I really don’t know if Joe Biden or Donald Trump will win next Tuesday. I hear partisans on both sides make fairly strong cases for victory for their candidate.
But as I’ve said before, and it bears saying one more time before election day, the republic will survive no matter who wins the presidency, controls the Senate, and wins local races.
You and I will do OK. I promise. You can count on it.
I write this because I’m seeing way too many people who are so obsessed with this election, and so strongly devoted to one side or the other, that they believe Armageddon will occur if their side loses.
This applies to partisans in both parties. Some folks so viscerally hate Trump that they can’t abide the thought of him winning. It is unfathomable to them. They believe the country won’t survive another term.
And some Trump lovers so believe in their man that if he loses it must be fraud or election irregularities.
And there are, unfortunately, fringe extremists on both sides that simply may not accept the election outcome. There really could be serious protests and attempts to shut down infrastructure and government operations. Social media and the Internet are full of speculation and conspiracy theories about planned protests and disruptions and how to prepare for them.
If vote-counting goes on for the few days, and the winner is unclear, things could really get dicey as both sides hurl accusations and candidates refuse to concede. I certainly hope it won’t come to that.
Win or lose, we need to remember that four years is not a very long time. There will be many more opportunities, including the mid-term elections, to turn things around. And being the loyal opposition, out of power, has its benefits. For one thing, you can criticize without having the burden to deliver any results. I predict that whoever wins is going to have a rough time in the 2022 mid-terms.
We also need to remember that change under a new or continuing administration will likely be incremental, not dramatic. If Biden wins, he will certainly have to deal with pressure from the left to restructure the country. But I believe he will successfully resist the worst ideas.
If Trump wins, he will be . . . Trump. His talk will always be much more outlandish than his actions. He might even get the economy rolling again.
I’ve also written, and it’s good to remember, that you must, in part, view politics as a game. If you don’t, you’ll get depressed, go postal, or crawl into a hole somewhere. Don’t take the election so seriously.
We’ve endured far worse than a change – or not — of parties in the White House or the Senate. We can certainly survive four years of Joe Biden or another term of Donald Trump.
Interesting read. Politico says Wall Street would like to see Biden win and Democrats win the Senate. That would assure the stock market of an enormous new stimulus package and a more stable political environment.
Parting Shot. Please vote for all of the constitutional amendments. Most are housekeeping matters, but need to be approved. All were passed by supermajorities in the Legislature. Amendment G really will help public education, not hurt it. That’s why essentially the entire education community supports it.
If you have a comment, an item you think should be publicized, or just want to tell me I’m an idiot, shoot me a message at [email protected].
