This week I was optimistic and then terrified and then sort of relieved.
In the end, this election has been like a Christmas movie where Santa is eventually rescued, but he’s still not bringing me the pony I wanted: Trump will leave office, so the triumph of fascism will at least be delayed for another four years. At the same time, without the Senate, Democrats will not be able to fix the structural problems in American democracy. So the GOP’s minority-rule strategy looks viable for at least another two years. With McConnell blocking everything for the foreseeable future, more Americans will lose faith in the viability of government in general and our democratic system in particular.
In this week’s featured post, I urge everyone to appreciate just how strange and unexpected this week’s results have been. They don’t fit anybody’s theory, so we should all resist the urge to just repeat the points we were making in the spring. That post is called “Sitting With the Weirdness”, and I hope to get it out by 10 EST.
The weekly summary will also have election discussion, but also covers the alarming jump in Covid cases this week, and a few other stories that might have slipped under your radar. That should be out by 1.
The Weekly Sift 
Comments
Biden wins!! Wonderful! We dodged that bullet. But we’re far from home safe. Our political discourse is broke, broke, broke. It would be really helpful if left and right could just start talking and listening to each other. With the next election some time away, if not now, when? The Sift could help, I think. By inviting thoughtful and polite conservatives to not only post, but also respond to comments; and hope Sifters could also post thoughtful and polite responses.
“With McConnell blocking everything for the foreseeable future, more Americans will lose faith in the viability of government in general and our democratic system in particular.”
and that’s exactly what the Republicans since Newt Gingrich want; for the people to mistrust government and not rely on it for help.
The ideas described in Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste help explain the 70+ million votes for Donald despite his shortcomings. Many voters have a vested interest in “making America great again” – that is, protecting the country’s long-standing caste hierarchy where everyone knows there place. The Democratic coalition and agenda threatens the lie that some people are more American (and thus more valuable) than others. Subconscious caste indoctrination is at play here, and it will continue to be a social problem until people become aware of it.