Politics and Conflict
Elections have consequences. That is, of course, belaboring the obvious, but one will almost certainly have longer-lasting consequences than most. Not only is the next resident of the White House in question, but both House and Senate are in the mix, and even though the trendlines all seem to be bending towards Republican victories, it's still closer than we'd like. According to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) averages, even the presidential race is a very near thing - although my personal expectation is that November 5th will prove that it's not as close as all that.
Last Thursday, I indulged in a bit of speculation as to what happens after a Trump victory in the presidential contest. So now, a week later, let's take a look at what a Harris victory may entail. Fair warning: It's a chilling prospect.
Previously on RedState: Let's Say Trump Wins. What Happens Next?
Election Integrity
Sometimes, perception is reality.
Let's say that the 2024 presidential election comes off like the 2020 election: Suspicious boxes of ballots mysteriously uncovered in the dark of night, suspicious spikes in the count at 1 a.m. Even the allegations of these kinds of shenanigans will have long-reaching effects on the electorate, especially for voters on the right. Faith in the presidential election would be shattered. Faith in down-ticket elections would also suffer.
The continued existence of the republic is only as assured as the citizenry's confidence in our elections. If the elections are compromised, or even perceived to be as compromised, the system may well come apart, and no matter which side wins in the future, large percentages of the voters won't accept the results as legitimate. Doubt that? It's already happening. It's been happening since the 2000 presidential election of "hanging chad" fame. Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I, Dowager-Empress of Chappaqua, still gripes about her 2016 victory being snatched out from under her.
Congress and the Harris Agenda
Much would depend on who controls Congress. But think on this: If Harris manages to pull out a win at this point in the game, with all of the indicators moving towards a Trump victory, then something in the polling methods of almost every pollster has gone so badly wrong that they likely screwed up the down-ticket races as well. So let's assume the worst and give the incoming President Harris (shudder) a friendly Congress. We can expect:
- Tax increases across the board. Probably a national minimum wage hike.
- Abortion brought back as a federal issue, instead of it being a state issue as the Supreme Court has decided. It would not be surprising to see a radical bill, depending on how deeply Democrat control of the House and Senate are, that enshrines abortion up to the moment of delivery, and at taxpayer expense.
- "Assault weapons" bans. Forget Kamala Harris and Tim Walz's claims to be Second Amendment supporters and gun owners. They will come after "assault weapons," defining that nebulous term as "whatever we say it is." And it's doubtful they'll stop there. For instance: Have you a scoped, bolt-action deer rifle? It's a "sniper rifle." A small, easily concealed carry piece? Watch for the resurrection of the pejorative "Saturday Night Special" moniker.
- Packing the Supreme Court. The Constitution does not specify the number of justices. All a President Harris would need is a 51-vote Senate - or even 50, with Tim Walz breaking the tie - and she can appoint new Supreme Court justices willy-nilly. And the new justices won't be moderates.
- An attempt on the Electoral College system. This would be a lot harder to do; an outright change would require a constitutional amendment, and it's unlikely three-quarters of the states would ratify such an amendment. But expect them to get creative in finding some kind of workaround.
A Harris/Walz administration won't stop there.
Lawfare
Think it's bad now? Watch the Democratic lawfare machine in all its rage and fury come down on all things Trump and even Trump-adjacent. The gloves came off when Trump was in his first term, with the serial impeachments. For some reason, the left was outraged by Donald Trump's existence as they have been by no other modern American political figure, and the twists, turns, and contortions they went through to find things to indict him on were stunning. If Trump loses the election this year, be the loss legitimate or not, the lawfare will only get worse. Much worse, and if the efforts meet with any success at all, then lawfare will become SOP.
The Media
Two words: Elon Musk. Musk's purchase and transformation of Twitter into the free-speech platform X has rankled the left to no end. The left has shown that their respect for the First Amendment only reaches as far as people who agree with them; expect efforts to control the media, to make it compliant, including X and any other outlet they find threatening. Fox News may well be the focus of some new version of the Fairness Doctrine, with the Harris administration defining "fairness" as "whatever we say it is." The left will make every effort to shut down the new media - an example of which you are reading right now.
See Related: They’re Going to Try to Kill Trump Again
Conclusions
Four years - never mind eight - of a Harris/Walz regime may well leave us with a country we no longer recognize. If they move so fast, and engage in actions so extreme, as to provoke an unpleasant response, we may end up with no country at all. If the Democrats manage to pull out control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, it will be several orders of magnitude worse. One has to give Democrats credit for one thing: when they have power, they use it, no shilly-shallying around, no pretense at "bipartisanship," which the old GOP establishment allowed Democrats to define as "Republicans doing what we tell them." And if Kamala Harris attains the Resolute Desk, she will use that power with abandon.
Fortunately, things aren't looking good for the Harris/Walz campaign. But we shouldn't count on that. We must not count on that. Get out and vote. Vote now, vote on November 5th, but vote. Get out your friends and family to vote (unless they're Democrats, in which case, don't bother.) It's as I've been saying for some time: America cannot afford four years of Kamala Harris as President of the United States. Vote!