Whatever it was that passed through the state and nation Election Day, it wasn't expected. The morning after the long night's journey to day, it was--what? A whirlwind? A sandstorm? A cyclone? Let's just say it was anything but what was supposed to happen according to the certified experts who proved not expert at all.
All of which brought to mind an old story about a Kansas farmer who emerged from his storm cellar to peer about and find the whole place leveled, and what had been his topsoil gone with the wind. But all he could do was burst into laughter. "Dad," his son asked, "what in the world are you laughing at? Everything's gone." To which the father replied, "Why, son, the completeness of it!"
Yet through it all, the Arkansas voter retained a rare sense of discrimination at the polls, picking and choosing as he made his way down the ballot, deciding which candidates and issues he was fir and which agin. He repeatedly followed his own judgment, unaffected by what the polls said he was going to do. And the most conventional result of all may have been when the national winner did the conventional thing--Donald Trump delivering a conventional winner's victory speech, congratulating his Democratic opponent and appealing for national unity.
Here in Arkansas, the biggest surprise may have been how far the voter was willing to follow the advice of his legislators instead of mindlessly voting Against when confronting a question on the ballot he might not have been expected to understand in a different time. Which in an ordinary time would have been a natural, negative instinct in this, the Natural State.
Was the Arkansas voter now prepared to let county officials do their jobs instead of campaign non-stop? Yes. How about letting the governor be governor even while he's flying around the country or the world trying to scare up more jobs for Arkansas workers or more markets for Arkansas products? Why, sure. What about letting him and the Legislature encourage economic development in the state? Yes again. Medical marijuana? Sadly, yes. This time the voters were willing to see the state go to pot. We fell for the sales pitch this time.
Some familiar names led Wednesday's balloting. U.S. Senator John Boozman blew away any and all opponents. He did his usual thing, exuding good will to all, and while he's starting his next term afresh, he brought his old good cheer to the job. "We're looking forward to the next six years," he announced in his victory statement. "I'm the new senator again, so I am committed to putting aside party labels this time, working for the benefit of everybody and doing our very best to solve some of the significant problems that the state and the country face."
Do you think that by now the senator has those sentiments preprinted and ready to hand out? Like thank-you notes after a wedding or engagement announcements before. Whatever the hurts inflicted by defeat, they are easily enough soothed by a string of victory parties and the resounding celebrations that come with them. If the senator's prose is, well, prosaic, his celebratory mood is undeniable this election year.
The red belt stretching across the old Louisiana Purchase, formerly the Rust Belt, may look like a ungainly beast on the map, but when it slouches toward triumph instead of defeat, it trumps all other considerations.
Flyover country, it turns out, is flying the American flag this election year, and the red, white and blue can cover a multitude of sins. Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House, may have kept his distance from The Donald during the primaries, but now he can't get close enough. All is forgiven and not just forgotten but wiped clean. For there's nothing like a renewed Republican grip on the House to lift its speaker's spirits. His party had just held on to seats in Minnesota, New York (exclamation mark!), Colorado (double exclamation marks!!), Iowa and Wisconsin that Democrats had hoped to take. Speaker Ryan now begins his 10th term in the House with higher hopes than ever and, don't you know, The Donald isn't about to let him forget whose coattails he rode in on.
Much the same holds true for the U.S. Senate across the board. This grand party isn't your father's or even grandfather's but a bold new one led by a bold new voice. Maybe too bold, considering Donald Trump's boorishness. Even the Republicans were surprised and delighted by their succession of successes from Indiana to Florida to Arizona, where 80-year-old John McCain won his sixth six-year term in the U.S. Senate.
All was not lost for Democrats on Tuesday night, but almost all seemed to be in state after state. Never fear, John Boozman will have plenty of company on his side of the aisle in the Senate, and while some of it may be dubious, all of it will surely be welcome.
As the evening wore on into night and then the next day, it was morning again in America. Republican winners didn't have anyone like a real champion to lead them--someone like Ronald Reagan--yet they seemed happy enough, even overjoyed, to share the winner's circle with The Donald, a character who's just full of surprises. Especially for those of us who not too long ago could not conceal our suspicions about him. But a rising tide, it seems, raises all Republican boats.
Editorial on 11/13/2016