In 2000, I was surprised that the electorate tossed over the successful policies of the Clinton Era with Bush's "win." In 2004, I was aghast that after Iraq and Abu Ghraib, we would return the same people to power, but 2006 gave me hope and 2008 was a balm.
When Trump "won" in 2016, it reminded me a lot of 2000. The Democratic candidate was objectively better suited to the role, but people are fickle and superficial, and it wasn't like it was a landslide. In both cases, the electorate generally preferred the Democrat. 2018, 2020 and even 2022 all gave me hope in the American people.
Then came 2024. Trump had been convicted of multiple felonies. He would have been convicted of more, if Merrick Garland wasn't such a loser. The chaos and incompetence of the Covid pandemic somehow got grafted onto Biden and the Democrats. Trump was obviously diminished and he was vowing authoritarian governance. And for the first time, he won the popular vote.
At that moment, it was hard to have any faith in the American electorate. Fueled up on their algorithmic feed and a weak grasp of chronology and basic economics, they turned to the fucking guy who did January 6th.
Every single sign - but most notably the signs Republicans themselves are giving off - says that tonight will be a good night for Democrats, and we will inject at least some sort of check on Trump's behavior.
I can see a clear path to 52-53 Senate seats. I can see a path to 55 seats.
The pain of the past few elections can also show me a path to 49.
My wife and I started building our retirement home in a lovely spot in rural Connecticut. If we see another massive failure of democratic accountability today, I wonder if we can really stay in a country that so blithely embraces evil - yes, evil - the way that they have with Donald Fucking Trump.
If it truly is a 56-44 night, that's great. But it should be 65-35 and it won't be and that sucks.
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