Living in Wyoming, mostly by choice, we know that “liberals” are, if not exactly endangered, at least a threatened species. Wyoming Democrats haven’t always been so scarce; indeed, there were equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans in the House in 1948, and half the Senate was Democratic. There’ve been 11 Democratic governors since statehood in 1890, and several — including Joseph Carey and Ed Herschler — have been more than consequential.
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That was then. We haven’t had a Democratic statewide elected official since Gov. Dave Freudenthal finished his second term in 2011. The 93-seat Legislature has a mere handful of Democrats today. They fight uphill battles for “radical” things like environmental quality, health care, fair wages, access to public lands and equitable public school funding. The public might like those things; legislative heavyweights do not.
Deep red Wyoming went even farther right at the ballot box on Nov. 6. The oxymoronically named Freedom Caucus expects to run Wyoming’s Legislature. The fatally defective Donald Trump again won Wyoming by a larger margin than any other state: 69,508 Wyomingites voted for Harris while 266,275 voted for Trump.
Just 26% of Wyoming voters backed Harris. But nationally, the race was closer, with 74.1 million voting for Harris (48.3%) and 76.7 million for Trump (50 %). That is a clear win in the Electoral College and by popular vote.
“Why?” asked anguished friends and relations from far and wide on Nov. 7. Lots of reasons, including racism and misogyny, which we collectively try to deny even exist anymore. Simply put, the majority of voters liked what Trump was selling. I talked to one on Nov. 6 who, like many, doesn’t like Trump but voted for him because he didn’t think Harris was strong enough to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Other supporters say they think Trump will close the borders and lower prices.
Time will tell. Putin’s been very pro-Trump for a long time, so how and why would Trump consider bucking him now? Trump didn’t manage to close the borders last time, photo ops suggesting otherwise notwithstanding. In the unlikely event Trump succeeds with the mass deportations promised, what will that mean to the US economy? If the undocumented people who’ve been picking America’s crops and cutting its meat for decades are ejected, who’s going to do that work?
A dozen organic eggs cost $4.05 on Nov. 7, 2024, in Cheyenne and the average price for a gallon of unleaded was $3.16. The workers doing the repair work around my neighborhood speak Spanish. How different will these things be in 2025, or 2028, the next time America gets to pick a president?
Beats me, but I do know I’m not going to compound Trump’s win by leasing out my heart and brain to anguish for the next four years. To paraphrase Thich Nat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, philosopher and peace activist who lived to 95, the most important thing is not to allow anxiety about the state of the world to fill your heart. If you do, you’ll get sick and you won’t be able to help.
The 26% who subscribe here in Wyoming to the American ideals Kamala Harris represented in her 2024 campaign face challenges ahead. We can begin by maintaining good cheer. We can do our daily best to exhibit that most “beautiful form of courage, to be happy,” in the words of poet Jeanne Lohmann, age 101. Finally, we can take the vice president’s uplifting and correct concession speech and call to action to heart.
Find it here: https://time.com/7173617/kamala-harris-concession-speech-full-transcript/.
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