Dems: Expect Some Good Surprises on Election Day!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

We are now in the final weekend before the general election of 2022, and estimates are that over 35 million people have already voted.  That is an astounding number and a clear indication that voter turnout in this election is going to be much higher than in a "normal" midterm election.

But 2022 has not been a normal time.   Donald Trump has been stirring up anger and manipulating  his less-informed voter base for two years with tales of a "stolen" election in 2020, so many of those people are heading to the polls with the aim of righting a wrong.  This is the first election in which Gen Z will be voting, and there are predictions that they will vote in large numbers and perhaps skewer the vote to the left as they respond to issues like gun violence - and particularly the prevalence of school shootings - and social, educational, and economic inequities that impact youth.   This was also the year in which the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and made it much more difficult for women in America to have a pregnancy terminated through an abortion - and many believe that stunning betrayal of women by the Court will drive many to the polls where they will vote for Democratic candidates.

So it should not surprise anyone that voter turnout is already high - well before the actual Election Day.

Historically, the party out of power, in this case the Republicans, tend to make gains in a midterm election, but the large numbers of people voting may be an indicator that this election will be different.  In addition to Republicans having to fight an uphill battle to gain support from Gen Z and female voters, some are beginning to openly speculate that Donald Trump's rallies and pity parties may be hurting the national effort to focus on GOP candidates who are actually running in this year's election.

Another drag on the Republican Party is that its leaders seem to have been sidelined by the Crackpot Caucus and are having trouble being heard over the noise from the party extremists.  GOP Party Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel has become little more than an afterthought in the Republican noise machine, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn't had much to say about anything after impugning the "quality" of the GOP's senate candidates a few weeks ago.  House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy continues to make pronouncements, but he has trouble being heard over the members of his caucus who think of themselves as media stars.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to have assumed the party's foreign policy mantel.  Greene, who believes she is being vetted to be Trump's running mate, recently stated that under Republicans, Ukraine will not receive "another penny" of aid from the United States.  Herschel Walker, the GOP nominee for US Senator from Georgia, appears to be running the law and order effort for the GOP - and he even has a badge to prove it!  Congressman Jim Jordan, soon to be featured in an HBO documentary by George Clooney, has a laser focus on the US southern border and immigration, even if that border is many hundreds of miles from his congressional district.  And then there is Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee who is the party's chief proselytizer and budget hawk.  Marsha spends the better part of each day posting Bible verses to Twitter and complaining about government spending - except, of course, for the spending that personally benefits her or her family.

Political history would point to this election going decidedly Republican, but somehow I don't believe it will be that simple.  I strongly suspect that we may be in for some major surprises - good surprises - on Tuesday evening!

Let's make some history!  Go vote!