This Election Will Not Fix What Needs Fixing

Anything interesting happen while I was gone?

Re-election campaigns are generally a referendum on the sitting President. I suspect a substantial chunk of voters weren’t voting FOR Biden, they were voting AGAINST Trump. Fair enough.

I suspect a non-insignificant number deeply believed Trump was the superior option on policy but voted for Biden out of sheer exhaustion with the drama, the chaos, and the tweets. Also fair enough.

For my friends on the Right, accept it. For all the energy and onerousness Trump brought to the Oval Office, in the end he didn’t get much done. At least not get enough done to offset his persona.

Oh, there were a few notable victories — pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — the renegotiation of NAFTA — Gorsuch, Kavanagh, Barrett. But where were the big things? No health care reform, no rethink of our military adventures in the Middle East, no wall.

All this from the guy who boasted about The Art Of The Deal. He just couldn’t produce results.

For my friends on the Left, savor the moment, but save for the Presidency, you had a bad night as well.

Of the 27 House races the New York Times listed as “Toss-Up”, Republicans have been declared the winner in 17, with an additional 8 likely going Red. Of the 36 races rated “Likely Democrat”, the Republicans picked off three with another 3 looking probable.

And then there’s the Senate. Of the seven NYT ‘Toss-ups”, the Republicans took 4, will likely win NC and await two runoffs in GA. Several of the toss-ups turned into blowouts. Perhaps most surprising was Susan Collins rolling her Maine opponent by 8 points.

Biden is no dummy. He’s read these same results and knows what it means. Regardless of what happens in Georgia, Biden will have to eventually deal man-to-man with Mitch McConnell, the most ruthless operator in the Senate since LBJ in the 1950s.

This is why I still believe this election will not fix what needs fixing.

* There will be no health care program that covers the basics, for everyone while not bankrupting the ill.

* There will be no redirection of our military and foreign policy, especially in regard to our entanglement in the Middle East.

* There will be no support for limiting immigration while restructuring the economy in a way that raises wages for those in the bottom 40%.

This is why, in the end, I find this whole election particularly meaningless.

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By the way, Epstein still didn’t kill himself.