aaron, i am a subscriber who lives in a highly educated leftist woke suburb on the coast ... am passing thru carmel for 2 days... how do i get in touch with you to be shown around for ten minutes?
Here's what I think you were afraid of: Harris would win a close race and people like us, conservative Christian men, would explode in rage and perpetrate something far worse than January 6th while Trump goads us on. Despite your best efforts, you internalized the narrative.
It's insulting that you put this thought into writing. We have more self-control than you are giving us credit for. It appears that our opponents do as well, I don't see libs pouring into the streets to riot though it could still happen, I suppose. I pray that the system functions smoothly through the inauguration of President Trump and beyond.
There will always be a few idiots that can be found on X with violent or offensive takes. But today, I'm proud of my countrymen on both sides and I'm more confident in our system than I have been in a long time.
I completely disagree. The moderation of sentiments in both cases is warranted not just out of civility and self-mastery but also because we do not know what the medium and long term consequences of this election will be. Therefore, a certain humility is wise. The way I took the article wasn't Jan. 6 prevention but more the sort of "it's a historic realignment" that's happened talk we have seen, which is great until the next historic realignment happens.
Harris having been elected would have undoubtedly been extremely bad for anything resembling pro-life laws, policies and so on. Ditto for lots of other social policy. But it's entirely possible Trump's shifting the Republican party to be semi-pro-choice and getting elected rather than losing narrowly as the first pro-choice Republican Presidential candidate since Gerald Ford means a much bigger long-term loss for those opposed to abortion. That doesn't mean one should strategically have voted for Harris for that reason, but it does mean that celebration should be muted and even mourning had it gone the other way muted as well.
Very good thoughts. I admire the self-control to avoid watching the results come in during a too-close-to-call election. But to me it also feels like a wasted opportunity for some amazing drama. I really enjoy these nights, and it doesn't seem to me like a pleasure that I need to give up. Maybe it helps that I have some detachment, as I believe both candidates are truly awful. Even if I naturally favor Trump over Harris (how could I not?), I'm really not that invested in the outcome.
The long-term consequences of any given election are hard to foresee. In the long run, I don't think anyone knows if another Trump term would advance conservatism or set it back further. I strongly suspect another Trump term would lead to a blowout for the Dems in 2028. But if I'm right, what will the effects of THAT blowout be? At that point we're too far in the future to predict much of anything; it's all chaos. But the thermostatic effect is a big part of the reason not to get too invested in any one election outcome: every victory in our electoral system contains the seeds of its own defeat.
In 2004, I voted third party because Dubya was so bad on immigration. People online would ask what about the horrors of a John Kerry administration. My reply was that a Kerry administration would be a weak, one-term Carter-style admin, while a second term for Dubya would be a catastrophe for the GOP, leading to 8 years of Democratic rule starting in 2008.
I was 100% on the money.
But, having said that, Kerry was not trying to destroy all of us flyover deplorables. Kamala is. The Democrats are openly talking about destroying Elon Musk if they win, because he supports free speech. So who knows if the situation is comparable.
"I heard an elected official speak to a group over the weekend about how we should avoid treating our opponents as enemies. This is a good general rule. But I think we should be honest that some people really are our enemies. Some people do mean us ill and would love to destroy or radically alter our way of life."
I appreciate you so much for at least writing this. All in all, thank you for the whole article.
Aaron i sent you an e mail . the e mail includes my phone numbers
aaron, i am a subscriber who lives in a highly educated leftist woke suburb on the coast ... am passing thru carmel for 2 days... how do i get in touch with you to be shown around for ten minutes?
This is aging badly.
Here's what I think you were afraid of: Harris would win a close race and people like us, conservative Christian men, would explode in rage and perpetrate something far worse than January 6th while Trump goads us on. Despite your best efforts, you internalized the narrative.
It's insulting that you put this thought into writing. We have more self-control than you are giving us credit for. It appears that our opponents do as well, I don't see libs pouring into the streets to riot though it could still happen, I suppose. I pray that the system functions smoothly through the inauguration of President Trump and beyond.
There will always be a few idiots that can be found on X with violent or offensive takes. But today, I'm proud of my countrymen on both sides and I'm more confident in our system than I have been in a long time.
I completely disagree. The moderation of sentiments in both cases is warranted not just out of civility and self-mastery but also because we do not know what the medium and long term consequences of this election will be. Therefore, a certain humility is wise. The way I took the article wasn't Jan. 6 prevention but more the sort of "it's a historic realignment" that's happened talk we have seen, which is great until the next historic realignment happens.
Harris having been elected would have undoubtedly been extremely bad for anything resembling pro-life laws, policies and so on. Ditto for lots of other social policy. But it's entirely possible Trump's shifting the Republican party to be semi-pro-choice and getting elected rather than losing narrowly as the first pro-choice Republican Presidential candidate since Gerald Ford means a much bigger long-term loss for those opposed to abortion. That doesn't mean one should strategically have voted for Harris for that reason, but it does mean that celebration should be muted and even mourning had it gone the other way muted as well.
Very good thoughts. I admire the self-control to avoid watching the results come in during a too-close-to-call election. But to me it also feels like a wasted opportunity for some amazing drama. I really enjoy these nights, and it doesn't seem to me like a pleasure that I need to give up. Maybe it helps that I have some detachment, as I believe both candidates are truly awful. Even if I naturally favor Trump over Harris (how could I not?), I'm really not that invested in the outcome.
The long-term consequences of any given election are hard to foresee. In the long run, I don't think anyone knows if another Trump term would advance conservatism or set it back further. I strongly suspect another Trump term would lead to a blowout for the Dems in 2028. But if I'm right, what will the effects of THAT blowout be? At that point we're too far in the future to predict much of anything; it's all chaos. But the thermostatic effect is a big part of the reason not to get too invested in any one election outcome: every victory in our electoral system contains the seeds of its own defeat.
In 2004, I voted third party because Dubya was so bad on immigration. People online would ask what about the horrors of a John Kerry administration. My reply was that a Kerry administration would be a weak, one-term Carter-style admin, while a second term for Dubya would be a catastrophe for the GOP, leading to 8 years of Democratic rule starting in 2008.
I was 100% on the money.
But, having said that, Kerry was not trying to destroy all of us flyover deplorables. Kamala is. The Democrats are openly talking about destroying Elon Musk if they win, because he supports free speech. So who knows if the situation is comparable.
an insightful and level-headed Election Day post? You're breaking all the rules Aaron. Thank you.
"I heard an elected official speak to a group over the weekend about how we should avoid treating our opponents as enemies. This is a good general rule. But I think we should be honest that some people really are our enemies. Some people do mean us ill and would love to destroy or radically alter our way of life."
I appreciate you so much for at least writing this. All in all, thank you for the whole article.