Liberal vs Conservative or MAGA vs unMAGA?

The Steady State | by Margaret Henoch and Jennifer Gregg

There is a Grand Canyon-sized divide between the political players in today’s United States, and none of the labels we are used to begin to describe the differences between the factions or accurately convey what those factions represent.

As my sixth-grade teacher, Birdie Collins (yes, that is a real name) used to say, if you are not using the correct terms to describe a situation or a problem accurately, you don’t understand the situation or the problem. We need to use accurate descriptions of today’s politics to understand them in a meaningful way. And we need those terms to clearly reflect what is at stake.

Liberals and Conservatives. Progressives and Moderates. Left Wing and Right Wing. Moderates and Centrists? In the olden days, before the 2016 election, each of those terms characterized basic ideologies to which different political groups adhered: Liberals or Left Wingers favored social equality and a significant government role in guaranteeing equality and social change. Conservatives and right-wingers tended to prioritize limited government intervention, individual freedom, limited government activities, and traditional social hierarchies. These labels served as a useful shorthand to explain differences in the politics of groups throughout the country.

None of these terms accurately describes today’s political differences or the divide between political factions in the United States. A person serving in the military or civil service taking an oath to the Constitution is neither liberal nor conservative. Arguing for an independent judiciary that follows the law is neither liberal nor conservative. Advocating for an apolitical military is neither liberal nor conservative. Properly disbursing already-approved Congressional funding is neither liberal nor conservative. Maintaining a functioning civil service is neither liberal nor conservative. Putting masked, heavily armed troops on the streets of US cities, without the Governor’s consent, is neither liberal nor conservative.

Our colleague Bill Piekney wrote recently, “Trump’s politics, whatever they are, are neither conservative and certainly not liberal. They are an entirely new politics of authoritarianism, greed and misanthropic disdain for diversity and humanism.”

Today’s shorthand for our political factions is now better described as MAGA and Un-MAGA. And these words describe the existential division in our country: those who resist dictatorship versus those who support it. Those who believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, and democracy versus those who do not support the Constitution, the rule of law, or democracy.

Democracy: Will we have it or not? Will we have free and fair elections? Will we have a rules-based order, or will Trump be able to prosecute, at will, his “enemies,” you, me, anyone? Will we be governed by the Constitution or the whims of one leader? Will we continue to strive for a pluralistic society or a life under an authoritarian regime?

MAGA maintains that America is no longer “Great” and, as it turns out, the MAGA way to “greatness” is to undermine our constitution, destroy our institutions, and all in a manner that subverts democratic norms and challenges the rule of law–the very pillars that have ensured relative peace and security and economic growth America has enjoyed for the last 80 years. MAGA supports autocratic leadership, Trump as a dictator, his push toward an autocratic executive, the law as a weapon to be used in support of Trump’s whims against his enemies, and a politicized military and federal institutions.

According to MAGA leadership, our constitutional democracy and its institutions must be undone to make America great for….? One wonders. Autocrats are not known for their success in economic, cultural fields…or in governing.

Un-MAGA generally believes that America was already a great country. Perfect? Absolutely not. But Un-Maga supports the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, backs an independent judiciary, embraces adherence to the rule of law, endorses an apolitical military and champions strong federal government institutions, all of which have evolved over our history as discerned by its leadership and its people to whom that leadership has been deemed to be accountable.

Before us is not a “Republican-Democratic-Liberal-Conservative” choice. It is a MAGA-unMAGA choice.

As of now, though under assault, we still have the right to freedom of speech and assembly. As of now, though under assault, we still have the prospect of free and fair elections. Though the door is closing, we STILL have the opportunity to either sustain the constitutional democracy that has kept our country safe and prosperous or usher in its demise.

“We the people,” each and every one of us, need to stand up and engage at this existential juncture. “We the people” must not turn away.

Margaret Henoch served in the Clandestine Service of the CIA for 25 years, at Headquarters and in the field, focusing on operations and counterintelligence and retiring as a Senior Intelligence Officer. She is a member of The Steady State.

Jennifer Gregg is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who served in the Clandestine Service for 29 years, mostly in the field, focusing on operations and counterintelligence. She retired as a Senior Intelligence Officer and is is a member of The Steady State.

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 360 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.