December 2016
Reflecting on What This Election Taught Us
December 2016
FACULTY LETTER
THE 2016 ELECTION
Reflecting on What This Election Taught Us
BY MR . CHRIS NORDSTROM
I have been asked to write a recap of the 2016 Presidential election . For what it is worth , I believe this is an almost impossible task . Political scientists will be studying this campaign and election for years to come . There are dozens of storylines in the campaign including a female candidate running against a man who has made several disparaging comments towards women ; possibly the most experienced candidate ever running against a person who has never held office or served in the military . This all occurred while the current president has a 55 % approval rating .
Sixteen years ago , Bush v . Gore raised concerns about the current status of the electoral college and whether or not that is still the best way to decide who becomes president . To top it off , all of the major polls got the outcome wrong . It is also worth mentioning that I predicted Hillary Clinton would win this election . So , I guess I was in good company ! of political parties that now exist under the labels of Democrat and Republican .
Our current Legislative Branch , which is made up of a majority of Republicans , and the Executive Branch , which is held currently by a Democrat , have been virtually incapable of governing . The checks and balances system that was ensured in our constitution in order to create compromise and civil discourse has instead created gridlock . Both sides are guilty .
The current Senate refused to even hold hearings to confirm a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia , who passed away in February of 2016 . President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace him on March 16 , 2016 . As of election day , there were a total of 213 days in which the Senate had refused to hold a hearing . Previously , the longest period of time to confirm a judge was 125 days for Louis Brandeis .
Yet , on November 8 , we witnessed the largest upset in election history . As an educator who has to help students learn about our government and the politics contained within it , I have decided to focus on a few key ideas that we have learned from this campaign and election . As I have made every effort to do in class , I will do my best to be unbiased . Without further ado , here is what I believe we have learned from this election .
There is division in our country
Clearly , there is political division in our country . There always has been . Throughout our history , there have been fundamental disagreements over the best policies to solve problems . This started with the Federalists and Anti-Federalists , who argued over whether or not to ratify the Constitution , and has continued through a variety
Since the Republican and Democratic national conventions last July up until the election on November 8th , Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump battled for the presidency .
Photo courtesy of CNN
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