I wasn’t going to comment on the election again, but some of the numbers are just coming in, and they are staggering.
The advertising spend alone was $11 billion dollars, with another $1.65 billion or so (15 percent) spent on strategy, creative (the advertisements themselves) and placement.
If you haven’t guessed, none of this happens for free, and it’s the stuff of life for so many of our media outlets, especially newspapers and television stations, both of which are being challenged online and by streaming media.
I won’t take that $11 billion dollars and divide it by the number of ballots cast but suffice to say that each vote cost a small fortune.
Notice that politicians never equate this to how much good could be done with that money elsewhere. They will insult your employer or your fancy car, completely ignoring all the jobs supported in the creation of an automobile … but their process? It’s beyond reproach, don’t you know.
What did I find annoying? West Virginia, bringing up the bottom five in voter turnout, with only 55 percent of eligible voters bothering to show up at the polls. Get out the vote, abbreviated as GOTV by political operatives, is everything.
Obviously, in West Virginia, neither party gets it right.
I found it remarkable that Hawaii came in dead last with slightly more than 50% of their eligible voters making it to the polls. Maybe, just maybe it’s the weather?
Of course, Minnesota, never the garden spot of our country, home to International Falls and the coldest spot in the contiguous 48, managed to get 76% of their voters to the polls – with colder than typical weather and snow. We need to find out what they are doing and duplicate it here. There is no excuse for our West Virginia to be a laggard in voter turnout.
If we want West Virginia to succeed, we need everyone to get involved in the process. Freedom isn’t free, but short of revolution, the cost is low to the individual. Go vote.
According to recent polling, most American’s think that the election was conducted fairly and properly with the exception of a few states, where their Democrat “machine” was so desperate for a win that they attempted to count ballots cast by illegals. Fortunately, the court system put a stop to that nonsense.
The fact that there is only one backstop to the process so critical to our Republic is concerning.
The national turnout was 63.68 percent, something of a record, because, like many, I don’t know where the 67 percent turnout in 2020 came from, nor where the 12 million voters who magically showed up in that mail in basement campaign went. They must have been too busy this year.
That’s 12 million voters – which is equal to the total population of Nevada, Iowa, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Not the voting populace, The TOTAL – every man, woman and child. Electioneering when we had a record number of mail in votes because of COVID? You be the judge. I don’t have answers, just questions, some of which may provoke thought.
Twelve million voters appeared from thin air in 2020 to disappear in a puff of smoke in 2024? Back to their comas and coffins? Someone knows, and it will eventually come to light. This election made it obvious to even a casual observer that we need a national voter ID. Only citizens should vote, and they should be expected to vote.
So, it’s done. Now, let’s see what they are going to do for us over the next two and four years respectively. Campaign promises are a contract with the voters. The results will show us if we chose well, or if more changes are necessary.
Now on to the more important business of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah!
And enough of the politics.
