If Kamala Harris wins

As the clock runs out on this crazy presidential election, and we all hope to regain our collective sanity and peace of mind not having to see any more ridiculous campaign commercials, the thought dawned on me - if Donald Trump wins, what can we expect?

Obviously more chaos, more mindless chest-thumping, more devious moves to undermine our democracy and permanently install the Fascist Lying King and his followers as future dictators, per Project 2025.

You see it’s not Trump so much that I’m worried about, but the much younger Trump-wannabes that have been lining up for years near the foot of the throne, hoping to grab some of that power Trump will have to let go of as his 78-year-old mind and body fails him for good in the not-to-distant future. Those people - J.D. Vance, Stephen Bannon, Stephen Miller, Don Jr. and some of the racist clowns from Trump's recent disgusting Madison Square Garden fascist-fest - have already considered what lies ahead after Big Daddy has met his maker, and they represent an existential threat to the future of this nation that we unfortunately rarely talk about.

What's even scarier here is that the crude, racist, sexist, undignified, dishonest tropes about Trump that most decent people find revolting, literally half of our fractured country finds "real," and they love it. Theirs is a sewer-laden world of dishonesty and no rules, so anyone like Trump who either behaves that way, or talks that way, or even thinks that way, is the leader they've all been waiting for. It's like 70 million people have that just-come-from-a-bar-on-a Saturday-night mentality.

But that’s another column, preferably one that’s necessary ONLY if Kamala Harris loses.

However, if Kamala wins…!

First, unless it’s an apparent and absolute blowout landslide of an election victory for Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minn. Gov. Tim Walz, we may not immediately know who truly won the presidency for several days after November 5th.

Lord, I can’t tell you just how dangerous a scenario that would be for this nation. We’ve already gotten a taste of Trump’s January 6th, 2021 so-called “Day of Love,” where our country’s democracy hung by a slender thread amid anarchy and chaos at our nation’s Capitol.

But let’s just say if our prayers are answered, and Kamala Harris wins by an unquestionable majority in the Electoral College. And then, on January 20th, 2025, Harris is sworn into office, and begins her term as our commander-in-chief. 

What should we expect from a Harris-Walz Administration?

Well that depends on what kind of Congress we end up with.

There is a school of thought that after this general election, we could end up with another split Congress, except this time it could be a Democrat-majority House of Representatives, and a Republican-majority U.S. Senate.

How well would a Pres. Harris work with a possible Democratic Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and likely Republican Senate Majority Leader John Cornyn?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Cornyn would do everything he could to make life difficult for a ‘President” Harris. In fact, he would feel constitutionally compelled to, instead of being willing to work to find compromise for the good of the American people.

And that’s where I have a big problem with our presidential elections. The average voter doesn’t understand that no president can leap tall buildings in a single bound all by themselves. They have to cajole Congress to partner with them on policymaking. In fact, that’s what a candidate for president is actually running on - their ability to convince Congress to codify their vision for the country into law.

That’s why it’s kind of dumb when folks blame a president solely for high prices or a bad economy. All a president can really do is state a certain policy preference, advocate for it, and hope that Congress feels somewhat the same way and does something about it.

Where presidents get into trouble is when they promote a certain policy, Congress follows through in codifying it, and then all hell breaks loose because of it. In that situation, the chain of custody is damning. 

Or when presidents promise a certain policy, but can’t get it off the ground to save their life because Congress isn’t going for it. That leaves the president standing there, holding onto an empty campaign promise and nothing to show for it.

That’s why I’ve always held that electing your choice for president is not enough. You also have to give that president a Congress they can work with, so that the policy vision expressed during the campaign has a ghost of a chance of being reality.

If elected, I think Kamala Harris would be a good president, but in this current politically toxic atmosphere, would not be allowed to be as successful as she could be. But I do believe that she would make us proud in how she at least conducts herself in office, and wield the power that goes with it in a respectable and responsible fashion.

But remember, when you elect a president, you’re really electing a policy advocate. Give that president a Congress they can work with, and that’s when stuff really gets cooked in the kitchen.

I think Kamala will make a fine cook-in-chief!

The NY Times endorsed her as “The Only Patriotic Choice for President!”

Neither The Washington Post nor The Los Angeles Times, however, had the guts during the most important election of our lifetime to actually publish their endorsements of VP Harris, which shows you just how dangerous the Trump influence actually is.

Kamala Harris can win, and should win.

I just have to believe that there are more people in this country who aren’t so dazzled by a fascist convicted criminal and his sick, myopic power trip, so that she willwin!

I pray!