How Bad Is It, Anything Helpful Out There, Focus on the Next 18+ Months?
Where We Are, How Do We Proceed
Things may not be quite as bad as the image at the top of this post, but you get the point.
Last week, after a welcome and helpful time for reflection, we talked a bit about that infamous election and what we know it meant, vs all the speculation about why it happened. We promised this week to take up the three questions that arise from a recognition as to where we are as a country.
Let’s get to it.
So, How Bad Is It?
In short, it likely is about as bad as one could imagine – sorry, not going to sugar coat this one. What makes it so bad? Let us count the ways:
- Being a Kool aid drinker, sexism, or racist is no longer a disqualifying element. Heck, at least one of these, along with rabid allegiance to you know who, are now considered qualifications.
- The Revenge Tour will be pursued far and wide. I actually think a lot of this will run short and be as much bluster as danger, but easy to me to say. A lot of good and serious people feel genuinely threatened, as they should. The talk about a Biden Mass Pardon is not as crazy an idea as it might seem. The Trump team is determined to politicize and misuse the legal system beyond imagination. Stopping that in its tracks could justify some bold steps.
- A team of plotters thinks it is ready to go. This time around, Trump has a team of smarter, more focused people ready to bring the wreckage of Plan 2025 to reality, and they plan to strike quickly. As we will discuss in the next section, that may well not be as easy as they think, but even at half capacity, an awful lot of damage can be done to our system of government and social structure.
- Trump is proposing an amazing list of people singularly unsuitable and wholly unqualified to run much of the government. If the Senate cowers and lets the worst ones through, important elements of government – and people’s lives – will be a mess. Even if one chose to agree with the philosophies of these people, one has to admit that we have never, ever seen a list of such nominees with zero qualifications, either in the field of the agencies they are to run, not to mention so many of them have never run anything of substance and size. Even if you voted for Trump, you have to be embarrassed by this unfit, unscreened list of losers.
Anything Hopeful Out There?
Actually, yes. There are things to celebrate and things to build upon.
First, how the election ran is worth noting. By and large, it went as it was supposed to in terms of process (if not outcome) around the country. Some states worked hard to screw with the voters (with some success), but for the most part, the system worked and people did the right things in running those local elections.
Second, a lot of important ballot initiatives passed in several states, mostly focused on reproductive freedom. Not all passed. A number of efforts to introduce rank/order voting failed, for example, but a lot of good local governance and bonds passed around the country.
Third, some state and local elections had good results, with bright, moderate people winning election or reelection. Trump’s electoral coat tails, like his margin of victory, were short.
Fourth, a deep bench of talent and growing talent showed itself all over the country, in government, among candidates, and among those who run elections. We need some more handoffs to young new talent in the coming months, and evidence is already coming in that this transition is indeed happening. That is a good thing.
Fifth, some judges and perhaps just enough Republican Senators may withstand the pressure and do the right thing in the fights to come. I cannot express confidence in the Senate, but there is some hope. More on that in the next section of this posting.
Focus on the Next 18 Months or So
I said to myself the day after the election, “Welcome to the first day of the midterm elections.” That seems to me the only frame of mind to have going forward. A lot of work needs to be done, and delay will incur costs.
Probably no place is more important in the first 100 days than the US Senate, Are there enough actual institutionalists to serve the constitution and the country? If they do, their own lives will be better, but it will take strength to get it done. We should leave no stone unturned to encourage these few souls to do what is right.
Pay attention to Trump himself, especially his hubris. Trump has a lot of smart, disciplined people on his team this time around. He is not one of them, and he has a lot of the old Gang That Could Not Shoot Straight with him again. We see the evidence already in the appointment and transition processes.
Trump is his own worst enemy. That should be pointed out at every opportunity.
For the coming months, frame about everything at least in part in thinking about the midterm elections and allow no free pass to Trump and company of any outrage, misconduct, or failure. Call it out loud and clear.
We all need to think hard about messaging and media. Both those pillars of politics failed in this election, both traditional media and newer forms. If we cannot get better on these elements, we will have more grim years ahead of this. We truly need to rethink media, messaging, and everything that connects therein.
See You Next Week
Who knows, we might spend some time together talking about some things other than politics for a change. Life goes on.
Bill Clontz
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Bill, Thank you for this thoughtful message.
I thought that I would be a political basket case if Trump won. I am more upset with the American voter than with this Nut Case elect.
Sometimes it takes bad times to reach good times. (Bill, Think Army Ranger training.). I feel that things are going to be so dysfunctional that the public is going to have to make changes in their priorities. Don’t be fooled, even a MAGA voter whose life gets worse will do some soul searching.
For example, I have managed a tree farm in LA for 44 years. Without immigrant labor planting trees, etc., forestry in the Southeast would come to a standstill. We paid the going legal wage. That goes for farming all over the country. A lot of MAGA folks are in agriculture. What will happen to their political priorities when their workforce is deported?
The “left’ has a lot of soul searching to do also. My unpopular position is that it has gone too far and too quickly to the left with hot button social issues. I leave it up to the reader to decide what needs to happen. Remember, we Harris voters lost, and it is possible that if we don’t change, we will keep losing.
I heard a theologian say the “The meek will inherit the earth.” means the moderate will prevail. Sounds good to me.
Thank you
Van C Joffrion