COLUMN: Doing the math shows we’re a divided country

I wrote these words in this space in June 2001, and to my “really not much of a surprise,” the content hasn’t really changed in the 20-plus years since.

That’s kind of sad.

The occasion was then Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords’ announcement that he could no longer be a Republican. The “party of Lincoln,” as he called it, had no room for moderates like him. It was becoming far too conservative. (Sound familiar?) Evidently, he couldn’t completely make the switch by vaulting over to the Democratic Party, so he decided to become an Independent.

As a registered Independent myself, I thought at the time that Jeffords’ move was downright gutsy. But I knew then that his problems were only just beginning as I heard the same from family and friends. Folks from both political parties were sure to ask, “Are you nuts? You really must pick a party. Your vote has no real power as an Independent.”

No real power, indeed. Just ask Dick Cheney what happens when an unhappy senator from Vermont makes up his mind to bail on his political party.

Up until Jeffords’ defection, the Senate was evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, a 50/50 split in 2001. (Sound familiar?) In the event of a tie, then Vice President Cheney would have had to step in to cast a vote. That made the usually lackluster position of U.S. Veep quite a bit more interesting — and gave the Republicans a technical majority but a majority nevertheless. (After the 2020 election, Vice President Kamala Harris was in the same boat except that when she cast a tie-breaking vote, it was, in effect, a vote for the Democrats.)

As an Independent, Jeffords took a vote out of the Republican column, which made the new vote alignment 50/49/1 — and all manner of role reversals occurred in the cast of the Republican leadership. Trent Lott from Mississippi was Majority Leader, Tom Daschle from South Dakota was Minority Leader and a host of other Republicans held committee chairs.

Then, a mere 124 days into the Bush administration, Lott and Daschle switch positions, Democrats all over the place get new jobs and Republicans are questioning what the heck happened.

These tight majorities continue to be wobbly at best. (Currently, the Senate is 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans and three Independents in the Senate; in the House, the seats are 213 Democrats and 222 Republicans.) Is it any wonder that newly elected Republican Congressman George Santos manages to retain his seat despite all kinds of alleged nefarious deeds?

With such a tight majority, the Republicans are reluctant to even try to oust Santos since they can’t afford to lose the vote.

Doing the math demonstrates that either party’s majority is precarious — and that there’s no real mandate from the voters. We are truly a divided country. (Where’s a landslide when you need one?)

In any case, regardless of political persuasion, I would hope the words of Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Paine will take on more weight in the days to come. As Paine put it, “He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”