Ideology Is Making Our Politics Dumber
Republican Ideas Just Don’t Work
Imagine it’s 1994. My friend and I are lost in a city we’ve never been to before, with no map and long before GPS was available to the average citizen. I might decide my best bet is to head to the water, or maybe the tallest building, or maybe follow the hospital signs. My friend might think the best option is to keep driving in one direction until we can orient ourselves. These are ideologies. We’re going to argue, and one of us might be right, but in the moment, there’s no way to tell. We’ll have to wait and see which strategy works.
In reality, we should have just pulled into a gas station and asked for directions.
Now, we’re in an age where answers are available. All we have to do is punch the question into our phones and go.
When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, he offered a radical new conservative vision for the country. He didn’t have data to back up his plan, but neither did his opponents. Well, guess what—the data is in, and we know what it says:
Republicans are bad for the country—for its government, its people, and its economy. And Donald Trump is one of the worst Republicans.
It’s the Economy, Stupid
Here’s your regular reminder: the economy performs way better under Democrats than Republicans. Decades of data show the U.S. economy consistently outperforms under Democratic presidents compared to Republicans. Key indicators—like job growth, GDP growth, and lower unemployment rates—are all notably stronger during Democratic administrations. Analysis from the Joint Economic Committee reveals that, since WWII, 10 of the country’s 11 recessions began under Republican leadership. This trend isn’t easily chalked up to luck; it reflects differences in policy priorities. Democrats typically emphasize middle-class investment and economic resilience, while Republicans have favored tax cuts benefiting the wealthy, which often fail to spur equivalent growth.
U.S. Economy Performs Better Under Democrats – United States Joint Economic Committee
National Debt Explodes Under Republicans
Here’s a brief overview of what happens to the national debt:
Democratic Presidents’ Impact:
Bill Clinton: Eliminated the deficit and created a budget surplus.
Barack Obama: Cut the deficit in half, from $1.41 trillion to $584.6 billion.
Joe Biden: Reduced the deficit during his first years in office.
Republican Presidents’ Impact:
Ronald Reagan: Increased the deficit from $70 billion to $175 billion.
George H.W. Bush: Raised it further to around $300 billion.
George W. Bush: Turned a surplus into a $1.2 trillion deficit.
Donald Trump: Increased the deficit to over $3 trillion in 2020.
We can discuss what impact the national debt has, or why it’s good, bad, or makes no difference at all. But for now, this is just a reminder: don’t trust a Republican who says they’ll reduce the national debt. There is absolutely no evidence to support this.
Look at the Scoreboard by Looking at the States
Want to understand which party is good for people? Look at the scoreboard. If you examine the states, you’ll see that blue states far outperform red states in every major category—from crime to income, healthcare outcomes, abortion rates, poverty rates, suicide rates, and drug abuse rates. Try it at home: think of a category, and blue states win.
Across a broad range of metrics, states governed by Democrats outperform those controlled by Republicans. For example, median household incomes are higher, poverty rates are lower, and more people have health insurance in Democratic-controlled states. Over the past two decades, these disparities have grown more pronounced: while some metrics like the poverty rate initially favored red states, by 2018, blue states were leading in nearly all major economic and educational outcomes.
People in blue states also live longer, healthier lives due to better healthcare policies and social safety nets. Even in terms of crime, data show higher violent crime rates in red states compared to blue states. While correlation doesn’t prove causation, the consistent outperformance across these varied metrics suggests that state policies in blue states contribute positively to the well-being of their residents.
This is a vast oversimplification, but it’s also supported by mountains of evidence. And if you broaden your search to Europe, you’ll see that countries, regions, and cities that pursue center-left policies far outperform their conservative counterparts.
Trump Is the Worst of Them All
Donald Trump lies. Even his supporters know this. But what’s happened under Trump is that Republicans, tired of their losing record, just make up the truth to suit their needs. Economists will tell you, for instance, that while pandemic-era inflation was global, inflation started to rise under Trump’s tariffs before COVID-19. They’ll also tell you that no country in the world has recovered faster from the pandemic-spurred recession than the United States under President Joe Biden.
That doesn’t mean things are good. It doesn’t mean there aren’t problems. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be frustrated with the status quo. But it does mean that whatever you’re frustrated with, Donald Trump is sure to make it worse.
This article is part of James Miller's "Stream of Consciousness," less-polished thoughts on the world's events as they occur. One should expect less supporting evidence and more typos than James' more polished work which you can find in the Analysis section of this blog.
