The Election - So Far

 Joe Biden won the election. Joe Biden won the election. Joe Biden won the election. Keep repeating until all the Republicans get it. The current President is doing everything he can to overturn the result. He's not dealing with the pandemic, the failing economy, or how to roll out a vaccine as soon as next month. He's sulking, tweeting, filing lawsuits and playing golf. It's horrible. And most Republicans won't say this is a waste of time and money, undermining democracy and destroying the reputation of the Republican Party. I hope they all get their comeuppance.

I live in West Virginia, where the current President won 68.6% of the vote, according to Politico. That's down .1% from his percentage in 2016. Monongalia County, where I live, is the only county in our state that did not give the current  President a majority, but only 49.4% to Biden's 48.2%. That's down .7% from the 50.1% he won in 2016. 

I know lots of Democratic activists in our county. We have a robust party that worked hard to sign up new voters and get out the vote. The results are disappointing. I thought it would be clear that the choice was between a grifter, a liar, a person with no morals, and a guy who may not set the world on fire, but will bring some sanity to the White House. All of that work barely made a dent. I don't pretend to understand.

I am a City Councilor in Morgantown. We have a liberal group of seven on Council; not as liberal as some would want. I don't have statistics by precinct, but I know that in Morgantown city, the home of West Virginia University, we did not vote for the current President in 2016, and I'm sure we didn't in 2020, since the race was close, and the city is the most liberal part of the county. 

Our Council election season starts in January, with the vote at the end of April. The last election, two years ago, my opponent, put up by a real estate developer, was convicted of fraud. Another man, a Republican Party operative, signed on as a write-in a month before the election. This time, I don' t know if I have enough energy to do this again. I'm the queer Jew on the Council, and I've lately been attacked by some queer people and non-observant Jews on the left. I'm not certain I have any constituency at this point, and at seventy-one, I might be just as happy being really retired. My husband, Rabbi Joe, has three and a half years on his contract with his congregation. He loves his work, and the congregation has been good to us both, but if he wants  to retire at that point, I would be happy to go elsewhere. 

I predict that with Republicans winning all statewide offices and a supermajority in the state House of Delegates and Senate, that five or six thousand young, educated people in this state will leave in the next year.