Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Psychic Recompense

November 8, 2017 – Merry Electoral Boxing Day.

It is challenging to not succumb to the baser instincts and gloat in the face of the formerly hubris-filled yet now cowed Trumpists.  Of course, that would itself be a manifestation of hubris.  Not today irony, not today.

I will readily admit, earlier yesterday afternoon, I was wagering that Gillespie would somehow pull it off – by hook or (more likely) by crook – by half a percentage point.  Upon arriving back in my Wilde Lake Election 2017 HQ a few short hours later, the networks had already called it for Northam.  The 8.6% margin for the eventual winner was clearly above the prevailing polling trend line (sorry, Brothers and Sisters) which was showing something closer to a three-point spread.  Note: credit where credit is earned: Quinnipiac nailed it with their final pre-election poll, released on the 6th, showing Northam +9.

May the name “Harris Wofford” be echoed across the land (see: 1991 U.S. Senate special election, see also: harbinger).

The (at minimum) 14 seat pick-up for the Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates is yet another (and probably far more ominous) sign for any Republican in a Congressional, state legislative, or other electoral district that is anything less than a safe GOP seat.    

Of course, hard work and a massive popular rejection of Trump Republicanism helped carry the day.  But looking to 2018, it will take more than that.  A Democratic Party that can produce, adhere to, and articulate a coherent and compelling set of principles will be essential if we wish to build upon yesterday’s victories.  This involves getting entirely past the 2016 battles and deciding the party of the people needs to focus more on engaging with…you guessed it…the people, and stopping with the internecine foolishness.  


In solidarity.

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