THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO SURRENDER
by Kenneth Uva
“Stop talking politics. I can feel my blood pressure rising.” Lunch companion
“I don’t watch the news on TV. It literally makes me sick to my stomach.” Friend from college who was a Sixties activist
“I refuse to watch CNN or MSNBC. They are too easy on Trump.” Close friend
Since Donald J. Trump’s reelection, I have heard comments from my everyday contacts who say they refuse to follow news stories, that democracy is dead, and that there is nothing we can do about it.
Trump won the popular vote by 1.5%, one of the closest in history. While he won all seven swing states, the margins were small, only 1.4% in Michigan, and less that 1% in Wisconsin, among the states he flipped from 2020. The Republican margin in the House is only 5 seats, with three slated for special elections. Democratic loses in the Senate included two heavily red states, West Virginia and Montana, and in Ohio, which has been trending Republican for several elections cycles. In short, this was not a landslide victory as Trump claimed. But the fact that the Republicans won the presidency and both houses of Congress caused most of the media and the commentary class to treat this election as a huge victory.
There is no argument about the scope of this victory. True the victory was wide, but not deep. Yet, the hand wringing, soul searching, and, frankly, defeatism on the part of Democrats has been a major part of the post electoral “wisdom.” The morning after the election, one of the talking heads on MSNBC attributed the results to the Democrats being the party of “trans,” thereby blaming a humane position for defeat. Others said that the party did not address the working class which caused me to remember Kamila Harris’ positions on maternity leave, healthcare, minimum wage and other matters that would benefit the non oligarch class. Still others wrote about the Democratic Party being the party of the “elites” reminding me to reflect on all the teachers, social workers, and civil servants in my aristocratic circle.
Perhaps the traumatic reaction on the part of Democrats and other progressives is that, regardless of the size of the outcome, we have never had a candidate like Trump. His actions before, during and after his presidency, including his sexual offenses, fraudulent business practices, indictments, racism, misogyny, threats of retribution and (fill in your own words and phrases) have never before been seen for a presidential candidate. That he could receive close to a majority of the popular votes leaves a very bad taste as to the nature of the American voter. It is hard to believe that this is now normalized. Has reality escaped us?
Republicans won the next Congressional and presidential elections after their landslide defeat by Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 election. After George McGovern won only 17 electoral votes against Nixon in 1972, the Democratic presidential candidate, Jimmy Carter, was elected in 1976. Bill Clinton was reelected in 1996 after huge Democratic loses in the 1994 midterm elections. If history is a guide, the pendulum will swing back.
There are those with more expertise on the subject of voting behavior, trigger issues, demographics, perceptions, etc. than me, but there is little to indicate that voters are ready for what is already happening. Do the voters want national law enforcement to be decimated in order to be the handmaiden of a dictator? Are they comfortable with Gestapo like raids on those suspected of being in the country illegally? Do they approve of pardons for those convicted of attacking the Capitol, assaulting police, and threatening the very functioning of constitutional government? Are we ready to pay more for products from our neighbors from the north and south that will result from tariffs? Judging from the unusually low approval rating for a president in his first two weeks in office, the answer is “no.”
Midterm elections are less than two years away and planning and campaigning will begin soon. The House will most likely flip in keeping with the usual losses for the party in power. Even holding one house would be a significant check on Trump’s power. And we do not know where public opinion will be as the Trump polices begin to take effect. Now is not the time to hide from the unpleasantness. Regardless of our personal emotions, all is not lost. Organizing, expressing views in the myriad ways that can be done now, and contributing to offset the power of Musk and fellow oligarchs will have an impact.
This is the time to begin to restore sanity to our national government. Our period of mourning must end now.
