Things move in cycles. They come and go. Nothing lasts forever, but for some reason people like to operate as if things do.
California used to be a Republican stronghold and Texas used to be a Democrat stronghold. Florida has been red recently, but it went for Obama before that and has a history of going back-and-forth. Even Iowa used to be a purple state that is now solid red.
On the flip side, the last time Minnesota went red in a presidential election was 1972. Enter State Sen. Mike Bousselot's (R-Ankeny) “Make Minnesota Iowa Again” campaign.
Side note: MAGA had its moment and took the nation by storm. Could we please start getting original again? This is why I don't watch Disney movies anymore – everything is a lazy remake.
Back to the conversation at hand.
I'm from Mason City up in north Iowa, and I have family up there in Clear Lake, as well. Because of that, I was interested to hear Bousselot's proposal to purchase the nine border counties in southern Minnesota. These counties were originally part of the Iowa Territory, but were cut off when Iowa became a state.
On its face, I will say it is not a terrible proposal. If all we're thinking about is right now and tomorrow, it makes sense. I don't necessarily think this is the best example of a state senator keeping their “eyes on the prize,” so to speak, as there are a million other important things to worry about, but points for thinking outside of the box.
Those counties hold 185,000 citizens, and those citizens are mostly all part of farming communities. There would be no change in each state's electoral votes, and the idea seems to be that those citizens would seamlessly assimilate into Iowan culture, as Iowa is “more farm friendly” and “better managed,” Bousselot said.
Minnesota is liberal and Iowa is conservative. Got it. We need more people like “us,” and we need to rescue other people from “them.” Heck, if Iowa City wasn't the home of the Hawkeyes, we might as well sell it to Illinois!
But what about when things flip?
It doesn't look like Iowa will ever go blue again, or that Minnesota will ever go red again. But they will. I can't tell you when it will happen or how it will happen, but I guarantee it. That's how politics work – ride one thing out for long enough and you wanna try the other thing.
What does the Republican party look like post-Trump? DeSantis could get his turn, and there are others. But is there really anyone as energetic and captivating as Trump, whose celebrity and out-of-left-field approach won over voters? The Republican party is Trump now. After him, it's anyone's guess what its identity will be.
On the flip side, the Democrats need to figure out what their strategy is. Clearly voters don't like them right now, but four years is enough time to rebrand and win people over. Four years is a lot more time than we think. It's all been done before.
So why does all of this matter? Because the trend right now is foolish. If certain people could have it their way, some states would be red for the rest of time and some states would be blue for the rest of time. Our only interaction would be making fun of the other and acting like we aren't even part of the same country.
There is beauty in the tension. Minnesota needs those southern counties to represent conservative interests. Iowa needs Iowa City to represent liberal interests. May the best man win, but could we at least have a little competition?
I highly doubt this purchase will even take place, but its proposal is a sign of something deeper in this country – the idea that your side will last forever.
It won't, and you'll be better for it. When you get exactly what you want all the time, you become the worst version of yourself. With this past Monday being Inauguration Day, I think some people genuinely believe the next four years is going to be sunshine, lollipops and getting everything you want. Others think it's going to be four years of persecution and hell on earth.
Both are wrong.
May we all have the wisdom to understand that losing is sometimes what we need and what we deserve, and that winning isn't because you're definitely on the right side of history and have everything going for you.
Then, maybe, we can keep our eyes on things that surpass this world and its finite institutions. The sooner we realize that political parties have nothing to do with our salvation, the better.
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
- Psalm 146:3-4
