Well, I guess we had an election? People keep telling me that anyway. I try to avoid thinking about it and so I’ve been watching even more horror films than usual. Of course, this is all a change.
The night of the election, I was very excited. I thought it would be a great night for the Democrats. When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, I was depressed. But eventually, I adjusted my expectations and saw that a win for Biden was a win for America.
Or maybe it’s better to say that a win for Biden gives America a chance. But it’s not a great one.
Republican Senate
We seem to be stuck with a Republican Senate despite the fact that there were far more votes for Democrats. And that means that there will be no stimulus for the economy for at least 2 years.
And that’s sad. Because a small number of people think it is to their advantage electorally, millions of people are forced to suffer.
It’s also a short-term strategy. Destroying the economy will probably work for the Republicans in 2022. But by 2024, the economy (despite the best efforts of Republicans) will be recovering. And that will be good for Democrats.
Why We Can’t All Get Along
I am very much in a “Why can’t we all just get along?” mood. The problem is, I know why: the Republicans. The truth is that any political party will be as extreme as it can get away with.
Because of the construction of our electoral system, the Republicans can be very conservative — far more conservative than the voters are — and still have power.
For my friends on the left who like to complain that most people agree with the left on policy, there’s your answer. The government is set up such that it does not reflect the will of the people. It reflects the will of people a good deal more conservative.
What We Know
As I right this, Biden is on the verge of taking the lead in Pennsylvania and Georgia. At the same time, he’s almost 4 million votes ahead of Trump nationally. I’ve heard estimates that when all the votes are counted, he will win by 5 million.
Think about that. This election isn’t even close. Yet 3 days out we still don’t know. We have razor-thin margins in a number of states. This is not how a democracy should work. (Yes, for the idiot conservatives: “democratic republic” — every time I hear someone talk about this it is clear they know very little about political systems.)
We’ve all gotten to the point where we just accept it. And we shouldn’t.
I’ll leave you with that. I hope to write another article over the weekend about Paula White’s speech. I have a different take on it than many others. See you then!
Boxing image via Pixy in the public domain.
As to Mr. Trump — I’ll believe he’s no longer President when he exits the building, not before. There’s some talk of asking Democratic states with Republican legislatures (because gerrymandering) to certify their own slate of electors. I doubt that will happen, since that’s a last-gasp move, and if there’s one thing we know about Republicans, it’s that they will take a short-term loss for long-term power. Elections are useful, they give the plebes some illusions of participation. You don’t want to completely toss them until there’s no other means of maintaining rule by the rich. And in no universe is Joe Biden going to undermine rule by the rich!
As to Ms. White — well, there’s a reason this sort of repetitive, psuedo-Biblical oratory is successful. It sounds good! It goes “trippingly from the tongue,” as Shakes said (and he used that manner of language a lot). MLK used it; so did William Jennings Bryan. So did even the 19th-century freethinker Robert Ingersoll! He gave speeches all over the country, often in little farming towns, and people who hated everything he stood for would attend those speeches just to hear how well he preached agnosticism. (Also, people didn’t have Netflix back then. Once you’ve gotten the farm chores done for the day, there’s not a heck of a lot else to do…)
Since horror isn’t my favorite genre, the movie I watched was an English thing from the 1980s about struggling actors strung out on every intoxicant imaginable; there’s a scene of drinking lighter fluid in the first five minutes, and it gets worse. It was an offensive film in every sense, and it felt right for my mood. At one point, the actors plead with a rural farmer to take mercy on them and bring food. He provides a chicken. A live chicken. Richard E. Grant says “what are we supposed to do with this?” and the other actor responds, “kill it before it makes friends with us.” Offensive movie. But I wasn’t in the mood for any inspiring happy film.
Withnail and I?! Good choice!
On the electors, Greg Sargent wrote a good article about how that was not possible in Pennsylvania or about half of the other states. It made me feel better because I have a different take on the Republican philosophy. I think it is: grab as much power as you can short-term because the voters will punish you for at most 2 years and probably not at all.
We were driving back from the grocery store the other day, and there were a bunch of wild turkeys just hanging around. I didn’t notice them at first; I’m a very conscientious driver and looking for other cars, kids crossing the street, that sort of thing.
Mrs. James said “wow, a turkey” and I looked, and there was a whole shitton of them. Just hanging out, doing whatever it is turkeys do.
Made me think of the “Withnail And I” scene. We’d actually just got sliced turkey meat at the store. And there you have it, free turkeys, right there on the side of the road! Free food, if you can catch it, defeather it, gut it, etc. I wasn’t up for that.
There is a rafter of turkeys where I walk — about 2 dozen. (Yes, I looked up “rafter”!) They other day I saw about half a dozen of them walking around. I stay well away from them. They are big and seem like they could take me down! This is one reason I feed the crows. I hope they will come to my rescue should I be attacked by turkeys or humans.