Opinion: All Political America Is Angry

Political America is angry. Boiling over angry. Before the election last November it was reported daily about the Trump "angry white supporters." It was almost a national embarrassment by all those not in the Trump universe. Then came the election and instantly it became all those not in the Trump universe who have become very angry maybe even angrier.

Meanwhile, those in the Trump universe are still angry by what they see now and what they felt was a huge neglect of them by mainstream politics, which only addressed: the poor, gay rights, the unemployed, the illegal immigrants, and other minorities.

The huge working class of Americans went to work, paid their taxes and felt hurtfully ignored — but almost never protested until they voted for Donald Trump.

When no other politician aimed his megaphone at them they found the voice of Donald Trump and made him a candidate. Then came the election where, for whatever reason, the Democratic Party base did not come out in record numbers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin, (all states Obama won) to push and lift Hillary Clinton through the glass ceiling to the American Presidency.

FBI Director James Comey and the Russian email hacking should not have affected the Democratic boiler plate base from showing up and voting. If anything, maybe over-confidence or no confidence did. The unpredicted and unthinkable to the majority happened. Donald J. Trump is now President.

What is occurring now is pure theoretical Karl Marx clashing of of large factions angrily over truly heartfelt grievances. There is no civil discourse because both sides are now hotheaded and believing they are right. It is painful to watch the guts of America disgusted at each other with vitriolic smug posting on social media aiming to show how stupid and morally wrong the other side is. At this moment there is no bridge to sanity because there is no leadership that can bridge that ocean of hate, distrust and to some, a forever rigid moral position.

Famed presidential political scientist Clinton Lawrence Rossiter III often spoke and wrote about how important it was for a president to have the "power to persuade."

Georgetown University School of Government Professor Walter Giles stressed this point during his graduate seminar on "The Presidency," which I attended at Georgetown University while still an undergraduate.

Giles called persuasion, the "President's ultimate power." President Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton had it, as they changed America's course in history through bipartisan decisions. Newly sworn in President Donald Trump has not revealed it as of now. President Trump, who did not receive the majority of the popular vote, does not seem to have a voice that can or will appeal to all Americans.

In fact, perhaps more than half of America finds their new President grossly distasteful, but people of this mindset in majority only occupy a minority of states and there lies the present problem. America being a collection of United "States", each state with their own powers to select a national leader, sometimes elects a President who wins the most states but not the most national votes. By now everyone know this is what just happened in November and many voters are livid.

So here we are with the "angry white working class Trump voters," and now the "livid angry non-Trump voters."

Both feeling the other side is what is wrong with America on the key domestic and foreign issues. There can be no compromise, good must defeat evil. The past shows how this kind of disconnect can lead to civil war.

Unless some sort of outside the box uniting situation arises this stalemate of dialogue will endure. Even though the President does have the power of "the pen and the phone," to create Executive Orders, and a Republican Senate and Congress can pass or repeal laws, without a majority of popular support behind their actions the country will only be pointed into a dangerous direction, perhaps towards a cliff. All of Political America is angry, and angry at each other. Not good.

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