There has been so much written and said and podcasted in the last two weeks about the November 5 election that I am drowning in a sea of opinion littered with random flotsam and jetsam of actual information.
Takeaways
Here are some, but by no means all, of the salient facts I have gathered. (And remember, Red = Republican, Blue = Democrat. But then, if you are not familiar with that color scheme, you have probably quit reading already. Can’t blame you.)
- Donald J. Trump won the presidential election in both electoral college and popular vote. Maybe it was a landslide, or maybe not. I am going with yes, it WAS a landslide, for no other reason than that the media outlets trying so hard to convince me that Candidate Harris had this in the bag, appear to be the same outlets now telling me it was NOT a landslide. (Call me cynical, but I”ve read enough John Le Carre spy novels to know how these things work.)
One way or the other, the election was decisive, made more so by Harris’ concession speech the day after. Most people I know are just glad it did not drag on.
- Red states got redder, delivering larger margins of Republican votes than in 2016 or 2020. But, then, so did blue states. New Jersey, in particular, a solidly blue stronghold, voted this time (roughly) 52% to 46% for the Democrat. In 2020, however, it had been 57 to 41, a 5-point swing for both sides, narrowing the margin considerably. Not a good trend for the Dems.
Al Jazeera, that America-loving bastion of classically liberal ideology (sarcasm), shows a map illustrating the rightward movement of voting trends by state. Virtually EVERYBODY moved rightward in the political landscape this year.
- Of the 4,600 counties and townships in the U.S., in only 58 of them did Kamala Harris gain significantly more votes than Joe Biden in 2020. Trump outperformed his own 2020 results in 1,000 of them, a nearly 20-fold shellacking. I don’t know if that qualifies as a landslide, but it says a great deal about where America finds itself at the end of 4 years of the previous administration.
- Big-name celebrity endorsements seemed to not do the Democrats a bit of good. On election eve, Harris engaged 7 concerts, one in each of the fabled swing states. She lost every one of those states. Names like 2 Chainz, La Original Banda El Limon, Jon Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Eric Benet, Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Eva Longoria and Christina Aguilera left voters unpersuaded. (And yes, I actually do recognize a couple of those names.) Perhaps swing-staters, even though they may enjoy being entertained, prefer to vote by thinking.
Style vs. content
So: Perhaps the Democrats need to tell their message better, or perhaps they just need a different message.
It is just barely possible that a great number of voters truly object to things like transgender surgery for minors, boys playing girls volleyball (and sharing their locker rooms), expanded access to abortion, wide-open borders, no-show foreign policy, political lawfare, defunded police and rising grocery store prices.
Maybe they are not convinced that the climate is about to burn us all up, or that fossil fuels are a net negative, or that in our diet we should replace beef with bugs.
As far as that goes, certain voters may also feel a twinge of resentment at being called Nazis and Fascists (completely ignoring how many innocents actual Nazis and Fascists killed in the last century), and object to seeing a candidate — any candidate — characterized as a new Hitler who poses an existential threat to our nation.
Hitler, it may be remembered, was the subject of a failed assassination plot and came to his end by suicide. His demise paved the way for the restoration of peace across much of the world. Intended or not, violent death seems to be the message Trump’s opponents have been recommending for tyrants.
Fed up
Maybe voters had had enough of that. And maybe they suspected that when a political party spends a billion dollars trying to convince the electorate of things that appear not to be true — and still winds up $20 million in debt without moving the political needle — it is time to let the grownups run the place again.
President-elect Trump is now making cabinet appointments. You may not agree with their policy positions or political experience, but at least they appear to be mentally balanced. Contrast cherry-picked photos of Biden administration actors with those proposed by Trump. (If you’re listening to this on audio, see the pics in the written version of this post.)
I liked a commentary I heard about Joe Rogan’s 3-hour interview with Donald Trump. The commentator suggested that this long-form interview format will be the new normal, replacing the traditional network television setting, which seems to have been overcome with combative and dubious fact-checking. A calm, deep discussion of current events and issues without bombast, or a studio audience, or an opponent present, might just allow a better look at the candidate than a staged, rules-bound performance.
Long trends
I also liked what I heard Bill Whittle say about historical American political cycles: On his podcast, he noted that our political and cultural landscapes have run in 80-year waves:
1780s: Coming out of very dark days at war with England, the nation was nearly killed before it was even birthed. After which followed the Constitution, an expanding nation, prosperity and growth. Add 80 years and you come to…
1860s: Dark days abounded during the Civil War as the country seemed hell-bent on national suicide. After which followed continued growth, industrial revolution and ascendancy to the world stage. Add 80 years and you come to…
1940s: Alarming distant warfare in Europe and sudden, shocking losses in the Pacific roused an unprepared nation to historic levels of military readiness. After which followed unparalleled prosperity and global dominance by a freedom-loving populace. Add 80 years and you come to…
2020s: Who knoweth whither this leadeth? Bill Whittle raises a haunting question: What if the last recent years have been those “dark days,” echoing the challenges and dangers that confronted the nation in the three preceding waves?
It is a perspective. Whittle is careful to point out that in each challenge, the darkness was only vanquished through bewildering years of strife and sacrifice. Fortunes were lost and won. Hardships abounded.
I cannot avoid a perhaps coincidental assertion by Moses in the 90th Psalm:
The days of a man’s life are three score years and 10, or perhaps, by reason of strength, four score. (paraphrase)
For those of you raised with the NIV, that means 70 to 80 years. Perhaps there is some celestial clock that corresponds the season of a person’s life to that of a nation. Maybe not; it seems far fetched. On the other hand, Ben Franklin thought there was a guiding hand to which his new nation was subject:
Some numbers are simply too big
Okay… enough philosophy. One burning question remains about the 2024 presidential election: What happened to the 15 million votes?
Presidential vote totals since 2012 have hovered around 120-130 million total, divided between D and R. In 2020, so I have repeatedly been told, Trump received 74 million while Biden brought in a whopping 81 million from his basement, for a total of 155 million ballots.
This year, Trump got 71 million. Harris received a paltry 66 million, virtually identical to the turnout for her Democrat predecessors in 2012 and 2016. So… where are the 15 million 2020 Biden voters who disappeared when Harris showed up?
No doubt these are accounted for by votes yet uncounted at this writing, some who switched allegiance from blue to red, and some blues who merely stayed home. Newsweek has pointed out there is nothing to see here, certainly no 2020 irregularities that would suggest illegal inflated vote counts.
Who am I to argue with Newsweek?
But… 15 million??? It beggars belief.
Either take heart, or steel yourself: 2026 is right around the corner
Whether you love or hate the outcome of this year’s election, just keep on keeping on. John Batchelor has said, “The great thing about American politics is that every two years there is another election!”
Thanks for following The Alligator Blog. I am confident I have missed many of the important takeaways from Decision 2024. I am equally confident that many of you will tell me so by private message.
Or, put your thoughts in the comments. Others would be delighted to see what you think… and add you to their growing list of Persons of Questionable Repute.
See you next time.
Share this post