Irrespective of whether you think Donald Trump has been the greatest or worst president of the United States. Irrespective of whether you are proud to have him as the representative of our country or are utterly embarrassed every time Trump speaks, there are good reasons to wish for his re-election and they have nothing to do with him.
The following reasons are in not in any particular order. It’s not a best to worst, or vice versa, list.
Reason #1 – 2016 Was Not A Fluke
As soon as the shock wore off, the establishment of both parties started to rationalize what had just happened. As many will recall, everyone, everyone who was considered an expert or in the know had confidently predicted an easy Hillary Clinton victory. According to them, it was going to be an early night. Florida would be called for Hillary and there Trump’s hopes for an unlikely victory would die. Instead, the media was forced to hold off calling Florida for Trump while hoping the blue wall would come through for the Democrats. It was not to be.
It was my hope that Trump’s election would cause both parties and the ruling class to engage in self-reflection and self-criticism. That they would ask themselves: how could someone like Trump, a novice in politics, defeat Hillary Clinton who spent years beefing up her political resume? However, it was not to be. Both parties embraced the narrative that it was just a fluke caused by Hillary’s singular unlikability. If the Democrats had nominated anyone else, the experts declared, Trump would have been easily defeated. The GOP blamed Hillary for the loss openly while the Democrats were more guarded about it. They couldn’t publicly say that their nominee was toxic and, instead, blamed Putin for their loss. The Democrat’s true feelings came out in the open four years later when they repeatedly said that Joe Biden is not polarizing and unlikable as Hillary – a backhanded way to say she was a terrible candidate.
If Trump were to win again, it can no longer be said that 2016 was a fluke. It can no longer be blamed on Hillary Clinton or Russia for that matter. Maybe, just maybe, if Trump were to be re-elected it may force the ruling class to start dealing with the problems have led voters to choose someone like him as their president.
Reason #2 – The Public Polling Industry Would Be Finished
A few days ago, pollster Frank Luntz said that, if public polls are proven wrong again on election night, his “profession is done”:
Luntz is absolutely correct. The polling profession cannot absorb back to back mega-blunders and that would be a great for our republic. Why great? Because, in case you haven’t noticed, public polling is not about taking the pulse of the public. It’s about creating a consensus for the agenda of the ruling class. Polls is one of the primary tool the mainstream media uses to shape public opinion.
It works as follows. The mainstream media publishes a series of headlines designed to generate the desired public opinion. For example, after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg several headlines appeared stating that the next president should choose her replacement. The vast majority of the public will only read headlines. A few days later, polls were conducted showing – TADA!- that the majority of Americans supported waiting until after the presidential election before selecting a new justice.
It would be a powerful setback for the ruling class if public polls could no longer be used to influence public opinion.
Reason #3 – It Would Dispel The Power Of Money In Politics
Jesse Unruh, speaker of the California Assembly from 1961 to 1968, is credited with coining the phrase, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Money is the reason the donor class has such a stronghold on our politicians. I am not going to argue that money is not important – especially if the candidate does not have high name recognition. However, after a certain point money generates diminishing returns. In 2016, Trump was easily outspent by Hillary and still won. This year, Democrats are vastly outspending Republicans up and down the ballot. The GOP simply cannot keep up with the fundraising prowess of the Democrats who have billionaires like Bloomberg and Steyer, Big Tech, Wall Street and Hollywood. The GOP is pretty much reduced to Sheldon Adelson, Bernie Marcus, Paul Singer and maybe a couple of industries – simply not enough.
New: Bloomberg funding a last-minute TV blitz in TEXAS & OHIO to boost Biden in the biggest red states.
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) October 27, 2020
~$15 million in a week. Main theme is Trump’s covid failure. Big Spanish-language component in TX.
His polling found Trump w/tiny leads in both stateshttps://t.co/MCR2PXgIqg
If despite all the massive spending, Democrats lose the White House, fail to take over the Senate or manage to lose the House, it will be a clear indication that money has its limits. Perhaps, it would cause our politicians not to be so beholden to the donor class – and that would be a positive development for our democracy (okay, constitutional republic for the pedantic).
Reason #4 – It Would End The MSM As We Know It
Election night 2016 was a severe blow to the mainstream media. Up until that fateful night, the media felt in control. It felt it had the power to make or break candidates, any candidate. Trump winning was the first doubt the media had about its hold on the public.
Traditionally, every new president enjoys a honeymoon period. Trump did not get a honeymoon minute. For the last four years, the MSM has been relentless in its negative coverage of the president. Story after story, real or imagined, anything to make the administration look bad in the eyes of the public. That is not to say that Trump has not contributed to the negative coverage because of his undisciplined mouth.
The last few weeks, the media has openly admitted to censoring the Hunter Biden story. Initially, they justified refusing to cover the allegations because they could not be verified. Then, they blamed it on “Russia disinformation”. However, eventually the real story came out. The MSM top priority is to defeat Trump and will do everything in their power to drag Biden across the finish line.
Journalists are celebrating this like it’s something to be proud of rather than the absolute disgrace that it is:https://t.co/AaWo6uzYSO pic.twitter.com/egGZdSLkbx
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 23, 2020
Social media giants also have joined in the censorship of the Hunter Biden story. Twitter has repeatedly censored the president’s tweets. Last night Tucker Carlson interviewed Tony Bobulinski, Hunter’s former business partner, who made several allegations of corruption against the Bidens. This morning no front page coverage of the allegations by the New York Times or the Washington Post. Mind you, for the last four years, both newspapers have never hesitated to publish unsourced, unverified accounts about the president no matter how trivial.
The media is censoring negative news about Biden, they say, because they view Trump as an existential threat to our democracy. That may be the case but I think they simply want to regain the control they once had. A Trump defeat would mean that they can still have the power they once had. Conversely, a Trump win would mean that the mainstream no longer can control public opinion. The MSM would have to change to adapt to the new reality.
Reason #5 – The Democrat Establishment Will Be Discredited
For the last two presidential elections, the establishment of the Democratic Party has forced through the nomination of two deeply flawed candidates who fail to excite the base. In 2016, the DNC was exposed by Wikileaks for stacking the deck in favor of Hillary Clinton. This year, the Democratic establishment, just before Super Tuesday, put pressure Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar to drop out and endorse Biden. Elizabeth Warren was allowed to carry on, even though it was clear she had no shot at the nomination, because she was taking away votes from Bernie Sanders.
Progressives brought energy, ideas and fundraising to the Democratic primaries and have nothing to show for it – not even a vice presidential spot on the ticket. In 2016, it was awarded to Tim Kaine and this year Kamala Harris was selected despite the fact she failed to generate any excitement among Democrat primary voters. Of course, the Democratic establishment claims it had to stop Bernie Sanders because that would have ensured a Trump victory in 2016 and made the same claim this cycle. If Trump defeats Biden, progressives will have very strong ammunition to argue that they should be given a spot on the ticket. That their ideas become a real part of the Democratic Party agenda and not just slogans for the establishment candidates to adopt during the primaries and quickly drop them in the general election. Having a party that truly represents progressive ideas would be healthy for our democracy and may just push the GOP to be the party that truly represents conservative ideas.
