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Mid term elections: Americans not ready to (yet) alter democracy (Includes Twitter roundup)

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American voters have spoken. They aren’t ready to get rid of the traditional American political phonebooth just yet.

Truth about who won the last Presidential election matters. The youth vote and young activists getting out the vote matter. Abortion matters. Women voters matter. Inflation matters. Quality candidates matter. Coaltion building matters. The red wave predicted by many Republicans, Fox News, well-paid cable TV pundits and pollsters turned out to be a red trickle. Or, perhaps more accurately, red as in embarrassment.

And, above all, voters indicated traditional American democracy matters.

On Monday night the big question was whether the United States’ 17th century designed democratic framework, and the basic ideas of truth and reality versus politically motivate flat-out lies, would surrive. Or was American democracy poised to become like that famous scene in 1978’s Superman flick when Clark Kent dashes into a phone booth to change only to find thatthe traditional phone booth no longer existed:

Many things change dramatically over time and often go unnoticed. “Used cars” became “pre-owned” cars. 1950s, 60s and 70s variety/talk shows featured curtains as a backdrop or opening as guests came out which reflected a culture familiar with stage or theater shows. Few shows feature curtains now. In 1960s America people talked about “guitars” and “electric guitars.” Now they talk about “guitars” (electric) and “accoustic guitars.”

Republicans now have a choice as they have had before: do they continue to follow Donald Trump and his family in the cheapening and vulgarization of polticial “discussion”? Or will the GOP start edge\ing back again to the traditional discussion of specific policy and issues?

The day after the Red Wave That Wasn’t is marked by a slew of reports reflecting the shock of a Red Wave that didn’t materialize.

Trump is widely considered to be the elections’ biggest loser. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s strongest potential challenger for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination, won in a landslide that most analysts attribute to skillful coalition building Trump had earlier threatened DeSantis with revealing unflattering info about him if he challenged him for the nomination. Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly in a stage of near rage over the outcome. Bad political reviews for Trumk’s impact on Republican fortunes continue.l

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had planned a big celebration party for election night, but it never came to pass and McCarthy, considered one of the weakest GOP congressional leaders in decades, was mum in the hours and morning after votes came in. The GOP could still take the House, but narrowly, which means he will be at the mercy more extreme GOPers.

Many (not all) Trump-handpicked or endorsed election denialists candidate went down to defeat. And when the votes were counted, Joe Biden and Barack Obama had more to show for their campaigning than Trump. Trump made political gambles that didn’t pay off for him or the GOP.

The Hill had these take aways from the election:
–A better night than expected for Democrats.
–Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman pulled off a huge victory in defeating Trump’s hand picked candidate Dr. Oz.
–DeSantis turns Florida red.
–GOP House majority will be narrow at best
–Two Democratic stars fade (Texas’ Beto O’Rourke and Georgia’s Stacy Abrams, both of whom lost their second campaigns waged against candidates who defeated them previously).

CNN offered these take aways:
–Democrats go a long way to protecting their Senate majority.
—Big questions for Wednesday.

To start, control of the Senate remains up for grabs. Fetterman’s victory in Pennsylvania, flipping a GOP seat, gave Democrats some breathing room as they await results from Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and Georgia. Republicans now need to win three of those four to claim a majority.

The shape of the House, too, remains uncertain. Republicans appear poised to take control but there are scant signs of the big night they were hoping for. As the votes continue to be counted, the next day (or more) will likely reveal the strength of a new GOP House majority – and whether a potentially underwhelming performance undermines Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s standing within a rancorous GOP conference. The GOP is now in a race-by-race fight that will ultimately determine McCarthy’s ability to govern.

Then there’s Trump and Biden.

The president is expected to address the election results sometime on Wednesday. Having avoided a “shellacking,” what will Biden’s takeaways be?

Trump, on the other hand, has already provided some clues on his views. He celebrated the defeats of some moderate Republicans on his social media site, but has yet to mention Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his potential 2024 GOP presidential primary rival, who was emphatically reelected to another term.

–Trump’s no good, very bad night.
–Democrats hold their own in the suburbs.
–Another January 6 committee member loses.
–DeSantis’ big win could be a 2024 launchpad.
–GOP makes gains with Latinos in Florida.
–Democrats had a good night in governor’s races.
–A night of firsts.
–Virginia’s split decision offers early signals.

New York Times’ takeaways:
–The Democratic base showed up.
–Abortion put Democrats in the fight..
–Trump saddled Republicans with weak candidates.
–Inflation dominated, as Democrats grasped for a response.
–The country is as closely divided as ever.

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For more discussion on the elections GO HERE.

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