There were two winners on election night. First and foremost, the American people and our democracy were the big winners. Donald Trump is gone. But the other winner was the Republican Party. They significantly outperformed expectations, gaining seats in the House, holding onto the Senate, and fending off state legislature changes that were expected. The question is: what happened. Why did Republicans have a much better night in 2020 than they did in 2018 when Republicans have overseen a disastrous pandemic response and spent four years sucking up to the worst President in the history of the United States.
The answer may not be obvious. This was not a mandate for Republicans to institute policy. In fact, it's quite the opposite. In 2018, Republicans turned out in record numbers for a midterm, but were overwhelmed by an even larger turnout on the Democratic side. We were told to wait until Trump was actually on the ballot. Turns out they were right. Trump was on the ballot, and that created the strange bedfellows; Trumptards and never Trumpers voted as a bloc and boosted the Republican party. Unfortunately for the party, that was a one time event. It was unrelated to issues; issues were not the focus of any of these races. It was an election about Trump.
So what happens now? It appears now that McConnell and the Republicans will have control of the Senate for at least two years. And it also appears that the ACA is about to be elminated, and the pandemic is now running rampant throughout the country, furthering the economic crisis faced by millions of Americans. While Republicans have had no interest to date in dealing with actual governing, they will have no choice now. And they will be held to account for their failure to act and their unflinching support of a corrupt and dangerous President.
Bottom line, Republicans should enjoy this while it lasts. There is no Donald Trump to save them going forward. His base is likely to crawl back under their rocks and ignore the process, since participating would involve something other than name calling and racism. They may lose both Senate seats in Georgia unless they can figure out a way to turn out Trump supporters who are now angry and disillusioned with the entire process. Good luck.
The answer may not be obvious. This was not a mandate for Republicans to institute policy. In fact, it's quite the opposite. In 2018, Republicans turned out in record numbers for a midterm, but were overwhelmed by an even larger turnout on the Democratic side. We were told to wait until Trump was actually on the ballot. Turns out they were right. Trump was on the ballot, and that created the strange bedfellows; Trumptards and never Trumpers voted as a bloc and boosted the Republican party. Unfortunately for the party, that was a one time event. It was unrelated to issues; issues were not the focus of any of these races. It was an election about Trump.
So what happens now? It appears now that McConnell and the Republicans will have control of the Senate for at least two years. And it also appears that the ACA is about to be elminated, and the pandemic is now running rampant throughout the country, furthering the economic crisis faced by millions of Americans. While Republicans have had no interest to date in dealing with actual governing, they will have no choice now. And they will be held to account for their failure to act and their unflinching support of a corrupt and dangerous President.
Bottom line, Republicans should enjoy this while it lasts. There is no Donald Trump to save them going forward. His base is likely to crawl back under their rocks and ignore the process, since participating would involve something other than name calling and racism. They may lose both Senate seats in Georgia unless they can figure out a way to turn out Trump supporters who are now angry and disillusioned with the entire process. Good luck.