The Tragedy of Polarization
Red state Americans are failing to get vaccinated at the same rate as blue state Americans and lives are being lost.
I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If someone sent you this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you’d like to subscribe: you can sign up here.
I hope everyone had a very Happy Fourth of July. Here’s something I learned the hard way on Monday night. If you cut your index finger badly and have a half dozen bandages circling the tip of said finger, it’s a bit of a chore to type! So today’s newsletter — after a long weekend - might be a bit shorter than usual.
Over the weekend, I published my latest column at MSNBC, looking at the growing disparity in red and blue state America vaccination rates.
This chart, put together by Seth Masket and the Denver Post, tells an alarming tale.
If you live in a state that voted for Joe Biden, you are far more likely to be vaccinated than if you live in a state that voted for Donald Trump. Of the 18 states that have hit the 70 percent vaccination rate benchmark, all are states that went for Biden.
I am particularly fascinated by what’s happening in Missouri. Here’s a look at how the Show Me State voted in the 2020 election.
If you head over to the NYT’s interactive vaccine map and check out Missouri, you’ll notice that the two of the counties that voted for Biden, Boone County (in central Missouri) and St. Louis County (in eastern Missouri), have the highest vaccination rates in the state. The third Jackson County is among the state leaders.
Quite simply, going forward, Americans who supported Trump last November are more likely to get sick and die from COVID-19 than those who did not. If that doesn’t speak to the deadly consequences of political polarization, I don’t know what does.
As I note in the piece … what’s happening on vaccines is a part of a larger, disquieting trend:
Blue state Americans have far greater access to health care. Their political leaders invest more in education, day care, and other safety net programs. They strictly regulate handguns, which means fewer of their residents die from gun violence. Medicaid benefits are generous and are not tied to punitive regulations like work requirements.
Today, more than a decade after Obamacare became law, there are still 12 states that have refused to accept federal money to expand Medicaid … Not surprisingly, all 12 states have Republican-controlled state legislatures and the rationale for not accepting the federal government’s largesse is grounded in political polarization: They want to have nothing to do with a federal program associated with Barack Obama. That means nearly 4 million people are being deprived of access to health insurance for literally no good reason.
This gets to a significant phenomenon in American society that doesn't get nearly enough attention. Blue state America is more democratic, has higher standards of living, better health outcomes, and more generous government benefits, while red state America is becoming more authoritarian, with lower standards of living, a more frayed social safety net, and worse health outcomes. As a result, an American’s potential for living a long and happy life is increasingly tied to where they live and how they vote.
When you combine these trends with greater levels of hostility between Democrats and Republicans, with members of both parties inclined to view the other party with outright hostility, and more residential segregation by partisan and political identity, you have a situation in which the United States is functionally a house divided. The very idea of a shared American identity is becoming an increasingly antiquated notion. I fear the fight over vaccines is merely the tip of the iceberg.
Don’t Forget
I highly recommend watching this extraordinary video assembled by the digital team at the New York Times of the January 6 insurrection. It captures, in vivid detail, the utter chaos and mayhem of that day, the extent to which the storming of the Capitol was organized and planned, how close we were to a mass casualty event, including the deaths of lawmakers, and how woefully unprepared the Capitol Police were for the violence that day. Watching this video puts to rest any doubt that this was an armed insurrection against the United States government, and, as citizens, we have a responsibility to bear witness to what happened that day - especially as the former president and his allies seek to whitewash the events of that day.
What’s Going On?
Interesting post by Kevin Drum that argues liberals have shifted more to the left on cultural issues than conservatives have moved to the right.
Rep. Paul Gosar should be expelled from Congress.
The Ohio GOP Senate race is truly a race to the bottom.
Fascinating article by David Shribman on NASA’s efforts in trying to prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth.
Musical Interlude
In light of how I injured myself … here’s the Police performing “Wrapped Around Your Finger.”
Here’s Bryan Adams performing “Cuts Like a Knife” with Bruce Springsteen.