NewsThe Silver Lining in the Stormy 2024 Presidential Election

The Silver Lining in the Stormy 2024 Presidential Election

Politics

A catastrophe in November could rejuvenate federalism, to the benefit of all.

2024 Republican National Convention: Day 2

There’s going to be a presidential election in a couple weeks, but few think that we’ll know for sure the next president on November 5—what used to be known, quaintly, as “Election Day.” 

Most likely, it’s going to be weeks, maybe even months, before we see a victor. And here’s a prediction: The Sturm und Drang will come in five phases: litigation, negotiation, discreditation, devolution, and then, monetization. I can explain. 

First, litigation. “The lawfare election”—that was the October 15 headline in POLITICO’s “Playbook” newsletter. “The Harris campaign is already involved in dozens of lawsuits—one official we spoke with last night boasted about winning nine out of ten cases that have already been decided—while assembling what they are calling the ‘biggest voter protection operation in presidential campaign history.’ Hundreds of lawyers are on call for Harris in all 50 states.” 

Donald Trump, too, has lawyers. So billable hours will pile upon pro bono time, and a thousand litigious nightshades will bloom. 

All this litigating, of course, will occur in the context of photo ops, press conferences, protests, and every other kind of political performance art—peaceful, mostly peaceful, or outright violent. 

And did I mention that Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York City on November 26 for those 34 felonies? If Trump seems to have won the election, New York will stand down in deference to the president-elect—or will it? If Empire State Democrats have worked this hard to prosecute Trump out of the presidency, will they suddenly give up? Miss a chance, maybe, darkly, to “Epstein” Trump in jail? (Those who think it can’t happen to Trump might grapple with how it did happen to Epstein.) 

There’s no way to know who will prevail in the many legal battles. On the one hand, Democrats have a deeper bench of law schools, Naderites, and ACLUs. On the other hand, Republicans have the Federalist Society, a new crop of Aileen Cannons, and those justices on the Supreme Court. 

But of course, all the legal skirmishes must translate into electoral votes for someone; these are to be tallied on December 17. Yet even if that date isn’t overridden somehow, we can ask: Will every presidential elector be faithful to his or her duty? After all, there’ve been plenty of “faithless electors” in the past. Yes, in 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that a faithless can be replaced by a faithful. But what if the replacement process breaks down for some reason?

We are reminded: Much of our current system depends on trust. If that erodes, there’s not much left. 

So now we come to the second part of our sequence, negotiation.

 » …

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Subscribe Today

GET EXCLUSIVE FULL ACCESS TO PREMIUM CONTENT

SUPPORT NONPROFIT JOURNALISM

EXPERT ANALYSIS OF AND EMERGING TRENDS IN CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE

TOPICAL VIDEO WEBINARS

Get unlimited access to our EXCLUSIVE Content and our archive of subscriber stories.

Exclusive content

Latest article

More article