I take my doses of news in much smaller, manageable gulps these days. I have come to realize that trying to parse and understand the dearth of daily opinions, hard news stories, and social media headlines, is like sticking your head in the ocean when you just wanted a sip of water. There is just so much water, and almost none of it is actually good for you to drink.

I need to find a way to work toward answers that find true compromise, and offer solutions that are in the best interest of all involved. In short, I still feel strongly that the best path is somewhere in the middle of both extremes.

But, WHERE IS THAT MIDDLE!!??

I was befuddled by a report from CBS News on a segment of “Eye in America” from “the battleground state of Wisconsin,” to get their reaction to Musk’s mass firings of Federal Employees. Supposedly, Wisconsin is a “Purple State” which Trump barely won in the last election. To a person, everyone interviewed said they supported the firings because “Government waste needs to be eliminated.” One guy even went so far as to say essentially, “These guys could just be making paper airplanes, collecting their pay, and getting a pension.”

OK then. We’ll call that a “Deep Red Shade of Purple.”

I wonder if the Wisconsin farmers, who reportedly have upwards of 70% of the work being done on their famous dairy farms by illegal/undocumented immigrants, would give the same “stamp of approval” to the ICE tactics/plans being carried out by this same administration?

According to some, The Republicans won a “mandate,” to do whatever the hell they want, because they won the Presidential election, the House, and the Senate. Not by a landslide…but enough to win.

However…trying to find THE MIDDLE for the entire population of our voting-eligible population is a lot more complex, and really exposes some big questions. Like, WHERE THE HELL IS THE MIDDLE?

For that answer, we need to break down the stats from the last election.
The Statistics for Voting in the United States Are broken down into three primary categories.

• Voting Age Population (VAP)
• Voting Eligible Population (VEP)
• Voter Turnout

Voting Age is a single number that simply says, “X=number of citizens over 18 years of age during an election cycle).

Voter Eligibility is affected by a handful of factors that can eliminate someone who is of voting age, but disqualified for other reasons. Non-citizens (those living here under other citizenship for short and long term reasons) are not allowed to vote. Citizens with prior felony convictions are disqualified. This begs the question of Trump being able to vote in his own election legally. But, that’s another post for another time.

What IS important, when trying to figure out “THE MIDDLE,” is that while there were more than 244 Million eligible voters in the 2024 elections, only a little more than 156 Million actually voted.

That’s a difference between the VEP number, and those who voted, of 92,344,060 Million people!

Breaking that down even further to “the majority,” in the 2024 Election, Trump had 77,302,580 votes, to Harris who had 75,017,613. So…THE NON-VOTE “outvoted” both parties.

In actuality, the “Non-Vote” voted in a sense, by not voting. They were sending a message. But, what message.

When trying to find solutions for the problems facing ALL citizens, do we need to count them in the total, to reach THE MIDDLE?

Like it or not, the answer is “Yes!” They live, they work, they buy stuff, they pay taxes (presumably), and should have a part in the conversation, even if they have opted out of the number one way we let our voices be heard…voting!

Any decisions being made (or foisted on us), are policies which will change the way we ALL live, for the foreseeable future.

So, while the good folks that voted in Wisconsin and talked to the folks at CBS may represent the “old guys at the diner” demographic, they most certainly don’t represent the views of even half of those who voted (because there are already huge signs of “voter regret” with recent developments). Recent rallies against cuts in federal aid programs, as well as huge cuts in money given to farmers by USAID, would indicate that voters are regretting their choices from November.

If we are to understand where “THE MIDDLE” really falls in most issues…we have to talk to representative factions from ALL sides of the political spectrum; Voted Right, Voted Left, Didn’t Vote. Because, WHY they didn’t vote may be almost as important to understand as anything the old dudes at the diner had to say.

The SOLUTION to FINDING THE MIDDLE? Listen. Keep your mind open. And don’t be afraid to admit that there are a lot of ways of seeing the world, that are way different than what filters down your own silo.

I’m going to try. We’ll see where it goes. But, I’m going to try.