Politics is exhausting but we must stay with it

By David W. Marshall
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

The presidential election will be over in weeks, but it will not end the exhaustion people are having with politics. The November election is the third consecutive presidential election with Donald Trump on the ballot as his party’s nominee. As people grew tired of the Clintons, they are now weary of the Trumpism political movement. “Clinton fatigue” was real. It was not only a political pull on Al Gore’s campaign against George W. Bush, it also became an issue during Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House. Political fatigue comes and goes with time, and we see it in various forms.

Even Trump’s political base supporters have grown tired of his long-winded and confusing speeches. During a typical rally in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, what started as a packed house of supporters ended with entire sections of the 8,000-seat arena nearly empty at the end of Trump’s one hour and 45-minute. A local business owner, when explaining why she left early, stated, “He reminded me why I’m not going to vote for him this time… But after listening to that, I’m actually afraid of Trump being president again. I don’t know what he was talking about half the time. Perhaps he was always like that but he seems worse, more unstable.” It remains to be seen if enough frustrated MAGA supporters and traditional Republicans will switch their votes, thereby swinging the outcome of the election toward Harris. People are tired because we can no longer assume there will be a smooth transition of power after what we experienced during the 2020 election. When the American people speak through the results of an election, candidates are now unwilling to acknowledge and accept the voice of the voters if the results are not to their liking. Most people simply want our elections and the subsequent governing process to be free of chaos and confusion.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney says she does not trust House Speaker Mike Johnson to certify the 2024 election if Vice President Harris wins the presidency. While Cheney served as a member of the House GOP leadership, Johnson was her onetime deputy. “The claims of fraud Donald Trump was making [in 2020]…he knew those to be false,” Cheney said in referring to Johnson. “He was told that, not only in discussions with me, but also by the House Republican counsel.” Unfortunately, before we arrive at the certification of the presidential election results in January, the nation is threatened with yet another government shutdown by the GOP-controlled House in December. Lawmakers are faced with a temporary funding deadline on December 20 and will have to negotiate a long-term funding deal after the November election – setting up another exhausting political fight in the weeks before we have a new Congress and a new president takes office. Not everyone likes dysfunction, especially when it is used to serve the self-centered interests of individuals. Before the September 30 government funding deadline, former President Trump urged Republicans to allow the government to shut down if they were unable to pass the voting legislation which he claimed could impact the results of the presidential election. A lot will fall on the House Speaker during and after December.

If the Republicans maintain control of the House, it is not guaranteed that Mike Johnson will remain as House Speaker. Some of Johnson’s Republican colleagues, such as allies of Jim Jordan, are already testing the waters for a change in leadership. Where Republican House members were reluctant to get rid of Johnson during an election year, more than a dozen have indicated they might be ready for a change in January. Again, we can no longer assume there will be a peaceful transfer of power. How can we forget the divisive and chaotic ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy? The best way to avoid another round of complete disorder and stress in choosing the House Speaker is to vote the Democrats into power. Therefore, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will take over the speakership without controversy.

People are frustrated because they constantly feel they are forced to pick between the lesser of two evils when voting. This will likely be the case for some time now. Many people were willing to vote for Biden because he was seen as the lesser of two evils. People have grown frustrated with the political partisanship and the ethics surrounding the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is no longer trusted as an independent group with integrity. Unfortunately, any attempt to pass legislation for term limits and an ethics code for the Supreme Court is unlikely in this political environment. If Kamala Harris wins the presidency, a Republican-led House and Senate will undermine her every move. As a result, many who supported her candidacy will grow frustrated because of the political and sometimes racial resistance. Can we ever escape the political fatigue? We are given many reasons to walk away from being engaged in politics. While we do need a mental and emotional break at times, we cannot afford to walk away. We can take a break, but still must be watchful and sound the alarm against lies and misinformation. We can rest, but we must encourage and support a younger generation of candidates who can maintain the balance to break with the toxic environment as needed while still carrying out critical legacies from past movements.

This article originally published in the October 21, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.