Blue Wave Indeed

This election was all about GOTV. The Democratic turnout was historic. Unfortunately, so was the opposition’s. Trying to read anything into the results down ticket without understanding the unprecedented turnout on both sides is missing the real story.

There are a couple of important messages from this election. First, Trump was able to get a rise out of both parties. He may well wind up with ten million more votes in 2020 than he received in 2016. That’s concerning, but not frightening. It’s unlikely a normal Republican candidate will be able to generate that amount of passion in the future.

Second, the results in Georgia are unbelievable. Stacey Abrams built an organization that registered hundreds of thousands of new voters. She gets full credit for turning the state purple. Abrams is a treasure who needs to be given a big role in the future of the Democratic party, both as a policy maker and as a political mastermind.

There was a blue wave. Make no mistake. It was met head on by an unprecedented voter turnout by the other side. Had this been a normal election, there would be little to argue. But having Trump and his poisonous rhetoric leading the charge on the nativist side made the victory seem hollow.

Yet, by the time the counting is over, Biden/Harris will have likely received in excess of fifteen million more votes than Clinton. If handled well, 2022 midterms should give the Dems the majority Senate they need to drive progressive legislation.

Bottom line for me: there was no repudiation of the center any more than there was repudiation of the progressive wing. Rather, an historic turnout was met by an historic turnout. Let’s not let our disappointment in the down ballot results color that underlying fact.