Thank you you articulated what I feel so well, I'm sending it to everyone I know. It made me cry and cry. I am still crying. As you said, sometimes the only thing that gives me hope is when I see pics of Obama, what a delightful human he is - and we elected him! We made him president twice!
I will always remember election night 2016. It will both haunt me and buoy me for the rest of my life. Haunt because it felt like the morning of 9/11/1. For me it was a perfect day in St. Louis - sunny, clear and I had just dropped my wife off at her job in downtown. She walked into the building and Carl Cassell broke in on the radio to say a plane had struck the World Trade Center. I've honestly never thought of a beautiful day the same ever. Like we can't have good days without some disaster waiting. Election night 2016 was the same. The same wife had made it a little party for her wonk husband to watch as the first woman ascended to the presidency. Almost everybody thought it was a cakewalk. A few hours later she was demanding I put all the "party" materials and all the Clinton signs in the trash. I stood at the garbage pail and cried. I knew enough about politics and enough about Trump that the next four years were going to be bad. Late into that night I wrote as much as I could about my feelings and where I saw this all going. I put it on my Facebook and for the most part it has come true. These four years have been bad, but we have a political/civic resurgence in this country. We have a vast, angry response to politics as usual. And Trump, like all good Republicans, has totally overstepped the bounds and flaunted every single rule. It’s built up so many organizations that challenge our willingness normalize things like mass shootings, government graft, and whole-cloth mistreatment of minorities, immigrants, women, the poor… We have become aware and powerful.
So what happens after this election night? [Assuming I am not out at the trash can crying again.] I think we will first have to fight to get Trump out of the White House. He will not go peacefully. Honestly. It already looks like prison. Let's just lock the doors from the outside. What I really wish for is that we remember our fight does not stop with electing Joe Biden, or a Democratic Senate or an even stronger House. I feel pretty good about that, but I feel even more strongly about the power of the people to demand that their government represents them. I have several friends and family who say the Dems are as bad as the Republicans. First, that is not true by a long stretch. But any person in power is going to need some prodding to do the right things. I trust Pelosi and many of the heroes of the last few years, but I also know that politicians need reminders of what they are there for and how to spend our tax dollars. We've been at such a standstill for so many years and chances to push us in the right direction (not to mention cleaning up the hash that DJT has made of so many of our govt agencies) are few and far between. We need to jump on this. We need to be in the streets. Yeah, we need to work with that disenchanted 40% and make their lives better as well. I don't really care for our red-hatted friends, but they are citizens as well. We can create a better America. America can be a force for good again in this world. But it is not going to happen just by winning an election. We have to demand it. The time for protesting has only just begun.
Thanks for having the courage to address both possibilities in this gut-punching essay. Like many, I will never forget Election Night 2016 and speaking with crying friends, all of us shattered beyond words. Remembering, I'm still left breathless as it's another poignant "where were you on 9/11 moment." However, now I'll NEVER take another election result for granted and hopefully, that's our collective lesson.
I don’t like to be a pessimist but given the underhanded , cheating and lying ways of “he who I can’t speak his name without vomiting in my mouth” it is a very real possibility. I honestly fear for our country if he does remain.
You sound as pessimistic as I do. Here are my nightmare scenarios: 1) The Mango Menace wins. He sees it as vindication of everything he has done over the past four years and the few, tiny restraints on his insane, immoral conduct are then removed, especially with not worrying about having to get reelected again. With Justices Sotomayor, RBG, Breyer and Kagan all advancing rapidly in years, he gets to place two and maybe even three more far right Justices on the Supreme Court, leaving John Roberts as the only "liberal" (!!) justice. He completely cancels all environmental protections and we see the return of acid rain in this country. He also opens up almost all national parks to development, and completely eliminates via executive order the Endangered Species Act. Concurrently, he continues to pack the lower courts with Federalist Society-vetted judges in all states, and anti-abortion groups, realizing the gift that they've been handed, file suits to have abortion banned even in the bluest of states. With a far right judiciary in the lower and appellate courts, and solid conservative control over the Supreme Court, state law after state law allowing a woman's right to choose are wiped from the books. I won't touch on foreign policy, because that could be several paragraphs by itself.
Think that this can't happen? At this point, would you bet against it?
Nightmare scenario 2) Biden wins, but no matter what the electoral college total is, Trump and his cheering section at OANN and Fox News scream electoral fraud, leading to immediate legal challenges. Again, let's not forget that Trump has already appointed more federal judges than any President in American history, and while they can occasionally surprise us with a favorable result or two, as the Supreme Court did this week, I don't know that we can count on that happening when these same judges are confronting a situation where the person who placed them on the bench is seeking their help to stay in power. The litigation goes through the federal court system. I'm pretty sure that it would have to be filed in the D.C. Circuit Court, where whoever loses would then appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. And hey, guess who's now on that Court? Why, it's the completely unqualified, right wing freak, Mitch McConnell protege Justin Walker. All told, 11 out of the 19 judges who constitute the bench in that appellate court are Republican appointees, with three of them appointed by Trump. And then, there's the Supreme Court. This might be our best and last hope to stop the insanity, because I think that John Roberts, while he's not a particularly strong Chief Justice, IMHO, DOES respect the institution and the precedents it is supposed to follow. I would not say that about any other conservative justice, including Neil Gorsuch, his opinion this week notwithstanding. So, I'd say that the odds of an electoral challenge succeeding are far from remote. Meanwhile, Trump issues one executive order after another wiping out environmental regulations, and accelerates his appointment of federal judges. He also acts like he won, and Biden is effectively marginalized as the media circus follows the insanity emanating out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with almost a slavish devotion. Even more ominously, armed far right groups start to make their presence known, and they start open intimidation campaigns against minorities and pretty much anyone who doesn't overtly support Trump. Police unions, already in thrall of Trump, turn a blind eye to what is going on. Sounds like Germany in 1932, doesn't it? Well, that's where I fear we are heading. Again, I will ask, think that this can't happen?
Well, I've thoroughly depressed myself. I need a drink.
You eloquently expressed what has deeply terrified me for months. He will not go quietly. He will rage, rage against the dying of his light and he might burn the country down yet.
The question isn't whether Biden can win in November. The question is "will we have a free and fair election"? If we can achieve that, or close to it, Biden will win in a historic landslide. Trump's base is not near as big as it is often portrayed in the media. It is not 40% of the country, it is less than 25%. Trump received less than half of the vote in 2016. But approx 10 million more votes than he received went to Hillary and third-party candidates so he effectively lost the popular vote by 10 million. And 46% of eligible voters did not vote! So Trump received roughly a quarter of all votes cast in the country. Now, not all of those Trump voters were members of his rabid base. Some were conservative, some democrats, some independents. I can promise you that many of those voters–lets say upwards of 10% of them–will not vote for him again. And we are starting to hear reports of exactly this. The vast majority of Americans are disgusted by this administration and are ready to show up at the polls in droves. But the larger issue is making sure that these votes count and as we have recently seen in places like Georgia and New York we have reason to worry. Electronic ballot-marking devices and ballot readers and pollbooks are all prone to hardware/software failure and/or hacking. Here in Texas we have a corrupt AG who is fighting tooth-and-nail to prevent state-wide mail-in voting because they know it will hamper attendance at the polls due to the coronavirus. All this to say that we must focus our energies on how we can prevent election fraud in November. If we can have a fair election we will win our democracy back. Thanks for your great piece!
Thank you you articulated what I feel so well, I'm sending it to everyone I know. It made me cry and cry. I am still crying. As you said, sometimes the only thing that gives me hope is when I see pics of Obama, what a delightful human he is - and we elected him! We made him president twice!
I will always remember election night 2016. It will both haunt me and buoy me for the rest of my life. Haunt because it felt like the morning of 9/11/1. For me it was a perfect day in St. Louis - sunny, clear and I had just dropped my wife off at her job in downtown. She walked into the building and Carl Cassell broke in on the radio to say a plane had struck the World Trade Center. I've honestly never thought of a beautiful day the same ever. Like we can't have good days without some disaster waiting. Election night 2016 was the same. The same wife had made it a little party for her wonk husband to watch as the first woman ascended to the presidency. Almost everybody thought it was a cakewalk. A few hours later she was demanding I put all the "party" materials and all the Clinton signs in the trash. I stood at the garbage pail and cried. I knew enough about politics and enough about Trump that the next four years were going to be bad. Late into that night I wrote as much as I could about my feelings and where I saw this all going. I put it on my Facebook and for the most part it has come true. These four years have been bad, but we have a political/civic resurgence in this country. We have a vast, angry response to politics as usual. And Trump, like all good Republicans, has totally overstepped the bounds and flaunted every single rule. It’s built up so many organizations that challenge our willingness normalize things like mass shootings, government graft, and whole-cloth mistreatment of minorities, immigrants, women, the poor… We have become aware and powerful.
So what happens after this election night? [Assuming I am not out at the trash can crying again.] I think we will first have to fight to get Trump out of the White House. He will not go peacefully. Honestly. It already looks like prison. Let's just lock the doors from the outside. What I really wish for is that we remember our fight does not stop with electing Joe Biden, or a Democratic Senate or an even stronger House. I feel pretty good about that, but I feel even more strongly about the power of the people to demand that their government represents them. I have several friends and family who say the Dems are as bad as the Republicans. First, that is not true by a long stretch. But any person in power is going to need some prodding to do the right things. I trust Pelosi and many of the heroes of the last few years, but I also know that politicians need reminders of what they are there for and how to spend our tax dollars. We've been at such a standstill for so many years and chances to push us in the right direction (not to mention cleaning up the hash that DJT has made of so many of our govt agencies) are few and far between. We need to jump on this. We need to be in the streets. Yeah, we need to work with that disenchanted 40% and make their lives better as well. I don't really care for our red-hatted friends, but they are citizens as well. We can create a better America. America can be a force for good again in this world. But it is not going to happen just by winning an election. We have to demand it. The time for protesting has only just begun.
Thanks for having the courage to address both possibilities in this gut-punching essay. Like many, I will never forget Election Night 2016 and speaking with crying friends, all of us shattered beyond words. Remembering, I'm still left breathless as it's another poignant "where were you on 9/11 moment." However, now I'll NEVER take another election result for granted and hopefully, that's our collective lesson.
I don’t like to be a pessimist but given the underhanded , cheating and lying ways of “he who I can’t speak his name without vomiting in my mouth” it is a very real possibility. I honestly fear for our country if he does remain.
You sound as pessimistic as I do. Here are my nightmare scenarios: 1) The Mango Menace wins. He sees it as vindication of everything he has done over the past four years and the few, tiny restraints on his insane, immoral conduct are then removed, especially with not worrying about having to get reelected again. With Justices Sotomayor, RBG, Breyer and Kagan all advancing rapidly in years, he gets to place two and maybe even three more far right Justices on the Supreme Court, leaving John Roberts as the only "liberal" (!!) justice. He completely cancels all environmental protections and we see the return of acid rain in this country. He also opens up almost all national parks to development, and completely eliminates via executive order the Endangered Species Act. Concurrently, he continues to pack the lower courts with Federalist Society-vetted judges in all states, and anti-abortion groups, realizing the gift that they've been handed, file suits to have abortion banned even in the bluest of states. With a far right judiciary in the lower and appellate courts, and solid conservative control over the Supreme Court, state law after state law allowing a woman's right to choose are wiped from the books. I won't touch on foreign policy, because that could be several paragraphs by itself.
Think that this can't happen? At this point, would you bet against it?
Nightmare scenario 2) Biden wins, but no matter what the electoral college total is, Trump and his cheering section at OANN and Fox News scream electoral fraud, leading to immediate legal challenges. Again, let's not forget that Trump has already appointed more federal judges than any President in American history, and while they can occasionally surprise us with a favorable result or two, as the Supreme Court did this week, I don't know that we can count on that happening when these same judges are confronting a situation where the person who placed them on the bench is seeking their help to stay in power. The litigation goes through the federal court system. I'm pretty sure that it would have to be filed in the D.C. Circuit Court, where whoever loses would then appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. And hey, guess who's now on that Court? Why, it's the completely unqualified, right wing freak, Mitch McConnell protege Justin Walker. All told, 11 out of the 19 judges who constitute the bench in that appellate court are Republican appointees, with three of them appointed by Trump. And then, there's the Supreme Court. This might be our best and last hope to stop the insanity, because I think that John Roberts, while he's not a particularly strong Chief Justice, IMHO, DOES respect the institution and the precedents it is supposed to follow. I would not say that about any other conservative justice, including Neil Gorsuch, his opinion this week notwithstanding. So, I'd say that the odds of an electoral challenge succeeding are far from remote. Meanwhile, Trump issues one executive order after another wiping out environmental regulations, and accelerates his appointment of federal judges. He also acts like he won, and Biden is effectively marginalized as the media circus follows the insanity emanating out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with almost a slavish devotion. Even more ominously, armed far right groups start to make their presence known, and they start open intimidation campaigns against minorities and pretty much anyone who doesn't overtly support Trump. Police unions, already in thrall of Trump, turn a blind eye to what is going on. Sounds like Germany in 1932, doesn't it? Well, that's where I fear we are heading. Again, I will ask, think that this can't happen?
Well, I've thoroughly depressed myself. I need a drink.
I began reading the comment by Tracey Harnish and realized my thoughts were what she already wrote! I truly enjoy your articles. Thank you so much.
You eloquently expressed what has deeply terrified me for months. He will not go quietly. He will rage, rage against the dying of his light and he might burn the country down yet.
The question isn't whether Biden can win in November. The question is "will we have a free and fair election"? If we can achieve that, or close to it, Biden will win in a historic landslide. Trump's base is not near as big as it is often portrayed in the media. It is not 40% of the country, it is less than 25%. Trump received less than half of the vote in 2016. But approx 10 million more votes than he received went to Hillary and third-party candidates so he effectively lost the popular vote by 10 million. And 46% of eligible voters did not vote! So Trump received roughly a quarter of all votes cast in the country. Now, not all of those Trump voters were members of his rabid base. Some were conservative, some democrats, some independents. I can promise you that many of those voters–lets say upwards of 10% of them–will not vote for him again. And we are starting to hear reports of exactly this. The vast majority of Americans are disgusted by this administration and are ready to show up at the polls in droves. But the larger issue is making sure that these votes count and as we have recently seen in places like Georgia and New York we have reason to worry. Electronic ballot-marking devices and ballot readers and pollbooks are all prone to hardware/software failure and/or hacking. Here in Texas we have a corrupt AG who is fighting tooth-and-nail to prevent state-wide mail-in voting because they know it will hamper attendance at the polls due to the coronavirus. All this to say that we must focus our energies on how we can prevent election fraud in November. If we can have a fair election we will win our democracy back. Thanks for your great piece!