Lyles: America’s transformation

A transformation of seismic proportion may very well redefine the political ecosystem of America this year and few are paying attention.

For the past half century, no matter which party was in power, America’s progression toward a government steeped in crony capitalism, increasingly insensitive to the common good, and led by a band of self-serving elites, has been steady and seemingly irreversible. Until now. Three confluent factors are creating a “perfect storm” that has the potential to disrupt this heretofore unstoppable decline and restore integrity to American democracy.

The first factor is the left-leaning, mainstream media’s continued charge toward irrelevancy in the public square. Most Americans realize the media is out of whack when abundant facts show things are good at home (record economic growth, low unemployment and job creation, for example), America is gaining respect and strength abroad (the defeat of ISIS in Syria, the commencement of the denuclearization of North Korea, and improving trade), and major campaign promises are being kept for a change. Yet more than 90 percent of media stories about Mr. Trump are negative, or often outright hostile. The actual Donald Trump presidency is dramatically different from the media version. And guess what? The reality is substantially better on every level and most Americans know it. By crying “wolf” at every opportunity, the media is causing people to tune them out. Ratings are dropping at historic rates.

The second factor is the steady shift of attitudes among minorities regarding party identity and loyalty. Many blacks are realizing they are better off with the record low black unemployment, the healthy job market and thriving economic results of Trump than they have been with the empty promises, lack of progress and failed policies of Democrats. Mr. Trump’s steadily rising support among blacks has reached double digits. These new supporters recognize that Mr. Trump’s actions are not those of a racist, despite the ad nauseam attempts of the left and the media to brand him as such. Other underprivileged minorities are reaching similar conclusions. They are experiencing the results of the Trump presidency, and personal experience always eventually outweighs baseless accusations.

The final factor is that Donald Trump is emerging as a tangible political force capable of influencing other candidates’ elections. Knowledgeable political insiders know that political power rarely transfers at the ballot box. For a couple of years after 9/11, Rudy Giuliani, widely seen as “America’s Mayor,” had such clout. During that time his candidate endorsements demonstrably swayed elections. But neither Bill Clinton, George W. Bush nor Barack Obama were able to measurably influence individual election results. In fact, many Democrat candidates quietly asked Mr. Obama to stay away so he wouldn’t sabotage their efforts.

May and June primary election results are showing a steady increase in Mr. Trump’s ability to influence results at the ballot box. Consider what happened to Mark Sanford in South Carolina. Mr. Sanford never lost an election his entire career. Then he came out against Mr. Trump. The president responded by tweeting support for Mr. Sanford’s opponent, who won handily. Leftists were outraged and accused Mr. Trump of “king making.” Other primaries were similarly affected.

If the media continues its march toward irrelevance, underprivileged minorities continue to awaken from their decades-long political coma, and Mr. Trump continues to gain influence through the outcomes he is producing as president, then the much-touted, midterm election Blue Wave will fizzle. It will be at best a ripple in the draining waters of the swamp. But its significance will be enormous because it will signal a transformation of America’s political landscape as momentous as any in history.