When riots erupt, there is always a reason -- ; it just might not make sense to rational people. When it comes the election season, most Americans relish their chance to cast a ballot.
On Election Day, in response to exit poll data coming out of Florida indicating that President Trump had garnered the support of Hispanics and Blacks, Josh Kraushaar, a columnist at National Journal, tweeted, "The path forward for the GOP: multiracial working-class party." To which Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, responded: "Uh, yea."
Hold the confetti. America has spoken, but the final outcome of the 2020 presidential election is still a secret. Most of the credit, or discredit, goes to Pennsylvania. Rather than a keystone from which it takes its nickname, the commonwealth has tossed a brick at the fragile U.S. election system. Americans pondering their future course can do nothing but wait.
At the time of this writing much of America is heading toward the polls. Then they are heading home, sheltering in place and waiting. Fear and uncertainty are high, especially for small shopkeepers in major U.S. cities who have — in anticipation of unbridled anarchy and rioting by those on the left — boarded up their storefronts. If President Trump is reelected, they know the carnage nightfall could bring.
Thanksgiving is still a couple of weeks away, but the chance to have a say in the nation's leadership is not to be overlooked as an occasion for gratitude. The fact that over most of the nation, Election Day dawned bright and crisp — perfect elements for poll lines — is all the more reason for a hat tip toward our shared good fortune. Weather may remain beyond human control, every American adult is endowed with the privilege of casting a vote no less weighty than any other.
The contrast in the competing presidential campaigns could hardly be more stark: One candidate colors with care inside the lines while the other draws a scene to his own liking.
Four years ago, Donald J. Trump presented himself to the American people as a brash, vulgar, gold-plated reality star seeking a political career in which he promised to bounce the entrenched Washington political set off the ropes of a pro wrestling ring and pound them into the canvas.
The yearning for free expression is a thoroughly human aspiration and, unfortunately, so is the desire to control it. Big Tech is up to its prying eyeballs in both -- opening new channels for expression it likes and squelching those it doesn't.
In the horse-race of woke, racialized politics, there are a few clear front-runners. Portland is in a good spot after 100-plus days of rioting. Seattle remains a strong contender after its showing in the CHOP. And, of course, the whole state of California — a perennial favorite — is always a safe bet. The odds are slim that Virginia, an often decently run state, beats out this strong group, but with woke all-stars like Sen. L. Louise Lucas, Portsmouth Democrat, in the General Assembly, they should get a good look.
Restrictions on normal human activities have undoubtedly saved American lives that otherwise would have been lost to the deadly coronavirus. The all-hands-on-deck approach to fight the pandemic can be quantified in terms of the trillions of dollars spent, but there been other costs as well. Lives claimed as collateral damage in the battle have been given only secondary consideration. It's time to ponder whether it makes sense to rob Peter of life in order to save Paul.
Four years ago, Donald J. Trump presented himself to the American people as a brash, vulgar, gold-plated reality star seeking a political career in which he promised to bounce the entrenched Washington political set off the ropes of a pro wrestling ring and pound them into the canvas. It all seemed so self-serving and absurd.
Americans admire decisive action, but there aren't many handed out for going off half-cocked. Tens of millions of Americans tuned in Thursday night to watch Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden match wits in their final showdown before the 2020 election but, counterintuitively, it may not much matter. That's because tens of millions more have already pulled the trigger and made their selection for president. For all but those facing real health fears or schedule conflicts, the rush to vote early is a choice to vote ill-informed.
Some disasters arrive with the suddenness of an avalanche with no time to react, while others are preceded by a flashing early-warning sign. Americans are shocked by blatant censorship of news relevant to the impending 2020 presidential election, but they shouldn't be. Unsavory political bias has been a growing phenomenon in the electronic public square. With millions of votes already cast, efforts to release the subversive grip on free speech are too little, too late.
If there were truth in political advertising, the Lincoln Project would be renamed the Radical Republicans Project, after those who fought Abraham Lincoln throughout his presidency.
It's no secret that life isn't always fair. Given a choice, though, common-sense citizens would prefer fairness over inequity 99 times out of 100. That's why it is disturbing that there is no guarantee elections are fair and square. With the stakes mounting higher with each succeeding national election, the temptation to tilt vote outcomes with erroneous and fraudulent ballots has never been stronger. The best course of action that concerned Americans can take is to vote in person.
In news almost everyone saw coming, Monday morning Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced he would hold no further press events until after the final presidential debate with Donald Trump on Thursday. What's remarkable is not the duck-and-cover routine Mr. Biden has been playing — we all know what that's about — but the fact that the media is simply willing to accept whatever political ploy from the campaign, no matter how anti-democratic.
The U.S. economy runs on energy, and it runs more powerfully when its fuel is affordable. Seldom has energy been more abundant than at present, and President Trump's policies have helped the juice to flow. In challenging Mr. Trump's presidency, Joe Biden is championing a fundamental transformation in energy policy. With the health of the economy the top issue of the upcoming 2020 presidential election, voters should examine whether his plan would dial the power down.
Whoever said patience is a virtue should also have mentioned that patience is a close relative of procrastination. The United States fought and won World War II in three months shy of four years. It has been three months longer than four years since rogue Obama administration officials initiated an unwarranted attempt to derail Donald Trump's presidency, and still no justice has been meted out. Sadly, Americans are going to the polls in a new presidential election without a full accounting of mischief committed during the previous one. There is little virtue in that.
It's possible that if Donald J. Trump were not president, COVID-19 not such an intensifying factor and the Democratic Party less deranged, Amy Coney Barrett would not be a controversial U.S. Supreme Court nominee. Indeed, in a healthier America, her profile would attract bipartisan praise.
For the better part of a year, Americans have narrowed their focus to the immediate task of saving themselves from the scourge of the deadly coronavirus. The threat of disease is still potent, but the approach of a quadrennial presidential election necessitates a wider scope of awareness. From afar, an angry Iran continues to glare westward. As millions of U.S. voters sit with pen in hand to fill out their mail-in ballots, they should ponder whether they could be also signing off on a renewed Iranian quest for nuclear arms.
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