On 11 September I wrote a column on the US elections, anxiously throwing a few predictions around. I’m so relieved and encouraged to update this week that a majority of Americans rejected election denialism and minority rule. (with much gratitude!)
The big news is the US Senate is still in Dem hands! (starburst emoji) The even bigger surprise is that there may still be a path to keep the Dem majority in the House of Reps. (shocked wow face) However, the least appreciated news is just how many governorships and lower rank state offices flipped blue or were stopped from being occupied by the worst alt-right candidates.
Part IV: Looking down ballot on so many of the hundreds of races, people voted for any and everyone from dog catcher to Secretaries of State; from major Propositions and to state constitutional Amendments. The majority of common sense measures and candidates won, despite this outcome being the reverse of what was predicted by network and newspaper analysts.
State offices determine fair and free elections of the future for both local and federal elections. These elected civil servants determine the how and when and where state citizens vote, or if at all.
It has ended up that election deniers were in turn denied seats.
Clearly local autocracy did not have the wide appeal MSM thought it would. Exceptions to this are Texas and Florida which are being run by corrupt bosses now in governors Abbot and DeSantis respectively. On the edge, too, are Ohio and North Carolina – there being deeply compromised state political machines in both.
Sometimes it’s lost on other first-world citizens just how independent each state of the United States is as a functional unit apart from the federal umbrella under which the entire Union of States sits. Some pundits feel we might be seeing the beginnings of Quebec-style stand-offs in US states such as Florida, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Arizona, as in the next two years, slim but virulent white-right voters draw new districts for their voter margin advantage. Gerrymandering by any other name. This cycle however, proved a huge youth and female turnout could cancel these efforts.
I use Quebec as an analogy for the US’s current chaos, but the American political split isn’t along cultural lines of French/British heritage and language. Tragically, it’s the struggle between factual truth versus concocted conspiracy. Mis/disinformation belongs to cults and criminality, not community. Only by vastly showing up and demonstrating sheer numbers did Democratic state voters defeat this lunatic trend.
November 2022 proves one thing: Thankfully, more Americans assert today that false narratives are not traditional American values. The deepest of deep-state meme-spells is so thoroughly far from reality that it was obvious enough to a slim majority in troubled constituencies.
We can’t go back to the 20th century legacy of constantly ‘othering’ as a connected humanity. Empires as a feature is no longer viable. It proves a disaster in the 21st century of democratised, flat, global interconnectivity. Ukraine’s success also proves this point. Othering is about to come into its last chapter.
Part V: What about us? (versus ‘US’) Have you noticed UK citizens have lost a lot of rights post-Brexit? And the majority voted for this without a second thought. Indeed, Leavers thought the referendum was about freedom. Instead, it was a double blind experiment in self-owning – via othering – led by an equally destructive MSM and donor class, with unfortunate links to American influencers like Steve Bannon and chaos-churners.
If we get a GE sooner than later (please, Lady Luck, by March!) let me urge all readers to focus on youth and women voters here in the UK. To really make sure to get out their votes, and speak about what parties most value them. We can’t have the next generation more at risk of/being suppressed and marginalised than the last. Women and youth are energised to focus on their loss of rights via the Conservatives, and need the unconditional allyship of men across all class, affiliation and age. This will be vital to righting our path through this storm of new national challenges.
I know now American eyes are open to what happens if these target (and targeted) groups don’t vote, or are co-opted by authoritarian goals. None of the pressing issues facing the southwest of the UK -housing, mental health, food security, employment opportunities, climatic impacts, further and higher education – should be solved by Conservatives ONLY in their minority rule. There might be a few good eggs among Tory backbenchers (?)and if so, they must work in coalition with other groups and parties now. The Conservatives no longer hold a public mandate and are presiding over a failing state.
Gratefully, there are still choices that we have some power to control ahead. Write to your MP asking for a new general election expressing your right to functional representation in Westminster. With Austerity 2.0 beginning this week, it’s general election NOW, over stalling til 2024.
