18
ELECTION 2020- PLACES
OneafternooninJune,MikeMikulichled
a maskedvisitorintotheemptycham-
bersoftheAmbridgeBoroughCouncil
anddroppedhismobilephoneandthick
forearmsworthyofa formersteelworker
ontoa table.Ascouncilpresidenthe’d
beenwrestlingwith onecrisisafter
anotherformonths.Heconfessedthat
afterspending 32 ofhis 74 yearshelp-
ingrunthisformerPennsylvaniafactory
townof6,600, he was thinking of call-
ingit quits.
Covid-19 hadclaimed Ambridge’s
policechiefinAprilandtheownerof
itsleadingfuneralhomejusta fewdays
later.Twoofitsbiggestemployershad
closedupshop,layingoffsome 300 work-
ersbetweenthem.Withinweeks,a third
businesswouldsuffera devastatingfire.
A few days before our meeting,
Mikulichhadpresidedoveranacrimoni-
ousvirtualcouncilsession:Townleaders
hadbeentryingtofigureouthowlate-
nightrumorsofanAmbridge-boundbus
filledwithBlackLivesMatterprotesters
hadendedinmembersofa far-rightmili-
tiawithsniperriflestaking to the roof of
a downtowngym.
All thiswasunfoldingagainstthe
backdropofa nationalelectioninwhich
MikulichfearedhisownDemocratic
Partyseemedtobeplayingtoloseinthis
purplecornerofwesternPennsylvania.
ProgressiveDemocrats’andprotesters’
callsto“defundthepolice”seemedlike
a gifttoa presidentrunninga reelection
campaignfanningfearsofa collapsein
Americanlawandordershouldhelose.
“Whywouldyousaystupidstufflike
that?”Mikulichsaid,grimacing.“The
peoplewhoarejustsittingonthatfence
leaninginyourdirectionnowareleaning
backintheotherdirectionbecausethey
don’twanttodefundthepolicedepart-
ment.They’regoingtosay, ‘Where in the
hellis mypolice?’”
Pennsylvaniais a prizedbattleground
inthisyear’selection,andifDonald
Trumpcarriesthestateagainit willbe
becauseheeitherheldonto,orbuiltup,
supportinplacessuchasBeaverCounty,
inwhichAmbridgesits.Trumpcarried
thecountyby15,636votesin2016—or
morethana thirdofthenarrow44,292-
votemarginhehadoverHillary Clinton
inPennsylvaniaoverall.
If TrumpdoeswinagaininBeaver
County, it will be in part because ofhowalienatedfromnationalpoliticsa
RustBelttowncanstillfeelin 2020 and
howa summerofturmoilhasmanaged
toamplifythatalienation.If heloses,
though,it couldwellbebecauseeven
afterfouryearsofwhathe’stryingto
sellasa working-classboom,it’shardto
answera fundamentalquestion:What’s
thefuturefora placelikeAmbridge?
Trump’spledgetobringthegood
timesbacktoa blue-collarAmerica—or
atleastanangryWhitecornerofit—that
hadbeen“leftbehind”byglobalization
andthetechrevolutionhungonfiring
backupslumberingsteelfurnacesand
repatriatingassemblylinesbyadmin-
isteringa tonicoftradeprotectionism,
deregulation,andtaxcuts.“I’mgoing
totakecareofyou,”hetolda campaign
rallyatAmbridge’shighschoollessthan
a monthbeforethe 2016 election.
Trumpclaimshe’sgonea longway
towarddeliveringonthatpromise,and
he’staken thesamemessage to the
stumpin2020.He’sleviedtariffson
steelandaluminumimportsandrene-
gotiatedtheNorthAmericanFreeTrade
AgreementwithCanadaandMexico.In
thefirstthreeyearsofhispresidency,the
U.S.added510,000manufacturingjobs.
That doesn’ttellthe wholestory,
though.Trumpinheriteda robustecon-
omythatRepublicansgoosedwithtax
cutsin2017.Andbythesummerof2019,
histradewarsweredampinginvestment
andhiring,contributingtoa U.S.man-
ufacturingrecession.Pennsylvania lost
manufacturingjobslastyear.
Thecoronavirusrecessionhasonly
madethingsworseandexposedhow
tenuousTrump’seconomicpromisewas
inthefirstplace.AsofJulytherewere
24,000fewerPennsylvaniansworking
inmanufacturingthaninJanuary2017,
whenhetookoffice.BeaverCounty’s
unemploymentratesatat14.5%inJune,
morethantwice the 6.6% when Trump
tookoffice.
A onetimesteeltownbuiltintothe
hillsalongtheOhioRiver,a 25-minute
drive west of Pittsburgh, Ambridge
wasstill strugglingto find its post-
deindustrializationraisond’êtrewhen
thepandemichit.The layoffs came
quicklyinMarchasthetown started to
recordCovid-19cases.
A factoryownedbyNorthCarolina’s
Cornerstone Building Brands Inc. thatmade siding forindustrial buildings
announcedit wasshuttingdown,leav-
ing 100 workers unemployed. That
samemonth,a steel-tubeplantowned
by Luxembourg’sTenarisSA laidoff
200 peopleandshut down for the fore-
seeable future.Democratsblame theseverityofthe
economiccataclysmonTrump’shan-
dlingofthecoronavirusresponse.That
messageseemstobehittingitsmark
inPennsylvania, whereJoe Biden,a
nativeson,ledpollsbyanaverageof
almost6 percentagepointsattheendof
August,accordingtoRealClearPolitics.
Still,there’snotmuchintheDemocratic
candidate’seconomicplatform,which
promisesmoredollarsforinfrastructure
andscientificresearch,plusprogramsto
weantheU.S.offitsaddictiontohydro-
carbons,thatmightdeliveranimmediate
payofffortownslikeAmbridge.
Bidenhasworkedhardtotakeona
morecentristtone,andinthedayssince
theRepublicanNationalConvention,
he’sbeenmoreaggressiveincountering
Trump’seffortstoportrayDemocratic
leadershipasa routetoanarchy,accus-
inghimoffomentingviolenceinAmerica.
“Firesareburning,andwehavea pres-
identwhofanstheflamesratherthan
fightingtheflames,” Bidensaid at an
Aug. 31 rallyinPittsburgh.
But local Democrats including
MikulichremainconcernedthatBiden
hasleta potentiallyconsequentialsum-
merslipbyandnotfoughtbackhard
enoughagainsttheTrumpcampaign’s
effortstoframetheDemocraticPartyas
slippingeverleftwardandawayfromvot-
ersinplaceslikewesternPennsylvania.
OfalltheattackadstheTrumpcam-
paignanditsproxieshaveruninthe
state,theonethatseemedtogetthe
mosttractionaccusedBidenofwanting
tobanhydraulicfracturing,thecontro-
versialtechniqueforextractingoiland
gasfromshalerockthat’ssparkedenergy
boomsinplacessuchassouthwestern
Pennsylvaniainthepastdecade.
“I’m a proud union man, I’m a
Democrat, andI do notsupportJoe
Biden,”a mannamedShawnsayssternly
inthespot.“I’msickandtiredofbeing
takenforgranted.JoeBiden’sbanon
frackingwouldputme and everybody I
know out of work.”