Apparently, the punditry thinks we should be happy simply because the Democrats avoided being completely wiped out in the midterms. Sure, we’re relieved. People seem to have indeed cared about reproductive rights and even the preservation of democracy. But we’re not going to celebrate just yet. Why? Because the Republican Party is still controlled by election deniers and want-to-be fascists who are Hell-bent on minority rule and white supremacy in this country. Do you honestly think one midterm election is going to stop these people?  They are already going to challenge several election results, and one of them is only 5,000 votes behind in the race for Secretary of State in Nevada. More than 150 Republicans elected to the House are election deniers, many incumbents among whom voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election. The MAGA base is sending racists and militant right-wingers to intimidate voters and polling stations and drop boxes. The right is openly suggesting some political violence is justified as they project their constant lie about being “the real victims here.” That only magnifies as we approach a presidential year, especially if the former guy is their nominee. Actually, political violence is just as possible with someone like Ron DeSantis, who is really just D***** T**** with a political resume.

Even if Republicans only have a slight majority in the House, the far right, at the urging of their “Dear Leader” D***** T*****, will insist that House Republican leadership run investigation after investigation over the January 6th Committee, the FBI, the Justice Department, and will try to impeach President Biden for our withdrawal from Afghanistan (which was initiated by the former guy) if not a few other things they can make up. The January 6th Committee will be scuttled. Marjorie Taylor Greene will likely get plum committee assignments and is already pushing Kevin McCarthy to end funding for Ukraine. We’ll be lucky if the Senate remains 50-50, and we’ll still be stuck with Chuck Schumer as Majority Leader, a man who is the worse kind of communicator – a bad one who thinks he’s a clever one. What’s more, if we LOSE the Senate Majority, we are likely to lose Manchin and/or Sinema to a party switch. They don’t seem that loyal to the Democratic Party as it is and would likely much prefer joining the majority in order to receive or maintain good committee assignments. Oh, and by the way, conspiracy theorists and all-around jackasses Ron Johnson and John Kennedy were just re-elected. So were dangerous weirdos Rand Paul and Mike Lee.

Democrats are going to need to organize like never before and find a way to get the word out about their accomplishments and how they benefit real people. They must also continue to sound the alarm about what the Republican party has become, and about the fact that their only agenda seems to be spite and grievance. Making democracy an issue did seem to help this year. But many Democrats who won their house seats barely did so. We have buffers of just a couple thousand voters in dozens of Congressional districts. That’s how close we are to an emboldened Republican majority going to extremes, though as we suggested earlier even this slight majority will likely overreach on a number of investigative fronts. Perhaps their fervor only helps us in 2024. But it will further divide and wear out the country, possibly adding further damage to America’s belief in elections.

We know Westside Voice can’t stomp our feet and plug our ears because we didn’t get everything we wanted, but the fact is we’re still stuck with 75 million other Americans that will continue to push and vote for these awful people. And they get to do so with gerrymandered voting districts that favor them because they wisely focused on winning state legislatures. We are only safe from complete danger for two more years when we’ll have to work even harder to keep this country on sound – small-d – democratic footing. We’re not pessimists, but when did “simply not getting wiped out” become something to celebrate? Are our standards that low?

Leaving on a sunnier note – it’s going to be a rocky couple of years, but if inflation ebbs a fair amount, the supply chain and other aspects of the global economy recover, and Ukraine is still holding its own and rallying the world, we may be able to survive until 2028. Now, let the vote counts continue.

Photo Image by gguy44