Leaning to the Left

IT IS NOW ONLY ONE YEAR until the presidential election, and before we push the panic button because Trump would beat Biden today, simply take a deep breath, and give thanks that the election isn't today. There was an election yesterday, as there is every first Tuesday in every November, and a quick look at the results should encourage Democrats and discourage Republicans. Their discouragement should perhaps even be great enough to inspire them to invent another plethora of conspiracy theories about the fraud and corruption in the election perpetrated by Democrats, and claim that in reality, the voters in Ohio voted to ban abortion statewide, rather than to allow it, which they did in reality by a margin of fifty six percent to forty four, a veritable landslide. Nobody, but nobody can best a Republican in the fabrication of a conspiracy theory... The popular Demoratic governor was reelected in Kentucky, despite the fact that somehow the Republicans managed to find a handsome, well spoken, well educated conservative African-American, a truly endangered species, to run against him. If nothing else, maybe the Republicans are starting to catch on to the racial equality and diversity thing, even though their throngs and minions seem to have a decided preference for the caucasian look. The Virginia state legislature flips from Republican to Democrat, and, in Ohio, a mostly conservative Republican state, abortion rights was overwhelmingly enshrined into the state constitution, by the people, to the presumed great disappointment of Republicans, and veritable grief of conservative evangelical types. If you examine the Republican agenda generally one might find a clue to the seemingly very real possibility that the country is moving more towards the Democrat agenda, despite Biden's inexplicable lack of popularity. Biden might benefit by exuding a little more energy in his speech, facial and body language, and vocal tone, and a little less of the crusty old man look. A majority of Americans embrace the progressive rather than the conservative ideology. A majority of American believe in reproductive choice and freedom, religious diversity and tolerance, a mixed economy, fighting climate change, and taxing the wealthy. Republicans do not, and are therefore running straight into a headwind if they hope to attract currently independent voters to expand their base. The conservative Republican ideology and agenda, as embraced by more than eighty percent of evangelical Christians, including support for Trump, is vigorously opposed by a majority of Americans. All polls indicate this. If Biden were even halfway popular he would be leading Trump "hugely" in the polls. He should be popular. His policies have been effective, including his inflation fighting program. In next year's election, Republicans will be running on Trump, on banning abortion through government action, and on cutting Medicare and Social Security, banning books, twisting history into lies, and giving no breaks on student loans. It will be ineresting to see what percentage of the voters are willing to embrace that obviously destructive agenda. We the American people do not like abortion. We understand that obortion is certainly not the desired outcome. Among other things, effective, available, affordable birth control is the best solution. But not coat hangers in back alleys. And not government control of women's reproduction. We the American people made that perfectly clear, yesterday, and may very well make it even clearer, in about a year.