By persisting in your path, though you forfeit the little, you gain the great.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship (1841)
Democracy in this nation seems to have been just barely hanging on in recent times, under constant threat from those hoarders of money and power who seek total control over our lives. Democracy was much like the old man in the scene above from Monty Python and the Holy Grail who is being hauled to the death cart while still protesting that he is not dead yet.
But while the cartman ultimately made sure the old man was dead, yesterday came as a reprieve democracy.
It is not dead yet.
Oh, there is still grave peril in the form of a waiting cartman milling about, willing to put an end to it with a sharp blow.
But the elections yesterday all across the nation were a pointed rebuke of Trumpism’s quest for domination. In the headline races for Mayor of NYC and the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia, the Trump-endorsed candidates were easily and soundly thumped.
In California, Prop 50, which calls for redistricting of the state in response the partisan gerrymandering currently underway in Texas, passed by a huge and non-competitive 2-1 margin.
But beyond these headlines, other Democratic victories were equally astounding. Trump also endorsed 53 down ballot candidates in New Jersey and Virginia. All 53 were defeated.
In Georgia, Democrats hadn’t won a statewide race for a federal office since 2006. Last night, they won two, defeating GOP incumbents by nearly 2-1 margins.
And in Mississippi— yes, Mississippi– Democrats flipped two seats in the state senate, breaking the GOP’s supermajority there.
And in Pennsylvania, the retention votes for three Democrat members of the state’s Supreme Court were not close. All three Justices were retained by huge margins.
[Late additions: Colorado voters approved a ballot measure that would raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals for all public-school students. And in Connecticut, a huge number of towns flipped to Democratic control. And the Dems flip NY’s Onondaga & Dutchess counties, a first in decades, and PA’s Luzerne County, a county which is hardly a bastion of liberalism. Also in PA, Erie County voted out the GOP county executive in favor of the Dem challenger.]
I am sure there are more that I just haven’t got to yet. It was a needed shot of adrenaline for a democracy that has been too close to the death cart for a while now.
No, we are not dead yet.
But there’s still a dangerous and demented old man with a club waiting to end it all if we let down our guard for even a second.
After such a humiliating and stunning rebuke, he is going to be even more anxious and panicky, seeking some way to take attention from the beatdowns suffered in his name. Look for distractions of all shapes and sizes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he escalates his vendetta against Venezuela and starts a conflict there of some sort or tries to baselessly invoke the Insurrection Act here, moving troops to even more American cities.
He is going to do anything he can– and I mean anything–to prevent a repeat of last night’s result in next year’s midterm elections. The only things he will not do are change his course, compromise, negotiate, or work to serve all the people of this nation.
Cruelty and leveraged domination are the only tools in his pathetic toolbelt. They are that club in his hand. He will without a doubt use that club freely.
Yes, it was a great night for democracy. We have been spared being heaved on the cart. But it cannot end here. Celebrate now but gird your loins. This was just the preliminary bout. We must have a winning streak that results in victories in the marquee matchups in 2026 and 2028.
If not, we could end up in the heap. Let’s work even harder to keep that winning streak alive.
To paraphrase Emerson: Persistence gains the greater reward.
Here’s a song in that vein from Glen Hansard.
Redtree Times 