Walker, Defender News Network
With the popular vote split nearly right down the middle, the 2020 Presidential Election revealed to some and reminded others that America is truly a nation divided. The Defender spoke to two political science professors, Carroll Robinson and Michael O. Adams, and Marcus Davis, host of Fish, Grits & Politiks, to get their takes on where the country is headed post-election.
Defender: What does this tight race for the presidency mean for the national political scene?
Dr. Michael O. Adams: if Biden were to win – it’s a very close election- I think that it would impact governance because the Democrats were not able to control the Senate. [Mitch] McConnell is coming back. And we know that he was a very powerful person, and able to get judicial appointments and basically, to stonewall even the impeachment process of Trump. So, if Biden is in, you’ll still have to contend, and you have to work with that. So, anything progressive, in terms of legislation, it would be very difficult to get something passed in the Senate.
Carroll Robinson: What it means is the country is not as center left as people thought. It’s not the land of progressivism. But more importantly, what it shows is the importance of Black voters. That if you turn out Black voters, Biden probably wins Wisconsin, Michigan and maybe even Georgia. And that will be the three states that gets him to 270 (Electoral College votes) and wins the White House. And if you’re paying attention to it politically, Black America has saved Joe Biden once again, and Black America has saved the Democratic Party. And it’s gonna deliver the White House to Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. And Black folks need to be a priority. Period.
Marcus Davis: It means that we’ve got some issues in our nation that we need to fix. Everything from the Electoral College to this cycle of electing one party versus the partisan politics, needs to be addressed too. It means there’s a ***load uncertainly in the nation. We have an issue with media. We have an issue with polling. It means we’ve got a whole bunch of issues that we need to try to figure out. And it also means specifically, that ain’t nobody coming to save Black folks.
Defender: Moving forward, how will the 2020 election results impact state and local politics?
Davis: Our nation has a problem that we only pass significant legislation if we have one party that has the House, the Senate, and the White House – if you think about it. Trump Administration’s biggest legislation was the tax bill. How was that passed? Because he had the House, the Senate, and the White House? The Obama Administration’s biggest piece of legislation was the ACA (Obamacare), because he had the House, the Senate, and the White House… It means that American citizens are addicted to getting duped by the system.
Robinson: Black people showed up, showed out and delivered, but not enough focus was put on winning the state by driving up Black voter turnout… What last night showed is we have to build the future of the Democratic Party, or the Texas Democratic Party on Black voter turnout. The idea that you’re going to build the future of the Texas Democratic Party on Hispanic voters and white women, that’s just not a solid enough foundation. You’ve got to maximize Black turnout.
Defender: What does this election say about us as a country?
Adams: I’m overjoyed that so many people turned out to vote. That’s the beauty of a democracy. Because you want people to participate, regardless of where you stand or what’s your party affiliation. However, it was kind of ugly where you play into dog whistle politics. It only seeks to divide the country. I’m a little afraid. They tried to kidnap the governor of Michigan. Man, who knows what these people will do.
Davis: This election says that we are the divided states of America, not the United States… This concept of the United States of America is failing… It means that the pledge of allegiance is a lie. That’s what it means. Because we are not one nation. We are not indivisible. We are damn sure ain’t under God. And we are damn sure ain’t got justice and liberty for all.
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