To the Bitter End

Nearly three years ago, in this column, I discussed the upcoming 2018 New Year and the speculation that if the Mueller investigation were conclusive, Donald Trump’s Presidency could end like that of Richard Nixon’s.  However, I also commented that unlike Nixon: “I can’t envision our current President getting on a helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House and quietly leaving town.”

The Mueller investigation came and went and so did the 2020 election.  Yet, it seems that the observation still has merit—this President is not going to easily leave the White House.

We have now been through recounts and lawsuits in several “battleground” states.  One was Wisconsin.  This was a state that Donald Trump carried by about 20,000 votes in 2016.  He accepted and celebrated the vote… no problem.  However, this year the voters of that state said that they had enough, and President Trump lost the state by about the same margin.  In 2020, the election In Wisconsin was deemed a “fraud” by the President.

Similar accusations were made against other states that he lost, including Georgia where Republican officials ran the election and also watched over two recounts.  Still, the President didn’t believe it, as if to say:  “If I don’t win, there must be some kind of fraud involved.”

Think back over the past several years starting with the crowd at the inauguration being the “biggest ever”… though it wasn’t.  Then there was the President’s advisor, Kellyanne Conway,  inventing the phrase “alternative facts” as she did her best to create a spin over the President’s various falsehoods and misrepresentations.

It reminds me a bit of the country song:  “Call me Cleopatra… cause I’m the Queen of denial.” 

This President cannot mentally accept the fact that he lost the 2020 election.  It reminds me a bit of the country song:  “Call me Cleopatra… cause I’m the Queen of denial.”  Though, in this case, it is Donald Trump, the King, singing the song.

In most of the Presidential elections that I can remember, the loser of the election, by this time had conceded defeat.  The only exception was in 2000 when the vote count was close in Florida and the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the recounting of ballots in that state which gave George W. Bush a 500-vote advantage and the election.

This year, the same Supreme Court declined to hear a “Hail Mary” appeal supported by the President to invalidate the election in five states.  To their credit, our two Republican, western New York Congressmen—Tom Reed and Chris Jacobs—declined to join in that lawsuit.  Other Republican leaders, now including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate, have congratulated President-elect Joe Biden.

When will Donald Trump finally “fold his tent” and end this?  It could happen on January 6, 2021, the day that Vice President Pence declares the results of the Electoral College valid. Then, the President, could turn to Pence as his final scapegoat and give up the fight.

Whatever happens, it won’t be pretty...

Whatever happens, it won’t be pretty—and we are likely to see a President leave office under protest with the promise to run again in 2024.  He could decide not to join the new President at the Inauguration Ceremony on Capitol Hill on January 20^th.  In his mind, that might legitimize an election which Donald Trump will only recognize if he can be the winner.

Rolland Kidder

The Dust Settles in Albany

There were hopes in Republican ranks that the Party would pick-up seats in the State Legislature this year.  Now, that the “dust has settled,” we know that their position in the state capitol will be slightly worse.  In addition, after the upcoming reapportionment based on the 2020 census, Republican representation in the legislature could be reduced even more.

Democrats in the Assembly had a super-majority going into the election, but that was not true in the State Senate.  After the election, it now appears that there will be at least 43 Democrats in a State Senate of 63 members also effectively giving the Democratic Party in that house a super-majority.  “Super-majority” means that they would have enough votes to over-ride a Governor’s veto.

Some pundits have alleged that this will mean a “super-liberal” agenda in the state’s capitol.  The Governor, himself a Democrat, does not seem to be much worried about the shift in political power.  He has been around Albany a long time and knows the old adage that “all politics is local,” and that State Senators, no matter what their political affiliation, must first defend and represent the constituency from which they were elected.

In the case of New York State, this means that new Democratic Senators from Upstate and the Hudson Valley will be deemed “marginals”… a designation given to those who had close elections and who could be beaten if they were to become part of a big liberal agenda in the state.  On the other hand, because they gave the Democratic Party a super-majority in the State Senate, they will be in a much stronger position to deliver for their constituents when it comes to state budget items and how taxpayer dollars are spent.

We have now become what is essentially a one-party state, much like California.

I have written in past articles that the decline in the fortunes of the Republican Party in New York State is not a healthy political development.  We have now become what is essentially a one-party state, much like California.  The ultra-conservative, personality-driven brand that the Republican Party has been offering voters has been rejected by the people of the state in more than one election. 

This does not mean that Republicans cannot compete in statewide offices.  There is a “shelf-life” for every elected official, and the public is willing to consider alternatives for Governor and other statewide office holders.  But, the GOP will need to field candidates who represent the broad centrist, middle-of-the-road voter if they expect to succeed in electing people to statewide office. 

Perhaps something like “ranked choice voting” or an “open primary” process should be considered in our State.

The continuing decline of the Republican Party in New York may usher in new concepts to ensure voters have real choices in elections.  Perhaps something like “ranked choice voting” or an “open primary” process where people can select the primary election that they wish to vote in should be considered in our State.

Absent changes like that, it looks like we will be having one party dominance in Albany for the foreseeable future.  Though, for Democrats, this may seem advantageous… that does not mean that it is a good idea.  Competition in politics is a good thing, and we are getting less of it in Albany than at any time I can recall.

Rolland Kidder