It took a while, and it was a lot harder than predicted, but Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. It is ironic that the media’s calling the election for Biden occurred on the same day that it was announced that Trump’s chief of staff tested positive for COVID-19. Trump’s handling of the coronavirus was a major reason why he lost.
Not surprisingly, Trump is not going quietly. He set this up for months railing about mail-in voting. He has a right to go to court to contest it. I was inspired by Sharon Marcus to give my take on what his chances are in court with a parody of a famous nursery rhyme.
“Trumpty-Dumpty sat on a wall,
Trumpty-Dumpty had a great fall.
All the president’s lawyers and all the Republicans
Couldn’t get Trumpty elected again.”
My guess is that once he loses in court, he will blame the “deep state” for his loss. Many of his followers will believe him. I hope that they will be in the minority. There is precedent since in 2016 there were some Hillary Clinton supporters who could not accept the results of the election.
It is time to list the other winners and losers.
Winners
The American Voter
This is the worst pandemic in more than 100 years and yet the number of votes cast was the highest ever, and the percentage of eligible voters was the highest since 1900. Although many of the ballots were mailed in, it still took time and effort to take care of it.
Ballot Counters
There have never been so many mail-in ballots. Some states had little experience dealing with them especially on such a scale. Those who had to process them had to do it inside while there is a threat of COVID-19 and people looking over their shoulder. Some were subject to protests and threats by Trump supporters. The ballot counters did a great job. I am sure there were mistakes, but considering what they were up against, it was a commendable job. Now the country knows who they are and appreciates what they do.
Mitch McConnell
He kept his position as Senate majority leader. There is only an outside chance that the Democrats can take back the Senate. They would have to win both Senate seats in Georgia in the special election to be held in January. He now has a president with whom he can work and not have to deal with the drama and craziness he had with Trump. McConnell and Biden were in the Senate together for years. He also dealt with him when Biden was vice president. They are both institutionalists.
Moderates
This election indicated that the silent majority of the country are moderates. Some may lean liberal or conservative on particular issues but generally they are in the middle. Progressives and those on the far right get the most press because they are on the streets or on social media, but they do not win elections en masse.
Diversity
VP Harris by herself is a trailblazer. She is the first female, black, Asian, and child of immigrants to became vice president. Her husband is the first Jewish spouse of a vice president.
QAnon
There are two individuals who have espoused QAnon theories: Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won a House of Representative seat in Georgia, and Lauren Boebert, who won a House seat in Colorado. They will be the Republican Party’s headache.
Losers
Pollsters
They were wrong predicting the 2016 election and promised that they would get it right this time. They did get one thing right in predicting who would win the presidency. However, they had Biden winning several states that Trump ended up winning. Even the states that Biden won, the race was much closer than predicted. They were totally off when it came to predicting Senate and House races. These pundits also thought that the Democrats would take control of the Senate and increase their control in the House. Neither happened.
Progressives
Biden spent the campaign pointing out that he was not a progressive and had defeated the progressive challengers. He was able to convince voters that he was not one of them. However, many Democrats who were running for reelection or to unseat a Republican member of Congress were hurt by progressive ideas such as defunding the police or what some would describe as socialism and lost. The Democratic Socialists of America, which helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez win, is weakened. The “squad” no longer has Trump to help build up their importance. They are nothing more than a fringe group. The new president and House leadership will run as far from them as they can.
Protestors
Every time there are protests involving young people, the buzz is that this is a transformation of young people being more involved in the political system. Again, it did not happen. The excuse of many that why bother is silly and makes their protest nothing more than an exercise in futility.
Conservatives
Groups such as the Lincoln Project, which are made up of Republican conservatives, supported Biden and other Democrats because they wanted a “blue wave” and could then argue that Trumpism is a failure. It did not happen. The Republican Party may be socially conservative but in other areas it is populist. Conservative values such as fiscal responsibility, balanced budgets, and limited government involvement are gone.
The president-elect called for reconciliation and unity. It is not going to easy in this fractured country. However, I call on the Trumpians to give him a chance.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
