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.
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| 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.”
The first comments regarding today's blog post came in over an hour ago. They were from local Thinking Friend David Nelson, who wrote,
ReplyDelete"Thanks for sharing your wisdom. It is clear, honest, and feels on target. It will take me a while to integrate the reality that Trump and his cult are not just an aberration in our country, but a tragic reflection of America. Resistance to his administration seems futile but necessary. I refuse to abandon my beliefs in compassion, community, and cooperation."
Thanks for your comments, David. I don't think resistance to the upcoming administration is futile, but I do think it is necessary, as you said, as well as difficult. to do in an effective way. I hope more and more of us can implement your "beliefs in compassion, community, and cooperation."
DeleteJust a few minutes latter, Thinking Friend Vern Barnet, a good friend of both David N. and me, wrote the following "in grief":
ReplyDelete"Thanks for your perspective of how a Harris administration could have faced so many difficulties that her Presidency would have been a failure.
"Please allow one comment about the perception that the country is on the wrong track. In my opinion, the two major causes of this perception are Biden's failure to effectively tout what his administration has been doing and Trump's success in gaslighting what has actually been an extraordinarily successful economic performance, especially compared with other nations. Still, if I had been asked if the nation were on the right track, it would have been hard for me to say Yes because of the widespread toleration of cruelty and lawlessness applauded by so many people."
Thanks for writing, Vern. I agree with the perceptive comments in your second paragraph. For whatever reason, the Biden administration has, indeed, failed to get the public to understand sufficiently all the good that has been done since January 2021, and Trump's gaslighting is certainly extensive.
DeleteI think your concluding sentence is also noteworthy. I wanted to mention that in the blog article, but ended not doing so lest it be too long (by my standards). There is considerable dissatisfaction by people on the left as well as on the right. I think the country was certainly moving toward being in the right direction under Pres. Biden, but it is still a long way from being there for the reason you suggested and several others.
Sue Wright, another local Thinking Friend, comments,
ReplyDelete"To feel hope, I remind myself we are on the right side and the smart side of our citizenry. There are wonderful caring people—lawyers—even judges—and certainly millions of us who have the energy to stay alert and ready—to find ways to protect our nation from dissolving into a monarchy. It won’t be easy, but it will produce amazing strategies for good from us, of course, sadly along with the certain tragedy looming for those most at risk in our nation. Certainly, we weep for what could have been."
Thanks for your positive, forward-looking comments, Sue. There are plenty of reasons for us to feel sad at this time, but there is no reason for despair. There are, indeed, many people who are going to suffer under the coming administration, and we feel sad, and will weep, for them. But that should encourage all of us "on the right side and the smart side" to increase our efforts to spread love ("agape") and total welfare ("shalom") throughout our land.
DeleteThinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago was the next to respond, and here is what he wrote:
ReplyDelete"Thanks, Leroy, for your hopeful observations in a moment of despair for many of us.
"One reason we were misled into believing that Harris had a chance of winning was because of record turnout by early voters. Democrats usually fare better when turnout is large, and so I thought with a record turnout by early voters, the edge was with the Democrats, but the actual turnout, including the vote on Tuesday, was considerably below the turnout in 2020, which worked to the advantage of the Republicans.
"Biden is deeply unpopular with the electorate, primarily because of inflation, an inevitable result of Covid and geopolitical events outside the control of any president, but Biden has been blamed for it. The pre-Covid prices are never coming back, and if Trump's economic agenda is implemented, inflation will be worse, not better. But voters have short memories and a poor understanding of economics.
"The other factor is the "strong man myth"; namely that a strong leader can miraculously solve complex problems. I strongly suspect that Trump will make our problems worse, not better.
"At least Harris was classy enough to concede the election without claiming election fraud, unlike Trump. And Biden has committed his administration to a peaceful transfer of power. What a contrast!"
I agree with your comments, Eric, but I will comment here only on your last paragraph.
DeleteCertainly, there could not be a starker contrast between the Biden/Harris response to the election loss and the Trump/MAGA response in 2020/21. Surely, that difference is going to be noted to a sizeable segment of the population, except perhaps for those who are too severely enmeshed in the MAGA movement that just can't see things reasonably anymore.
Then Southern Baptist missionary Steven Kunkle in Japan, where he wrote after 10 p.m., comments,
ReplyDelete"We prayed, we did our part, and we leave it to the Lord. A reminder is Habakkuk 3:17-19 about God’s sovereignty and the problem of evil in the gospel. But even when evil seems to win, evil already lost because in Christ, we won."
Thanks for your comments, Steve. It is interesting you mentioned Habakkuk 3:17-19, for that was the basis of a Gospel song that June and I enjoyed so much long ago signing with missionary friends in Japan--and haven't heard sung live for decades now. Here is the link to it on YouTube, which we were happy to hear again this morning:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTSbA_4W548
Here are brief comments from Jan Buerge, another local Thinking Friend:
ReplyDelete"Thank you, Leroy, for your thoughtful responses to this disappointing outcome. I find it the hardest to have conversations with my non-Christian friends on how so-called Christians support him."
Thanks for reading and responding, Jan. I certainly understand what you mean when you speak about having conversations with non-Christian friends. At least I am thankful that most of us who regularly attend Rainbow Mennonite Church are Christians, too, and there are very few (if any) of us who voted for Trump.
DeleteNext, I received the following extensive comments from another respected woman who is a Thinking Friend who is not local.
ReplyDelete"Thanks for this. Although I understand where you are coming from and this was exactly what I said when Hilary Clinton lost in 2016 to Trump, I am afraid that this time the stakes are way more consequential and deleterious. Even if Harris could not make any headway with legislation, as you argue here, or not make any headway in other matters because of severe opposition, the government itself would still have been maintained and would be functioning, law and order would have preserved, and we would still have emerged after four years with things intact. Biden faced enormous pressure and opposition but was still able to use the levers of government to bring us to this point, so it is not inconsequential to have a person who wants to work for the people in power even if they face enormous pressure. His work has made us the envy of the world both economically and in the leadership he provided around the world.
"Now with Trump we face something we have never experienced before. He wants to destroy the functions of government and put them to his own use. He will compromise the rule of law to his own ends. He will pardon people who have been rightfully convicted of insurrection and he will pardon himself so that he will never be held accountable for his crimes. It is not inconsequential to have a felon in the White House.
"He will now be able to do that because he now knows what he needs to destroy, and he will install people that will do his will. Already the person who has been slated to become Attorney General is talking about indictments for Trumps enemies, including Biden, Cheney, Pelosi and maybe even Harris. They are planning mass deportation and putting children in jail. Private prison companies and rubbing their hands in glee because those people will need to be housed somewhere before they are deported.
"There is very little we can do to stop that. And then there is foreign affairs. Trump will try to force Ukraine to surrender and give it to Putin. If Harris was in power that would not happen. What Trump will do in Gaza we do not yet know, but given his ability to be bribed and flattered he will probably not side with the Palestinian people.
"Trump's presidency has enormous consequences, and it is possible that in two years when people really begin to feel the effects of massive cuts in Social security, and Medicare, the higher prices claimed by massive tariffs that they will vote differently in that election, but by then it may be too late. What is to stop Trump from deciding to run for another four years? Or refusing to leave office? If he has filled the DOJ, Homeland Security and the military with people who are loyal to him, who will stop him?
"I therefore cannot agree this time that Harris losing was good for her or for the United States. It is a horrible outcome, and it may be so serious that we will never be able to recover from it."
I am in full agreement with all the negative things you wrote about Trump and the real dangers that lie ahead. But please note, I was not writing about Trump but about VP Harris. And I certainly didn't say (or imply) that her losing the election was good for the U.S. Things would most likely be far better four from now if she had been elected. I did say, though, that there is a strong possibility that hers would have been a failed presidency, at least to the extent that Trump's first term was and Biden's is going to be. It seems to me that if a president ends up with an approval rating far below 50 and a disapproval rating quite a lot above 50, it certainly indicates a.definite lack of success.
DeleteI think if Kamala had won, four years from now here ratings would be perhaps as low as Biden's mostly for reasons beyond her control--and not just because of political opposition in the Senate (and maybe the House). As I suggested, the ecological crisis is likely to get worse, meaning that in the short run there will be more hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires. That will also increase the likelihood of more desperate people in the poorer countries to the south trying to get into the U.S., one way or another. And worsening economic conditions, which are also likely to occur regardless of what the president does, will likely lead to more crime. And then there is the ongoing problem in the Near East, and who knows when Taiwan will become a major problem for the U.S. and the world.
So, while most of the negative things likely to happen over the next four years would not be Harris's fault, she would be blamed anyway. So, I said her loss was perhaps fortunate for her, for she will not have to bear the brunt of strong criticism/disapproval and what would be thought of as failure by perhaps a majority of the populace.
But again, I certainly do think it would have been vastly better for the country if Harris had won the election. But because of deteriorating global conditions, I wonder how long it will be before there is ever a second-term president in the U.S. again.
It is unusual to receive responses from four female Thinking Friends on the morning I posted a blog article, but a few minutes ago, Linda Schroeder, another local Thinking Friend, sent this brief email message:
ReplyDelete"Well said, Leroy. Thank you."
The number is 74. That is the number that is key to understanding this election. In 2020 Donald Trump got approximately 74 million votes. He lost massively to Biden who go about 81 million votes. It was throw the bums out time. In 2024 Donald Trump got approximately 74 million votes. He gained some, he lost some (people with dementia tend to die soon), but it was a wash. The third party votes were also small and similar in both elections. What changed was the Democratic vote. Harris got about 70 million votes and went down to a serious defeat. What happened to the 11 million votes that disappeared? Were they, as Bernie Sanders suggested, disaffected working class voters? Were they genocide protesters? Were they victims of Republican voter suppression? Was it because the billionaires who run the Democratic party would not let a single Palestinian representative speak at the convention? Or was it that those same billionaires wanted to lose, to join with the Republican billionaires in a final act of class warfare? Perhaps the real Harris legacy should be, as Marlon Brando put it in "On the Waterfront," "I coulda been a contender!" It was not that Harris is a woman, because Hillary ran a poor campaign in 2016 yet still beat Trump in the popular vote. Why is no one talking about 74?
ReplyDeleteThe number is 74. Donald Trump is no more, and no less, popular than he was in 2020. The real question is: What happened to the Democrats? As Deep Throat advised in Watergate, "Follow the money!" By the way, I am one of the 11 million missing votes, and for good measure I am 74 years old. However, instead of just staying home, I protested genocide as loudly as I could by joining the small sliver who voted for Jill Stein, who just managed to get a few more votes than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has, of course, signed on with Trump to "go wild" with our health. As Richard II puts it in Shakespeare's play, "Let us speak of the death of kings." Global Warming will sort it all out soon enough. Not even 74 excuses will stop that!
Thanks, Craig, for pointing out the significance of 74. Your question about the "missing" 11 million votes is an important one. I think it was more what Bernie Sanders suggested than anything else. I also think the great decrease in the Democratic vote was also that so many people were hurting economically they wouldn't vote for the Party in power which they blamed (unjustly, I think) for the higher prices for food and other necessities of life, but they also could not bear voting for a scoundrel like Trump. So they ended up not voting at all.
DeleteFor those paying attention, I do not see the Israel/Palestine (Gaza) being of great significance in how people. While many criticized Biden's support of Netanyahu--and the Muslim voters in Michigan and elsewhere--voted for Trump, before the election Republican politicians, including Speaker Johnson, criticized the Democrats for not doing enough to support the Israelis. Also, one of the main appeals of many conservative evangelical leaders was greater/firmer support for Israel.
Bro. Leroy, we can be grateful we have midterm elections in two years. Trump may still be president, but his power may be curtailed if both house and senate can be flipped. NC helped elect a Republican president and a nearly a full slate of House reps, while also electing a Democratic governor, Lt. governor, attorney general, and superintendent of instruction. In state races the Republican candidates made too many extreme right comments that could not be retracted. As I said in an earlier note, on the national level many local voters here were driven by the fear of radical and immediate change: fear of uncontrolled abortion, legalized chaos on gender issues, a wide open southern border, and a lack of support for Israel.
ReplyDeletePeople never talked about finding common ground or compromise. The general attitude was it must be all or nothing. Gary Bauer gives much credit to the prayers of Christians for Trump being elected. I keep remembering German soldiers in WWII often had these words on their belt buckles, "Got Mit Uns" - "God With Us". I'm telling my rural congregation their responsibility has not changed. Live each day in the steps of Jesus, loving God and mankind with all you have.
Thanks for your comments, Tom. It is helpful for me (and, I hope, for other readers of this blog) to have a direct report from North Carolina, which certainly has interesting politics. It certainly was no surprise that the Democratic candidate was elected governor, but it seems a bit strange for a state to elect mostly Democratic politicians and also vote for a Republican president--especially when that president's morality is so different from what all the good and plentiful Baptists in NC approve of. But perhaps fear and the influence of right-wing propaganda are major factors. As I continue to read some of Bauer's daily posts, I can't see it as anything other than being largely misleading propaganda couched in pious religious words.
DeleteVice President Harris demonstrated her presidential qualities even in defeat. She gave a powerful and appropriate concession speech.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine said that waking up to a second Trump victory felt like the moment the second plane hit the twin towers. It was a terrible moment when we realized that the situation was much worse that we thought it was.
What hurts so much this time is that voters should have known by now just how bad he is--and that he is even worse in 2024 than in 2016 because of the impeachments and felony convictions--but they voted for him anyway. What hurts this time is not just that Trump is vulgar and antidemocratic, but that it is clearer than ever just how much the American people love vulgarity and authoritarianism.
--KKS
Here are comments received this morning from local Thinking Friend Bob Southard:
ReplyDelete"Dark days ahead. This vote means we deserve what we get. May we live and learn. I expect a culture of violence, a climate plagued with big problems, a decline in democracy and an increase in rich control over the country causing their hope that there will be no need to vote next presidential election cycle. The poor and middle will get squat.
"God is still sovereign, our job is to be faithful. Jesus is Lord, a miracle worker, healer, savior. If this brings us to our knees, something good has come out of it.
I was raised in a family that voted democrat, my Dad was a farmer for a short time then a factory worker until he retired therefore my Parents were my political influence for many years, I entered the USAF in Jul. 1967 I served 4 1/2 years with 3 years overseas Africa, Asia & Europe as a jet fighter crewchief & was discharged on 7 Jan. 1972.. then spent just shy of 43 years @ a factory in Clarinda, Ia. where my Dad retired from & I retired in 2014. My political affiliation/ideology was severally tested in 2008, (going into 2008 I held every intent to vote for obama until I listened to his first speech & I told my Wife his intent was mere lies (what person filling the role as President of the United States of America had/held the opportunity to unite US as he was as much White as Black? when did he ever profess his Whiteness to the extent he did his Blackness? he simply REFUSED meet that value head on for US & (do NOT even entertain the thought I have to be a racist because of that opinion, IMO obama was more of a racist & hater than george wallace ever could be) I voted for Ralph Nader against obama 1st term then libertarian in 2012 & @ the election of 2008 I could no longer stomach the platform or ideology of the democrats; I did NOT leave the democrats they LEFT me! in 2016 Donald J. Trump became the first Republican Presidential nominee I had ever voted for & I've voted for him on every ballot his name has been on since without a 2nd thought or regret. I do not believe or agree that any human, male or female owns their own body as I believe in, trust & accept JESUS CHRIST as my personal Savior & understand the Bible teaches US 'we were bought & PAID for with a price' which defines to me I was bought & paid for by the Death, Burial & Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST & the murder of a life GOD tells us HE knew before HE created that life & placed in the mother's womb; there is a huge difference between saving a mother's life because of an unborn child & the killing of an unborn human baby simply as a means of birth control.. in 2023 in America the appx. number of abortions listed as stats was 1,026,600 & anyone with any common sense, logic or rationality cannot provide proof that the abortions of that number were preformed to save the mother's life least of all one whom professes to have/hold a belief that JESUS CHRIST died for their salvation. The lack of Respect for the American Flag & National Anthem as exhibited over the past decade by democrats is another reason to not be associated with that ideology. Written in yours & mr. trump's articles in the Sheridan, Mo. Express are the epitome of hate you both so loudly proclaim belongs to Conservatives, neither of you render any space for what used to be an American iconic value speak, listen, debate then (compromise) further both of you use words defined as derogatory while many whom reply to posts I make on facebook retort with 'what has become' (whom used these words quite often) a liberal/democratic plank response namely the published use of Vulgarity & Profanity, WHY is that usage from so many whom profess to be devout Christians, can you explain to me? in closing it is/has been my experience overwhelmingly that liberals/democrats exhibit, articulate & depend upon the use of racism & hate to gain political advantage. I was & am awestruck that so many liberals/democrats saw through the mirage democrats have hid behind for years & showed their votes on Nov. 5, 2024! Thank GOD many democrats did!
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