“Someone is going to win,” he told Lauren Windsor, a liberal filmmaker who was posing as a conservative activist and secretly recording the conversation.
He added, “I don’t know. I mean, maybe there’s a way to live peacefully together — to work together — but it’s hard. We disagree on fundamental points that are really irreconcilable. So there’s no compromise.” The comments were first reported by Rolling Stone magazine.
Right now, the rift between liberals/Democrats/blue states and conservatives/Republicans/red states is deep and, as Alito says, in some ways unsolvable. The average California voter doesn’t hold views that are all that different from the average Wyoming voter. But white Christian nationalists, anti-critical race theory, anti-transgender activists, and Texas voters hold views that are at odds with New York leftists who believe that colonialism, patriarchy, and white supremacy are the foundations on which America was built.
We’re not only embroiled in a “culture war” over whether we should read the New York Times’ 1619 Project or use the word “Latino.” Republican-run states make it very hard to join a union or get an abortion. Republicans strip liberal elected officials of their power and sometimes remove them from office. Someone whose views are shared by many white converted Christians (opposition to abortion and gender-affirming medical care, that black people would be as wealthy on average as white people if they worked more) is unlikely to be elected to a powerful office in a Democratic state.
Most importantly, key shapers of Republican policy are acting as if conservatives are fighting an existential battle with the left. These include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Justice Clarence Thomas, activist Christopher Rufo, and Trump advisers Russ Vought and Stephen Miller. Trump has vowed that if he returns to the White House, his administration will treat federal employees, left-leaning professors and students, and anyone else conservatives don’t like as enemies of the state.
I do not want to see Democratic officials, media outlets, nonprofits, or other non-conservatives take the same extreme actions as Republicans. The Biden administration should not create a list of organizations it will target if the president wins a second term.
But I hope that leading institutions and individuals on the left and center will understand that this country is in the midst of a non-military civil war, and act with the focus and purpose that comes with such a belief.
You might say that many are worried about the possibility of a Trump victory in November’s presidential election. That’s true. But Trump is not the only problem. The abortion bans in many states, the rollback of voting rights laws, the rollback of state criminal justice reforms, and the implementation of broad restrictions on racial speech in public schools and universities have all happened in the past three years without Trump in office. Conservative activists and officials have daily attacked left-wing institutions and values. From the Republican-dominated courts to state legislatures and congressional hearings, they have used every bit of power they have, leading to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.
Alito was right when he said “side.” Conservatives are not just Trump, they are a much broader group. And they are seeking victory, not compromise. In 2021, abortion was already significantly restricted in Republican-leaning states. But conservatives still tried to block abortion. Roe v. Wade Subverted — and subverted.
In contrast, Democrats acted as if they were only fighting Trump. As the Supreme Court became increasingly radical in 2021, Biden not only took the weakest approach possible (appointing a commission to study the issue), but essentially ignored its findings. He bragged about the relatively ineffectual gun control bills he passed with Republicans in Washington, while ignoring how conservatives at the state level have weakened gun rights restrictions in much of the country.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has refused to even hold hearings on the controversy surrounding Justices Alito and Thomas.
Many media outlets, even some liberal ones, portray politics as Trump versus the Democrats in Washington. They barely cover state politics and essentially ignore where political action takes place. The media still often evaluates politicians’ effectiveness based on their ability to work across party lines. But Republicans such as Vought are accomplishing their goals without support from liberals.
I can not do it Prove Leading Democrats and prominent left-of-center figures have a different perspective than Alito, perhaps even recognizing deep down that the country is deeply divided and that someone must win. Biden supporters will argue that the president recognizes the deep divisions but believes the best way to resolve them is to win reelection, possibly by adopting a more conciliatory stance.
The reason I’m skeptical of that view is that Democrats in heavily Democratic areas who don’t need to persuade Republicans like Durbin do are still not acting with much urgency, as if reaching an agreement with conservative lawmakers is a major accomplishment.
The media seems constantly surprised by the Republican Party’s extreme actions, such as nominating Trump for president again, but it is not surprising that a political movement that believes it is a life-or-death fight would continue to support a man who has demonstrated a deep commitment to its ideals and a willingness to use any means necessary to win the political battle.
There are two visions of American progress. Liberals are willing to compromise on some aspects of their vision, but most prominent conservatives are unwilling to find middle ground. The best way to lose a fight is to pretend it’s not happening, and unfortunately, many prominent liberals and moderates do just that.