half of its counties red and half of its counties blue?

People would not be forced to move from a blue county to a red one, but they could if they wanted to. The blue counties would be grouped together into blue representative districts, and red counties into red representative districts. Only Democratic candidates would be allowed to run for office in blue districts; only Republicans would be allowed to run in red districts. That would be the case for both state and federal representative offices.

As for federal Senate seats, each state would still have two senators, but one would have to be, by law, a Democrat, and the other one would have to be a Republican. And the governor of each state? Add a governor to each state, with a Democrat and a Republican co-governing the state.

Again, I'm just writing this off the top of my brain, so there would be untold number of unforeseen consequences in this proposal, but I just wish we could somehow end this increasingly vicious conflict between the left and the right (and I'm not both sides-ering here. I place all the blame for the ramped-up conflict on the Republicans. Almost all of us Dems are sweetie-pies.). In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Why can't we all just get along?"

[treestar]

5. the left gets tired

the right never does.

Where do they get their energy? Their fanatical energy.

I see this sentiment on DU all the time. Anyone ever heard a rightie express such a thing?

[Earth-shine]

7. Where do they get their energy?

Hate?

They are much better at it than we are.

[treestar]

8. If that's the answer (or maybe anger instead)

why do we have so little?

[Earth-shine]

10. Because we lefties tend to think about things, and almost invariably come to the conclusion ...

that hate (or anger) is not a productive answer.

Hate on the right is constantly stoked by their media like Fox.

[treestar]

11. unfortunate that it works so well then

as they will always have more energy.

But righteous anger makes energy - why does the left have so little? They get tired, whereas right wingers never do.

[Earth-shine]

6. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Ths SC is making the divisions worse.

[BSdetect]

9. There is a map showing Dumbfuckistan. Such a physical division is not going to happen

Impossible logistically. And for many other reasons.

We need senators to gain representation for the majority.

We are the majority.

[LaMouffette]

13. Yeah, but I wonder if peace is possible if we do win a supermajority and representation

for the majority. That's why I was wondering if we could implement some kind of "divorce" between the left and the right, so that we can arrange things the way we want them (social, economic, and environmental justice for all) and they can go off and have their own little vile part of the country with authoritarianism the guiding principle.

But, you're right. My plan would be impossible to carry out.