It’s finally over.
Everything but screaming, vote-counting, finger-pointing, legal wrangling, possible riots, and another attempt to overthrow a 248-year-old democratic republic.
But that’s all in the future.
perhaps.
For now, let’s celebrate the end of the most troubling, mean-spirited, household-dividing presidential election of our time. The election crosses the finish line and collapses in a terrible heap.
Columnists Mark Z. Balabak and Anita Chhabria reflect on the sordid path to date and offer some thoughts on what lies ahead.
Balabak: Very little can be said with certainty. But I can say without a doubt that most people, with the exception of members of Masochists Anonymous, are glad that this campaign has come to a merciful end. no?
Chabria: It felt like the morning after our wedding in Las Vegas, and we got married, but I don’t know who we got married to. As happy as we are to finally get to voting day, we feel an obligation to shatter the public’s sense of relief by making clear that we still have a long way to go before everyone agrees on a winner.
It is almost certain that votes will be contested, sometimes fairly, sometimes nefariously, for weeks, if not months, to come.
But here’s more good news. We are moving forward with free and fair elections, upholding a democracy that has at times seemed tenuous in recent years. That’s a plus.
Do you feel hopeful about something right now?
Balabak: As you suggested, not everyone will agree on the winner in the end. There are still a surprising number of deluded and misguided people in the world who believe Trump won in 2020.
Including the chief naysayers who sit at the top of the Republican ticket.
That being said, I love Election Day.
After all the speeches and mailers, all the TV ads, debates, town halls, prime-time interviews, off-the-cuff remarks and hasty explanations, it’s now voters’ turn to have their say. It may sound like a joke, but on this day we were reminded that power in our political system ultimately rests with the people and the feelings they express at the ballot box.
I don’t make predictions. I’m smart, so there are many things I don’t know. And I’m not in the habit of supporting candidates. But as I have made clear in my columns over the past few years, our president is a man who would not seek to overturn a legitimate election, talk about suspending the Constitution, or threaten to use the military against his political opponents. I think it should. Who hasn’t mimed oral sex at a political rally or done or said so many awful and weird things in the last decade alone that if they kept going any longer they would blow up the entire internet? mosquito.
If I have any hope, it’s that the majority of Americans feel that things have gone well enough in this country since its founding, even if it’s far from perfect. Maybe we shouldn’t abandon our values and fundamental principles just because. Egg and gas prices are higher than they were four years ago, when the pandemic-ravaged economy was recovering.
Let me introduce you to a well-worn phrase that you hear every election cycle. This election is the most important of our lifetimes. In this case it’s true.
Chabria: I’ll help you with that. I also love Election Day. Because, yes, it is a people issue, and despite Donald Trump’s blatant attempts to subvert it, our will has held.
What sets me apart from you is that I can loudly and proudly proclaim that I am 100% pro-Harris. Actually, I have no political party preference. This may come as a surprise to some (the very appreciated few who read our politics newsletter regularly).
But I’m a policy geek at heart. I have written in favor of Republican bills in the state capitol when I thought they were good, and I have criticized the supermajority Democrats in Sacramento when they did something stupid, but this has happened quite often. is.
But like many people, I don’t think this presidential election is about Democrats or Republicans. Fundamental values are at stake, even beyond democracy, such as women’s rights, civil rights, and the safety of immigrants.
I bring this up because if Harris doesn’t win, people will need to continue this fight to push back against authoritarianism, even if we have an authoritarian president in the White House. . President Trump may be calling this election his final battle, but that is not the case.
Balabak: That’s often said.
Now, if I could, I’d like to briefly thank and praise our current president — remember that guy? — Joe Biden.
As he said during his 2020 campaign, he is essentially a one-term president, vowing to be a “bridge” to a new “generation of leaders.” Then, at the age of 81, he decided to tear up that bridge and look for a new president. semester.
His candidacy had been smooth-sailing or middling until Biden’s disastrous and tense debate performance in June. This caused an uproar among Democrats and led to Biden reluctantly dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris.
Biden probably still thinks he could have beaten Trump, making him one of the few people on the planet who holds that misconception.
But give credit where credit is due. Biden spent decades of his life chasing and pursuing the presidency, and when he finally achieved his dream, he proved to be highly skilled at the job. It turns out there’s something to be said about all of Washington’s experiences, especially when it comes to dealing with Congress. Given the Democrats’ narrow margins in the House and Senate, he accomplished much more legislatively than many thought, and aside from partisan bickering, he is the envy of the world. led the economy.
No wonder Biden wanted and felt he deserved a second term.
Still, he walked away–albeit after a healthy shove. It is rare to find someone willing to relinquish power like Biden. If Harris wins, his selfless act will become a worthy part of the president’s legacy. If she loses, there will be an outpouring of criticism and criticism that Biden has selfishly extended his tenure and denied the party the opportunity for a competitive primary among vibrant, fresh candidates. .
Chabria: Biden’s courage to step down and his commitment to the national interest has ensured he goes down in the history books in a positive way.
I would also like to send a message of encouragement to the women of America. And perhaps one of the most vague predictions. Early voting shows that women voters are reaching huge numbers. Part of it may be the Dobbs Supreme Court decision curtailing women’s reproductive rights, but I think it goes beyond that.
We are witnessing vicious attacks on women’s civil rights and their place in civil life, with some on the far right suggesting that women should not even have the right to vote. So my prediction is that if Harris wins, it will be because women – Republicans, Democrats, Christians, black, white, brown – decided to steal her slogan and never look back. It is.
Balabak: Isn’t that poetic? As it turns out, you can’t just grab it and run away.
One last thing. I said I don’t make predictions. I learned a lesson in 2016 when everything I thought I knew about politics turned out to be wrong.
But I dare say this. No one knows what will happen on this election day or who will win. But over the next four years, until the next presidential election, and forever thereafter, people continue to describe how the results were as clear as daybreak.
Please don’t buy it.
