Alright, So Now What?
In one respect, it was like election nights of a generation ago…counting long into the night, and as election day turned into the next day, Americans knew who would be their president.
As I’ve mentioned here previously, while that was the end of a campaign, it’s the beginning of a much longer path toward governing.
I was glad to see a Republican win the presidency with both the popular vote and electoral vote on their side; that hasn’t happened often enough over the past quarter century, and should quiet some who mistakenly feel we should get rid of the electoral college in favor of direct popular vote.
The question is what Republicans do from here. The last time they won the presidency and both houses of Congress was in the 2016 election—you’ll recall how they rather spectacularly frittered away that opportunity, leading to a loss in the midterm and beyond. Some believe things will move more smoothly this time–last time, Congressional leaders as lifelong politicans were skeptical of the newcomer Trump and did not play very well with the White House; this time, it appears there is more harmony, if not outright agreement.
But even if the vice president graciously accepted defeat and asked supporters to move on, that doesn’t mean all members of Congress are going to stand down…not after they had already made plans to challenge the election and block certification if needed. Force of habit, at the very least.
And don’t forget…Trump still has to be sentenced next month for the criminal conviction in New York state court. That doesn’t go away just because he won an election.
While we’re at it, how about this…Joe Biden steps aside in mid-December because he says Kamala Harris deserves to be the nation’s first female president…she she would, in fact, be President #47 for a month—long enough to issue pardons to Hunter Biden and the rest of the family.
Unlikely, you say? Too fanciful? Keep in mind that a billionaire businessman turned reality television host won the presidency, was found to have lost a re-election bid…and won the job back in a move that only happened one other time in our nation’s history. Anyone have all that on their bingo card, either?
