This is not the article I planned to write for this month’s first blog post. “Expressing Congratulations (and Sincere Sympathy) to Pres. Harris” was the title of the post I anticipated making. But the sad news I read upon arising early Wednesday clearly indicated that I would have to write a different article.
 |
| VP Harris making concession speech (11/6) |
Kamala Harris campaigned well, but both the popular and the electoral votes were decisive. Nevertheless, I congratulate her for her valiant efforts, determination, and forward-looking spirit. In her concession speech on Wednesday afternoon, she said,
... while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign—the fight: the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people. A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.
Of course, no politician likes to lose, but for VP Harris herself, losing may have been good for her. Because of current and lurking problems in the U.S. and the world, she could have well ended up with a failed presidency. (For some of the same reasons, the same may happen to Trump).
If Harris had won, she would have had to contend with debilitating Senate opposition and continual opposition by the NAR (which I wrote about here a month ago) and other MAGA adherents, including the growing number of White Christian nationalists.
In addition, Kamala would have had to—and now Trump will have to—deal
with the warfare in the Near East, which will likely grow worse before it gets much
better. We don’t know how she would have handled that incendiary situation, but
she would likely have faced considerable criticism no matter what she did.
Perhaps more serious than anything else is the worsening of climate
change and the urgency of dealing with the ecological predicament. This crucial
matter will quite surely get markedly worse in the new Trump administration,
but Harris would not have been able to forestall the coming crisis.
Consider why Trump “should” have won the election. In
addition to the large block of White Christians voting for Trump and the
residual racism and sexism still lingering in the land (as I wrote about in
last Saturday’s “extra” blog post (see here)**,
consider the following:
* The unpopularity of President Biden. According to a highly
reliable poll taken on Nov. 1-2, Biden’s approval rating was 40% and 56%
disapproving. It is rare for the Party in power to win a presidential election
with the sitting president’s rating 16% more negative than positive.
* The perception that the
country is on the wrong track. As indicated
here, 63% of the U.S. public think the country is headed in the wrong
direction (on the wrong track), and only 26% that it is headed in the right
direction. That makes it very hard for the incumbent Party to win a
presidential election.
* Continuing high prices because of inflation and corporate greed.
This 11/6 Washington Post piece
doesn’t deal with corporate greed as I think it should, but it does suggest
that the widely held perception that the economy is “not good” or “poor”
impelled many to cast their vote for Trump.
* The unaddressed problem of classism.
This issue is addressed well by a 11/6 New York Times opinion article by the
eminent journalist David Brooks (see here). Another source
indicates that while voters with graduate degrees vote Democratic overwhelmingly,
this year more than ever before, those with no college education voted
overwhelmingly for Trump.
Where do we go from here? On Wednesday, the editorial board of the New York
Times wrote, “Benjamin Franklin famously admonished
the American people that the nation was ‘a republic, if you can keep it’.” They
go on to say,
Mr. Trump’s election poses a grave threat to that republic, but he will not determine the long-term fate of American democracy. That outcome remains in the hands of the American people. It is the work of the next four years.”
So, I conclude by again congratulating
VP Harris for her valiant campaign and expressing sympathy to her for losing
the election to a far less worthy candidate. And I trust that she will, indeed,
continue to lead in the struggle for implementing “the ideals at the heart of our nation.”
_____
** In that post, I wrote, “If VP Harris loses the election, … it will be
because of the votes of White Christians more than any other chosen demographic
(that is, other than non-chosen demographics such as gender, race, or ‘class.’)”
Thursday morning there was this post on Religious News Service’s website: “White
Christians made Donald Trump president — again.”
.jpg)