University of Idaho professors on what they expect America to look like for the next two years now that the midterm elections are mostly over.
Those who spoke were Professor Rebecca Scofield of the Department of History; Don Crowley, professor emeritus of political science; Professors Aman McLeod, of the College of Law; and Michael Overton, of the Department of Politics and Philosophy.
One prevalent topic discussed was what to expect now that the Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives and the Republicans have reaffirmed their hold on the Senate. Professor McLeod said the main question that needs to be ask is will there be compromise or confrontation.
“With a divided government, passing anything will be more difficult,” he said.
McLeod said as more conflict arises, we could see President Trump using his power of executive order to pass legislation. As for Congress, he expects that each party will use the new power structure to whatever advantage they can.
McLeod said the Democrats will start using the power of the House to up the investigations into President Trump. The Republicans, on the other hand, will most likely try to speed up the process of judicial nomination, he said.
Keeping with this theme of conflict, Scofield spoke on the challenges ahead for the newly elected female politicians. This election saw over 100 women elected to Congress, more than ever before in US history. Despite this achievement, Scofield admitted to remaining pessimistic on what these women will face in the coming years.
“Every time these gains have been made, there has, historically, been back-sliding,” Scofield said.
She expects that there will a strong backlash to these women being elected, and that the fallout will be more anti-feminist sentiment from both men and women.
Besides conflict, the panel also discussed change, specifically the changes that occurred in this election and how they will affect the future. Crowley emphasized how voting trends show that the political landscape is not the same as it was two years ago. Since 2016, Americans have become increasingly Democratic in their support.
The biggest shift, according to Crowley, was in the suburbs. Crowley said the youth vote was also instrumental in the Democrats taking the House.
On a more local level, the professors talked about how the passage of Medicaid expansion shows Idaho to be more nuanced than just being a red state. They all agreed that this shows Idahoan to have liberal leanings, despite its reputation.
Overton said a big part of the measure’s success was the activists who went to door-to-door all over the state campaigning for expansion. Overton said this is just one way that we see how the electorate is changing.
The panel speakers emphasized how they were looking forward to what may come. They said that from what they see in the classroom and on voter reports, they know the country is in good hands.
“I’m confident that the generation behind us will fix the problems we’ve caused,” said Overton.
Hunter Diehl can be reached at [email protected]