Vincent Stehle: Let's try sportsmanship during this election

Across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the crisp fall air announces the season for football and elections. More and more, voting is taking on the character of a hard-fought football rivalry.

It used to be that political battles were fought over principles and policies and government programs. But the Republican Party in recent years has set aside long-standing positions and preferences, becoming much more a party of personality in service of a charismatic populist leader who seeks to divide America into the Red and the Blue, Trump fans and Trump foes.

In the past, there was a real ideological debate between Republicans and Democrats. Now, in Donald Trump’s America — a political culture riven by intense polarization — it boils down to us versus them, straight against gay, country over city. It feels more and more like a sports rivalry than a political debate.

And I understand intense sports rivalries. Having grown up in Western Pennsylvania, I have carried my allegiance to the Black and Gold wherever I have lived, in Washington or New York and even now for the last decade in sports-mad Philly, where fans have their own intense allegiance. I ought to get hazard pay for wearing my team colors behind enemy lines.

Forty years ago, I cast my first presidential vote at my neighborhood United Presbyterian Church in Butler. In 2016, I cast my vote at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Both votes should count equally, and I always thought they would.

Unfortunately, in recent years Republican lawyers and lawmakers have sought to make it harder to vote for many Pennsylvanians, especially in Democratic strongholds like Philadelphia.

In short, Republicans seek to tilt the playing field as never before.

Over the past decade, Pennsylvania has been one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in America, both in congressional representation and in the state House. In recent years, the federal district lines have been redrawn to be somewhat more fair, but the imbalance remains, especially in the state Legislature. In 2018, for example, Democratic candidates received 54% of the statewide popular vote for House members, but they obtained only 45% of the seats.

Moreover, in the run-up to this fall’s election, the Republican Party has sought to challenge and limit the ability of citizens to vote by mail, during the worst pandemic in more than a century, a time when many voters would sensibly prefer to avoid the crowds associated with in-person voting on Election Day. Republicans have sought to sow as much chaos as possible around mail voting, preventing local election officials from preparing ballots for quick counting ahead of election day and limiting the time during which votes will be accepted, if they arrive after Election Day.

In the middle of the contest, with votes already being cast, Pennsylvania Republicans sought to establish a new “election integrity” panel that might cast doubt over the validity of our sacred tradition of voting. Last week they abandoned the plan.

It appears that the jousting will continue right up to — and through — Election Day.

With the Steelers hosting the Eagles yesterday, perhaps it’s a good time to learn the lesson of sportsmanship from professional players. Yes, the cross-state rivalry is real and it’s one of the oldest grudge matches in the league. But during World War II, when the nation was engaged in a larger battle to defeat fascism, many players went to war and the league consolidated efforts, combining the two teams to play as the “Steagles” for one season, in 1943. Wouldn’t it be great if Americans could approach our political campaign during a pandemic with the same civic unity and purpose?

So, whether you root for the Eagles or the Steelers — whether you think of our state as Bensylvania or Wentzylvania — I hope we can all agree to vote as safely as possible and to compete as vigorously as we’d like to. But in the end let’s count all the votes — and abide by the democratic results.

Vincent Stehle is executive director of Media Impact Funders. This article does not reflect the views of that organization, its directors or staff.