Sunday, July 09, 2017

United Coalition of the Divided - 2018 Edition [UPDATED/CLOSED]

UPDATED: 11/06/18

The 2018 Edition of the United Coalition of the Divided is now closed. Thanks to all who participated, volunteers and draftees alike. 

Our government is divided again. Both major parties have a share of power and the views of more Americans are represented in the halls of our government.

This was our most successful membership roll ever. Stay tuned for the 2019 Edition of the United Coalition of the Divided. Coming soon to a blog near you!


Vote for divided government in 2018
Welcome to the United Coalition of the Divided - the Dividist's social media version of retail door-to-door politicking. 

We advocate voting strategically for divided government. We know why we should vote for divided government. We know how to vote for divided government. In this post we [virtually] gather those of like mind who help [intentionally or not] make the case to vote for divided government in 2018. One voter at a time.

The Dividist initiated this exclusive club during the 2008 election cycle and recycled it in every federal election since. It was an ignominious start, with the Democrats seizing unified control of the federal government. The 2010 edition was barely posted in time for the midterms.  Amidst the rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, divided government was emphatically restored. The 2012 membership drive worked out fine with the reelection of Barack Obama and divided government. In the 2014 midterms, it was just a question of how divided we were going to get as the Democrats managed to dig themselves an even deeper hole in Congress.

Then 2016 happened.  The Republicans were in control of  both branches of Congress with no realistic chance of losing majority control in the House of Representative. It seemed like such an easy, obvious choice. All we had to do was elect Hillary Clinton and the government would stay divided for at least four more years.

As it turns out, it was too obvious. Clinton's inevitable victory was so obvious to so many in the punditocracy (including The Dividist), that Democrats did not even bother to articulate the argument for divided government. In fact, so many Democrats and Republicans were so certain that Clinton would win, Democrats delusionally argued for One Party Rule, and Republicans co-opted the divided government argument - asking voters to focus on GOP candidates in Senate and House races in order to keep a legislative constraint on the inevitable Clinton presidency.

We tried. The Dividist patiently explained there was no chance for Democrats to take the House majority in that cycle. You didn't listen.  As a consequence, not only did Democrats lose the executive branch, but they failed to win majority control of the Senate in a cycle where the political playing field was heavily tilted in their favor.

So we've come full circle.  We again have a Unified One Party Rule Republican Government as we had in 2006 when the Dividist started this blog. It's "deja vu all over again".
Onward to the 2018 midterms. Membership in our grand coalition is open to anyone writing anything in any form in any media in a vaguely positive way on the subject of divided government. New recruits will be added from now until the 2018 election.

You too can join this glorious movement and march in solidarity with the many millions thousands hundreds tens of your brothers and sisters standing shoulder to shoulder with the United Coalition of the Divided! Just write anything vaguely favorable to Divided Government and/or Gridlock, then let the Dividist know where to find it in the comments or via e-mail. The Dividist will add it to this post, link you, blogroll you, favorite you, follow you, friend you, tweet you, paint your house and walk your dog.  As always, we will also welcome disingenuous, insincere, and hypocritical partisan pretenders to the 2018 United Coalition of the Divided!

This is an actively managed, growing list. New recruits and draftees will be updated to this post periodically between now and election day. For 2018 we are adding a new feature - an Honor Roll for service to the divided government cause above and beyond the call of duty. 


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The United Coalition of the Divided
2018 Midterm Election Edition
 

Honorary Chairman in Perpetuity - William A. Niskanen 3/13/1933 - 10/26/2011
The Dividist never met him, but Mr. Niskanen is the "godfather" of this blog. His work on divided government was the original inspiration and impetus to craft and advocate a consistent divided government voting heuristic. 
Honor Roll
Stephen Slivinski - Economist, author and Dividist Papers favorite, Mr. Slivinski has contributed to and written about the benefits of divided government in every United Coalition of the Divided Edition since the formation of this blog. His 2018 Edition contributions linked here and here. 
George Will - He is as conservative as it gets, but his conservative principles are built on a foundation of intellectual integrity. He puts country before party and the Constitution before partisan tribal loyalties. He does not hesitate to call for divided government in defense of our Constitutional protections - regardless if we have a Democrat or Republican in the White House. 
Tom Nichols -  aka @RadioFreeTom - Author, Professor at Naval War College, and staunch conservative, is a relatively recent convert. Probably more #NeverTrumper than a true dividist, his articulate commitment to the cause (combined with his ~175,000 twitter followers) makes him the most impactful advocate for voting divided government in 2018. 
Kalind Patel - Sports and politics blogger, Mr. Patel is a recent convert who finds and retweets more "divided government" tweets than even the Dividist. We didn't think it was possible.  
Solomon Kleinsmith - SEO expert, social media maven and founder of the soon-to-be-launched Uniters.org Independent Centrist Blog. Although more centrist than dividist, Mr. Keinsmith is on-board for the 2018 cycle. As the Dividist will be contributing to his blog, we are adding him to the Honor Roll as a pure reach-around suck-up. 
2018 Midterm Edition - Members in Good Standing
The Dividist Shikha Dalmia - Reason Steve Gillon - WaPo
Dr. Eric Ostermeir - SmartPol Carl Jackson - World Net Daily Erich Prince - News Observer
Jennifer Rubin - WaPo Connor Mighell - Merion West Mark Schelkr - Elsevier
Jon Nicholson - Bloomberg Randy Blaser - Chicago Tribune Sociotard - Debate Politics
Kalind Patel - Twitter Uniters.org Centrist - Twitter Tim Carlson - Twitter
Just Bill - Twitter @JShan05 - Twitter Angry Libertarian - Twitter
Jim Roland - Twitter Lee - Twitter Brian Chovanec - Twitter
David Morse - Twitter Andrew Bizaillion - Twitter Roxanne Chester - Twitter
Solomon Kleinsmith - Uniters Fisher Invest - Market Minder Andrew Sherrod - Twitter
George Will - WaPo Senator Judd Gregg -The Hill Clay Ranck - Twitter
Charles Cooke - Nat Review Audio - Cognitive Madisonianism Joseph Park - Twitter
Andy Wright - Just Security Lisa Cutler - Twitter Bearded Crank - Twitter
Rusty Warner - Twitter Bro - Twitter Justin Ryland - Twitter
Patrick Fine - Twitter David Harsanyani - Reason Thomas Fornash - Twitter
John McGuirk - Twitter Shikha Dalmia - The Week Ronald Ortman - Twitter
Jim Aloisi - Twitter Eric Posner - Vox Jon French - Twitter
Theron Corse - Twitter Stephen Slivinski - WashEx Fake Fan 50 - Twitter
Andrea Schorr - Twitter @LiberalVirginia - Twitter  Jim Claybaugh - Twitter
Yann Brandt - Twitter Jim Buie - American Politics Andrew Gelman - Stat Modeling
Middleclass Moderate - Twitter Brian P - Twitter Rick Wilson - The Hill
AgentW45 - Twitter Tom Nichols - Twitter Michael Gerson - WaPo
Ann Batko - Twitter Sane Democrat - Twitter Ex-GOP Hillz - Twitter
Bill Wiseman - Twitter Ronald Brownstein - CNN Jay Cost - National Review
Ryan Matsumoto - Twitter Matt Glassman - Twitter PackSoldier - Twitter
Allen Bussell - Twitter Yann Brandt - Twitter Professor Drezner - Twitter
Shaun Rose - Twitter Senator Jeff Flake - MSNBC Jeff Kemp - Twitter
Christopher Vasas - Twitter Jason Shout - Twitter Tho Bishop - Mises Institute
Laura McGinnis - Twitter Oh Laura oh - Twitter Mark Earnest - Twitter
Right Hon Covfefe - Twitter Marshall Locke - Twitter Drew Savicki - Twitter
@PaleoMexicano - Twitter Jennifer Rubin - Twitter Martin Goozner - Modern Health
Comrade Balding - Twitter Rodney Tom - Seattle Times WMSGlobtrotter - Twitter
David Gaw - Twitter Ann Kilter - Twitter David Tyson - Twitter
Marcus Hawkins - Twitter Matt Glassman - Twitter Evan Poulas - Twitter
Don Transue - Twitter Harold Pollack - Twitter Stephen Mihm - Bloomberg
Patrick McGualey - Twitter Mando - Twitter Editorial - Fisher Investments
Ed's Idea Factory - Twitter Lee Drutman - Vox Rick Tyler - Guardian
Ryan McCann - Twitter Lacy, Niou, Paolino, Rein Cara Stewart - Twitter
Michael Hormone - Twitter Piccola Donnina - Twitter Robert George - Twitter
ConservativeLA - Twitter Conor Friedersdorf - LA Times David Montgomery - Twitter
Alissa McLean - Twitter Peter Lucier - Twitter Michael L - Twitter
Steve Gillon - WaPo Bill Kristol - New Yorker  Sam Sawyer - Twitter
Mohamed Elibiary - Twitter Joe Scarborough - Twitter Ruth MacDonald - Twitter
MrJosco - Twitter Philip Klein - Wa. Examiner Matt's Handle - Twitter
Liz Mair - Twitter @IWishYouWould - Twitter Space Cat Shelly - Twitter
Jordan LaPorta - Twitter Steve Zorowitz - Twitter Angela Santos - Twitter
The Rational Walk - Twitter Julian Zelizer - CNN Nothings Monstered - Twitter
Erick Ericson - Twitter Chris in Bama - Twitter Steve Stephens - Twitter
Nick Pappas - Twitter Jeffrey Dorfman - Twitter John Aravosis - Twitter
Who? - Twitter Yoga Apologist - Twitter Infidella - Twitter
Alexander Kohn - Twitter Brendan Kirby - Twitter George Blackwell - Twitter
Jaime - Twitter Kevin Reinholz - Twitter Golden Girls Rule - Twitter
JJ - Twitter Ilya Somin - Cato Institute Michael the B - Twitter
Stephen Miller - Twitter Khan Academy - YouTube @ReluctantZealot - Twitter
MGoldenpine - Twitter Now Media News - Twitter Principle Matters - Twitter
Paul Stagg - Twitter Theron Corse - Twitter Lean Attorney - Twitter
Keseys Notion - Twitter Brian Levitt - CNBC Suzi Ferg - Twitter
Don Draper - Twitter Josh 1939 - Twitter Jennifer Harris - Twitter
Jim Andrews - Twitter Mike @Sinkspur - Twitter Elizabeth Mulherin -Twitter
Scotty Kummer - Twitter Julian Zelizer - CNN Tcat - Twitter
Mandy - Twitter Tim Gross - Twitter William Galston - Brookings
Ric Pundit - Twitter Rocky Valley High - Twitter Paul Jost - CNBC
Virgil Caine - Twitter Ken Fisher - Investments Brian Gongol - Twitter
Mlewyn - Twitter Russ Wolf - Twitter Don Prusha - Twitter
Avi Woolf - Twitter James Stalnaker - Twitter Ghost Cat - Twitter
Matt Schoor - Twitter Roxanne Chester - Twitter Al Lefeusch - Twitter
Drew McCoy - Twitter Chris in Alabama - Twitter John Ziegler - Twitter
Alex Welch - Twitter Doug Mataconis - Twitter Yvonne - Twitter
Martha J - Twitter NeoLiberal Federalist - Twitter Free Soil Andrew - Twitter
Kyle Smith - Twitter Joanne Evans - Facebook Eric Whig - Twitter
Jonathan Alter - Daily Beast Noah Rothman - Commentary Kjell Nygren - Twitter
Randall Swanson - Twitter Nicholas Grossman - Twitter HShcouten - Twitter
Alex Nowrastah - Twitter Ryan Huber - Twitter Ed Borgato - Twitter
Greg Doucette - Twitter MT from CC - Twitter Rich Pollex - Twitter
Sally Walker - Twitter Cory Williamson - Twitter Michael Witschel -Twitter
Christopher Meng - Twitter Autarkh - Twitter @HeadAploding - Twitter
Jenna Seeks - Twitter Kevin Baker - Twitter Nancy Pelosi (!?) - SF Chron
Dennison Miller III - Twitter Ragnar Danneskjold - Twitter Randy Bauer - Twitter
Jason - Twitter Nom DeGuerre - Twitter Atticus Goldfinch - Twitter
Jeff Kemp - Twitter George Will - Washington Post Kevin Denver - Twitter
Smalrus - Twitter Brian Rosenwald - Twitter Mitch McConnell (!?) - Bloomberg
Sandra - Twitter @Nel_Mezzo - Twitter @MattersofMind - Twitter
Golby, Howell - Twitter James Comey - Twitter Jim Thorpe - Twitter
Kiwani - Twitter RainbowPatriot - Twitter CryptoBongoCat - Twitter
David Fabian - Twitter Heather Hughson - Twitter Bipolar American - Twitter
@JaybeeStewee - Twitter Förward Öbserver - Twitter Djon - Twitter
Tom Brown - Twitter Ross Douthat - NY Times David Leonhardt - NY Times
Airstrip 1 - Twitter Tom Jones - Twitter Jericho Hill - Twitter
Cory Williamson - Twitter @IrishPilot17 - Twitter Blake Tapper - Twitter
Nikki Wotherspoon - Twitter Laura Jolly - Twitter JB Crane - Twitter
Maddie - Twitter Caleb Martin - Twitter @UDKnowJack - Twitter
Duncan McQueen - Twitter Red Black Tie - Twitter The Economist Leaders
Carissa Graham - Twitter 6 Undecideds - NY Times Dennis McElhone - Twitter
Jacob Grier - Twitter Dan Moses - Twitter Dan Japan - Twitter
Brooklyn Mind - Twitter M4BW - Twitter Dor Mouse - Twitter
Roy Meredith - Twitter Ian Welsh - Blog Kyle - Twitter
Gerry Levine - Twitter Lynn Heilmann - Twitter Josh Brown - Reformed Broker
Prof Grossman - Twitter Alex Nowrasteh - Cato Brad Johnson - Twitter
The Shoe - Twitter David Boaz - Twitter Michael Tracey - Twitter
Jason Paul - Twitter Lindsey Graham - Senator Baldings World - Twitter
Kelsey Finn - Twitter Heather Lawver - Twitter Drew - Twitter
DELETED YOUR NAME HERE YOUR NAME HERE
YOUR NAME HERE YOUR NAME HERE YOUR NAME HERE

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Welcome aboard and stay divided my friends!

Vote for divided government


LAST UPDATED: 06-November-2018 - Continuing to add to the Coalition.

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