The Disaster Coalition

By David Bittinger

November 24, 2023

Have you ever made a serious mistake, then put off dealing with the consequences? Congratulations if you’ve done that less often than I have.

Serious mistakes, ones that drag on and pile up, have accumulated a big past-due bill for America. But government glorifiers in almost all media and every public sector have camouflaged recognition of these mistakes, giving people denials and rationalizations instead.

Isn’t Biden inflation making simple grocery shopping stressful and putting home ownership out of reach for most younger Americans? Oh, no, that’s actually not happening. We’re in the era of triumphant “Bidenomics.”

The New York Times’ Paul Krugman recently published a column declaring that “The war on inflation is over” and “We won, at very little cost.” Krugman corrected common sense by arguing that inflation is no problem for Americans who are not eating, not using gas or electricity, and not living under a roof. He thus demonstrated that an economist awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics by Scandinavian deep thinkers can double as an accidental clown.

Has Biden’s foreign policy been creating one American humiliation after another, now risking American direct involvement in wars east and west? Don’t worry! The new, post-history left doesn’t see looming crises repeating the patterns of past ones. Frailty in the face of villainy is now a faded memory . . . or a pretty olive branch.

Are U.S. taxpayers being forced to support surging millions of benefits-seeking illegal immigrants while many employable professionals wait long years to immigrate to America legally? Relax! The goal is more indentured voters for Democrats, and that goal’s being achieved. And progressive plutocracy doesn’t need a middle class.

What about Democrat-ruled cities’ crime waves fueled by prosecutors who refuse to prosecute repeat criminals? What crime waves!? George Soros is financing that “social justice,” and as a far leftist multi-billionaire, he must know what he’s doing.

As if these alibied mistakes haven’t been bad enough, we’re also likely facing a bad-sequel mistake: one more Biden vs. Trump election. And once again a majority of voters will probably be more worried about Trump than they are about the rot he campaigns against, more bothered by alarmism than by alarming realities.

And the rot spreads. As more people flee the cities failing under non-governing government and aggressively pardoned crime, many of them perversely bring their politics along with them to new homes in the suburbs and exurbs.

So the suburbs gradually turn into If-I-Had-A-Hammer hamlets. Why do so many of the people fleeing failing cities vote again for the ruinous politics they fled? Poor memory, poor education?

The suburbs have been my main terrain. I grew up in an idyllic western suburb of Chicago, Glen Ellyn. It’s still idyllic, just much pricier.

But prosperity can breed ideological sociopathy, and not just on the coasts. A Glen Ellyn peer of mine moved on to become a major figure in leftist activism, participating in multiple left-wing terrorist acts by building bombs, one of which went off prematurely, killing three of his confederates. Years later he hosted a fundraiser for a simpatico rookie Illinois politician, Barack Obama, who would, of course, go a long way with what is called “progressive” politics.

Did I move on from youthful suburban insularity to participate actively in civic affairs and service to America? Sorry to admit, I did not. I did get some op-eds into newspapers that (back then) occasionally published conservative wise-guy commentary, but mostly I wrote advertising that produced only paychecks.

And I ended up in another western suburb, this one 90 miles north. This amounted to moving from Chicago, which was then beginning to run toward disaster, to an area just slow-walking it.

So maybe I am, through laziness or lack of courage, just one more default participant in America’s decline. You might have noticed that decline with $33 trillion of ignored debt, government schools indoctrinating children in neo-Marxist dogma, presidents who behave like geriatric teenagers, an economy tethered to Chinese communist autocracy, and repeat criminals put back on city streets to ply their trade.

America has a hard-to-defeat voting majority now. Call it The Disaster Coalition. It’s a satisfied bloc of college-educated virtue posers, tenured government and education payrollers, the government-dependent couch-committed, scot-free shoplifters and their enablers, plus other people deficient in basic math and language skills. This broad population is difficult to beat politically.

We old-fogey advocates of functional government keep hoping to defeat The Disaster Coalition and its defense of dysfunctional government. We do have a better model in favoring —

  • a federal government that prefers not to put every state and community at the mercy of as many know-it-all federal bureaucrats as possible
  • a constitution written carefully by learned freethinkers who’d abandoned and rejected British royalty (as opposed to the neo-royalist disdainers of the constitution who’ve been gaining power over our past 75 years)
  • an economy focused on a productive private sector rather than the Venezuelan economy destroyed by Hugo Chávez’ socialist government
  • prosecution of actual crimes rather than thought crimes

But the truth is, our model hasn’t been winning elections lately, thanks to shrewd marketing by leftist bumper sticker marketers and the ego-driven distemper of a reality-TV guy. Now hoping the next election goes better feels something like hoping people will go back to reading serious books.

But the hope is worth pursuing. We can still vote against The Disaster Coalition, still hang on to underdog goals, as we Chicago sports fans do. I can still hope my defeat-addled White Sox will stop their volunteer blundering, even though right now that feels unlikely as the recently crushed hope that Chicago would elect a mayor less disastrous than Lori Lightfoot.

So, here’s a four-point plan to defeat The Disaster Coalition. It’s not the one that a big Republican political consultant would propose, but it’s a solid plan.

  1. Point out that all Democrats known to covet the 2024 presidential nomination have serious inadequacies in capacity or character. Just look at them. One is a life-long blithering dunce whose first presidential campaign (36 years ago!) ended because he was caught having delivered an impassioned autobiographical campaign speech that was actually the speech of a British politician. Not many people remember, but this man was a blithering dunce long before he began suffering from infirmity. Then there’s his vice-president, who’s gained fame for her cackling and baby talk. Then there’s the smiling, empty performer who, as Mayor of San Francisco and now Governor of California, has gone to great lengths to trash his state and appears to be a motorized mannequin. Then there’s the governor who cut his personal property taxes by removing toilets from a mansion, gave big vote-winning checks to Black churches, and now gobbles up Illinois’ resources (and much else). Then there’s . . . .
  2. Don’t nominate the only current-Republican politician who disturbs people even more than whoever the Democrat candidate will be. Please don’t, even if you admire his recent hostility to the party he once showered with campaign contributions. A 2024 Trump vs. Name-Your-Leftist-Nitwit election would be the most dim, substanceless, nation-roiling election since . . . well, since the last one.
  3. You can make the case for Ron DeSantis over Nikki Halley, Halley over Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy over DeSantis, or any other viable Republican candidate. But maybe it’s best not to take any such candidate as indispensable. Just review the streets and management of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and so on. Then take a long look at the Democrat candidate and use your imagination.
  4. Recall why Reagan was so electable and admirable. Or, if you recall or care to research it, go back further to Eisenhower. You’ll find that those presidents provided general stability, progress, and confidence in America’s future. Neither was capable of such incompetence as, for instance, fueling ruinous inflation, then refueling it through a pseudonymous “Inflation Reduction Act.”

Just vote against disaster. That’s not so difficult.

-30-

David Bittinger lives in Wisconsin but still feels loyalties to the Chicago he moved from shortly after the kingdom of Daley The First.

He graduated from the first coed class at Vassar. As a young advertising copywriter in Chicago, he was invited to Tribune Tower, where the sagacious Managing Editor told him he should consider writing newspaper commentary. This good advice unfortunately took 15 years to sink in. 

The first op-ed submission he made was miraculously published by The Washington Post. But that was followed by many rejections, as newspaper circulation and editorial sense of humor began declining. Still, a great, open-minded Tribune editor, Marcia Lythcott, published him a number of times, and he also placed op-eds at the Los Angeles Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and elsewhere.

Today he publishes commentary on his own website and political poetry on “X.” Even better, he now contributes to the website of America’s best columnist. 

He’s been a devoted White Sox fan since the Louie-Nellie era but is now too embarrassed even to wear that wonderful logo. 

Comments 59

  1. I’ve been harboring the thought, for several years now, that the (liberal) government is trying to kill us. Why wouldn’t it- it’s operated by people who are insane.
    Hopefully the majority will have the same sensible ideas as outlined here. There may yet be hope. . .

  2. Excellent piece and spot on. The $64,000 question, how to wake up the woke (not gonna happen) or get enough out there to vote and reject this goofy philosophy. Maybe the Preckwinkle’s, Johnson’s, Pritzker’s, Biden’s need to have some of the crap they invest in happen to them. I’m sure there’s a way one could get mugged walking down the street. Or their limo could get carjacked on the Gold Coast. Maybe even have a log wielding lunatic attack after a news conference. If it keeps going, even JB won’t be able to afford a pack of gum (btw people, don’t support Hyatt Hotels)

  3. A little historical context, Mr. Bittenger. Reagan was considered a grenade-tosser by many in his day, one who spoke hard truth in blunt terms and enraged opponents for his unapologetic style.

    That he could do so in Fred MacMurry’s soft voice is a difference in aesthetics from Trump – not one in substance.

    1. Mr. Lindich does correctly recall that Reagan in his day was denounced by Democrats as a grenade-tosser (actually a racist grenade-tosser). This was the onset of a furious quadrennial demonization of Republican candidates that might have peaked at Mitch Romney being denounced by The New York Times universe as an evil animal abuser because he once vacationed with a dog-carrier fixed to his car roof.

      But “Fred MacMurry’s soft voice” with Trump’s substance? Recollections vary, but mine recalls Reagan as skillfully inspiring success and faith in America’s national character. Trump’s foremost talent was making everyone angry.

    1. Sincere thanks, Paul. Isn’t this site irreplaceable? Of course, that starts with the owner, but extends to jkn Comments, which generally reflect the well-read, thoughtful audience that a certain pre-woke newspaper once had. I’d say jkn even has a better class of trolls, more entertaining than National Review’s. I had a nice laugh over a TDS comment below.

  7. SPOT ON!

    We need responsible, “adult” leadership rather than self-interested politicians, masquerading as leaders, “who behave like geriatric teenagers”.

    The last few presidential elections have been “hold your nose and vote for the one who stinks the least” but 2024’s contenders have become so putrid over the years that the election stench is (too?) overpowering, off-putting would be voters. My cynical side says that’s probably just the politician’s strategy. My hopeful side says the pendulum will swing back to a majority of people who will “defeat The Disaster Coalition”.

  8. “Call it The Disaster Coalition. It’s a satisfied bloc of college-educated virtue posers, tenured government and education payrollers, the government-dependent couch-committed, scot-free shoplifters and their enablers, plus other people deficient in basic math and language skills. This broad population is difficult to beat politically.”–Ain’t it the truth, right on the money!

    2. Yep, this says it all! Lived in the western burbs my entire life, and never thought I’d see the day that these leftist progressives are taking over. They have indoctrinated our youth in government schools since the 80’s. Forty some years later this is what we’ve got: Blame everything on Trump mentality, no self accountability, wokism, taxes out the roof, car-jackings, criminals waiting for their next victim, a populace who vote like lemmings.

      Thank you, David for your commentary. Truth.

        2. People need to start looking at outcomes before they vote. You don’t need to be a persons friend. Will they make sound policy decisions? Will they put the future of the country ahead of their own wealth and prestige?

      2. Thomas. If high moral standards were the sole determinant of an effective “good” President then Jimmy Carter would have been our nation’s greatest President. The fact is that personal moral behavior (think JFK for instance) is not mutually exclusive to being a “good” President.

    2. You truthfully think? Hmm, guess you don’t remember what Mr Trump did for us? Lowered prices across the board by cutting government red tape, fuel, taxes, etc. His personality kept other nations afraid of America and kept us out of conflicts. Don’t forget all the leftist lies about him before the last election. Also all the criticism when The Kung Flu started, I think he spoke against China and was criticized, yet he was correct. Mr Trump never took anything, he never needed to. About his personna, not a perfect match of The Lord Jesus, but I can tell Mr Kass I don’t like his profanity either, yet I haven’t dropped him. Let everyone be honest, I’ll bet $1000 that 99% of the fellow Kass subscribers are NOT as morally conservative as me, yet me and the 60,000,000+ voters (suspect 99.9 % were non cheats) are ready to get Mr Trump back to straighten the ship! People who sprew today’s seemingly profanity have no grips to cast on Mr Trump! But they will continue to cast stones! Are you one of them?

      1. Tax cut??? What tax cut??? My taxes went up with Trump in office. And I fall squarely into the middle of what I believe is considered to be “middle class” in terms of income.

  10. I have a friend , a charter member of the Disaster Coalition , visiting Chicago this weekend . I thought to warn her to stay in her hotel room given the brutal attack on that young woman on the Miracle Mile last week . Knowing the head in the sand , all is well attitude of the Disaster Coalition , the words would be wasted . Hope she gets home OK.

    1. Now you’ve got me also hoping she gets home OK, FJH! Your instinct here is admirable, but for us conservatives compassion is a bit harder to act on. We don’t reflexively toss around billions of dollars of other people’s money.

  11. Why do so many of the people fleeing failing cities vote again for the ruinous politics they fled? Poor memory, poor education?
    This is the million dollar question David. This question you asked is identical to one that has been tumbling around my head for years. I’ve asked this question to numerous people of various locations and political backgrounds, and nobody can seem to come up with a somewhat competent answer. The only one we’ve been able to come up with is Stockholm Syndrome. These people must suffer from it. There is no other logical reason why people will flee an oppressive state like California, New York, or Illinois, head to Florida, Texas, and Arizona, only to vote the same way they did in the states they fled from. When asked why these folks fled, most will answer with high crime, high taxes, unaffordable housing, and unaffordable everyday cost of living such as groceries, fuel, etc…Come election time, these same people will vote for the same type of politicians that caused all the chaos that they couldn’t stand and just had to move away from.
    I’ve got friends and relatives who live in FL, AZ, and TX, they saw this coming over 15 years ago. They would always say Jeff, you are welcome to move here, just make sure if you do, please be sure to leave your politics back in Chicago. I knew exactly what they meant, and even though I was one of the rare unicorns who didn’t vote like the lemmings, they wanted to be sure I was aware of the house rules. Unfortunately, others are not following those rules, and are now creating problems in these new locations that they are settling into.
    It has to be Stockholm Syndrome.

    1. Your idea, Mr. Grabill, that Stockholm Syndrome explains the migration of dumb politics is shrewd, and probably figures into this suburb-subversion phenomenon at some level. But don’t forget the persistence of soft-brained sentimentalist politics.

      The “progressive” disease now helping suburbs regress is real. The western suburb of Chicago I grew up in and the western suburb of Milwaukee I now live in both were once solidly Republican, but Democrat candidates are now more often winning in both areas. I wonder whether crime has now begun to creep upward in Glen Ellyn as it’s creeping in Brookfield. As Mr. Graybill seems to have experienced, it’s a bad idea to bring up to liberals the hand-in-hand migrations of left politics and crime. They might tell you it’s all Trump’s fault . . . and they won’t be kidding.

      1. George Lakoff professor emeritus at UC Berkeley addressed this phenomenon. He said people vote their values … not their self interest. The question I have is why is there such a divergence of values from self interest, and if so why do folks prioritize “values” above self interest … even if those values ultimately are suicidal?

    2. This mindset isn’t limited to Americans. Why do people who come here from backward, corrupt and oppressive countries try to institute the same practices in the enclaves where they settle? I’m thinking specifically of the Ilhan Omars and Rashida Tlaibs, but it also applies to those coming from South and Central America and other countries. And, the mindset apparently isn’t limited to humans. A beaten dog will still come to its master, even when it has the chance to run. Maybe the psychiatrists should find a new name for this “syndrome;” maybe call it the stupidity gene?

      1. Nicely observed, Mr. Allen! I’m working right now on a column that examines the similar international migration of failed politics. Think of this economically. People are desperately fleeing socialist / neo-Marxist economies to get to our still-basically-capitalist economy, then demanding an internationalized Bernie Sanders socialist welfare+ state that inevitably erodes our haven of capitalist economy.

        Some people know the Aesop fable “The Goose that laid The Golden Eggs,” but we’re a dwindling minority. Read it to one of your semi-literate lefty friends and ask whether they realize that capitalism is that golden egg.

  12. The false narrative that inflation is under control is another example of misinformation being sold to the public by the politically motivated media and talking heads. While the current rate of inflation this month over the same period last year is down from 9.5% to 3.5%, we are not addressing the underlying truth that the cumulative (compounding) effect of the last 2 yrs of inflation is more like 18%. Until there are actual price reductions (aka recession or stagflation) we will continue to struggle to improve our quality of life because wage growth cannot keep up with inflation.

    1. You make an important point, Mr. Urban, that inflation is cumulative. But people who still support President Magoo and VP Cackles don’t know what “cumulative” means.

  13. Such a talented crew of writers working with Kass. Nice piece.

    Is there or was there a column(s) which explains why after George Floyd or currently, Detroit has generally prevented the chaos, looting, and criminality that Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland, Portland, St. Louis, etc. tolerate and embrace?

    Would love to know and have their formula and serve it up to all the progressive and misguided management and voters in the urban pockets which are destroying America right before our eyes.

    Someone, somewhere has to be doing the job well. Why can’t their plans be copied?

    1. Thanks for your Comment, Nr. Sarovich. Your question about Detroit not experiencing the level of criminal Floyd “protests” that other Democrat-run cities did is insightful. Reaching for some explanation of that, I first thought about a city having hit bottom, then of a line from Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”:

      “When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose.”

      This of us who still love the Chicago we recall might think about Chicago’s gradual turn toward Detroit West.

  15. Could 2024 be the year of the 3rd Party candidate? 75% of people don’t want a rematch of DJT vs. JB so who would be tolerable to the people in the center-left center-right majority? If you ignore the legacy media and watch Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in any interview from Bill Maher to Joe Rogan he is a guy who might be able to pull off a win. I ask my left and right friends what opinion they have of RFK Jr. and it’s “I don’t know”. Ross Perot got 19% of the vote when things politically were tame compared to today. If it’s not RFK Jr. then I’m all open to anyone David, John, and today’s readers have in mind. David, I’m glad you are a fellow Cheesehead and maybe we can catch a Brewers vs. White Sox game now that we are going to pay $500 mil after the Brew Crew just blackmailed taxpayers by threatening to leave town. Are the Bears headed to Arlington Heights yet?

    1. Valid speculations all, Mr. Flinchum, though hard to figure. As to your question of whether the Bears are headed to Arlington Heights, I have an uncomfortable feeling where the Bears are headed. But as a Bears fan and someone who respects other people’s religious preferences, I try not to bring the infernal regions into conversation.

  16. I suppose it’s akin to “pie-in-the-sky” wishful thinking, but there COULD be another way. Ever seen someone try to sit on a stool with only 2 legs? Me neither. What we need, just like that unfortunate two-legged stool, is another leg – for balance and stability. And in this era of dysfunctional American politics what we desperately need is a viable third political party. Is this possible? Anything is possible…but it has to start somewhere. How about with the millions of disgruntled, discouraged citizens – regardless of color, social-economic status and religion? Everyone of us has some skin in this game…maybe it’s time to start rewriting this worn-out narrative.

  17. You neglected to mention the political environment is far and wide much more desperate than it was in 2016 when Trump was first elected and 2020 when the election was rigged, not stolen (big difference), against the Republicans. Combine all that with the lawfare operation being perpetrated against Trump currently while simultaneously the DOJ is running interference against the Biden crime syndicate, and I would argue the rerun of Biden/Trump has a much different underpinning! Failure to point that out is the equivalent of a weather forecaster taking the charts from the same day a year prior and just running with the same forecast on the one year anniversary without regard to new weather patterns. Disingenuous at best; liberal privilege inherent in your thesis at worst!

  18. Great column. Excellent insight. As I sit and watch our once great nation become cookie crumbs.
    It’s unfathomable to watch so called elected officials care about power and gain rather than serving their voters.
    As for those that follow and bend their knees to the feelings fad wake up.
    Where I once had a few dollars for disposable income I find I’m struggling to make ends meet. I’m skipping on groceries. Should I start robbing stores? Should I scream I’m doing it to eat?
    But then I’m a conservative so I would be shown the inside of prison. After all that is fair justice right?
    Thanks for your words.

    1. And thanks to you for your frank words, Ms. Cappozzo. The struggles with the Biden economy, poisoned as it is by federal spending, are a hardship for you and everyone else — except the happy plutocrats who now dominate the left. Most every person with conservative values and character will, of course, do nothing like robbing stores. We’ll continue doing our best to support what we believe in.

      So will the people robbing the stores.

  19. I really enjoyed reading the guest column today. While reading I kept thinking, wow; I couldn’t have written a better essay on these ideas. More Bittinger, please!

    As for the 2024 election, I keep hoping against hope that Joe Manchin, or someone with similar experience in crafting mostly reasonable compromise solutions to our governmental problems, would step up. I would vote for Manchin, either as a GOP candidate (if he switches parties) or as an Independent.

    1. Unfortunately, one of Trump’s results is “President Joe Biden”. Trump could have won that election, if he had a better disposition. He motivates his enemies more than his supporters.

  21. “Just vote against disaster. That’s not so difficult”

    This pretty much means you won’t be voting Democrat or Republican for president, as I’m guessing it will be Biden vs. Trump with no debates.

    Most folks can only vote ‘against’ someone, and the political parties figured this out. We’ll keep getting Frankenstein elections because that guarantees the winner will be compromised/beholden-to-the-powers-that-be. There are competent, capable people but they’ll never be allowed anywhere near a ballot, or any kind of media coverage.

    I have 2 minimum standards for POTUS:
    – Able to handle classified documents correctly. I worked for a bank. We had to manage access to sensitive documents. It’s not an impossible task. If you can’t make this happen, the job of president is probably too big for you.
    – Potty-trained (given how hard to first standard seems to be, I had to throw in something I hope is more achievable).

    This will be my 3rd presidential election where I couldn’t vote for a Republican or Democrat.

  22. Well written!! This will be the third consecutive cycle to give me pause and question how it is possible to pick such outrageously unqualified candidates from a pool of over 200 million eligible people.

  23. Mr. Bittinger, as someone who grew up in Lombard (not quite as idyllic as GE) and who has moved to Wisconsin and New Zealand, I get where you are coming from. I have voted Republican all my life, with the exception of a dalliance with George McGovern, However, if the orange man is the Republican nominee this time, I can’t do it again.

    While it feels good to rail against the left (and I often do), the real blame for our national malaise belongs to the spineless nematodes who kiss the ring of orange man (FRITTOs: former Republicans in thrall to orange). I guess, when all is said and done, that I would rather live in a Swedish nanny state than a fascist state. And fascism is where orange man is taking us. Maybe cults of personality have their place some time, but not THAT personality.

    Proud to be a “deplorable”, clinging to my religion and guns.

  24. The picture at the top of your column shows how many people are feeling about the upcoming elections. What person who isn’t really capable of leading our Country out of this mess do you voe for. Neither. I said RUN JOE RUN. If the polls are right, maybe there is a chance we could experience a NEW kind of leadership. One that doesn’t know his name and the other one who only talks about how the election was stolen from him and not his ideas on how to correct things. Joe looks really good to m.

  25. “Hope” accomplishes nothing. Staying silent in fear of “the mob” and the press dooms the country. We have to press dialogue on the issues we all face, beginning with the DOJ, the press and homeland security. Then cut the dept of education. Any politician taking on the issues has my vote. And, I open discussions on this frequently only to find how clueless people are.

  26. Nice job, David! very eloquent — I wish my in-laws and your good friends (the same folks) could appreciate your commentary as much as I do — faint hope.

    I’d add one point to your excellent economic observation that inflation is cumulative. Of course it is, but in addition, the public gives Biden low marks on the economy for another thing which many people downplay — that unemployment is higher than it appears, even more so since the pandemic, allowing for the lower participation in the workforce from about 63.3% pre-pandemic to 62.7% today.

    That doesn’t sound like much, but the low participation rate translates roughly to about 6% effective unemployment rate — plus the ever-growing gig economy, with less benefits and more costs transferred to the individual, results in less net money in many family’s bank accounts. That’s why they’re borrowing more and more just to stay in the same place. Unsustainable. Even Americans who don’t know the stats can feel it in their bones, that something’s not right with the economy. This could end up being more important than the tedious culture wars, since I used to naively think that Americans tended to vote their pocketbooks.

    1. Hi, Steve! I just today saw your excellent Comment — helpful information.

      If you’d like to see other work of mine, my website is curveballcommentary.com. Of course, I generally don’t tell your in-laws — or my own family — about my writing, as there is indeed faint hope they would enjoy it, maybe even read it.

      I hope we can speak sometime soon.

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