Today, we Wake to a Brighter Morning
Rejoice for democracy, even if your preferred candidate lost
The Georgia Senate runoff races have now mostly concluded. And the Trumpian party of stooges has been vanquished — if but for just this solitary snapshot in time. This morning is a space to allow hope back in; it’s a time to rejoice for the future of our nation and its people who have suffered such tragedy in the last year. This is a morning to celebrate the path forward that promises to rectify the even greater harms inflicted beyond any singular transgression suffered during the previous four.
Regardless of your personal politics, favored candidates, or hopes for a future that looks to project this change or that, yesterday’s vote for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have cemented a two year window for the Biden team to act with all the haste that men and women can muster. Even if you dislike Biden, Harris, Warnock or Ossoff; even if you are a die-hard conservative that thinks these new leaders will reduce some personally relevant component of the nation’s standing, you must accept the brighter morning that greets you today.
Biden and Harris will have two years to coordinate an aggressive coronavirus relief strategy that includes federally directed regulations and guidance aimed at slowing the spread of this deadly virus that has already claimed over 350,000 American lives.
They may introduce new economic relief for Americans that have suffered from nearly twelve months of cynicism and action designed not to help struggling citizens but rather to artificially inflate the stock market, confidence in the administration, and the agenda of far right individuals who’d rather die than respect your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by just putting on a mask. At the very least, this new era that rests two weeks into the future promises a competent federal effort to protect lives and restore prosperity.
Biden and Harris, with the support of an aligned policy agenda in the House and Senate will rapidly confirm career diplomats, scientists, and military minds to positions of leadership. Some of those already chosen individuals are not favorable in my view, but the return to a federal government that calls on the best minds available is something that I am eagerly awaiting.
The Trump years saw a hollowing out of Cabinet Secretaries’ teams, but no longer will this erosion of good minds prevail. Biden, as a career politician, has genuinely worked for the benefit of his constituency, no matter its scale, throughout his years in leadership (as a County Council Member, Senator, Vice President, and soon to be President). I believe that he will continue in this tradition, and that he has picked a right-hand woman who shares in this vision.
The Biden administration stares into the face of many challenges:
The Department of Homeland Security remains responsible for the more than 500 children still separated from their families by Kirstjen Nielsen, Stephen Miller, Jeff Sessions, and Donald Trump;
The Department of Education must repair the wreckage brought on by Betsy DeVos;
The Justice Department must find its way back from the hellscape of Presidential manipulation that a revolving series of managers, ending with Bill Barr, has found itself trapped within;
And, the Department of Defense, CIA, FBI, and State Department must content with a battle map that has been altered by a president with little understanding or care for the delicate balance of diplomacy and warfare. Career service members across these silos of federal activity have left, been fired maliciously, or remain, searching for a way to make sense and make amends for two decades of targeted stratagems in the Middle East and around the world that have been thrown into chaos by Trump’s recklessness. To be sure, leaving these battle zones behind, finding common ground with Iran, and seeking peace and cooperation with China, North Korea, or Russia is something we must strive for.
But rash action only leads to consequence of the most dire order.
The incoming Biden team, buoyed by a friendly House and Senate will enjoy the leeway to right these wrongs, save lives, and build a more secure future for our democracy and our partnerships around the world.
That is something worth celebrating, no matter your political stripes.
