The year 2020 has been some year, and the latter part of it was topped off by possibly the craziest election in U.S. history. There were millions of mail-in ballots, reports of rampant fraud, voting stopped in the middle of counting, dead people voting and inexplicably a massive surge of ballot dumps in some states, favouring Joe Biden. This election was instructive in several ways, no matter who is the ultimate winner.
1. Hate is Powerful
We often believe that love trumps––sorry about the pun–– hate. However, in the 2020 Presidential election, it was hate that played a significant role. The Biden team stoked the hatred of Donald Trump as the reason to vote for their candidate. In the end, it turned out to be a powerful motivator. Various sectors of the electorate hated Ronald Reagon, George Bush and Barack Obama, but the level of hatred directed at Trump was at an all-time high. That’s very interesting considering that Trump was a media darling before he ever decided to enter politics.
2. The Power of Media
Never before in history has television media, social networks and the internet powerhouses been so influential in determining the outcome of an election. Psychologist, Robert Epstein, who has done extensive research on Google and its algorithms has found that even more so than in the 2016 election, Google and others have shifted votes. This year, Epstein contends that there were 15 million votes moved without anyone’s awareness and with no paper trail for any investigation. If the big tech companies are not constrained, “free” elections will disappear. Even more worrying is the ability of big tech to selectively censor certain content according to a political agenda.
3. Trump fatigue
While loyal Trump voters would vote for him no matter what, many middle-of-the-road voters have developed something called “Trump Fatigue”. Voters’ rationale for choosing one candidate over another is often a psychological choice. Trump did achieve many positive things, which the media mostly ignores. However, Trump’s personality is very much that of the New Yorker, in-your-face, aggressive icon. The downside is that a particular segment of the population finds this to be wearing and fatigue is the result. After four years of Trump’s bombastic personality on display, many people were put off.
4. The U.S. Election System Is Flawed
Australia has an electoral system in which there is compulsory voting. I have often criticized this as being undemocratic. It even goes so far as to fine you if you don’t vote. However, one thing it does do is register everyone to vote. If you’re not registered, you cannot vote, in which case the government imposes a fine. There are no mail-out ballots, only absentee voting for which once again, registration is compulsory.
It’s ridiculous what has transpired in this U.S. election. The system is flawed with little accountability in some states. The process of voting is controlled by each state as dictated by the Constitution. Therefore, it is too open to manipulation of the voting system. How can a country that put men on the moon, with all the technology at hand, be unable to institute a full-proof method for tabulating votes? That is a real puzzle.
5. Silence Can Be Golden
While Trump was out talking to anyone and everyone, Joe Biden was essentially incognito. On several occasions, Trump made unforced errors that hurt him. Sometimes in politics, discretion is a wise policy. During the first debate, Trump often interrupted Biden and saved Biden from hurting himself. In many press conferences, Trump would make statements construed as inflammatory and get into arguments with reporters. When it comes to the media, you don’t need to add fuel to the fire if the media is already against you. Here again it probably only moved a small number of voters, but it was just enough.
6. The U.S. Is More Divided Than Ever
When we lived in Denver 27 years ago, my wife and I were aware that America was very polarized. Today, the rubber band of polarization is about to snap. This election revealed the vast divide in the American public. Of course, the incivility started with the 2016 election of Trump. The left proclaimed that Trump was not legitimate. Trump spent four years defending himself initially against charges of colluding with Russia. Then Democrats attempted to impeach him over a conversation he had with the Ukrainian Prime Minister. All these attempts to remove Trump proved false. On the contrary, recent details have emerged where Joe Biden has been implicated in financial dealings with China which enriched his family.
We now have half of the American public who believe–– I think rightly so–– that it was all a vicious hoax perpetrated on an American President. You don’t have to like a President, but scheming to remove him crosses the bounds in a democracy. For much more detail on this subject read: “The Plot Against The President", an excellent book by Lee Smith.
7. China Is The Ultimate Winner
Twenty years ago, the West brought China into the World Trade Organization. The rationale was that it would lift China out of poverty, and liberalize the populous, become more open and engage in free trade. Well, guess, what? China used it’s new-found access to take advantage of the West. It engaged in unfair business and trade practices, intellectual theft and exerted greater repression of dissent. Also, China has expanded its presence in International waters creating artificial islands with military bases.
Recently, an Australian businessman who I know told me that his company had been subjected to intellectual theft by China. So the Chinese threat is genuine.
Of course, the saga of the Coronavirus and China’s sinister actions––whether intentional or not––has devastated much of the world’s economy. The virus is probably the most critical factor as to why President Trump has most likely lost the election. The irony was that because of severe imposition of lockdowns, America was becoming more like China rather than the other way around.
China had been hit hard by the tough stance that Trump took to redress what China has been doing for many years. He succeeded with crushing tariffs and stood up to the Communist regime. It is unlikely though that Joe Biden, who is compromised by China, or any other Democrat President will stand up to the Communist regime. At this rate, China will most likely be the premier superpower by 2035.
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