Finished Elections?
- DrJCal2015
- Mar 7, 2024
- 2 min read
This 10 day period sees two electoral events in two very different countries. This week, Americans saw the effective end of the U.S primary season with the withdrawal of Nikki Haley from the Republican Race. Next week, short of some unforseen event of planetary implications, will be reelected as President/Dictator/Tsar of Russia.
For America, the end of primary season normally means a relative calm period in the campaign leading up to the party conventions shortly after the Olympics this summer, followed by the in-earnest campaign which will run from late August through election day. At least in a normal year like this one where there is no pandemic to alter things.
The campaign itself will be somewhat less simple. I honestly don't know how this works. Will there be big campaign events, especially for Biden? Will there be debates? Who knows? In some ways neither side benefits from overexposure of their candidate to the media and public. I think it is clear that in terms of remaining faculties, Trump would "win" any debates. But what does that mean? Is it a good look to "win" in such a case?
What happens afterwards? To me the answer is actually more clear. And it is - drumroll... the process of American government, as laid out in our Constitution, goes on, with its checks and balances built in to correct excesses. All of the questions that go along with a U.S. election will matter. Who gets the House? Who gets the Senate? By how much? But we will roll on.
Next week's election is much more, and less, problematic. More so because Putin's rubber stamping will mean that the war in Ukraine will go on, Russia's impressive and growing list of human rights abuses will go on, and suffering will continue. Much less problematic because his victory is seemingly inevitable.
So, with the primaries effectively over, perhaps some normality can return, briefly. Perhaps a budget can be passed. Perhaps Ukraine can get the support it needs.
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
Hopefully I am not kidding myself!
DrJCal
I'm not sure I fully agree with the assessment that the U.S. election will have no lasting impact on the American process or institutions. One of the candidates, with little knowledge of exactly how our government institution’s function, outside of the legal system, has managed to erode trust in the Fourth Estate to a degree not seen since the days of Yellow Journalism. As a result of his shenanigans, the Supreme Court is now having to contemplate Presidential immunity and all of the implications that carries. The elimination of things like the inheritance tax and changes to corporate taxes has exploded the stratification of wealth in this country to a level not experienced in a century. Trust in the government…