Tonight is election night in America. What we’ve learned so far is that the Democrats have retaken the House of Representatives by what looks like a 10 or 12 seat majority. In the Senate, Republicans retained their majority.
What does this mean for America’s future? Well it means the country is getting steadily more progressive. That fact was underscored by diversity of the Democratic candidates for Congress.
Unfortunately, in key governor’s races, major Democratic hopefuls appear to have lost. Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum lost to Republican Ron DeSantis, a racist demagogue who said, among other things, that the African-American Gillum could “monkey up the race.”
In Georgia, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is locked in a tight race with Republican Brian Kemp. Abrams’ camp has already stated that there will likely need to be a runoff, since neither candidate will reach the necessary 50%.
And Beto O’Rourke, a leading Democratic hopeful, lost his Senatorial bid to unseat Republican Ted Cruz.
To which I say, yuck. If we never have to hear from far-right, reactionary, strict constitutionalist Ted Cruz again it won’t be too soon. But unfortunately we’re saddled with him for another four years.
Still, it’s important to look at the larger picture. Democrats reclaimed the House tonight by a respectable majority. This majority will now stand as the bulwark, the battleship, the resistance against the authoritarian white nationalism of President Trump.
Representative Jerrold Nadler, who is slated to become the next House Judiciary Committee leader, has already said he will begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump on the first day the new Congress is sworn in.
Other Democrats have vowed to subpoena Trump’s taxes, and to delve deeper into his ties to Russia and other business deals.
In short, Trump will be under the gun, which is great. Because we want this jerk to be uncomfortable. After two years of wreaking havoc on race relations, immigration, economic inequality and the environment, it’s time to send a clear message to this carnival huckster, this peddler of fear.
And that is, quite simply, that we reject you and your ideology of hate and division, Mr. President.
It’ essential to highlight that United States ethnic and racial demographics are changing rapidly. Whites now make up 61% of the US population, The Hispanic population is rising rapidly and now stands at 17%, making it the largest ethnic group in America The African-American population has held steady at 13- 14% for several decades now. But the Asian population is growing quickly and currently stands at 5.6%.
It is projected that within the next two decades or so, Hispanics will reach 30% of the American population, and Asians 10%.
Any way you slice it, America is changing. It’s getting browner. And many white people, especially in the heartland, fear this change. They worry about losing their white privilege. They worry about Democratic Party caravans brimming with terrorists who want to invade and destroy America. Most importantly, they worry about the death of White America.
The nation is already experiencing more minority births than white births, and it’s predicted that by 2050 or so America will be majority minority.
So a large portion of White America is up in arms and panicking.
But regardless of how Trump supporters feel, or what they want the country to look like, the diversity train is rolling in.
They can get on board, or they can remain an angry minority clinging to a faded golden era that never existed in the first place.
Either way, their days are numbered.
It’s only a matter of time now before truth, justice, dignity and equality triumph.
That’s what America is all about, and that’s what was restored with tonight’s vote.
