As I wake up to Biden overtaking Trump in Pennsylvania and Georgia, and appearing likely to hold Arizona and Nevada, for a solid Electoral College win--and a 4 million vote margin of victory--I have some thoughts that are unsettling even as dust settles on this election season.
First, Biden's percentage margin of victory is more than the presidential victors in 1976, 1980, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2016, and likely higher (just about) than Bush I's victory over Dukakis in 1988. Yet, we are still in an Electoral College nail biter. And the Republicans still control the senate, though the total votes for senators across the nation favored the Democrats by a couple of million votes, too.
Second, the DNC and their enablers in corporate media cause Democrats to lose where they should win more often, and keep progressives divided as to strategy. To have set so much money on fire with the Lincoln Project, and to direct monies to losing campaigns (from the start) such as Jamie Harrison in South Carolina and Amy McGrath (the Trumpian Democrat) in Kentucky, when we should have had far more directed use of non-corporate money, is something that is unfortunately beyond incompetence and part of the continuing project to stop anything resembling social democracy in our nation.
Third, the strategic failure of the national Democratic Party powers that be, and their cynically dumb commentariat in corporate media, is why I am now ready to start supporting fusion balloting in NM and the creation of The People's Party. My advice is to support these two items across the nation. Corporate Democrats must realize their agenda is over, and Biden only won from revulsion against Trump's handling (it is not merely non-handling as his conduct was intentional recklessness) of the Coronavirus. Had that misconduct in handling the virus not occurred, meaning had Trump taken responsible leadership, the Republicans may have won back the House--not just the senate--as well as Trump winning "bigly" over Biden or any other corporate Dem. As Alan Lichtman said a year ago, pre-COVID, with a relatively decent to strong economy, the incumbent wins unless there is a populist alternative from the Dems--and I wonder who, cough, Bernie, cough, he meant there? LOL. By the way, Lichtman's record of predicting the winner who gets to occupy the White House was vindicated again, as, post-COVID crisis beginning, he correctly predicted Biden would defeat Trump.
Third, it appears we will not suffer the worst case scenario of Republicans controlling the senate again and Trump winning. However, I must admit I may well have been happier if the Dems had taken the Senate and Biden lost to Trump. I say this not because I am angry Biden defeated Trump. I say this because Trump would likely do less damage with a Democratic Party controlled Congress than in this now likely scenario where Senator John C. Calhoun--I mean, Mitch McConnell--and all Republicans (including the outright dingbat Susan Collins of Maine) will continue to stymie anything decent Biden can do--with even Biden's reversals of Trump executive orders heading to Trump-McConnell-drenched federal courts, which will suddenly find executive orders to be executive overreach.
Just sayin...Yes, I again am happy Trump is likely now to be vanquished. And, as I said yesterday, we will start to hear from Republicans who will say how vulgar they found him all along. However, apart from tut-tutting about tone, these Republicans will still fight against anything decent for the majority of people and still scapegoat oppressed minorities' communities.
Therefore, my advice to progressives, and especially to the Millennials and Gen Zers, is keep the track shoes on. There is a nation to save from itself. That means more protests and movement politics, more primaries against corporate Democrats and DNC anointed candidates for Republican held or open seats, fusion balloting, ranked choice, the national popular vote compact, and the formation of The People's Party.
