Yes, it’s fast approaching. The midterm elections, where we elect members of both houses of Congress, along with state and local government officials. Red and blue, purple, independents, socialists, fascists, libertarians (or as we call them in New Hampshire, “Free Staters”) and anarchist. Here in the US, unlike many other democracies, where election seasons are reasonably short, November 3rd, 2026 represents the official kick-off of the 2028 election campaigns. It’s to the political process what a starter’s gun is to a marathon.
In something new this year, or at least I’ve missed it in the past, a number of gambling platforms allow voters to place wagers on election outcomes – those that made it and those that fell short. Yes, isn’t that great? Feeding on America’s addiction to sports betting, we can now blow our savings on the future of democracy. I have to say, in all honesty, I would hate to wager anything on the wisdom of the average American voter. Not after they elected Donald Trump – twice. But that’s just me.
We are well past election overload – headlines, “breaking news”, scandals, and other updates. We’ve heard too much information. We’ve seen too many debates. I couldn’t believe that, by voting day, there could possibly be more than a dozen adult Americans that were “undecided”. Let’s move on. Oh, wait . . . now we still had to wait a few more days for all the ballots to be counted, though accuracy and verifications are good things. We can rest easily in New Hampshire, because the Department of Justice has announced that they’re sending “federal monitors” to, well, monitor the elections. These folks look like former Corleone family enforcers. So, on we go with the inevitable legal challenges of mail-in ballots, voter ID’s, citizenship documents, and unverified rumors. There is talk that the DOJ is filing litigation in a couple of Canadian provinces too, just in case. By Christmas Eve, New Year’s at the latest, we should be able to know who our new members of Congress are.
In case you’ve missed it, President Trump is either embracing “socialism”, or he’s taken to outright bribing voters with promises of federal cash to hold onto the Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Yes, we’ll each get $5,000 (of our own money) if his congressional support holds. That is trillions of dollars that we don’t have, of course. And worse, it may show up in bitcoin. Many of us are still waiting for the two grand he promised earlier this year from his hugely profitable tariffs. The president’s popularity, measured typically in job approval ratings, has sunk to a new low. It was reported that, earlier this fall he attended a Texas-Tennessee football game. When he appeared on the jumbotron, he was roundly booed. Wow. Texas-Tennessee? One late night host remarked that it was like Bernie Sanders being booed at a Vermont bookstore.
Anyway, we’re all waiting in either giddy delight or with intense election fatigue, thinking that election day would never come, or couldn’t come fast enough. Several news agencies and news streaming services will probably be shuttering their doors, or at least seeing a significant loss of revenue when election advertising dollars dry up. Or the campaigns that bought the ad time run out of money and can’t pay their bills. In the paper this morning is an ad for office space – someone to take over a lease from a failed senate candidate. That’s inevitable and just slightly tinged with sadness, depending on your perspective.
Presidential debates are the worst, and we’ve fortunately been spared that in this cycle. In recent years, they’ve taken on the dignity of dog fights mixed with the running of the bulls. When, may I ask, did it become unacceptable to wait for someone else to speak? At what point did the notion of having reasoned, courteous discussions of ideas, policies, or even reality become secondary to boldly proclaiming myths and outright untruths? Does saying something untrue over and over again somehow make it true? (Or as we now know it in politics, the “Trump Doctrine”.) Not really, it’s just that some debaters or their staff don’t bother to check, and some of those listening are thus willing to believe what they hear. Perhaps that’s the most concerning issue with “politics”. As society becomes more and more complex, it’s more difficult to separate factual information from verbal or online “truthiness”, as Stephen Colbert called it. (He invented the term to refer to anything that sounds like it could be true and reasonable, but in fact isn’t. And he developed the concept in relation to You-Know-Who.)
So, let’s set some ground rules for the last couple of day, or right up until we enter the voting booth on Tuesday. Let’s turn off our phones, suspend our newspaper subscriptions, and watch nothing on television but HGTV and reruns of “I Love Lucy” and/or “Big Bang Theory” in the waning hours of the campaign. Here in New Hampshire, we like to get a jump on the next cycle, being home to what we proclaim is the “first in the nation”, but really isn’t any more. We’ll start in February, 2027, when the next crop of presidential candidates starts visiting our beautiful state. Actually, some have already been visiting. Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris have been traveling around and stopped by – probably not to see the foliage, though it’s been great this year. As a working plan, though, I suggest that all Americans consider the following process. Let’s decide who we like better, who has the nicest smile, who has the best handshake, who stands the best chance of getting along with other world leaders, who has the least to hide in their tax returns or business dealings, or who makes us feel best about ourselves. If we as a country can’t even agree on wearing a face mask or standing six feet from strangers during a global pandemic, we certainly shouldn’t be considering major policies, reforms, or what the government should be doing about climate change, education, or healthcare. Let’s just use our tried-and-true American formula. Congress tries hard, and every so often succeeds in passing legislation, the president signs or vetoes it, where it typically goes back to congress for eighteen months, while lobbyists bring suit and counter suit, big corporate money arrives like the Mongol Horde, as does Putin’s Russian agents and hackers, and then it all goes to the Supreme Court, which will render a decision nobody likes. I know that I certainly trust Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito to determine our future in fair, objective decisions.
Best wishes this week to all my fellow voters. I’m going back to my basement bunker and wait for the first volley of Trump’s or the DOJ’s legal artillery to launch from the former Rose Garden, or the first heating bill of winter arrives – whichever comes first.
