John Fetterman scored a big win for the Democrats in Pennsylvania
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Donald Trump wanted this past night to be about him — his Republican Party, his candidates, his vision.
The polls, and worried Democrats, thought it would be his night too. But the majority of voters had other ideas.
Largely they appear to have rejected extreme political novices for candidates who stand up for them.
But behind the celebrations there is another story: disappointment, anger and — thanks to the divided society created by Trump — suspicion too.
You see and hear it in Republican counties all over the country.
On my travels around America, I am frequently struck by the siloed nature of so many communities. They exist in their own echo chambers.
In many cases, frankly, they are lost inside these conspiracy-filled places and they don’t know it. The other day, I was talking to a young Republican supporter in Pennsylvania — where the Democrats have secured a surprise, and crucial, Senate victory for John Fetterman. A number of times this supporter mentioned “cat litter”. “The cat litter in schools, it’s crazy…” he said.
At the time, I didn’t pick him up on it. It wasn’t a central part of our conversation. And it was only later that I googled “cat litter schools America” and I understood what he was talking about.
“Schools in parts of America are allowing students who identify as cats to bring cat litter into the classroom.” Of course, it’s not true. It’s nonsense.
The issue it stems from is an important one — the extent to which gender identification should be reflected in schools. Conservatives have legitimate concerns about this. But the “cat litter” story has been peddled by at least 20 Republican Party candidates. They sell it as fact — all part of the Left’s woke agenda, they tell people. Except it’s not.
It’s one of so many wild conspiracies — nonsense which drives people to vote for the liars who have claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from them.
America has always been divided. News outlets have been partisan for the last three decades but today things are on a different level.
Left and, particularly Right-leaning cable news networks are now wildly partisan. Anchors on stations like Fox do not present news but hours of divisive opinion. Anger and outrage trumps fact and debate. Local newspapers are in decline and have been replaced by partisan online sites and shock-jocks.
Beyond that, so often I hear people say “I get my news from other sources; I do my own research.” Too often, that involves getting lost on social media and buying information that’s not fact-checked simply because it matches their perceived experience.
After last night, Donald Trump has some reflecting to do.
President Biden will be relieved and surprised. But he’ll know too that one better than expected night does not represent a nation healed.
