Five For Friday, November 15, 2024

Is there such a thing as an election hangover?

Is there such a thing as an election hangover? Extreme exhaustion from over indulgence in political affairs, late night writing, and doom scrolling?

I plan on a three-day diet from political news: Tomorrow is a writing day. On Saturday, I have to take a midterm for an education law class. Sunday, Ian and I are going to check out the Siena exhibit at The Met.

Election Post-Mortem

I wrote my election post-mortem on Monday. I’ll have more thoughts another day, but for now, I’m enjoying reading other commentary. The election of Trump was multi-causal; we have to look at all the angles.

Axios —“Nearly four years ago, Biden and Democrats made a $1.9 trillion bet in the form of the American Rescue Plan. They lost, as it contributed to a surge in inflation that fueled massive voter discontent and Donald Trump's return to the White House.”

The Atlantic — “Democrats convinced themselves that they had delivered, without listening to the voters telling them they had not.”

The New Republic — “Kamala Harris raised more than $1 billion for her presidential campaign … which ultimately failed. In the afterglow of stunning defeat, some Democrats are now asking how she could have possibly spent anywhere near that much money and still lost her shot at the White House.”

Kevin Drum — “How big an impact did culture war issues have on Donald Trump winning the election? Here is recent public polling on a variety of hot button issues:”

Matt Yglesias — “Nine principles for Common Sense Democrats.”

Sam Harris — “Trans women are people and should have all the political freedom of people. But to say that they are women—and that making any distinction between them and biological women, for any purpose, is a thought crime and an act of bigotry—that is the precept of a new religion. And it is a religion that most Americans want nothing to do with.”

The Atlantic — “Democrats’ self-conception as a party that represents the future is running headlong into the reality that the fastest-growing states are Republican-led.“