After the Mid-terms
The votes have mostly been counted and I won’t pretend I’m not thrilled — and astonished — by the results. American voters delivered a seismic rejection of Donald Trump and his corrupt, chaotic, violent, oligarchic, ruinous administration. Or maybe gas and grocery prices were just too high.
The fact that this happened only two years after the country sent Trump back to the White House is at once delicious, head-spinning, and a reason for caution. American voters — the swing voters who decide elections — are capricious, non-ideological, and focused on their immediate tangible interests. Are you listening to me right now? Are you making my life easier or harder? If Democrats don’t use their new powers wisely and strategically, the electorate could turn on them again in 2028.
But for now there’s plenty to celebrate if you care about democracy. This election struck a big blow for people power — the power of the vote itself over elite and moneyed interests that sought to rig the result.
Trump himself, of course, did whatever he could to undermine faith in the electoral system and to create unease, inventing claims of “rampant” voter fraud on behalf of Democrats. Would he send troops to polling places? Would he try to seize ballots in key states? Would he direct Mike Johnson to refuse to seat some Democratic House members? A flood of votes washed those fears away.
There were other attempts to skew the vote. Republicans outspent Democrats in the competitive Senate races by a total of $250 million dollars, according to AdImpact. Democrats won almost all those races. Elon Musk alone shelled out $160 million trying to drag the odious Ken Paxton across the finish line in Texas. Texas voters turned up their noses in favor of James Talarico, and it wasn't close. The crypto industry reportedly spent $176 million backing industry-friendly candidates, including more than $60 million trying to defeat Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown in Ohio. It was all for naught and that’s a beautiful thing.
Many of us have long been frustrated by the influence of money in politics. But what if flooding the channels with attack ads just doesn’t work anymore? That said, we should still get money out of politics.
The GOP’s effort to change the rules in the middle of the game, through its mid-decade House redistricting gambit, failed too. The blue wave was so overwhelming — voters backed Dems in the House by a staggering 13-point margin — that Republicans lost seats even in the states they just gerrymandered. Texas Republicans started the redistricting war by creating five re-jiggered districts meant to advantage their candidates. Instead of flipping five Democratic seats, the GOP flipped only one of the five while losing two others it previously held.
The schadenfreude is real.
One debate that’s already underway among Democrats is how aggressive to be in investigating the Trump regime’s corruption and criminality. I don’t claim to know the politics of it, but people have to be held accountable — for profiting from the presidency, for selling pardons, for weaponizing the FBI and the DOJ against the president’s enemies, for dismantling agencies and flouting laws passed by Congress, for murdering people in boats in the Caribbean, for killing U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
Do that while insisting on an end to the Iran war and pushing for ways to make life more affordable for Americans — for example, by passing Medicare For All — and who knows, those fickle voters might actually feel they’re being heard.
I invite your comments. What should the new Democratic majorities in Congress prioritize?
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I haven’t written here for a while because I’ve been on an extended road trip, now going on two months long, recording interviews for Scene on Radio’s 9th season — as I mentioned in my last post. The release of the season is a long way off — likely early 2028 — and I’m not ready to spell out its focus yet. But the project is in the spirit of road-based books like Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon and John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley in Search of America.
This gives me an excuse to mention an old project of mine, from 2010-11, that got repurposed in the fledging days of Scene on Radio: Travels with Mic. Fifty years after Steinbeck’s Travels, in 2010, I revisited half a dozen places on his itinerary and invited local artists to reflect on the writer’s observations and talk back to him across time. Later, right after the 2016 election, as it happens, I put those pieces into three ScOR episodes: Monster America, Reality is Not the Stronger, and I Found No Strangers.
I invite you to listen to these, if you haven’t. (And chances are you haven’t!)
Like this? Forward Keeping ScOR to a friend.
If you missed past posts, find the archive here.
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The short version: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
The long version: While holding hearings to hold folks accountable, pass legislation each and every week. Make each one a very simple to story tell.
Week 1: Federal minimum wage increase that goes into effect in 30 days. Make Trump veto it (MTVI). Week 2: Lift the cap on Social Security contributions. MTVI Week 3: Pass abortion rights legislation. MTVI.
Those are just a couple examples of many. In the meantime, work up legislation to pass Medicare For All. MTVI.
Story tell over and over to people what Dems are doing to help that Trump/GOP is thwarting. Win in 2028. Pass it again and sign into law.
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John Steinbeck is one of my all-time favorites, I will listen for sure.
I am not a paid political consultant, but there probably is at least a 7yr statute of limitations on the corruption, crimes committed in the last 18 months, but the public can't wait 2 yrs for food, housing, education, daycare, and Healthcare. So the Blue wave better produce some real improvements ASAP or we all will drowned in a Red Tide in 2028.
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I agree that the Democrats need to dig into investigations -- and I'd like to see them do it aggressively. Forget impeaching Trump -- I want to see them go after Hegseth, Patel, Kennedy, and for pity's sake also Bescent and Blanche! Haul Kushner and Witkopf back from wherever they're self-dealing while supposedly dealing on behalf of the United States, and make them answer hard questions.
Americans want none of this "we'll go slow and be super-cautious," or -- worse yet -- "let's let bygones be bygones." The size and thrust of the midterms' blue wave was partly driven by a desire to see bad actors see justice.
I think corruption was more important to a lot of people than the pundits are assuming. It's one thing to bear the burden of high prices. It's quite another to be forced deeper into poverty while watching the billionaires make obscene amounts of money and pay no taxes.
The Republicans have for too long denied climate science (really, all science). They've cut big holes in the social safety net and gutted public education in many places (this former public school teacher detests the "school choice" poison that gives them an excuse to fund private, often-segregated schools that only admit students who suit their purposes, while under-funding regular public education and especially special ed).
We are past due for true justice reform and immigration reform. The school to prison pipeline is an obscenity, and so are for-profit prisons. What I said about for-profit prisons goes double for detention centers, and ICE needs a complete overhaul.
Under the Republicans' sway -- pretty much from Reagan on, and certainly from Newt Gingrich on, in this lefty Kansan Boomer's point of view -- we've seen the rise of power among the purely profit-driven, at the expense of humanity (health, living wages, environment, and more). These "business-friendly" trends have buried local news media, seemingly almost as collateral damage, but I'm convinced at least some of it is to counter local media's curb on corruption.
Certainly, the Democrats need to lead the charge to reclaim Congress's constitutional powers of the purse, tariff regulation, and more. But number one with a bullet on my list is going after corruption as hard as they can.
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As always, well said, John. My first priority for the new Congress is to lead and legislate with honesty and humility. There was a great deal of faith expended on election day toward the hope that we can shine as a Democracy. The sweeping up is important, but not at the cost of demonstrating that when the people elect they expect leadership, not posturing.
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Celebrate and be mindful! I agree.
Thanks for the writing.
I would like the first priority for any elected official, democratic, republican or other, to be protecting democracy!
Second, reinstate or stop the reduction of social services. The gap between the wealthy and those in need is greater than ever. We need to take care of everyone.
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Congress must first show accountability across the board and vote to limit their own stock trading, side hustles with lobbyists, and inflated retirement plans. If you are in politics it shouldn’t be to make money. There are many people that actually want to make a difference and make America a better place - the best way to encourage them is to discourage money-hungry life-long politicians.
Next, find the real solutions to inflation and unaffordable cost of living for average Americans.
After proving the intent of congress to serve the people and not themselves, then move on to holding criminal politicians accountable. It will be more credible that way. Establish laws that will never let that level of inhuman criminality and tyranny happen again in our great country. Start off the next 250 years with a bright light of hope that cannot be diminished from one election cycle to the next.
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Love these comments. Lots of great ideas. Keep em coming!
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Overturn citizens united! Prioritize health and a healthy food system that regenerates the ecosystem for a sustainable planet and the health of the people. Prioritize trust, release the Epstein files. Prioritize "We the People! Earn our votes!
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