We Still Have Work to Do, America

“The American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.” ~Joe Biden campaign statement

Okay, I’m nobody, but I’m calling this election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The Secret Service has upgraded Biden’s protection detail from candidate to President-Elect, so again, I’m calling it.

Woot woot Trump is toast and we have our first woman VP, a woman of color at that! This is the America I thought I lived in. Because I have a chilled can of Champagne to flip the top off of, I’ll try to make this post short and sweet. 😜

Among all the reasons we will have to rejoice in Biden’s win is the fact that Trump’s cabinet members will go with him. Arguably two of the most dangerous of Trump’s thugs are Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Buh Bye.

Now the bad news. We have retained one of the most destructive politicians in U.S. history, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Thanks, Kentucky.

*Side note: The city of Rabbit Hash Kentucky elected a French Bulldog named Wilbur to be mayor. What’s up with Kentucky?

https://apple.news/AGRIqeVrVRWm0lkgvtjCUdw

As I was. Saying, Mitch McConnell somehow won re-election in Kentucky which means he will carry on obstructing Congress and future President Biden.

The amount of power McConnell holds is a prime example of how flawed our system of government is.

Please skip ahead if you’d rather not be subjected to my remedial explanation of what’s wrong with our legislative branch of government, and why Mitch McConnell has too much power.

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“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.” ~17th Amendment, US Constitution

No matter how big or small the population of the state, they get two senators.

“The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative;” ~ also 17th Amendment

So, the number of representatives each state sends to the House is dependent on the population as per the US census. That is a fair representation in my opinion.

For example:

California has a population of approximately 39 million people and based on that number the state currently has 52 U.S. Representatives. (45 Democrats and 7 Republicans, including both the Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.)

In contrast:

Wyoming is the least populated state with approximately 579 thousand souls and as a result only one Representative.

Back to the Senate. Mitch McConnell, who was elected by 1.2 million people in Kentucky is making life-changing decisions that will affect 328 million Americans.

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In February it was reported that he had blocked 395 bills. His behavior is a petty display of his power over the Democratic majority in Congress. Also, he has been busy stacking the courts with unqualified far-right extremists with an anti-women, anti-minority, and anti-LGBTQ agenda.

His power is ridiculously undemocratic.

Moscow Mitch has sold himself to the NRA, Russian Oligarchies, and far-right groups protecting a small number of billionaires.

McConnell would love to destroy Social Security and Healthcare as much as he’d love to undo 50 years of progress hard-won with blood, sweat, and tears. Racist, misogynistic, classist Mitch—he’s a jerk.

Democrats, (I’m about to flip open my Champagne, but) I have to say we did not do great in this election. We were hoping to take back the Senate by a substantial margin. As it stands now we are tied 48-48

States undecided are:

  • Alaska: Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) vs. Dr. Al Gross (I) (still counting votes)
  • North Carolina’s North Carolina: Sen. Thom Tillis (R) vs. Cal Cunningham (D) (still counting votes)
  • Georgia: Sen. David Perdue (R) vs. Jon Ossoff (D) neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote, which is required by Georgia law, so there will be a runoff election in December.
  • Georgia will also have a special election in December for the same reason: Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) vs. Rev. Raphael Warnock (D)

Georgia has the power to make McConnell the minority leader. The magic number Democrats needed to put Mitch in that minority is 51, but a 50-50 tie is good too because Vice President Harris is the tie-breaking vote. 😁 (You go gurl.)

Brace yourselves for the next six weeks. They could be stressful. Trump is unpredictable and has no moral compass. He will refuse to concede and try to litigate everything possible through the courts to delay the inevitable. He’s even asked Republican governors and legislators to substitute his electors. They said no. When all else fails he’ll try to burn the house down on his way out.

I fantasize about the day when the Secret Service, who have been protecting Trump, get the word to escort him out of the White House.

Meanwhile, I’ll be nice. I will not ridicule Trump voters. I will not engage in baseless arguments, because to do so would give them a platform to spread divisive rhetoric (which is coming from the White House.) The media needs to unplug Trump’s mic today before he incites more violence.

Donald Trump lied incessantly about our election and undermined the very foundation of our democracy.

We will count every vote. No matter what he says.” ~Adam Schiff

Don’t get me started on the Electoral College. Please can we end it?

Special thank you to Stacey Abrams for all her hard work fighting for disenfranchised voters in Georgia, and for the high number of new voters she has engaged. Today is a good day.

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2020/11/6/21550979/senate-malapportionment-20-million-democrats-republicans-supreme-court?utm_campaign=vox&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&__twitter_impression=true

11 thoughts on “We Still Have Work to Do, America

  1. Mitch and the dog have similar look…maybe Kentucky thinks he is a cute bulldog?
    I am thinking that the states need redefining. That a state should have a certain number of people in it or have to merge with a neighbor. There is no reason for there to be a Vermont and a New Hampshire, a North and South Dakota, a Wyoming and a Montana (Maybe they should add in Idaho or merge it with Washington. I’d like to see states with less than 2 million residents either be forced to merge or lose a Senator.
    The premise that was a call to the revolution that founded our nation was no taxation without representation. I know this is radical. It might be better to start with solid voting rights for all, ending the electoral college and repealing Citizens United. Tall orders.
    Also, there needs to be some change that prevents a senator from a dead-beat Podunk state from having more power than the president.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I am torn between “let’s forget these past 4 years ever happened” and “let’s analyze the shit out of what happened and talk about it extensively for as long as necessary to get tot the (real) bottom of it”.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m not so forgiving. I want the criminals indicted and we need election reform so our government is more democratic. As far as election reform, I’ve wanted that since 2000, so I don’t expect it to change.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sure. If I were allowed a say in the matter I’d definitely back you on that. And I believe saying it out loud does help. Staying angry is tiring, but necessary. It’s the only way to show you care.

        Liked by 1 person

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