If you have read any of my Liz’s posts, you will know I am not a fan, to say the least, of Donald Trump and his followers. I talk a little about the idea of character and ethics in leadership and citizenry in my last post, Everything MAGA Didn’t Learn in Kindergarten.
It has been a tough two years for those of us who believe not just in decency, morality, dignity, but that these values (and more) should be displayed by our government leaders and fellow citizens. It has been hard enough to witness the destruction of our government. What has been equally or maybe more difficult has been watching Americans turn their back on their Constitution, the law, on family, friends and neighbors. They’ve turned their back on allies and cozied up to enemies. They have embraced hate and eschewed love.
It was almost enough to make one lose their faith in humanity.
And, then the Blue Wave (or Tsunami) came along – a resounding rebuke Trump and MAGA ideals. I know there are a lot of reasons people decided to turn around and face forward again. Still, I am hoping that this brings a reckoning in our moral crisis.
This election was full of a lot of dread and fear – could we really take 2 more years of this unchecked desecration of our government and reputation as a nation. It was also full of hope for a return to reason, competence, morality with maybe some (or a lot of) comeuppance.
It seemed like the wheels were falling off for the Republicans (if you can call MAGA Republican). The Republican senate candidate in Texas had more baggage than Imelda Marcos had shoes. The Democratic candidate was a clean cut, former seminarian who had an inclusive message wrapped in kindness.
One might think the choice would be a no-brainer. But this was Texas, a red state stronghold, a state that hadn’t elected a Democratic senator in nearly 40 years. A state whose leaders had gone full MAGA. Even so, polls showed a close race.
Those of us filled with hope, though, were very cautious not to get our hopes up too high. We have had our hopes raised too many times only to have them dashed. Always a crushing blow.
Encouragingly, there were other cracks that were turning into chasms for the Republicans including, close races in deep red states that no one would have imagined, a despicable ad condemned by both parties (but not the President or VP), a President with record setting low approval ratings.
On the other hand, the Democrats seemed to be hitting the right note on just about every front. They had unusually strong candidates. The momentum was building. Races getting closer. Democrats pulling ahead in the polls.
So, I was more than disappointed when the story broke that candidates were being recruited for the Alaska senate race to dilute Republican votes or confuse voters over who was who.
Alaska is not my state. I did not look into the ins and outs of the revelation. Had I been an Alaskan, I would have. For me, this election was as much about ethics as it was about taking back our government.
I had vowed not to vote for any Republican this time around (I have in the past). But if ethics was what I was after, then I would have had to consider this in my vote. Apparently, candidate recruitment, even intended as a spoiler, is not illegal. Ethical is another question.
As a Californian, I was most concerned that what happened in Alaska would stem the blue tide. It didn’t seem to.
Yes, I still hear grumblings as the Alaskan race is razor thin and still undecided. What I don’t here are the loud cries of hypocritical righteous indignation that often comes from today’s right.
Maybe there was a reason for that. The more I thought about what happened in Alaska, the more I thought about what the right had done to sway the election in their favor, namely redistricting.
Trump had lobbied and won over many red states to redistrict (or gerrymander) their states before the midterms for the specific purpose of giving an advantage to Republican candidates. All legal. Ethical is another question.
Democratic-led states answered with their own gerrymandering.
In the end, it was another instance where the Republicans got it wrong, losing many of the gerrymandered districts, and the Dems got the advantage, flipping several red seats blue.
If there is a difference in what happened in Alaska and with the gerrymandering, it is the intent. Gerrymandering was specifically intended to disenfranchise voters, to put them in a situation where their vote wouldn’t count. That was not the case in Alaska.
It is often hard to take the high road, especially when you are playing with someone who doesn’t play fair. In the end, we didn’t need Alaska to take the senate. That’s not to say there aren’t advantages if we win there but it isn’t crucial. I would have preferred Dems lose the seat than to use election meddling to win.
Trumpism and MAGA have destroyed a confidence in our democracy that I have not witnessed in my lifetime. If we are to restore faith in our government, we need to restore confidence that our elections, the bedrock of our democracy, are fair. Let’s hope we are on the road to that end.
On a somewhat unrelated side note, thanks to those of you (how very few of you there are) for reading. I hope my thoughts resonate with you. Even if you disagree, I hope they give you a perspective you hadn’t considered, something that has been completely lost these last two years.