Our Future
What am I looking forward to in the Biden Administration? Well – big “corrections” of some of the past practices of the Trump Administration. And Joe Biden is “on it”. The first days promise a taskforce for COVID, a taskforce to reunite the 666 kids separated from their parents, and America’s return to both the Paris Accord and the World Health Organization.
And regardless of who controls the Senate, we know that President Biden will go to work on healthcare. Whether it’s improving the Affordable Care Act, or a Supreme Court decision forced redo of the whole process – Americans will find a way to have broad healthcare coverage for as many as possible.
Senate Elections
And there’s a long list of other issues, many hinging on the results of the Alaska and Georgia Senate elections. Currently there are forty-eight Democratic Senators and forty-nine Republican seats. Two seats are up in the Georgia runoff, and one still remains to be decided in Alaska. If Republicans win two of the three, then they have control of the Senate by one. If the Senate is tied 50-50, the new Vice President, Kamala Harris, will break the tie for the Democrats.
Alaska you ask? Currently Alaska has only counted 61% of their votes. It’s a big state with a small and far-flung population, voting by mail, airplane, and even dog sled. The current Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan, is in the lead with 62% of the vote at the moment. But his opponent, Independent Al Gross, who would align with the Democrats in the Senate, is less than 60,000 votes behind. There are almost 176,000 votes left to count – so there is still a chance.
Georgia On My Mind
(Ray Charles – of course)
But the Georgia dual runoff will probably decide Senate control. And it seems like a long shot for the two Democratic challengers, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. They face two incumbents, David Perdue and appointee Kelly Loeffler. On January 5th (there goes Christmas) there will be the “final stand” of the 2020 election, the season, and the year, that doesn’t want to die.
The first Senate meeting of the 2021 session is January 3rd. On that day, (assuming Sullivan wins in Alaska) there will be fifty Republicans and forty-eight Democrats, and Mitch McConnell will organize the Senate. But he shouldn’t get too comfortable. Who knows who might show up two weeks later (there’s another count) from the state of Georgia?
And we thought the $200 million plus campaign in South Carolina was expensive. With two years of Senate control on the line, there will be fire hoses worth of money pouring into Georgia from all sides. The newly empowered Democratic Party in the state is anxious to flex muscle at the polls. And the winner will be – the local media markets that won’t be able to create enough television advertising time. Sorry Santa, the Senators have bought it all up.
Back to Life
The other thing I’m looking forward to is “the obsession” to end. Over the past four years, “mainlining” the “news” has become a habit. It’s on every TV in every room of the house. Even Lou, the broken dog we’re rehabbing back to health, gets MSNBC almost 24/7. It’s on the radio in the cars, in headphones as I cut the grass, and the background “music” to our dinners and breakfasts.
Sunday, I put on real music as we worked around the house: music – (Aaron Burdett – Pennies on the Track). Tomorrow night we may actually watch TV – like drama on TV besides the ongoing drama in Washington, Wilmington, and Mara Lago. (Sure, we’ll record Rachel for later).
The intensity of the past months struck home yesterday afternoon – we got an anniversary card. Jenn looked at me, and we both realized – it’s our eighth wedding anniversary today (November 10th). Eight years ago we gathered with our family and best friends at Salt Fork Lake to have a party that included a wedding. It seems so long ago. And the date was going right on by – neither of us remembered: too much craziness going down.
So what do I look forward to most from President Joe Biden? You do your job, I’ll do mine. When it’s important, let me know. Otherwise, just get things done. No, I’m not giving up a lifelong involvement in politics and history. But with the Biden inauguration, it will be nice to re-balance life.
