Solid piece, well argued. Just a tangent that jumped out at me - I am curious about the use of this metaphor:

"It’s somewhere South of 50 percent-plus-one and North of wherever we are now."

Would you be willing to analyze the roots of that common phrasing as an implicit value judgement on "north" and "south" countries, people, cultures?

Because whenever I've seen this phrase used, "south" is always on the negative or failing or insufficient side of whatever the situation or context is, and "north" is always on the other side.

Meanwhile I will ask my colleagues in Australia if any such phrase exists in common usage, and if so, whether it's reversed, or not.