Post-Election - Where are We? Really!

 Post-Election – Where Are We?  Really!

The View from the Middle

 

No sooner than the lame-stream media began calling Joe Biden the “President Elect”, the spin (or let’s just call it “lying”) began.  Joe Biden proclaimed that he and Kamala had won a “clear and convincing” victory, but in really that is far from the truth.  For example, Joe told us all that he had set a record for votes captured by any Presidential candidate in history with his 79 million votes.  Good for him, and that was a true statement.  What he left out, however, was that Trump also broke that same record with his 74 million votes.  The reality is, a heck of a lot of Americans voted against Joe Biden.

This man who repeatedly claimed that he would “unite” the country was trying to claim that he had earned some sort of massive mandate for his platform.  If Joe is ever officially dubbed the President of The United States he may trot out the tired old claim that, “elections have consequences”.  This would be an absolute disgrace for a man who dares to talk about unity.  It would be telling 74 million people, who are still American citizens, to drop dead.  

The reality is that without California, the nation’s popular vote is a virtual dead heat, and without California and New York, Trump actually won the popular vote in the remaining 48 states.  There is a clear message here, and that message is that this nation is equally divided and compromise is what is needed to bring us together.  Let’s see if we hear that message from either candidate once the election becomes official.

The absolute dead heat in the swing states is just one more indication of the lack of a clear mandate in this country today.  Before the election there were nine states that were designated as “battle ground” states; North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.  In those states, there were 47 million votes cast for Trump and Biden.  Trump captured 23.4 million of those votes or 49.9%, and Biden secured 23.5 million votes or 50.1%.  This can NOT be described as an overwhelming mandate.  It is, in fact, yet another signal for a need for real negotiations in our government.

The Democrats should also be concerned about their performance in the minority communities.  Despite a full court press by the lame-stream media to label Trump as a racist for the last four years, Both Zogby and EMI polls are suggesting that Trump captured 14% of the Black vote vs just 8% four years ago.  That’s almost doubling his share of that group.  Clearly, this constituency was attracted by Trump’s policies like the First Step Act, Opportunity Zones and advancing funds for Historically Black Colleges.  Trump also made advances in the Hispanic community capturing 32% of that vote vs just 28% four years ago.  This SHOULD suggest to Joe and the Democrats that there are some conservative policies that these two groups embrace and so should they!

Finally, the “blue wave” did not occur.  In fact, in the House, with seats won and seats where they are winning, Republicans could pick up as many as 11 seats, dramatically reducing the Democrat advantage there to just nine votes.  Considering the current discord within the Democrat caucus, this could / should lead to some real compromise legislation in the House.

In the Senate, the current count is 50 seats secured by Republicans and 46 seats capture by Democrats with two Independent seats who caucus with the Dems, and there are two seats up for runoff elections in January in Georgia.  The whole country should be hoping that Republicans win at least one or both of those seats so that a radical leftist agenda couldn’t possibly be rammed down virtually half of the country’s throats if the Democrats take control there.  But, even if Democrats would somehow take both of those Senate seats (which I think is unlikely) there is still hope for compromise in the Senate, because of a Senator named Joe Manchin (D-WV).

Joe Manchin is a conservative Democrat in a state that voted almost 70% for Trump in this latest election.  Mr. Manchin has already come out in favor of fracking.  He is a free market capitalist, pro-gun and pro-police, anti-green new deal, low corporate tax guy who is also in favor of the tariffs on China.  When you look at his record and position statements, he might even be a candidate to switch parties and become a Republican.  So, even if the Democrats take both Senate seats in Georgia, the most powerful person in the Senate will not be Chuck Schumer, the potential majority leader. It will be Joe Manchin.

The bottom line is that our government is set up for compromise, unless the new President, whoever that might be, tries to advance a radical agenda in either direction.  But even if a radical agenda is pursued by either side, I see it going down in flames, and that’s good for “We the People”.