by Jonathan Reisman

After three restless nights, it is past time to conclude this election, but the blue wave faux narrative prelude and the red mirage “there’s no corruption” here counting performance suggest that this reality show finale will leave the country in gridlock. That might not be a bad thing, but it will certainly not result in a unified nation or any reduction in civil unrest.

Coda 1: The Biden crime family has won the White House. Half the nation rejoices that the evil, racist Trump has been removed; the other half suspects that a corrupt alliance of the legacy media, Big Tech and Democratic ward heelers stole the election. We will never know for certain.

Coda 2: There was no “Blue Wave”. The Blue wave narrative that Biden was ahead by huge margins nationally and in key battleground states was a fiction. Whether it was promulgated by incompetence or malfeasance does not really matter (or, to quote Secretary Clinton, “What difference, at this point, does it make?”). To some extent, it undoubtedly suppressed the Trump vote and propped up Biden enthusiasm, but the ultimate effect is this: the legacy media will never recover the trust of that portion of the American electorate that recognizes they have been conned. I stopped believing the New York Times, CBS, NBC et al about 20 years ago. I have got  a lot more company today.

Coda 3: The split between rural and urban America and coastal and interior America is getting worse, and Maine is a good example. The Trump/Biden and Collins/Gideon maps in Maine illustrate this clearly. [See maps here: https://is.gd/EgcYgZ, and here https://is.gd/Kl6iOk]

Coda 4: Gridlock is good, or at least better than leftist tyranny. The electorate voted Trump out, but reduced the Democrat House majority substantially and likely retained Republican control of the Senate. Leftist revolutionary dreams of socialism, court-packing and Puerto Rican/DC statehood are not going anywhere. The Republicans should have a real chance to take back the House in 2022.

Coda 5: The Right will behave better than the left. Trump’s election was met with instantaneous rage and resistance, multiple coup attempts, and sedition. There was no Trump “honeymoon”. Although I will continue to refer to the new President as the head of the Biden crime family, I will recognize him as my President, and will not plot for his demise or premature removal (and not just because I fear Kamala Harris far more, although that is certainly true). I will object when he rejoins the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Appeasement deal. I might try to occupy Rep. Golden’s and Sen. Collin’s offices if they support him in those efforts. I might join a “mostly peaceful protest” in defense of freedom at Bad Little Falls Park.

Coda 6: Predictions. Kamala Harris will be in the Oval Office before the 2022 mid-terms.  Nikki Haley and Tom Cotton will comprise the 2024 Republican ticket. Rick Bennett will run against Janet Mills in a barnburner 2022 gubernatorial election. Freedom will precariously endure.

Jon Reisman is an associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Maine at Machias. His views are his own. Mr. Reisman welcomes comments as letters to the editor here or to him directly via email at jreisman@maine.edu