[Election] The Election Night Narrative

(I take as read that the US election, and US domestic politics, are a critical concern for anyone interested in the global progressive cause.)
The Republicans and their supporters are already reframing the narrative of this election. In every speech, every talking point, every blog post, the election is being portrayed as an overwhelming vindication of the Bush administration, and a victory that demonstrates what America really wants – and, more profoundly, who Americans really are.
This narrative must be challenged.
The Republican narrative portrays the result as a landslide for Bush.
The truth is that the result was close. It is incredible how soon we forget the long hours waiting on the Ohio results. This was not a landslide victory – the margin of decision was small. More people voted for Bush than in any previous election – but also, more people voted against Bush than against any previous candidate. The mobilization of opposition to Bush is the important factor here.
The Republican narrative portrays the result as a massive rejection of the left.
Many on the left have taken up this same line – that the US, the world’s largest democracy, has rejected the progressive project. The truth is, more people voted for the candidate of the left than in any previous US election.
The Republican narrative holds that the President has a clear mandate.
Bush has a clear majority of support in the US, but not an overwhelming majority. He also has a very large minority of entrenched opposition – the largest that any previous President has had to deal with. Claims to a clear mandate are complicated by this situation, which is as far as I know unprecedented in US politics.
The Republican narrative holds that the Democrats were naive to expect the youth vote to make a difference.
The truth is that the youth vote did make a difference, just not as large as was hoped. The youth vote was up – but so was every other demographic. The Democrats were wise in supporting and driving this effort, although it turns out that they, and I, hoped for more than was realistic.
The Republican narrative conceals the efforts they made to bring out the vote.
The story is told as if the American people of their own accord rose up to stand up for what is right. The truth is that the Republicans have used their network to get their issues and their message into every evangelical Church in the country and, crucially, to get more people voting. This isn’t the whole story, but the extent of this massive, hidden mobilisation is the biggest single revelation of the election.
So – with this in mind, what must we do?
We must recognize that this was just one clash in what will be a long struggle. In that context, there is much to be pleased with.
We must challenge any attempt to reframe the narrative of this election in the ways described above. If the above narrative takes hold, that makes the progressive movement’s task all the harder. Not impossible – not by any means – but harder. And it’s hard enough already.