While I actively try to stay away from online political discussions as it only serves to further divide our country along political and theological lines. For the most part, I live by the philosophy of Linus Van Pelt. “There are three things I’ve learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”
However, now that I have had a week to digest the results of last week’s election, I find myself in kind of a malaise as I come to terms with what is happening in the world. I find myself thinking of what could have been done to prevent the re-rise of a wannabe dictator and convicted felon and how do we ensure that at the end of the next 4 years, we are still able to recognize this once great country.
I liken it to processing through the 5 stages of grief but in this case, more the stages of despair. The difference is that it is not starting with denial. While I had truly hoped that we would not end up in this situation, I knew that this was a very real possibility. Thus, I feel it starts with disappointment. Disappointment in the outcome, disappointment in the country and disappointment in a huge portion of the population. Then move on to Anger and eventually through a stage of Depression. I expect that the next stage will be to revisit Anger and finally to Resolve rather than acceptance. We must get to a point where we come together to be part of the resistance to help drive change and bring America back to basic human values.
The first thing that comes to mind is “How did we get here?” How did racism and hatred become the norm for a huge portion of the population? How did a country founded on religious freedom become a nation where a limited scope of Christian beliefs drives the political agenda of the entire Republican Party. However, the hypocrisy of the GOP’s arguments is based on limited portions of “Christian” beliefs. How did the Republican Party belief system of family values, law and order and Christianity turn into a party that supports (even worships) a man who has been married to and cheated on three wives, who has been convicted of more than 30 felonies and who openly brags of being a sexual predator. I have, at times, asked Trump supporters how they can support a man who so openly lives his life in direct opposition to the beliefs they hold so dear. However, I have never received a response that is anything more than gross rationalization, excuses or “What about . . .”
It has become obvious to me that The United States is no longer the greatest country in the world and to a very large degree, has become the laughing stock of the free world. I often think of the opening scene of the first episode of “The Newsroom” where Jeff Daniels’ character is asked what makes America the greatest country in the world and his response is an epic monologue that outlines why this is no longer the case. ( If you have never seen the opening 5 minutes of the first episode of “The Newsroom”, I encourage you to watch the show or at least search for this scene online as I believe is even more relevant today than when it first aired.)
Through all of this, I still don’t understand how and why people consistently vote against their own interests. How anyone (with the exception of wealthy white males) can truly support Trump and the MAGA movement. How can any woman support a man who boasts of being a sexual predator and whose plans include taking away a woman’s right to make decisions about her own health, to the point that it will become illegal to terminate a pregnancy even if it is not viable and poses an imminent risk to the life of the mother. How can any person of color support a man who is backed by white nationalists and white nationalist organizations? How can any person of Mexican, Puerto Rican or any other latinx heritage support people who generalize all people in these racial categories as rapists and criminals and even call US territories from where they come, “Floating islands of garbage.” How can members of the LGBTQ+ community support a man who has pledged to take away basic rights from all but heterosexual people and relationships. How can anyone who may rely on the ACA, Medicare/Medicaid or Social Security support a man whose party plans to decimate these important programs?
Given the logical aspects of these arguments, how were these not addressed in the last 4 years. First of all, the problem lies with the word “Logical”. As democrats and moderates who view Trump as a clear and present danger to the country and democracy, logical arguments cannot counter illogical belief systems. Thus we need to have another strategy.
In the end, I truly believe that Trump’s victory is primarily the fault of the leadership of the Democratic party. While I and many of the people I know, especially on the west coast, believe a female and/or person of color can be an effective President, it is clear that much of the country is not ready, especially when opposed by a white male candidate. This was evident in the 2016 election when it was not those that supported Trump that drove him to win the presidency, it was those that would not vote for a woman, who ultimately decided the election. I believe that this fact also played a very significant role in Trump’s current victory.
Today many believe that Kamala Harris was to blame as she aligned too closely with President Biden’s policies. That she was not effective enough to show that she would lead the country with her own plan and strategy and not just as a puppet to Biden and the DNC. While this may be true, she was put in a “No-Win” situation by being thrust into the presidential race with just 3 months to campaign after support for Biden imploded within the Democratic party.
The DNC did not look forward to proactively plan for this election. After Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump, it was clear that the country was not ready to have a woman at the top of the ticket. Again, the DNC did not spend the next two years promoting and grooming a white male to combat the argument of the nation not being ready for a female president. In the end, they turned to Joe Biden, as he was the only white male, leader in the party with enough of a name and reputation to compete and eventually win the election against Trump in 2020.
This lack of forethought and planning directly led to Trump winning and ultimately to the GOP gaining majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, not to mention the Supreme Court. It should have been obvious to them that Joe Biden may not be the best candidate to go up against Trump again in 2024 based on his favorability numbers and age. Instead they sat back and hoped that Biden could hold on through this election and then relied on Kamala Harris to step up at the last minute to try and salvage the election. In the end Kamala Harris was dropped into a literal “sh_t-show” of a race from which she could not recover. Overall, while I am not a fan of Kamala Harris, I do feel that she did about as well as she could, given the limited time and resources, to mount a successful opposition to the MAGA extremists.
Now the DNC must learn from this travesty and quickly identify 1-2 candidates who can pick up the torch and lead the way back to the light. I also believe that these candidates must be heterosexual, white, males who can appeal to those that either voted for Trump or just didn’t vote because they would not vote for a woman. While I, and many of the people I know, would truly support a candidate who is female, non-binary, and/or a person of color, the DNC needs to look at what is the best way to beat the current MAGA-centric GOP candidates. While this may not be the best plan for progressive change, change can only happen when you have the support of the majority.
Musings From My Massage Chair 