As if 2020 couldn’t get any crazier, after the most controversial presidential election in American history, we now have two runoff elections in the newly minted purple state for all the marbles in the US Senate. Indeed, there’s a reason why you’re about to see seemingly every politician and celebrity in the country descend on Georgia to make their case either to Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, or to their Democratic challengers Jon “Soy-Boy” Ossoff and the Reverend Raphael “No call me a communist” Warnock. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Either the leftists who control Joe Biden will be harsh on all that is good and decent for at least the next two years, or the GOP-controlled Senate will have some degree of control over them and will be unable to create the one-party state they desire.
There’s a lot of rhetoric floating around on all sides right now, but if you want to get inside the heads of the left about this election, just read the words of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, delivered in a candid moment of post-election excitement he probably wishes he had back: “Now we will Georgia, and then we will change America!”
How exactly did Schumer & Co. without 60 votes in the Senate would “change America”? After all, Republicans didn’t even manage to bomb Obamacare after having the trifecta for two years. We know the answer, of course. Chucky plans to end the filibuster, a long-standing Senate tradition that ensures a degree of bipartisanship before imposing laws on the American people, and then quickly and freely pass every wet dream of the lone court-packing left to a Green New Deal.
In this latest battle in their overall war against the rest of America, the Democrats’ most useful soldiers are not far-leftists like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, AOC, or even the formidable Stacey Abrams. Regardless of the recent election results, most experts do not expect this message to resonate with majorities in a state like Georgia. No, the left’s most effective soldier is, ironically, “moderate” Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a seemingly reasonable voice who was all over the media last week trying to “allay” the fears of ordinary Americans, assuring us that: HE will stand in gap between Republic and socialism in the Senate 50/50.
“Well, a lot of people are concerned, there are a lot of fear tactics being used right now,” Manchin he told Fox News last week. “So I commit to you tonight and to all of your viewers and everyone else who is watching, I want to allay those fears, I want to give you a break from those fears now, because when they talk about whether it’s going to be packing in the courts or ending obstruction, I will not vote for such a solution.
Do you believe him? And even if that happens, and he keeps his word – and maybe he will, considering that in a short four years he will have to defend his seat in the overwhelmingly red state of West Virginia – is that a reason to vote for a pair of far-left fools you’d expect to find in New York, California, or Massachusetts? “Trust us,” Manchin basically says. “Go ahead and give Democrats a majority in the Senate, and then I will make sure some of the most extreme measures are not adopted.” The audacity of Manchin’s request is more striking. “Just take me inside,” the copperhead says, “and I promise I won’t bite you, but if I do, I’ll make sure I only release a small amount of poison.” Even if Democrats are unable to thwart the nuclear filibuster, Mitch McConnell’s lack of a gavel means Republicans have no power to scrutinize Biden over budgets, appointments and, especially, investigations into Democrats’ past, present and future wrongdoing.
Manchin, of course, didn’t bother to explain that in two years, the Senate landscape will be pretty dire for Republicans as GOP candidates face Democratic challenges in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio and Florida. Even if the Biden administration turns out to be a complete disaster, the GOP will be lucky to keep its losses to just one or two, and the chances of winning the Democratic seat next term are close to zero. Yes, Kevin McCarthy is sanguine about his chances of taking back the House of Representatives, and he should be, but even that is not certain. Even on the off chance that Manchin keeps his word and stays away for two years, what happens next?
No, a 52-48 GOP-controlled Senate is the only way to ensure that the left cannot fundamentally change things forever. Sure, Biden will be able to do a lot of damage with executive orders, but they can be reversed. However, adding blue states and appointing recent Supreme Court justices is not possible.
“Will we live in democracy or socialism?” – Louisiana Senator John Kennedy asked last week, referring to the choice Georgians have. And unfortunately, they will be answering this question not only on behalf of their state, but the entire country. That’s a lot of pressure for one state, but the choice should be simple.
How will things go? It’s strenuous to say, but I think Republicans have the advantage here. Donald Trump’s participation in the election helped in many states, but appeared to hurt in purple Georgia, as GOP Senate candidates actually received more votes than their Democratic rivals, while Trump likely lost the state. His absence may lower MAGA turnout somewhat, but it will also impact the anti-Trump vote to some extent. Historically, the GOP has done well in subsequent runoffs, although it’s hard to compare previous runoffs with that.
Of course, conservatives would like to have all the levers of power, if only to preserve basic freedoms for all, but most Americans are quite comfortable with divided government. And most Americans, and certainly most Georgians, do NOT support the left’s most radical policies. By the time January 5 rolls around, any voter in Georgia who isn’t fully aware of what’s at stake will be living under a rock.
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