Talk the Talk – Walk the Walk

Despite the urging of Think31 that voters look less to the presidency and more to the Congress and their local elections, the opposite proved to be true. Crowing and pronouncements that “the king is dead, the king is dead” echo through the hallowed “halls” of Facebook and Twitter, and we’ll assume Instagram and any other social media platform other than Reddit, a swamp unto itself – no know really knows what goes on there. 

President Trump will be gone and President Biden will take his place. Many people are happy as they see the fall of a Stalinesque figure hell bent on destroying not only the nation but the people within it to make up for some fallibility he personally possesses. His pronouncements of his own greatness more than anything else, rubbed people the wrong way. His bluster, ridiculous tweets and constant name calling all appeared, and did at times, demean the office of the presidency. Of that there is no question. The fact is that what he did accomplish in the face of headwinds equaling hurricane force will not immediately be recognized by those that opposed him, but they will over time, if rationalism prevails. With that said….

What now? The suggestion here is that the apparent victory by the Democrats on Tuesday night was a pyrrhic one at best. They won the office of the presidency, but at what cost? There was no blue wave as expected, and the House, a democrat stronghold for the last two years became weaker with calls for replacing Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker echoing into the night. The Senate still is in GOP control (as of this writing) with Mitch McConnell at the helm, and more voters turned out to support Mr. Trump than did in 2016. From the outside, it seems as though the Democrats lost more than they gained as a significant number of people in this nation are not prepared to pack the Supreme Court, adopt Medicare for All, endure higher taxation, defund the police, and transform this nation into some sort of socialist utopia. We will get there someday maybe, but not today.

Further, if political history holds true, in 2022, there will be something of a red wave where the House swings back to GOP control and the Senate actually increases GOP control, rendering an apparent President Biden/Harris moot. This held true in 2018 which brought Nancy Pelosi back to the Speaker position, held true under President Obama, and also President Bush the younger.

Four more years of getting very little done, even with the power of executive orders, which will be, more than likely, challenged in court.

Before anyone goes off wringing their hands and crying in their soup, realize this is exactly the intention of our adversarial system of government. The design was to keeping the branches in check whether we like it or not. The Founders created this out of an abundance of knowledge and real-world experience living under dictatorial regimes disguised as monarchy (constitutional in Great Britain, but a monarchy nonetheless) something we know nothing about. Nor do we, in the modern day understand the stifling laws and loss of freedom such a government represents. 

Historically, before all of the rancor of recent years, the most productive ones were the ones in which there was division among the powers politically. It forced the bodies to work together to arrive at solutions. The absolute hatred for the “other side” didn’t exist as evidenced by President Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill who were on opposite sides of the political fence but were not only friends, but regularly had dinner together, with O’Neill referencing it as a “six o’clock friendship”. With the likes of “The Squad”, and the rancor that currently exists  in this ideologically divided nation, Think31 does not see much chance for reconciliation in the near future, but one can dream.

Shortly, we’ll see if Mr. Biden/Ms. Harris can be the agents for healing they claim to be. We’ll find out if it was all campaign talk or if they really can bring this entire thing back together. With a divided congress, there isn’t much hope for meaningful legislation, but historically, Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell have worked together well. I, for one, hope they can.

By the way – Joe Biden, should he prevail, is my president.