Wednesday, November 08, 2023

Yet another excellent election

Lots of commentary everywhere. Big wins for the good side in Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. With only a few local exceptions, voters -- when push comes to shove -- don't want any more MAGA Republicans. 

If recent national polls of the coming 2024 apocalyptic presidential contest are getting you down, you can breathe. The people are doing it for democracy.

Michele Cottle lays out the contradictions of this moment well: 

... despite his own raging unpopularity, Mr. Trump is positioned to serve as the repository for protest votes, nostalgia votes and change votes, a weird but potentially potent mash-up of support that could make up for a multitude of weaknesses. He could wind up beating Mr. Biden almost by default. ... Plenty of protest voters may not be looking to punish Mr. Biden for a particular action, or inaction, so much as for their inchoate disenchantment with the way things are. The economy should be better. Life should be better. The people in charge should be doing better.

But what happens next year is something we can influence. Polls are not destiny, but snap shots that don't catch all of what is going on under the surface. 

AFL-CIO political strategist Michael Podhorzer reminds that there's more to elections than polls and pundit wailing.

And as long as we have more confidence in the media’s ability to see the outcome than in our own ability to affect it, we surrender before the battle for our freedoms begins.

A lot of engaged citizens just proved him right on Tuesday.

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