The election was Tuesday. Counting the votes was Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday…
For Arizona and Nevada, counting votes is like a cricket game. Most cricket games last 3 or 4 days. But did you know an England vs. South Africa cricket game once lasted nine days. Arizona vs. Nevada may break that record.
If you think election counting issues only started a few years ago, think again. Here’s Will Rogers: “I hope some of the men who get the most votes will be elected… If I was running for office I would rather have two friends in the counting room than a Republican Slush fund behind me. More candidates have been defeated after 6 o’clock in the evening than were ever defeated during election day.” WA #100, Nov. 9, 1924
“Did you ever hear of as crazy a law as Kentucky has? They make ’em wait twenty-four hours before counting the votes. That’s to give the counters a chance to think it over and be honest. Twenty-four hours is supposed to make you honest in Kentucky. Why not wait till both candidates are dead, then there can be no crookedness shown.” DT #1339, Nov. 7, 1930
President Biden has had Democrats in charge of both the Senate and House for two years. A reporter asked him, “If you lose the Democrat majority in the House, and maybe the Senate, what will you change in the next two years?” His immediate answer: “Nothing.”
Really? With record high prices for gasoline and groceries, fear of being attacked on the subway or sidewalk or pulled from your car, and illegal immigrants flooding across the border, he can find “nothing” to change? But give the President credit; he understands his voters. In a lot of states and Congressional Districts, a surprising number of Democrat voters don’t mind inflated prices, high crime rates, and illegal immigration as long as they can have abortion as a birth control option.
No matter which way the votes go (eventually) in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, Congress will be about evenly split. Here’s Will Rogers again, “Washington, D. C. papers say: ‘Congress is deadlocked and can’t act.’ I think that is the greatest blessing that could befall this country.” WA #59, Jan. 27, 1924
The biggest shock to me among Senators elected was that 2.5 million people in Pennsylvania voted for John Fetterman. I was going to joke that it should not be a shock because even dead men have been elected. And then I read, also in a Pennsylvania election Tuesday, that a man who died a month ago was elected! Democrat Tony DeLuca defeated his Green Party opponent for the state Legislature. Voters for DeLuca figured a dead man would better serve their district than a live person who plans to cut off their gas and oil.
Let’s completely ignore Senator-Elect Fetterman’s stroke (we hope he fully recovers): what qualifications, work experience, and passion did he bring to the campaign? Here’s a reminder from Will Rogers, “Funny thing about being a U.S. Senator, the only thing the law says you have to be is 30 years old. Not another single requirement necessary.” (June 21, 1935)
On Friday, Nov. 11, we ignored politics for awhile to celebrate and honor our Veterans. As Will Rogers said in a speech, “Take care of the ones who fought in the last war because we might want to use ‘em again.”
Christmas is right around the corner. An 80-foot-tall Norway Spruce was delivered to Rockefeller Center in New York City. Now, when you stretch to place the star on top of your family Christmas tree, be glad you don’t have to decorate this one. The “star” weighs 900 pounds. Thankfully, they will wait until after Thanksgiving to light it.
Historic quotes by Will Rogers:
“When the votes are counted, let everybody, including the candidates, get into a good humor as quick as they got into a bad one… So cheer up. Let’s all be friends again.” DT #1953, Nov. 7, 1932
“If your side lost don’t take it too much to heart. Remember there is always this difference between us and Italy. In Italy, Mussolini runs the country. But here the country runs the President.” DT #1954, Nov. 8, 1932