I am cross posting this entry from GOTV blog because it illustrates how it is possible for members of our power elite to believe that Up is Down.
LANGLEY PRECINCT
Voting history
1996, Clinton 35%, Moran, 57%
1997, Beyer, 44%
1999, Barry, 49%
2000, Gore 37%, Moran, 53%
2001, MARK Warner 50%
2003, Connolly 53%
2004, Kerry 51%, Socas 40%
2005, Kaine 54%
2006, Webb, 57%, Feder, 44%
Langley Precinct sits on the Potomac River at the north east corner of Fairfax County. Its neighborhoods contain high level civil servants, lawyers, tech entrepreneurs, with combined household incomes well into six figures. But everyone else is rich.
Looking at the voting history, it is clear something happened in 2003. On July 14, 2003 Robert Novak betrayed the identity of a CIA case officer. This is a precinct where that is a defining issue. Since that time Republicans, with the exception of some entrenched incumbents, have done very poorly. Langley precinct does not take kindly to treason.
I have been meaning to write about this ever since reading Digby’s post Hickory Hillbillies because it so illustrates the bubble inhabited by our power elite. Digby’s post was inspired by Michael Crowley’s article GOPtopia, which describes the house of Ed and Edwina Rogers, a Republican couple who raise millions of dollars for the GOP. Crowley describes their house, Surry Hill, thusly:
Surry Hill is the psychic center of McLean. And McLean, in turn, has become the psychic center of the Washington Republican establishment.
Clearly Surry Hill is not the psychic center of McLean, which has been going Democratic for years, it is not even the psychic center of Langley precinct. This is a perfect example of how our power elite are not just out of touch with the country, they’re not even in touch with their own zip code.
Every day the Rogers rub shoulders with yellow dog Democrats. Wherever they go, grocery shopping, the dry cleaners, country club, beauty parlor, tailor, almost all the people they interact with will be Democrats. The Rogers remain oblivious to their surroundings. This is the continuos feedback loop that keeps the entire power elite, not just the Rogers, not just the Republicans, but the entire power elite, in line with a President who polls at 25%. They inhabit a world of their own making and have not one clue what the person standing beside them, never mind the country, is thinking. They are not reality based.
