Shock and dismay at
Harris and Democrat defeat
We must endure the next four years of a Trump administration and be ready to fight back
By Irwin Rapoport
November 7, 2024
Many Canadians who supported the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz Democratic ticket on Tuesday night, November 5, were shocked and dismayed by the American election results which not only elected Donald Trump for a second term but gave the Republicans control of the Senate and most likely the House of Representatives. Republican-leaning voters have given Trump control of all the levers of power – the executive, the legislative branch, and the Supreme Court.
There are no checks and balances on what Trump and the Republicans can do, short of the stacked Supreme Court occasionally telling them that what they are planning to do is unconstitutional. I fear the worst, which is why so many of us believed that the majority of Americans would do the right thing and support the Democratic ticket.
Compared to the 2020 election, which pitted Joseph R. Biden against Trump, Biden received more than 10 million votes compared to his opponent. This gave the Democrats control of Congress and thus gave them the first two years to enact a very productive legislative agenda. The 2022 Mid-Term elections, which featured the vaunted red wave, failed to appear. The Democrats retained control of the Senate and the Republicans only secured a five-seat majority in the House.
Republican-leaning voters have given Trump control of all the levers of power – the executive, the legislative branch, and the Supreme Court.
While it is true that many Americans were disappointed by the slow recovery of the American economy, the blue wall was strengthened by the Supreme Court overturning the long-established Rove V. Wade decision which legalized access to abortion services in all 50 states. Surely, if Americans held firm with the Democrats in 2022, they would in 2024 with everything that Trump has said over the past year, and the list of comments is long: the choice of being eaten by sharks or being electrocuted by the battery of the electric boat; telling women that Trump will protect American women whether they like it or not; placing RFK, Jr. in charge of health; praising the late great Hannibal Lechter; his plan to bring in tariffs on imported goods and products; offering oil and gas industry executives a promise to let them do as they desire in return for a $1 billion campaign donation, etc. I can go on, but you get the point.
Last night on MSNBC, a segment stated that the Department of Justice plans to wind down the legal cases against the incoming president. Of course, the Supreme Court did everything in its power to defend Trump via several rulings which slowed down the cases against him including the infamous one which gave presidents a sweeping array of immunity for actions initiated during their terms as long as they are official actions. This stymied Jack Smith‘s activities, and then you had the rulings of Justice Aileen Cannon, who had continuously thwarted Smith. Trump appointed so many extreme-leaning Republican judges at a variety of levels and now over the next four years, the president-elect will have an opportunity to transform the American judiciary for decades.
And who knows what Trump and the Republicans will do in terms of further restricting access to abortion services, weakening environmental protection laws and regulations, further restricting the right to vote, and the looming disaster of what RFK, Jr. will do regarding health. And now we know that a Trump-led administration will have the power to gut the Affordable Health Care Act, Obamacare.
‘There are no checks and balances on what Trump and the Republicans can do, short of the stacked Supreme Court occasionally telling them that what they are planning to do is unconstitutional.’
Just imagining what Trump will do gives me nightmares, and without doubt, the new administration will have a cast of characters including the likes of Elon Musk, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and others who are beyond the pale in regards to their personal agendas and insane beliefs.
So yes, on behalf of millions of Americans and Canadians, I am extremely angry and upset. As has been noted, there has been a drop of more than 10 million voters from those who backed Biden in 2020. Where did they go? As they say, every vote counts and knowing what the stakes of the election are, why did these people not vote? Had they cast their ballots, we would have had an entirely different result.
Trump confirmed that he is a fascist, racist, and a fan of Hitler and the Nazis. It is far too easy to envision millions of people being rounded up for deportations and the DOJ actively prosecuting Trump’s list of enemies and the media which was “unfair” to him, being reigned in with extremely serious consequences.
Last night, via YouTube, I watched the monologues of Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, The Daily Show, and Lawrence O’Donnell. They provided some solace and Kamala Harris’s concession speech yesterday afternoon gave me hope. We must remain steadfast in our beliefs and principles and endure the avalanche of hits we shall take over the next four years. It will hurt and won’t be pleasant. We must resist and convert our anger into action and never give up.
‘Over the next four years, the president-elect will have an opportunity to transform the American judiciary for decades.’
Last night Stephen Colbert had CBS’s Chief Political Correspondent John Dickerson on as his guest to analyze the election results and discuss the repercussions of an unbridled Trump presidency. It was most informative and John was speaking from the heart.
Trump Won the Popular Vote. What That Means for Him and the GOP.
Democrats Have to Figure Out What Happened to Them
How to Explain Donald Trump’s Victory to Your Kids
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of WestmountMag.ca or its publishers.
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Irwin Rapoport is a freelance journalist with Bachelor’s degrees in History and Political Science from Concordia University.
If I were an American I probably would have voted for Jill Stein but say what you will, the American population voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. He took the Presidency, the House, the Senate, the seven battleground states and the popular vote! Sounds pretty amazing to me. While Trump concentrated on the economy and the border issue Harris concentrated on abortion, woke issues and celebrity endorsements! Struggling Americans could care less about the opinions of Bayonce, Taylor Swift or Stephen Colbert. They are all billionaires who never have to worry about putting food on the table!
On a very important final note Kamala Harris made it clear that she would continue with the horrendous wars whereas Trump has said that he would concentrate on domestic issues and try to avoid foreign wars. We can only keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.