And the Beat Goes on…

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My first post election observations are consistent with my pre-election ones. 

America is a deeply divided country led by a deeply divided dominant generation that is ending its political reign and that the 2024 election will be far more important than this one.

The first All Baby Boomer election was November 7, 2000 and was finally decided over a month later on December 12th with the court case Bush v. Gore. 

Twenty years later, the last All Boomer election could end later today, next week, or in early January being decided by state delegations. 

My prediction was an overtime 269-269 tie. 

“We’ll see” said the Zen master about the final outcome of the POTUS race and many others as the votes get all lawyered up. 

Here are some other observations: (feel free to use in sound bites or Zoom calls later this week. No attribution necessary.)

  1. The Framers should be canonized. Just when this country was headed for violent protests, the republic’s guardrails kept the two drunken bumper car driving political parties on the road. Well done, Mr. Madison. 
  2. Like I have said about Virginia (which makes this statement not only mouthwash level painful for a former House guy but also non-partisan) Thank GOD for the Senate. 
  3. Elections bring out the best and worst in us. Always have and always will. It’s about power. Cable news just always brings out the worst in us. They are only about ratings and money. They’re all awful. I haven’t watched any news since Monday and don’t plan to for a very long time. I have watched Ted Lasso’s first season four times. Highly recommend. 
  4. Journalism is waiting for a life-saving experimental drug or a decision to move into hospice care. Hand me a pillow…
  5. Super Duper Extra Liberal Off the Backboard with a Twist Liberal California voters soundly defeated bringing back Affirmative Action in public employment, contracting, and admissions by 56-44. They also exempted gig companies like Uber and Lyft from a new state labor law with 58% support. Biden won California 65-33.
  6. More than 60% of Florida voters supported a constitutional amendment increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. Trump won Florida. 
  7. Illinois, deep in debt and deeper in corruption (those two are always linked #people), rejected with 55% against a Graduated or “Progressive” Income Tax. Illinois went for Biden 55-45. 
  8. Virginia went 53.7 – 44.43 Biden. Clinton won with 49.75 to Trump’s 44.43. Trump’s Virginia numbers were the exact same. Nothing changed except the higher numbers for Libertarian, Green, and Independent went more against Clinton. This year, those who would have voted a third way held their nose and voted for Biden. Likely the same story will hold up in the battlegrounds. But, hey Virginia is real close to Illinois. Universities bearing state’s name even have the same colors – Blue and Orange. 
  9. Staunton. Did. It. Again. Biden won Virginia 53.7 – 44.43 Trump, 1.56 Libertarian and Write Ins .41. Staunton went 53.66 – 43.94 – 1.9 – .48. That place is scary accurate for Virginia statewide numbers and I’m proud of my hometown’s place as Virginia’s Political Mirror. Previous column on Staunton’s accuracy over the last twelve years. The Queen City is bang on the dot. Every. Time. 
  10. If Biden wins, the 2022 midterms will have the U.S. House likely switch back to the GOP control whose numbers went UP this year and the Senate probably remains in GOP control as well. They could increase their numbers to 55+ if the Biden Administration tries to do what the Biden campaign ran on. See California, Illinois, and Florida above. 
  11. If Trump wins, the U.S House probably sees Democrats get back to 240+ House seats and also control of the Senate as 22 Republican seats need to be defended. 
  12. Republicans found electoral success with the nomination of female and minority candidates. Expect that trend to continue. Hard to call them sexist and racist. Well, it’s harder anyway. 
  13. Virginia Democrats broke that code several cycles ago and are firmly in control of electoral outcomes here. For now. They are making the same mistakes the Virginia GOP did. It’s called being human in the world of politics. 
  14. The two party system is unhealthy for the republic. I suggest diet and exercise with a big supply of probiotics. Stein’s Law “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” Expect the two party system to stop by 2024. 
  15. Listen to and/or watch Sonny and Cher’s Beat Goes On and read the lyrics here. 

Here’s the refrain:

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on

Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain

La de da de de, la de da de da

Virginia’s 2021 primaries are 215 days away. 

Yeah, the beat goes on….

 

Chris Saxman
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About Chris Saxman

Chris Saxman is a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates and current Executive Director of Virginia FREE, providing objective, non-partisan political information to Virginia businesses.
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