321 Comments

Heather—Your levelheaded commentary of election count developments is a relief from the frenzied noise broadcast from the various news channels as vote tallies from the remaining key states lurch toward finally tilting the electoral vote count to the red or the blue candidate. I find the tightness of the race stunning in that it reveals that half the American people voted for Trump and what he represents. In 2016 his alt right wing was not welcomed by the GOP, yet it managed to overcome resistance in what amounted to a hostile takeover. Four years later after a disastrous administration which savaged the Constitution and governance institutions and traditional norms of decency, Trump is up for reelection. I assumed the tail was wagging the GOP dog and that Republicans out of revulsion and dismay would put country above party and vote for an alternative candidate to be rid of him. But no, Republicans have stuck with him by voting for him which tells me he represents who they are. How did we get here? One hears comments, “it’s not who we are.” It’s sobering to realize that yes, Trumpism, with its odious beliefs, is what half of us have become. Stunning!

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"Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not alright, it is not the end." - Deborah Moggach, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I have been keeping this in mind as my mantra all day today because it fits. I believe we will be alright at the end of this election. As someone pointed out today, yeah, we're still stuck with the despicable McConnell and his ilk, but at least we will get rid of the swamp monsters that OOO-45 dragged in to destroy every vestige of good government.

I can hardly wait for that breath of fresh air.

I'm grateful to the voting officials and volunteers who are working so hard and so carefully to count and process millions of ballots across the country.

I'm grateful to HCR for helping us stay sane and centered.

I'm going to bed with real hope in my heart for the first time in years.

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Thank you, Professor Richardson. I look forward to your post-election analysis.

I don't know about the rest of you but my head is spinning like a top, can't sleep, eating too much ...

So, this morning at the breakfast table I struck a somewhat whimsical note and posed the following questions to the family:

If (when) Biden wins:

1. How long before Melania files for divorce?

2. Will Trump be convicted of a felony and, if so, will he serve time?

3. Will Trump resign before Biden is sworn in so MP can pardon him?

4. How long before Nikki Haley announces her intention to run for President in 2024?

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I would love an AMA - with just us - after the worst is over and you can breathe. We have QUESTIONS!

1. How soon can we expect indictments from NY? Is there any indictment etiquette that says Dept of Justice goes first? Do you know how happy we would be if he was lead away from the inauguration in handcuffs (don’t want him to flee!)?

2. How many of the current administration are hirable elsewhere? They can’t all go to fox.

3. What harms will he do between now and Jan 20? Is there anyone to stop him? He thinks he will run again in 2024. Is it too much to ask that the Rs stop him? Would his legal trouble stop him?

4. Will we get a breakdown of voters by age? How much did the young ones help? How many of the old ones are dying off?

5. Every time the black vote comes in and saves Democrats the blacks want a seat at the table. Will they get more than a token this time?

6. Is everybody mad about Mitch, Lindsey and Susan? What can we do?

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When Trump leaves the White House in Jan, can we all just agree to never give him airtime again? How different would things be if the media hadn't covered HIM 24/7 since the 2016 campaign? He's a showman, and showman need an audience. Maybe Twitter needs a permanently assigned fact-checker for his account. But, maybe, he won't have access behind bars?

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I so appreciate your summary and inclusion of COVID statistics, but I am again today thinking... “At the time of this writing 68.6 million people have voted for Trump.”

Some are fanatic supporters who will follow his rally cries to intimidate voters or give money for lawsuits, as mentioned. But 50% of us?

What are we missing?

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I’m pleased that Twitter is hiding his false tweets behind warnings, but they should have been doing this for YEARS!!!! They created this monster by allowing him to get away with this BS for way too long! They are just as culpable as the sycophantic GOP.

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As Neil Katyal pointed out, Trump can't go to one court and demand counting stop where he's "winning" while he goes to another court to demand counting continue where he's "losing." Both cases get thrown out for that.

While Bad-Italian-Joke-Come-To-Life Giuliani was raving to Neil Cavuto on Faux Snooze, Cavuto stopped him mid-rant to announce Fox had just awarded Michigan to Biden.

Sauron, er, I mean Dumpty, and his Orcs are only starting to realize that Frodo made it to the pit of fire last night and threw the ring in.

Looks like both Senate seats in Georgia will go to runoff in January - a friend "in the know" told me today he wouldn't be surprised if a billion dollars gets spent on that runoff. If the Ds win both, it puts the Senate at 50-50 and VP Harris spends her days there for the next two years.

Also being reported that the outstanding votes in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are breaking 9:1 for Biden, so Dumpty won't hold PA either.

The big bad wolf has huffed and puffed and he can't blow down Biden's brick house.

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Just prior to reading this I listened to a podcast with Randy Fernando of Center for Humane Technology. In pondering the unexpected support for Trump, Trump supporters, and the great political divide I believe Trump’s overt use of social media that bypasses scrutiny continues to be beyond dangerous.

Going forward can “The Social Dilemma” that feeds this vast political divide ever be adequately addressed? I’m struggling to imagine any of his followers hitting the “unsubscribe” button for Trump’s rants. How long will this raging narcissist continue to undermine America?

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To prevent anxiety, I have been avoiding the news since Tuesday, both online and on TV. This letter is the only source for the past 2 days. Like many intelligent, critical thinking, decent ppl, I am aghast at the fact that the election was not a decisive win for an intelligent, critical thinking, decent candidate but that it is so close for an ignorant, deceitful, hateful, authoritarian cult leader. I am dismayed at the turn of this nation where the EVIL IGNORANCE of our past, that we thot had subsided, has rebounded over the past 4 years and appears to remain in control. Out of all the tragedy I have lived thru; the segregation in the South, the useless carnage of Vietnam, the AIDS pandemic, the Twin Towers in NYC, this is turning out to be the worst. Coupled with a viral pandemic this resurgence of lawlessness and terrorism from the ignorant masses and our very government may actually be the end of all those advances I thot had been made. I can imagine myself being an intelligent, critical thinking, decent German citizen watching the events of 1933.

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My fear is that for the sake of comity we are being lulled into acceptance and addressed like fussy children. The consequences of the election present a dire situation. That the Dems with all the active engagement and money that was mustered are still unable to effect the election of people like McConnell, Graham, Collins, Loeffler, Ronny Jackson (TX), Joni Ernst, etc, is shocking. I for one think that this "do not despair", "all's well," "the most important thing about 'hope' is the ray," "you don't always get what you want," and the disneyfication of the deeper loss coupled with the power of Trump to blow up the landscape needs to be squarely acknowledged. Instead, we are trying to "make the best of it." Big mistake.

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Thank you Heather for your "knock on wood" summation. I also am not tempting fate with saying what I feel until its official.

That said, I am looking forward to mornings when I don't turn on the news with fear of what preposterous, evil doings Trump and his accomplices did during the night. We are a long way from that, but thinking that may be a reality is comforting.

I listened to an interview yesterday with my second favorite Historian, Jon Meacham, Doris Goodwin Kearns as well as top knotch political writers like Barton Gellman and realized that regardless of all of the noise around us, we are living in good times to be able to learn from such an incredible bevy of people first hand including yourself Heather. Whatever happens, we will get through this.

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Thank you as always, Professor Richardson for your thoughtful analysis. It helps to calm our frazzled minds. Trump is a bad dream that became a nightmare that wouldn’t stop. That so many people in the United States still voted for him is even scarier.

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I have been reading articles in the foreign press and one made me stop. It said that Trump, if he loses, will embark on a 2 month campaign to name as many "conservative' federal judges as possible, with the connivance of Mitch Mc Connell and his band of disciples. He will also wreak havoc on a scale last seen when General Sherman marched to the sea, with changes to the Civil Service laws and executive orders destroying natural habitats and eliminating restrictions which protect the environment. Biden will have to spend six months just trying to undo the damage.

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Great column!

Congratulations to all involved in the effort to slow "the Trump train!"

Nevertheless, we need to pay attention to the apparent fact that, even if Trump himself loses his office, he has had the ability to boost to victory some of his supporters running for office at the state or federal levels. The analyses I have read that make this point suggest that perhaps as many as 25% of Trump supporters are reluctant to reveal themselves to pollsters. This might account for why Trump, who has been receiving 40% approval ratings in the polls throughout the autumn, has been winning the votes on November 3 of anywhere from 45% to 49% of voters.

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Okay, folks...and update from GA! Right now Biden is within 15,000 votes of Trump with still 61,000 absentee ballots from Fulton (Atlanta) and Chatham (Savannah) counties remaining to be counted. There is still a VERY good chance Biden could flip GA. AND incumbent Senator David Perdue has now officially slipped under 50%, which means he and Democrat Jon Ossoff will join the January 5th run-off between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Kelly Loeffler. Sooooo...BOTH Senate seats in GA will not be decided until January. This could conceivably have a major impact on the majority in the Senate. We're currently 48/48...do the math. The money and attention that will be given to this Senate race in GA will be epic and unprecedented. Hang on, y'all...this ain't over!!

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