A "win?" Maybe. A "victory?" Not yet.
/By Don Varyu
October 28, 2024
A newborn comes into the world full bore; bursting into chaos. Suddenly there is loud commotion and blinding light. Gone is the comfort of the womb. But that child is also surrounded by support and love--and hope. This is the very first minute of a baby’s limitless opportunity. Nothing is impossible.
If you superimpose that thought onto your political memory, does it not remind you of the first election day for Barack Obama? Almost a quarter million people gathered in Chicago’s lakefront Grant Park. Tens of millions more watched on TV and online. And they heard Obama utter the words that stuck at our collective yearning for unity: “I have never been more optimistic than I am tonight….as Lincoln said--to a nation far more divided than ours--we are not enemies, but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."
Oh…to ever get there.
Now, in the throes of a gutting national campaign, Kamala Harris is echoing Obama’s summons for unity, promising to be “a president for all the people.”
As I write this, I’m feeling optimistic—cautiously, I admit. I simply can’t conceive of an America whose majority favors the fever dreams of this current monster.
So, the question remains: can Kamala win? Well, of course.
But can she also claim a “victory;” in the sense of unity that Lincoln and Obama imagined?
No--not now, not soon, and maybe not ever. Certain things are beyond her control.
This is because her presidential “birth” will not resemble that of a newborn baby. Instead, she will come to life as a baby chick…surrounded by hard shell… needing to find the strength and resilience on her own to peck her way into existence.
And she will confront a shell with several thick layers.
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Consider, for a minute, all that has to fall apart before she can begin putting things back together. To be sure, she won’t be responsible for the rubble that confronts her; and she can’t control the pace of its demise. The only surety is that there will be resistance.
MAGA. Of course, this is foremost on everyone’s minds. To what ends will they go to prevent Harris from taking office? Legal and political landmines? At least some level of actual violence? This seems inevitable. But it’s only a start.
GOP electees. A Harris victory would apparently put them into a vice. After spending years kowtowing to Trump, what happens when Trump eventually evaporates? These lawmakers are conditioned to follow, not lead. They obstruct reflexively, without considering the consequences. So, what do they do? Will they try to rally behind a “new Trump,” a fresh face running the same old playbook? Or will some moderate their behavior (and votes), already thinking about their own survival in elections that are, for some, only two years away?
Former GOP. Several courageous GOP officials have come out condemning Trump, urging votes for Harris. In doing so, they know they can never "go home again." The cult of Trump has cancelled them. The GOP beyond MAGA is an endangered species. So what do they do? For Harris, the challenge is to craft a legislative agenda that will allow them to reconstruct their party, while also moving America forward. That will be a messy and contentious business.
SCOTUS. This obstacle may not be fixable at all—at least not for decades. In three indefensible decisions (Citizens United, Dobbs and presidential immunity) the majority has demonstrated its full willingness to spit on the Constitution in order to serve those who privately revile what the Constitution actually stands for. Those justices are legal terrorists. But the question remains: are they vulnerable to public pressure, led by a President Harris? Such an attack is dangerous stuff—but it may be the only move she has to break their ranks.
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I lost a friend this week. She was 89. She descended from southern slaves, endured numbing discrimination as a child, married a lifetime Air Force guy and thus traveled and learned the world. She was kind and funny and wise.
And she lived long enough to watch a large clan of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren come into the world and achieve better lives simply because of who she was.
She lived long enough to see the world open up to wider opportunity.
But she didn’t live long enough to cast her ballot this year.
Still, I hope on election day she and her husband are looking on, sipping her favorite cognac, and toasting Kamala’s effort to acheive even wider opportunity-- for everyone.
It will take some time.
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