On the Edge
Late Saturday Catherine Cortez Masto narrowly defeated Adam Laxalt, securing Democratic control of the US Senate. This victory, along with the strong showing by democrats nationally was greeted with relief. Senator Chuck Schumer, who will retain leadership in the Senate said the vote was “a vindication for Democrats, our agenda and for the American people.”
Certainly, democrats and people concerned about women’s autonomy and voting rights were greatly relieved here in Michigan. Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General offices all remain in the hands of democrats and for the first time in 4 decades they will control the state legislature. The state Supreme Court remains strongly democratic.
Overall, the most extreme candidates of the Republican party did not do well. Nevada not only tipped the balance in the Senate, but it also handed a defeat to right wing candidate Jim Marchant for Secretary of State. Marchant had been behind the America First effort to put “election deniers” in control of secretary of state offices in battleground states.
America First pulled together candidates in 11 states, sponsored public meetings and organized a sophisticated campaign spreading conspiracy theories about voting machine manipulation, communists, and dark forces manipulating elections. Antisemitism figures large in their theories as does violent imagery. Calls for overturning popular votes, forcing people to re-register and voter cleanup were common threads. The group coordinated efforts to spread fear and hatred and contributed to the atmosphere of tension moving toward the election.
Our deepest fears of violence at the polls, of a republican sweep of the house and senate, of election deniers taking charge of the state voting process, of the loss of long held beliefs about the responsibility of government to protect people, did not materialize. Many people, like Schumer, took the near miss of disasters as a sign of the strength of democracy and decency.
Such views, while understandable, keep us from looking at the depth the crisis we are facing is. For example, while elections crowded out other news, our elected democratic officials have continued to push for the use of military force to wage a proxy war with Russia. In what is surely as much of an upset as the elections, we are now in the position where generals are advocating peace, while elected politicians pursue war. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged peace talks emphasizing the brutality of war. He said that Russia and Ukraine had suffered more than 100,000 casualties in less than 9 months of war. Yet in pursuit of reshaping an international situation that secures US hegemony, elected officials dismiss diplomacy in favor or continued war.
I was fortunate to participate in a conversation with Southern elder organizers looking at the election landscape. Most people in the south did not share a sense of relief. Struggling with the legacies of Jim Crow and contemporary gerrymandering, they saw politicians picking voters to secure their own power, not voters choosing political leaders. They were especially concerned about North Carolina where republicans secured a super majority in the senate with election deniers and conspiracy theorists winning seats. Their supreme court is solidly republican and will remain so. Similarly other states reported strong republican showings except for pockets of democratic strength in urban areas.
The three questions we discussed were:
Do the results of this election move us toward the consolidation of fascism—or provide us more time to organize our movements?
What effect will the results of the election have on your work?
What are our ideas/vision for the future?
These are critical questions. Had it not been for the new energies of young people, this election could easily have produced the worst possible outcomes for people who care about justice. As one of the elders said, “We took a few steps back from the cliff, but the cliff is still there.”
We need to seriously assess the political landscape that shapes our work and look beyond elections to the urgent tasks of moving toward a future that embraces peace, productivity, and sustainable ways of living. Otherwise, we will continue dancing on the edge.