Election: Power of the People

The most important election of our lifetime (until 2028) takes place next Tuesday, Nov. 3. Thanks to early and mail-in voting, though, millions have already cast their ballots.

Whether or not the blue wave many predicted occurs, one fascinating story this election cycle is the underdogs who won despite being outspent by margins of up to 16-1.

That figure describes the $16 million raised by former national security professional Alexander Vindman. He lost to state Rep. Angie Nixon in the Democratic primary for a partial term in the U.S. Senate, despite her raising just shy of $1 million.

Vindman, of course, had a national profile after his testimony of President Donald Trump’s phone call to Ukraine in 2019 led to Trump’s first impeachment.

The former Army officer drew considerable heat from conservatives in the months and years that followed. So I find it ironic that he lost to a Democratic Socialist, who hails from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Upstarts Win

While Vindman may have been the biggest name to lose despite a huge monetary advantage, he wasn’t the only one. Take the following races spotlighted in a recent NBC News story:

• In Michigan, former public health official Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate despite being outspent $31.3 million to $6.6 million by Rep. Haley Stevens.
• In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the Democratic nod for U.S. Senate even though Rep. Angie Craig had a fundraising edge of $19.7 million to $4.7 million.
• Incumbent Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey won his early September primary with nearly two-thirds of the vote. His opponent, Rep. Seth Moulton, spent $7 million, while pro-Markey forces spent $3.9 million.

My point isn’t to promote the Democratic Socialists who captured a chance for election, since I hope they all lose.

But I will cheer the participatory democracy system our much-maligned founding fathers set up two-plus centuries ago. They have been taking their lumps lately because of those who owned slaves.

A Beacon of Freedom

Despite the many faults of those who sparked the Revolutionary War and then created our republic, the United States remains a beacon of democracy and religious freedom worldwide. Because the founders established a nation where no one person or special-interest group can call all the shots, power still resides in “the people.”

Granted, much of that revolves around those with well-funded axes to grind. But this year’s primary upsets show that when people combine their voices at a grassroots level, they can still make a difference.

The checks and balances the founders put in place have also helped defeat would-be dictators and power mongers who hoped to exert their will, only to find they have formidable hoops to jump through.

The U.S. Senate has drawn a lot of heated opposition of late from extremists who want to abolish it, when I think it is a master stroke of genius. Less influenced by popular opinion and grassroots forces, the Senate provides a leavening influence on our national politics that we would sorely miss.

Yes, politics is messy and often forces us to hold our noses. But self-government is still a radical idea in a world of dictators and authoritarian rulers.

If you haven’t already gone to the polls, do so proudly on Nov. 3. No matter how small, you are playing a role in one of the greatest stories in world history.