Carlos Zimmermann, Contributing Writer:
This has been a very interesting year in politics. We have seen a new Supreme Court Justice and we have seen a battle for the White House like no other.
I was not entirely pleased with the election results. Despite my joy of seeing Republicans retaining the Senate and making gains in the House of Representatives, one more political domino did not fall in the same direction.
While I am fully aware that President Trump is fighting the results of the election, I cannot help but think that these investigations and lawsuits will fall flat and Joe Biden will become the 46th President of the United States.
With that said, Republicans in Washington need to gear up for the next two years before the midterms of 2022. There is much work to be done in such a small amount of time.
However, Congress remains split down the middle with one party controlling each chamber. This means two years of gridlock preventing President-elect Biden from doing anything of note.
This is a prime opportunity for Republicans to make an impact and send a message that this “loss” in the race for the White House is not a waving of the white flag of surrender.
These next two years before the midterms will be a fight for the soul of our nation, and the Republican Party needs to realize that if they have not already.
Anyone with a sense of logic in their head knows that the Democrats only have their own interests at heart and that is to tear apart what a great nation the United States is with legislation that will run our economy into the ground.
There are already talks about shutting the country down again to try and “curb the pandemic’s impact,” according to CBS News. I understand that this pandemic is very serious, but the best way to curb its impact is to have an ounce of common sense.
I will not support the President-elect if he plans to shut the country down. I can live with a mask mandate, which is another topic that has been tossed around.
I am so worried that a lockdown could send this country into a massive economic downturn. Unemployment will be through the roof, businesses will close permanently and overall morale will be almost non-existent.
This country could be heading down a path that makes me thankful that I am not bringing a child into this world right now, because I would not want him or her to see how divided this nation is.
The division stretches even further beyond political party lines. There is massive division in the Republican Party and that has led to the deeply rooted complacency that exists in the party right now.
For these next four years to be tolerable, the Republican Party needs to find a sense of unification and realize that nothing will get done over the next two years with the gridlock.
This moment in time is the right time to unify and get down to the issues that have riddled this nation for years.
They ought to attempt to work with the Democrats across the aisle. If the Dems say no to working together, then you will see where the real problem is.
If you want my honest opinion, I do not see unification happening for years within the Republican Party. I know there are many pressing issues that Republicans need to address, but unifying a broken party should be #1 on that list.
I love this country. I have been to many countries where I look around and say, “Thank the Lord above that I live in a country where I can have true freedom.”
The Democrats do not have the mindset to try and help this nation progress forward. They do not care about the American people. On the surface, it may seem that they do, but they are nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Some may say that the Republicans are close to the same thing as the Democrats, and in response, I would agree with you. The “right” is just sitting idly by and letting the destruction happen. In my eyes, that is equally as bad.
The solution for the right is to unify. They need to work to pass legislation that will help the American people financially, physically, spiritually and mentally.
The progress over the last four years under President Trump has been phenomenal. We have seen record low unemployment rates for minorities, according to CNBC. The economy has seen a major surge in the right direction prior to the pandemic.
Why stop now just because the other side has the ball in their court? The ball will be fumbled at one point or another. It is a matter of who will pick it up and run with it for the good of the American people.
Jacob Courtney, Opinions Editor:
The win of President-elect Joe Biden on Nov. 6, after a week of tension as the votes came in, led to a wave of euphoria for Democrats of all stripes. There was dancing, making merry and a bunch of drinking, according to the New York Times and my own booze drenched memories.
But the hangover comes a bit too soon. The sense of relief turns a bit sour as there seems to be a more sobering reality: the divisions in this country will outlast any one president.
To focus on the Republican versus Democrat spilt, there are two apparent threats that would make any reconciliation impossible. The first is that President Donald Trump and much of his party seem unwilling to concede, according to the Guardian. The claims of fraud, for any ballot cast by mail that voted Democrat, are becoming ridiculous as his lawsuits continue to not have evidence to back them up.
The tensions are not only between Democrats and a lame duck presidency, but with the Senate as well.
No “blue wave” came with Trump’s defeat, with a Democrat controlled House of Representatives and a narrow majority of Republicans in the Senate, according to The New York Times.
Any agenda or mandate that Biden wishes to move on is going to have to meet with a Republican block that seems to not be ready to compromise in the slightest. GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to recognize the victory and can obstruct legislation and cabinet picks, according to NBC.
Biden will not only have to deal with this burden on his presidency, but with divisions in his own party as well. Already the unity in the fight to dethrone Trump is crumbling. Within days there was former governor John Kasich saying that it was “the far-left” that nearly lost the election for Biden, according to Newsweek.
This is simply untrue. What got out the votes in such large numbers against President Trump is the promise that people long neglected might have the reforms desperately needed to keep this Republic afloat.
Arizona was won with the help of the solid block of Navajo Nation voters in that state, left abandoned by the government’s response to COVID-19, according to Vox.
The African American vote that secured Georgia and so much more for Biden, according to AP, needs to be remembered.
The working class of all colors in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and every state, who turned out in record numbers, according to Harvard Business Review, need to be remembered.
And to remember that Texas is becoming a closer race, election cycle after election cycle, because of the support of “college graduates, younger voters and minorities,” according to The New York Times.
Democrats must work together; it is doubtful that everything leftists want will be possible and compromise will be inevitable.
The point is that Centrist Democrats have to realize that change and reform is the future of the party and needs to be pushed. Americans want a party to fight for their rights sooner rather than later.
Biden might be the man to tie these distinct forces arrayed against him, he has certainly made the right overtures with his victory speech saying that his campaign and administration “represented America,” according to the LA Times. Only time will tell if this dream will become any sort of reality.
