Sam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
l33tminion) wrote2020-11-08 06:24 pm
l33tminion) wrote2020-11-08 06:24 pm
The Vote Counts
It seems that Joe Biden has won the election! On the one hand, this is not the sweeping rejection of Trumpism that I and many had hoped. Given who President Trump is (a liar, braggart, cheat, adulterer, bully, and troll, among other similar things), given his disastrous record and the fact that he, somewhat predictably, never took the job seriously, never rose above petty factionalism, overtly tried to undermine the institutions of American democracy, etc., it's pretty bad that 47% of the electorate voted for another four years of Trump.
On the plus side, Trump seems to have been defeated pretty clearly. And if Biden wins the states which he currently leads, he'll have the same Electoral College total as Trump's 2016 "landslide" (to be fair, a modest victory, but with the support of a majority of the electorate instead of not even a plurality). And Trump's legal strategy in contesting the election result, as I predicted, is definitely "something somehow". Though that legal team press conference at the Four Seasons landscaping company parking lot was iconic. Trump is nothing if not iconic. Donald Trump!
It can hardly be called a loss when Democrats take the Presidency and advance in the Senate and hold the House (though with some lost seats in the lower chamber). It's certainly better than the alternative. But what I expect next is four years of grinding sabotage followed by the ascension of some new Republican nightmare. On the other hand, Trump supporters seem to think what happens next is the entire Trump administration swiftly undone, followed by Medicare for All and a Green New Deal or whatever! So I suppose can only hope the Biden administration will be as epochal and transformative as that crowd expects!
And as a parent, I'm really feeling this sentiment.
It's still going to be a long lame-duck session. It's going to be strange having that without the usual things done for the good of the American unity and American government during that time. I'm pretty sure even George H. W. Bush didn't have all-capslock rage-tantrums when he lost an election as an incumbent Republican President specifically. Perhaps he meant something a bit different than Trump does when he said "America must always come first".
The weather is absolutely beautiful in Boston this weekend, and with that plus the election, people are generally in a good mood. Making the most of the end of the warm weather before winter sets in.
On the plus side, Trump seems to have been defeated pretty clearly. And if Biden wins the states which he currently leads, he'll have the same Electoral College total as Trump's 2016 "landslide" (to be fair, a modest victory, but with the support of a majority of the electorate instead of not even a plurality). And Trump's legal strategy in contesting the election result, as I predicted, is definitely "something somehow". Though that legal team press conference at the Four Seasons landscaping company parking lot was iconic. Trump is nothing if not iconic. Donald Trump!
It can hardly be called a loss when Democrats take the Presidency and advance in the Senate and hold the House (though with some lost seats in the lower chamber). It's certainly better than the alternative. But what I expect next is four years of grinding sabotage followed by the ascension of some new Republican nightmare. On the other hand, Trump supporters seem to think what happens next is the entire Trump administration swiftly undone, followed by Medicare for All and a Green New Deal or whatever! So I suppose can only hope the Biden administration will be as epochal and transformative as that crowd expects!
And as a parent, I'm really feeling this sentiment.
It's still going to be a long lame-duck session. It's going to be strange having that without the usual things done for the good of the American unity and American government during that time. I'm pretty sure even George H. W. Bush didn't have all-capslock rage-tantrums when he lost an election as an incumbent Republican President specifically. Perhaps he meant something a bit different than Trump does when he said "America must always come first".
The weather is absolutely beautiful in Boston this weekend, and with that plus the election, people are generally in a good mood. Making the most of the end of the warm weather before winter sets in.