The run up to the 2020 general election was excruciating for most of us. At least the people I've talked to have been disheartened. There could be a lot of ways to describe it. "The gloves came off" might be a good one. The vitriol, the hate, the low-blows, the wailing and gnashing of teeth were omnipotent on both sides. Whether it was Trump at his rallies or his surrogates on media or Biden when he raised his head out of his bunker or his surrogates doing the same thing as Trump's, it was ugly, disheartening, and exhausting. At least it was for me and many others. At some point I just stopped paying attention and tried to live my life. But the pervasiveness of it was a big distraction.
I guess the good news is that I recognize that this isn't some unique aspect of this year's election. It's happened before. Do a little studying about our history of elections and you can't help but find some really bad behavior. So in some sense, this is business as usual, especially when there is a candidate that raises as much angst as Trump.
When Tuesday came around I had some amount of hope that the counting would proceed as it always has, and we'd have a winner forthwith. But alas, it was not to be. And of course, I knew that. I just hoped it would be cut and dried.
So now we're in limbo awaiting the continuing count in 4 or 5 states. It's looking like, as I write this (Friday at Noon) that Biden has multiple routes to the 270 votes needed for the Presidency and Trump only has one or two. In other words, it's not looking good for Trump. However, that doesn't take into account any lawsuits and court decisions.
It's perplexing to me that there are just a handful of states that are having difficulty. And of course, that raises suspicion. The conspiracy theory nuts are crawling out of the woodwork to stir the pot. And normally I'd discount them. But this is 2020 and the year of Trump so I'm not so sure. Hatred drives people to do strange and desperate things. Some of the stories about ballot irregularities seem credible and are certainly cause for investigation. But, it's difficult for me to think that whatever they are that they would make a difference. In any state the margin favoring the winner is usually not just a few votes. Or even a few hundred. There is usually a more substantial margin for victory. But we have to let it play out. There is a lot of drama, accusations, protests, and weird visual imagery. It's messy. But it's also democracy. Above all else, the integrity of the system needs to be upheld. And before you say that the one side or the other is to blame for lack of integrity, save it. Both sides are to blame. Both sides have tried shenanigans. Both sides have made outrageous claims. So the best thing would be for everyone to just calm down and let it play out.
I have some takeaways from this election, and really our whole political atmosphere.
- Trump lost to...Trump. I've said in this blog previously that he is a gigantic jackass and he proved it over and over during the run up to the election. His tweets and continual half-truths turned a lot of people off. Not just a few, a lot. If I were voting for just the two men, I would've voted for Biden. Because Trump is an obnoxious jerk. But, and it's a big but, I believe his policies were much more in tune with what the average American wants and needs. So I stuck with him. And I have to say I will not be surprised at all if he ultimately doesn't win.
- There is no mandate. Not even close. If Biden prevails at least he won the popular vote. But no one on either side can claim a mandate. If this isn't the time to reach across the aisle and and try to work together, I don't know when it would be. But Biden will have enormous pressure to move farther left. If that happens, there'll be a Republican sweep in 2024. The country is simply not there.
- Trump and the Republicans blew it when they railed against the mail in ballots. That was clearly going to happen. Instead of embracing it, they tried to obstruct and denigrate it. They could have turned it to their advantage, but instead it probably beat them.
- Biden isn't the ogre and monster he was made out to be. Oh he's a swamp dweller and has never really done anything in 47 years in politics, but by most accounts from colleagues over the years, he's a pretty good guy. The big dust up about his son was clearly political theater. At least that's how it appeared to me.
- Kamala Harris is the most unlikable politician in America. And that's just not me folks. She has never done anything substantive. She has mannerisms that are like nails on a chalkboard. She blows with the wind. And when she was climbing to the top in California, that's not all she blew. We all better hope that Joe's health hangs in for 4 years, because she would be a nightmare. Unless there is a miracle, I don't see her as a force in 2024
- The media? Well, what I can say about the media? They (all of them) have lost me. I essentially don't believe them. A few months ago I started watching several different channels a day for a few minutes to get the flavor of their reporting. After a very short time I could predict the spin that they would put on their stories. The most obnoxious (NBC) are now unwatchable for me. Their smugness turns my stomach. The vast majority of the media today are telling a story that is aligned with the messaging of their corporate owners. Figure out who owns them (and that isn't difficult) and you'll know how they are going to spin. Finding objective, honest reporting is almost impossible. They should be ashamed of themselves, but of course they aren't. Most media types on the national stage care about accolades, power, fame and money. Full stop.
- The polling companies should be hanging their heads in shame. And I don't know how they recover. They were wrong about virtually everything! At their worst, some of these polls caused people to stay home. And that is shameful. They also contributed to media lies.
- 2020 (assuming we lose the Presidency) isn't all bad for conservatives. We picked up members of the House, we picked up state legislatures, and most importantly, I think Senate will not flip or at least wind up 50-50. In a republic such as ours with checks and balances, that is a huge check. We'll have to see in the coming months how it plays out (because of runoffs in Georgia) but I'm hopeful. The other thing to anticipate is 2022. Assuming Biden screws up enough and tradition of the incumbent party losing seats in the mid-terms, it is likely that the Republicans will pick up seats in both houses in 2022. So the checks will continue.
- There's a story out there that Pelosi may lose her Speaker's job. Don't count on it. She is smart and cagey. She'll likely remain in power at all costs.
- 2024 should be very interesting. Kamala will try to be the presumptive Democratic nominee but I just don't see it. I think Buttigieg will be the favorite. Maybe Cuomo. Maybe Booker. The Republican side will be interesting once again. I think Nikki Halley, Tim Scott and Marco Rubio will be favorites. Like Kamala, I don't see Pence as a serious player. Could Ted Cruz gain traction? Whoever it is on the Republican side will have a built in difficulty in that they will not be able to whip up the emotions of being an outsider like Trump did. It's a long way to 2024 but the nature of our political life is that it starts today. Distressing isn't it?
- I think (hope) that the last 4 years and 2020 should discourage multi-billionaire businessmen to enter the fray for the Presidency. Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg embarrassed themselves. And wasted a lot of money and their message fell flat. Andrew Yang did okay but wasted a lot of money. Trump won because he was Trump. Larger than life and tough as nails. Don't know that there are any others out there like that.
- The nuts on the fringes of both parties didn't prevail. Whether it's Antifa or BLM on the left or the Proud Boys on the right or all the other kooks out there causing division, they just stirred up a lot of trouble and ultimately were not a force. The 150M Americans that voted were the force. If we start to move back to some sort of normalcy and civility, my most fervent hope is that both parties will repudiate the radicals, looters and rioters.
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