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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 12, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 12, 2020
 
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Page A-4 Shelton-Mason. County Journal — Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020 THESE TIMES It’s time for some pea soup apologize for what I’m about to do, Rich IHolmes of Shelton. . Mr. Holmes wrote a letter to the last month that took a poke at-me for writing about politics too much. Here’s his letter, in ‘full: ‘ “Too bad about Kirk Ericson. His once witty and charming column has turned political and not very muchyfun to read. In fact, I quit reading them. I can’t wait for the election to be oVer so I can enjoy this talented man’s clever and enter- taining articles.” That’s the best I’m-not— reading—you-anymore letter anyone could hope for, plus it was persuasive and didn’t de- generate into name—calling or labeling, so 'I didn’t dismiss it. In fact, I cut it out and taped the letter to my desk, putting it next to a favorite quote: “If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise.” So, over the past three weeks, I’ve taken heed, writ- ing instead about nonpolitical bats, nonpartisan salmon and apolitical bananas, with just a brief, sideward sally into an item about a Las Vegas pastor who told President Donald Trump, to his face, that the Lord had promised her that he would win a second term. ' v Geez. All the presidential polls were off. But the presidential election, technically, isn’t “over” ~— it has yet to be certified, and litigated and thrashed to within an inch of the Constitu- tion’s life. So, pardon me, Rich, for the politics that follow here. I received another lovely, pre—election letter last week, this one handwritten and sealed in an. envelope, from longtime Mason County resident James Blauvelt, who lives out invthe sticks near Matlbck. _. I called James last Saturday afternoon, a few hours after math determined that Joe Biden would win the Electoral College vote. After thanking him for his kind letter, I corrected one I matter. He referred to me as a “liberal,” but I told him that I’m more of a left-leaning moderate ’ extremist. “I guess that’s better than what you could be,” James replied. In his letter, James wrote, “I’m 88 years old, always been a liberal, as were my parents and grandparents. My grandfather was a plasterer and senior, organizer in Seattle, a hundred and more years ago. I liked your column ‘Whose town is it?’ and your summary of the current powers that be. I may even subscribe to the Journal again. Keep up the good work.” On Saturday afternoon, he told me over the phone that he was feeling “Like a weight was lifted off my back when I heard that it was final.” By KIRK ERICSON 4 see TIMES, page A—5’ Wimiiiaammniy ileum-ital ' nail is a member of the Wash- ington Newspaper Publishers uses 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send‘address changes to Shelton—Mason County Journal, PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by the Shelton-Mason County Journal at 227 W. Coia St., Shelton, Washington. Mailing address: PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone: 360—426-4412 Website: www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid In Shelton, Washington. V forced to defend itself in districts it had held for per chamber, Democrats have 46 seats and two ' ' candidate Bernie Sanders, who caucus with the for Mason County addresses and $75 per year ($55 for six months) outside oi Mason County. Owned and published by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. EDITOR’S CHAIR 'Ber WaVe’ was a red riptide‘ rLast week’s election proved to be a thorough ed for a Jan. 4 runoff, with Republicans needing to win just one of the two to maintain a majority. andpersonal rebuke of President Donald The projected blue wave ended in a red riptide. Trump. It was also rejection of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing and agenda. As of Tuesday night, President-elect Joe Biden is the projected winner of 279 Electoral College votes. Biden also leads Arizona and Georgia by more than 10,000 votes and appears on track to claim a total of 306 votes. He also leads the nationwide popular vote by more than 5 million votes. While Biden, a moderate Democrat with the lifelong record of bipartisan cooperation, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris surged past the decidedly unpopular incumbent president, it was the Republicans running in both houses of Congress that made most of the largest gains on election night. Countless pre-election polls showed Democrats on the verge of a “blue wave,” projecting the party I to take control of the Senate and expand its posi- tion in the House. V Instead, Republicans made significant gains against the Democratic majority in the House. This was especially true in moderate districts where ' GOP candidates successfully tied more progressive policies to their opponents. , The Democrats intraparty feud exploded the day after the election as the party’s more moderate faction'lashed out at its progressive wing for being Joe Biden would be the Democratic nomi- nee, many in the party’s more progres- sive wing those of whom had voted for Sanders or Elizabeth Warren — decried that Biden was boring and not progressive enough. ” The results of last week’s election show that Biden is likely the only candidate that could have defeated Trump. In many swing states, voters chose Biden for president and a Republican for Congress. Would a much more progressive candi- date have won back those crucial votes in the Rust Belt that effectively determined the past two elections? The votes seem to give an answer to that. When it comes to nationwide politics, the United States is a Democratic—majority nation and has been for decades. Since George H.W. Bush’s 1988 win over Michael Dukakis, the Republican candi- date for president of the United States has only captured the nationwide popular vote once — in George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election. The president isn’t chosen by the popular vote ‘ though, and anyone seeking the nation’s highest office has to contend with the math of the Electoral College. That’s why, during those same 28 years, the GOP has won three presidential terms, and both ' the House and Senate have changed majorities multiple times. The country might be center—left, but last‘Tues- day it resoundingly rejected an ultra—progressive approach to goVernance. By JUSTIN JOHNSON years. , In the, race for control of the Senate, Democrats picked up seats in Arizona and Colorado, but lost a'seat in Alabama for a net gain of just one. Re- publicans currently have 50 members of the up- independents — including Democratic presidential A - ‘ , , I Justin Johnson is the Editor of the Shelton- Mason County Journal. He can be reached by email at justin@masoncounty.com Democrats. Both Senate seats in Georgia appear to be head— BET OUT HERE! YOU CAN‘T STAY IN THERE FOR FOUR YEARS BECAUSE OF AN ELECTION. Publisher: Tom Mullen Design: Lloyd Mullen, Creative Director Front office: , Dave Pierik, Office Administrator General Manager: John Lester Karen Hranac, Customer Service Association. ' r Advertising: Delivery: All regular editdrial, advertising SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Theresa Murray, Ad Representative Jon Garza and legal deadlines are pm. the $62 per year ($43 for six months) David Olson Monday prior to publication. Newsroom: ' Niel Challstrom Justin Johnson, Editor Gordon Weeks, Reporter Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter Kirk Ericson, Columnist/ Proofreader Isabella Breda, Reporter/Social Media To submit a letter to the editor, , Composing room: email editor@masoncounty.com. William Adams, Advertising . Design and Technical Support When it became apparent earlier this year that , F-hdF-ID r—a—Ih—Im—Lrn Aha/HWPV‘HM ._i n. A. AA