Buying Into a Democratic Senate
First of all, we feel sorry for all of those states which are suffering from floods and tornadoes, which are enhanced by warming and climate change, many of which are Republican and backed Trump. We in blue states are paying more for clean power and doing our part to lessen the enhanced storms from climate change for you. We are also aware that with your lead in the Senate, and the tax cut limiting deductions from blue states, your attack on our Affordable Care Act, and your federal subsidies of red states by blue states, we are already taking care of you.
The deal, and politics is all about deals, is that if only four small red states elect one Democratic Senator each, Democrats will control the Senate 51-49. In return, the wealthy blue states will throw more subsidies to those four states. Nothing much of a departure from normal political pork. If you are a natural gas producing state, we can also promise to make more purchases from your state as we replace coal by natural gas power. If you are a Midwest state with wind potential, we will subsidize your construction of more wind farms. If you are a Gulf or Atlantic state, we will subsidize offshore wind power. We will also give you aid when the next hurricanes and floods hit.
If your youth is leaving your state, we will subsidize computer education and a widespread internet. That will attract modern businesses to states with lower living costs, lower taxes, and plenty of room to expand. That means that you gain, and we gain. If you are afraid of refugees from Central America, we will restore foreign aid to those states which will lessen the need for people there to leave. We will also prevent separation of children from their families, and their imprisonment. We appreciate your military service, and will not divert funds from military housing and veterans benefits.
As it currently looks, there are three Republican Senate seats close enough to be tossups, according to the consensus rating of 270towin.com. They are Arizona, Alabama, and Colorado. Democrats also have to throw everything into those races as well. There are three more Republican positions rated Leans Republican, and no Democratic positions with the corresponding rating. Those positions are in Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland. Seats not in the election are 33 Democrats plus 2 Independents, versus 31 Republicans. Among Republicans at stake are 10 Safe, 7 Likely, and 3 Leans, and 2 tossups in Arizona and Colorado. The Democrats at stake are 6 Safe, 5 Likely, and 1 tossup in Alabama.
Democrats now control the House, and that means that they control the initiation of spending bills. If Democrats can get behind a winnable candidate, Democrats may even take the White House. Then these small states may well need the full cooperation of Democrats to get their full subsidies.
This strategy could work for the Presidential election as well. Many feel that the Presidential election should be nation-wide by popular vote, and not distorted by the electoral college system of giving all electors from a state to its leading candidate. Since the number of electors is the number of Representatives plus Senators, it also gives extra Senatorial electors to states with small populations. The first benefits Democrats in California, the latter disadvantages Democrats who have fewer states. The Presidential campaign is really to get support from all over, and more could be done with Republican states. Maintaining health care, lowering the costs of medicine, and support for college educations could be powerful issues, with open arms to rewarding Republican states that vote Democratic, seeing that Trump doesn’t support any of these.
