ELECTION EVE
Without much fanfare, these are some random thoughts before our collective political truths are finally revealed. Also, because I hate waiting for anything, this gives me something to do.
Women will save the day.
That’s right, women. From the Women’s March on January 21, 2021, to the Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, to Election Day November 5, 2024, women have mobilized to execute one simple task – knock Trump out of politics for the last time.
People tend to get pissed when their personal liberties are taken away.
Don’t Conduct a pseudo-Fascist Rally in Madison Square Garden
The Trump MSG rally will go as one of the greatest blunders in the history of American politics. Having a speaker at the rally calling Puerto Rico an island of garbage politically mobilized people of Puerto Rican descent. Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan have large Puerto Rican populations. With a race this close, after nine years of alienating millions of voters, allowing some alleged comedic dweeb to hurl the insults at a specific group of voters is not campaign strategic genius.
And not immediately apologizing for those racist comments only compounded the blunder.
At least they didn’t throw rolls of paper towels at the audience.
Memo to J.D. Vance, don’t call your opponent trash.
As if women aren’t pissed enough… And I bet J.D. thought he had a promising political career. At least he has the tech bros.
Donny, didn’t you learn anything from your M.S.G. rally?
Look, I’ve tried to educate you on X, but I’ve clearly failed. Cosplaying being a garbage man, complete with colorful vest, is never a good look, especially for you!
Your inability to open the door to the garbage truck was just chef’s kiss.
Under the circumstances, having your name emblazoned on the truck you couldn’t get into, while in many ways a propos, was also not a good look.
Also, Donny, didn’t you learn anything from the E. J. Carroll case?
Feigning fellatio with a microphone is not presidential, or even human. C’mon man…
Too many talking heads…
…with too many opinions about the state of the race. Trying to cull the informed chaff from the bloviating wheat is a chore. To turn the Buffalo Springfield lyric around, if everybody’s right then nobody’s wrong.
Too many polls.
There are good polls and there are bad ones. Sadly, it’s tough to tell the difference. One thing they have in common is that nationally the race is close. In my view, Harris should win the popular vote.
Tragically the national vote means almost nothing. We have this arcane Electoral College system that decides who wins the presidency. If Harris wins the popular vote but loses the Electoral College vote, it will be the 3rd time in the past seven elections where that happened.
In the end, this is no way to run a democracy.
There will likely be a tsunami of post-election litigation if Trump loses.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that Rudy Giuliani won’t be one of his lawyers.
It is unlikely that these suits will succeed in their purpose. It takes actual evidence to win a case. They will likely find some because elections are not perfect. But the amount of evidence needed to reverse the outcome of an election will be non-extant.
The only scenario where such evidence exists is in a Steve Bannon fever dream.
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!
The problem is that it may take take days before it’s over. And, God forbid, if it comes down to Arizona, maybe two weeks! Yikes!
On the bright side, Georgia and Florida will have meaningful results by 10:00 p.m. What they’ll mean is anyone’s guess.
No matter the outcome, Trump will declare victory!
Of course he will. He already has.
What I’m looking for…
Michigan – the African American vote in Detroit, and the Arab American vote in Dearborn.
Pennsylvania – Bucks County. The only county contiguous to Philadelphia that is more purple than blue. If Trump can flip it red, this may not be a good sign for Harris.
Florida – Orlando County. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans live in central Florida. They likely won’t be enough to flip Florida to Harris, but they could make things interesting!
Rural votes in Georgia and Florida. A major part of the strategy of the Harris campaign was to campaign in red, Trump areas. The goal wasn’t to win these areas, but to reduce the margin of loss.
The theory is that when combined with urban and suburban gains, Harris wins the state.
Turnout – for Harris, the more the merrier. A repeat of the 160 million 2020 turnout would be great.
Lower turnout, maybe around 125/130 million, probably benefits Trump.
This just in….
Rudy Giuliani is thinking about running for Mayor of New York City! He’s not running to run the city but for a place to live. As Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “when the going gets weird, the weird go pro!”
We don’t want Elon Musk as Lottery Commissioner.
In court today, Musk admitted under oath that the million dollar “lottery” drawn each day was no lottery at all. As you may know Musk claimed he would pay the winner, allegedly selected from a list of names of those who signed his petition for…it doesn’t matter, one million dollars. All that person would would need do is to be a spokesperson for the petition for one week!
Turns out there was no lottery. He had previously identified “the winner” and then called him/her to the stage to receive their oversized check. Everyone who signed the petition was conned. No wonder Musk and Trump get along.
But had I known about how this worked I might’ve signed the petition. Hey, a million dollars for one week’s work sounds like my dream job!
History will be made.
No matter what happens in this election, history will be made. If Trump wins, he’ll be the second president to be elected to nonconsecutive terms. The first, Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president and previously a governor of New York, a man who fathered a child out-of-wedlock, was pretty scandalous for his time. Not Trump scandalous but scandalous just the same. At least Cleveland didn’t favor tariffs.
If Harris wins, she’ll obviously be the first woman elected president. What began with Shirley Chisholm in 1972, advanced by Hillary Clinton in 2016, would be completed by Kamala Harris in 2024. If ever there was a need for history to be made, it’s this year.
Now it’s time to hyperventilate in a paper bag and get ready for Lady Gaga at the Philadelphia rally!
THE DAY
In her closing argument, Harris would cite Psalm 30:5, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning…”
So far, I’m not feeling the joy. But I’m not weeping either.
This is a close election. Right now, as of the early returns, the election is a tie. Dixville Notch, New Hampshire cast three votes for Harris and three for Trump.
A friend and former colleague posted a piece from Pro Publica about a pregnant teenager who died because doctors, fearful of prosecution, would not provide the life saving care she desperately needed. She was 18 years old.
My friend posted the piece with this question: “How many women need to die before people care??”
I was compelled to comment:
“The stain of the past few years of draconian measures to control and make disposable the lives of women will remain as part of our national legacy. But we have a chance today to begin the removal of that stain. Today I vote for my daughter, so she has all the rights that I enjoy regarding bodily autonomy and health care.”
Today is a chance to begin removing all variety of national stains and reset our focus to create a more inclusive society. This is an election pitting collaboration vs control; inclusion vs exclusion; courage vs fear; and democracy vs autocracy.
I’ve written before and will write again, this is the most important election of my lifetime. This election is not about the choice between competing banal issues. This election will reveal existential truths about who we are and what we want to be for the future.
Hopefully, Lady Gaga was right last night when she sang Edge of Glory!
If so, joy will cometh in the morning!
Yorumlar