As we disgustedly watched state after state fall to red - Florida smarting particularly badly - we were angry and sullen. I couldn’t believe it was happening again. Trump. Re-elected. And losing the Senate and many House seats as well. Fucking asshole Mitch McConnell re-elected. That’s it, I thought. We are beyond redemption, I thought. The BF and I went to bed defeated and angry. We’re never going to flip those rust belt states - WI, MI and PA. It’s not going to happen. We’re finished.
And then. As if it were Christmas morning, we woke up Wednesday to news that Wisconsin had flipped blue and Michigan might be next; Trump’s lead in GA and PA slimming; Biden victory in AZ and NV a distinct possibility. They told us about the red mirage; I’ve been preparing for this phenomenon for weeks, and yet, even I was fooled. Hope was alive.
It was a stressful week of constantly watching The Map Show while wishing the kids could just conveniently disappear until a winner was announced. I barely pushed them through their schoolwork, violin practicing and meals while obsessively sharing memes and memorizing Pennsylvanian counties and which percentage of them were fully reported. I was terrified of missing the moment the election was called - afraid to take a shower or cook a meal or go on a walk.
Then, finally, yesterday morning. I did miss the moment, but caught it right after as the news spread among the networks. I was still in bed and the BF came in to get me just as my resistbot texted me the news. I sat in front of the TV in my pajamas and sobbed. Sobbed like a baby. We did it. We did it. He’s done.
Unfortunately we then all had to hustle out of the house because the cleaning lady was coming and I had to spend the entire day cut off from everything recording a new album for our band in a Hollywood studio. So I missed all of the celebrations and news for the whole day, which irks me to no end. But really, nothing matters right now. He’s done.
When I got home we all gathered on the couch and held each other during Biden and Harris’ speeches and cried. God, humans again! People with empathy! And a woman, a woman of color, in the White House! People who will represent what this country actually is - a diverse place, not just a place for straight white men. The relief is palpable. And the senate is still winnable - and even if it isn’t, I’m not too worried. With the Trump menace gone and Biden’s centrism and willingness to reach across the aisle, I don’t think we’re going to be as obstructed as we have been.
Biden was the right candidate. Older black voters knew this in the primaries; all black voters made our win possible now. We owe them a huge debt. Am I pissed it wasn’t more of a landslide, and that MORE people voted Trump now than 2016? Of course. It’s going to be a tough few years dealing with half this country convinced the election was stolen. But our systems, as much as Trump tried to dismantle them, still worked. Voting was smooth and scandal-free, no violence (although plenty threatened), and the next two months could be really hellish. Then no doubt Biden will disappoint and frustrate us progressive types. But none of that matters right now. We got rid of Trump!!! Hallelujah!
Here is Theo doing his online PE in front of The Map Show (ie CNN). What a time, huh?
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