Once a week I have a zoom lunch with 4 to 6 former colleagues and friends. Hard to believe that we have known each other for more than forty years. We were a group of young attorneys who liked and respected each other. Now we are a bunch of old farts who still feel the same about each other. My colleagues are smart, engaging and bring different perspectives to the discussions. The one thing we all have in common is our utter disdain for Treasonous Trump.
One of my colleagues believes that tRUMP is going to successfully steal the election. He said, however, that in his life he has never wanted to be so wrong. Other colleagues are not predicting a tRUMP victory, but are scared s***less that he might win. Then there is the eternal optimist who can give an endless list of reasons to be optimistic. The events of this week make it more difficult to be optimistic however.
Several months ago, we all agreed that tRUMP is a dirty fighter. Democrats don't know how to fight dirty or respond to dirty fighters. We all agreed that tRUMP would find ways to fight dirty that we could not imagine. This week he proved the point. We could never have imagined that tRUMP would defund the post office. Neither could we imagine that he would appoint a postmaster general who would emasculate the postal service. tRUMP's consigliere Separately, Bill Barr will no doubt have a September/October surprise. The same goes for Lindsey Graham and Ron Johnson. The exact surprises can't be predicted, but they are coming.
So how does the eternal optimist stay optimistic? The more we see and hear Kamala Harris, the more it becomes evident that this was a brilliant choice. I had several reasons for not putting her at the top of my list. All of those reasons have proven wrong. Biden can remain the adult in the room and not get into the mud with tRUMP. Harris will not let tRUMP get away with anything. During the judiciary committee hearings I thought Harris was far and away the best of the Democratic senators.
I believe that there will be a massive voter turnout despite the defunding of the post office. I believe that in every state, voters can drop off the ballots at their polling stations. Democrats will do a massive educational campaign to get people to drop off their ballots rather than mailing them. If people can't get to the polling stations there will be volunteer organizations to transport them. I am told that the Ohio Secretary Of State has ordered that there be only one drop off site in each county. I assume that will be the subject of lawsuits. I believe one way or another, people will turn out in droves. That happened in Wisconsin during the height of the pandemic. It happened in Georgia despite the governor's vile attempts at voter suppression.
As just one example of the GOTV movement, please note the incredible organization started by LeBron James and a number of other high profile athletes and entertainers. (one of my all time Michigan favorites Jalen Rose is among the principals). Check out More Than Just A Vote. The organization is dedicated to getting tens of thousands of African American citizens to register and to vote. There are countless similar organizations across the country.
The bottom line for my optimism is that Hillary lost because of a perfect storm. This time around there will not be huge numbers of voters who decide not to vote for president. This time around there will not be a strong Green Party candidate to syphon votes from Biden. This time around there are significant numbers of Republicans who find tRUMP abhorrent. And this time around African American voters will turn out in much higher numbers.
So with all due respect to my pessimistic and realistic friends, I remain the eternal optimist. Let's hope. Stay safe.
Richard
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