After the endless election in 2024, I fear everyone is drawing the wrong lesson.

There’s glee and gloating and claims of a “mandate” from Republicans on why Trump won and they held the House (by at least one seat — maybe a few more). Mostly they are wrong about the mandate shit — although it does show that Tik Tok has surpassed door knocking for turning out the vote.

But that’s not the wrong lesson I’m taking about.

There’s a shit ton of theories and studies and “preliminary analysis” from Democrats about why they lost. Almost all of it is wrong: except about 9 percent of the people are so pissed they will vote for “change”. Any change. Including a felon who failed as president previously. Trump was able to add that frustrated “9” to his 40 percent who will vote for anybody who supports “God, guns and low taxes.”

But that’s not the wrong lesson I’m taking about.

It is OK to make mistakes... As long as you learn from them

Even if you don’t agree with any of my quick and dirty analysis, I wish we could all agree, elections are too fucking long.

I was hoping a Harris win would convince everyone that a 3-month campaign is plenty. But I fear that losing is driving people to do the opposite.

I’m already reading from liberal pundits that it’s time to gear up for the next election in 700 some days. Shit.

Wrong Lesson

Harris raised a billion dollars. She had plenty of money and plenty of time to win. No amount of polling or internet trolling or spending even more time in the swing states was going to move the voters. They knew damn well who and what they were voting for or against.

I will never be convinced that if Harris had a year, she would have come up with better answers about inflation or immigration or solving the problems many young men face.

Trump doesn’t have any solutions, but he shouted a lot about the problems — and for 49 percent of America that was enough.

If Trump had done nothing for most of the year, I still think he would have won. It looked at the end like he had given up. His rallies got smaller. His speeches lost energy. Remember the hate rally in Madison Square Garden? Didn’t matter.

He got his voters to turn out, Harris didn’t. More time isn’t going to get more people to come out. It’s like being in a bad relationship with your phone. Spending a year trapped in a contract after the latest update screwed up all your apps doesn’t make you want to run out get the iPhone 82 or the Samsung 1000.

But if you read the analysis from the left or the right, there’s no talk of keeping elections short.

That is if we get to have future elections… Trump is still openly talking about declaring states of emergency or insurrection and turning the military against “his enemies”. Once you create such a police state, I don’t see how any future election could be held freely and fairly. Such a round up combined with prosecutions of political opponents would lead to denunciations, wrongful deportation of citizens, and people exacting revenge against others who “fit the profile.” Once the army starts treating Americans as potential criminals, it will be virtually impossible to have everyone vote free of intimidation and trepidation that somehow an armed soldier might show up at “my door.”

Let’s put such nightmares aside (for now) and hope that we actually do get to vote in 2026, 2028 and beyond.

Is anyone else going to follow the one lesson I learned 2024? For God’s Sake (and my text message count) Elections should take Weeks — not Months or Years.