Everyone take a deep exhale.
I know I did when I finally got the news. Between avoiding doomscrolling and computer updates, I didn’t know about Biden’s win until several hours after the fact, but that was my first and most visceral reaction: a relaxation, a letting go. Knowing that Biden’s leads were strong enough that they weren’t likely to change after potential recounts and/or legal challenges took a weight off my shoulders I’ve been carrying for 4 years.
Then a little twinge of pride: Mom was right. Every vote does count and nothing illustrated that better than Georgia’s early lead of just over 1000 votes. I am incredibly heartened to see my home state go blue this time! Given the history of gerrymandering and voter suppression in the state, it was an uphill battle for Dems on the ground, they worked hard and Stacey Abrams (Mom’s fave) should get any position in the Biden administration/DNC she wants!
Followed by the bittersweet: Mom would have loved this but she’s not here to see it.
The Biden/Harris victory speeches were elegant and inspiring, made by candidates who actually seem to give a damn about the country and the people they serve. I look forward to being impressed some more, but right now, the bar is so damn low—is it sad that I’m sufficiently impressed by politicians who speak in complete sentences about unity and science? Hell, I’ll take just the science—Biden’s first move is consulting actual epidemiologists to develop a national plan for combatting the pandemic and about damn time!
Speaking of unity, I don’t know how that is going to happen. Already I’m wading into discussions about what Trump supporters want and how to reach them. I have very mixed emotions.
On the one hand, Democrats as a group have a crap record of understanding the Trump voter mindset. I get that they’re angry, but I’m not sure why or what gets them so angry or desperate that they’ll vote for a demagogue. They’ve been ill-used by their chosen candidate and lied to by their “news” sources but I don’t think that’s what’s pissing them off. So while I’m thrilled to the core of my little black heart at Trump’s public humiliation I can’t bring myself to rub his supporters’ noses in Biden’s victory (well, not too much).
At the same time, it’s hard to trust or forgive people who saw 4 years of rampant stupidity and cruelty and decided “yes, more of this please”. Kids in cages, neo-Nazis lauded as “very fine people”, and 200,000 dead of a deliberately ignored pandemic aren’t just “differences of opinion”. The majority of Trump’s constituency may not be openly hateful but they still seem to find it awfully easy to turn away when others pull out their torches and pitchforks. It gives me a serious goddamn pause.
As such, I totally understand the anger of liberals who have turned themselves inside out to reach across the aisle since before Obama being asked to yet again understand and soothe the very people determined to treat them as subhuman.
So, I don’t know what reconciliation is going to look like if it’s possible at all. This is why I’m not a politician.
I do hope that Biden’s and Harris’ secret service details are freaking ninjas, because I don’t doubt there are a lot of angry Trumpies who feel like they have no recourse but violence.
Maybe the only thing I’m sure of is that the work is not over – if anything, it has just begun. You better believe that the fundraising and voter turnout machines of both parties are going to focus on the January Georgia runoffs like the eye of Sauron.
So I’ll keep donating, and I’m gathering stamps and prepping my printer for VoteForward’s next effort: sending letters to Georgia voters encouraging them to vote. I’d love it if you join me.
What do y’all think of all this?