An Election Reflection
(Note: The following is another personal message from the elder Haymaker who, as you will read, has mixed feelings on Tuesday’s shocking, at least to the professional pollster community, outcome.)
“I am tempted to say that the only comeback it’s not bigger than is the Resurrection.” -Niall Ferguson, referring to Donald Trump’s unexpectedly lopsided election win
“The media, it must be said, did not fulfill its role in educating the public and advancing truth as their primary objective. Refusal to explore Trump’s manifest defects and place him and his movement in the context of fascist strongmen and their cults had the effect of normalizing and legitimizing a candidate utterly unfit for office.” -The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin
“The extreme left is leading us into a ditch.” -Washington State Congressman, Adam Smith (D)
When Donald Trump shocked the world in 2016 by winning his first term, many on the Right hailed him as the second coming of Ronald Reagan. Being my usual contrarian self, I speculated he might wind up more like the scandal-plagued former prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi.
The parallels between the two men are both numerous and striking. This includes their perma-tans, billionaire wealth, sex scandals and amazing ability to overcome their political baggage, with overflowing carry-ons, to be voted back into office after losing re-election bids. (Berlusconi was actually elected three times.)
Eight years ago, that was a controversial view but, unfortunately, that’s pretty much how events played out. Mr. Trump’s first term was a carnival ride, with soaring highs and plunging lows, hitting rock bottom with the most destabilizing transfer of power in January 2021, in U.S. history. It also included a global pandemic that may well have cost him a consecutive re-election.
As it emerged that Donald Trump intended to run again, I became an ardent supporter of No Labels, a bipartisan organization. Its intent was to run a “Unity Ticket” comprised of a centrist Democrat and Republican. Yet, no realistically electable candidates agreed to run against Joe Biden (at the time) and Donald Trump. My point is that I’m no fan of Mr. Trump and I believe even millions of GOPers agree with me, as many have told me privately.
Despite all of his manifold flaws, the fact of the matter is he won in what constitutes a landslide these days. The Democrat party was a “yuge” loser, with what looks to be all branches of the government ending up in GOP hands. It’s truly a nightmare scenario for a party that was so certain of its intellectual and moral superiority. (Another big loser was the pollster community that, once again, totally whiffed on what it collectively thought would be a dead-heat and was embarrassingly wrong on a number of state races.)
