Midterm Recap

 The Arc of Political History

 

I have been actively involved in issues political since the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s. I watched efforts from those opposed to change ebb and flow as elections were won and lost over the intervening years. I have lived under administrations Republican and Democrat in states both liberal and conservative. There is a political pendulum which moves both ways but seems mostly to move more to the left than the right over time. 

 

During those decades there have been few constants. One of those constants has been that midterm elections have always favored the party out of power. Our recent midterm elections are mostly over, and that constant has faded almost to oblivion. 

 

Democrats were supposed to be overwhelmed by the Trump led red wave. It turns out that the red wave never crested or broke but limped ashore as a trickle. Yes, Republicans may take control of the House of Representatives, but they failed to take the Senate. Safe Republican held seats remained safe thanks to gerrymandered districts. 

 

Most notably, most of Trump’s hand-picked candidates who passed the litmus test of unqualified support for the “Big Lie” about the 2020 presidential election, lost their contests to Democrats. The former occupant of the White House took such a beating that even some of his closest advisors have told him to hold off announcing another run for the presidency until after the run-off election in Georgia where incumbent Rev. Raphael Warnock is being challenged by the Trump endorsed impaired former football player, Herschel Walker. 

 

What tipped the scales in both federal and state elections where decent candidates showed up was the influx of new young voters and those who came to the polls to show their disgust with Republican efforts to ban abortions and curtail reproductive freedom after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this Summer. In every state where abortion measures were on the ballot, pro-abortion measures won. It did not matter if the state was red or blue, people voted to preserve access to abortion and reproductive healthcare. 

 

We must give thanks to Justices Alioto and Thomas and the three Trump appointees to the Court for the gift that will keep on giving for years to come. Eliminating the constitutional protections for privacy and reproductive freedom coupled with Thomas’ threats to extend the holding in Dobbs to the privacy grounded protections for same sex marriage, contraception and even inter-racial marriage will provide organizers with the issue that will win elections wherever women and their partners, the LBGTQI community and civil rights proponents live.

 

Young people whose parents and grandparents lived with the now eliminated protections will be easily motivated to get involved in the political process. We have already seen their impact on elections this cycle. Until a constitutional right to privacy and bodily autonomy is restored, these new voters will turn to the Democratic party which has wisely hitched its star to this defining issue. 

 

Trump’s hold over the Republican Party is clearly losing its grip. The simmering civil war in the GOP over the backward-looking Trump and his false claims will soon erupt into a nasty public bar fight as the varying factions vie for control. In a party where winning is the goal, Trump will soon become irrelevant. The larger problem is that the GOP has yet to find a compelling argument that will unite the right.

 

Fear of the “others” appears not to be a winner as shown by the loss of the Washington County “Anti-Crime” referendum and Tim Michels’ defeat by the mild-mannered Tony Evers. The so-called bread and butter issues of the economy and its twin brother inflation won’t carry the day either. People seem more concerned with rebuilding our infrastructure, personal freedom, protecting the planet and helping their fellow travelers get by and succeed, but those are issues supported by Democrats. 

 

We had an exhilarating set of victories this week. Now the real work of making sure the promises of those we elected are kept and providing a voice and encouragement to the newly motivated activists who helped make the victories possible. 

 

After a few days rest and reflection, it will be on to the next elections come early Spring where we can change the balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and elect more progressives to local school boards, city councils and county boards. Onward.