Columnists

At this writing, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by 5.9 million popular votes and 74 electoral college votes. Nonetheless, the election was closer than many Democrats expected. There are several important lessons to be learned.

1.Trump had a strategy. And it almost worked.

Since his inauguration, Trump has been historically unpopular. According to the 538 website(https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/ ), during his presidency, Trump's approval ratings never got to 50 percent; he typically ranged between 41 and 44 percent.

Many political observers felt that, given his lack of popularity, Trump could not be reelected unless he made a concerted attempt to reach outside his base. Trump made no attempt to do this. He made no effort to "reach across the aisle" -- to attempt to work with Democrats. He seemed to revel in disparaging Democratic leaders, such as Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.

But Trump did have a strategy. Part one was to increase the size of his base. Trump started his re-election campaign on January 21, 2017. Over the course of the next 3+ years, Republicans registered and mobilized 3 million new voters. In 2016, the vote breakdown by Party was 36 percent Democratic, 33 percent Republican, and 31 percent Independent. In 2020, the breakdown by Party was 37 percent Democratic, 35 percent Republican, and 28 percent Independent. Republicans increased their Party registration by two percentage points and increased their voting loyalty by 5 percent (88 percent voted for Trump in 2016 versus 93 percent in 2020.) -more-

The rule in federal and state courts across the country is that you cannot file (much less pursue) litigation unless you first have sufficient factual and legal support. Litigants are under an affirmative duty to certify that the lawsuit is factually and legally meritorious.

Trump filed a number of lawsuits contesting election processes, vote counting, and the vote certification process in multiple states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. In apparent disregard of this rule, most of these lawsuits have been dismissed because of lack of factual and legal support. And the ones that have gained some traction are unlikely to change the outcome of the Presidential race. -more-

Television coverage showed people dancing in the streets in cities across the U.S. Newscasters commented that it was similar to what people do in third world countries when a cruel dictator is removed from power. And, indeed, Trump seemed to resemble another oppressive dictator. He managed to seize power and began to unravel the system of checks and balances in the U.S. that are intended to never allow something like him to happen. He was mean and nasty. He had no regard for the good of the country or its people and instead, his Presidency was all about him. -more-

Georgia GOP Invited to 'Cure' the Ballots

My spirits were buoyed by the Chronicle's November 14 editorial "Trump versus the United States." The editorial reprinted the Department of Homeland Security's unassailable verdict that: "The November 3^rd election was the most secure in American History."

But I was jarred by a related newsbit in the same edition—in the last sentence of the last paragraph of the last story on the bottom of page four. The AP article was headlined "GOP Opens Money Spigot for Georgia Races" and it ended with the following report from the disputed election in Georgia: "The RNC had already sent about 100 staffers to help with fixing small errors or omissions on voter's ballots, called 'curing,' and assist with the recounts."

Just curious: Were the Democrats, Libertarians, and Green Party also invited to dispatch staffers to "cure" the ballots and "assist with the recounts"? -more-

There were so many meetings this week, I could not cover everything. Thursday evening, I was listening to the Richmond Planning Commission with my earphones from my computer while I listened to the Berkeley Design Review committee on my iPad. I missed the Fair Campaign Practices Commission, which looked very interesting with all the election complaints, and the joint Parks and Waterfront Commission and Public Works Commission meeting about the final list for spending proceeds of the T1 bond issue's Phase 2.

I am still feeling my way around with this column with what to include and still leave it at a readable length, so please keep reading, and as for reading, I will place at the end what books I am reading this week. -more-