Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and Friday

A funny thing happened on Election Day.  No one got elected.

And a presidential race precedent or two was set.  We take a stab at those and give other random observations below in our Lucky 13..

  1. Has there ever been a contest so hotly contested that five or six states are too close to call getting on to 12 hours after the polls have closed?
  2. Has there ever been more lax voting procedures and subsequent vote-counting in our country’s history?
  3. Allowing ballots to be postmarked by midnight of the election night and counted in the several days and even into the next week is a dumb idea.  We repeat it’s a dumb idea.  It’s the further softening of America unfortunately.  Take your time, we’ll wait.  Deadlines are so yesterday.
  4. A few states haven’t fully counted early balloting yet, hence the hesitancy of the networks to call the state for one or the other candidates.  Does it make sense to count early balloting earlier than late balloting?  Asking for a friend.
  5. One state (we cannot remember which as this writer fell asleep on the job) stopped counting at 10:30 last evening.  They’ll be back at it this morning.  Hopefully they took their union-mandated coffee breaks along the way yesterday.  Um, come to think of it, why drink coffee if you don’t want to work late?  Pennsylvannia said they’ll pick it back up on Friday.  Friday!  Punxsatawney Pete must have seen its shadow again.
  6. What happened in Arizona?  Long a red state bastion, it skipped over purple and used a dark blue crayon at the ballot box.  The Senate seat flipped too.  Cindy McCain didn’t help the Republicans cause dragging Trump through the desert.  Trump didn’t help himself dragging John McCain’s legacy down either.  Trivia question- How many Californian transplants can move one state due east in four years?  Plenty.
  7. It took almost thirty seconds after the polls closed in the Pacific Time Zone for every cable outlet to project California, Oregon, and Washington for Joe Biden.  What took them so long?  At least there’s no mystery of early votes, lost votes, or absentee votes on the left voting left coast.
  8.  The countrywide popular vote counted thus far is 6 million more than the final tally in 2016 and we’re still counting, and counting.  It looks like both parties got their vote out.
  9. It looks like the House of Representatives will see a few (maybe six) more Republicans but not near enough to take the majority.  Madame Speaker Pelosi can continue her magical broom ride.
  10. The Senate seems safe for the Republicans.  A few races are yet to be determined, but the Elephants lead in enough of them.  The seats were 53-47 going in and might be 52-48 coming out.
  11. Why did Wall St rally yesterday and why are the futures up today?  Did they smell a split government- Biden wins and the Senate stays red? Maybe.  Why did the social media, internet heavy NASDAQ futures head up last evening?  Does the smart money think that Biden and the Democrats give them cover to continue their unabated monopolistic and censorship ways?  Is a repeal of the China tariffs in the offing for the country that gave us the China virus?  Will you miss Trump saying “Chii nah” if the outcome boots him from the White House?
  12. As we go to Al Gore’s virtual digital press, Biden leads by the slightest of margins in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Let’s assume Trump wins Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania as he leads each by a bit.   It’s a fluid situation to say the least, but if that holds up Joe Biden is President of the United States.  Someone once told us to “expect the unexpected.”
  13. Will Donald J. Trump take his fight all the way to the Supreme Court citing voter fraud, irregularities, and the like if he is deemed the loser?  Yes, he will.  It’s his right.  Would we expect anything less in this unprecedented, new normal, Covid pandemic, year of the never-ending Zoom meeting?

Can anyone find a tent big enough to cover this circus?

 

Today

Today either marks the end of the wildest and whackiest four years in Washington D.C. or it begins the second and final four years of likely the same.  We have a few observations and a few points to ponder.

  1.  No one outworks The Donald.  His campaign stops (rallies) in the last 10 days have been far, wide, and far too numerous to count.  At the age of 73, he ended his last one last evening in Grand Rapids, MI at about 11:45 pm.  After an Air Force One ride back to D.C. he tucked himself into bed at 4:00 AM.  He’s already yapping this AM on Fox and Friends.
  2. The Biden campaign, or more accurately the strategy to minimize it, is the oddest in this writer’s 60-year memory.  And, second place isn’t close.  Trump in 2016 was unconventional.  Biden in 2020 was unseen.  Having a few cars show up while you pontificate into a microphone on a stage is, well, weird.  When he asks them to blow their horns if they agree is, well, very weird.  Could the contrast between the Trump rallies and the Biden hornblowers be more overt?
  3. Crystal clearly the DNC’s strategy has been to minimize Biden’s gaffes/weaknesses all the while consistently pounding on Trump.  It was the plan since the day he took office.  It will be written about for years to come.  And, it may very well succeed.  Trump’s words, more than his actions, around the COVID pandemic played right into the DNC playbook.
  4. Do people really understand that if Biden is elected, Harris could be President in the very near future?  All jokes Biden jokes aside, it’s a very real possibility, isn’t it?  Maybe that’s ok with the “get Trump out at all costs,” or “anyone is better than what we have” crowd.
  5. Polls can tell you almost any story you want to hear if you dig deep enough into the numbers behind the numbers.  No matter the side you favor, the results will be fascinating.  How many of the “silent majority” chose only to be heard today?  How many first time voters were there?
  6. It would be a major surprise if Trump won the popular vote.  He lost it by 3 million four years ago.  But, elections are determined by electoral college votes.  And that sets up major announcements tonight as state by state results roll in.
  7. It seems that Pennsylvania is the lynchpin.  Both camps have spent a lot of time there recently.  The path or paths to victory are for either side tighten dramatically with a loss there.  It’s not for his health that Biden is stopping in Scranton and Philly today on Election Day.
  8. Put California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington in the Biden win column.  They are done deals and won’t be close.  That means Trump needs the obvious three of Texas, Florida, and Ohio.  If any of those three go blue Trump goes home to Mar-a-Lago, not Pennsylvania Ave.
  9.  Trump could win without Penn, but it’s very uphill.  He’d need the entire rust belt to fall his way.  And, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina are toss ups to boot.
  10.  Businesses in many major cities are boarding up then closing up early today for fear of civil unrest (read that as peaceful protests) in the streets this evening.  The White House is getting a scale proof fence surrounding it finished up early this AM.  Is anyone concerned what the populous might do if Biden wins?  Of course not.  It’s all about the hate for Donald J. Trump.  It has been since day one.

Get your popcorn ready.

And, buckle up.  It’s going to be a wild ride.

2020.