Trump’s assault on the election system won’t prevent Joe Biden from taking his oath of office on Jan 20, but it is further radicalizing an already anti-democratic, authoritarian, white nationalist, Trumpian mass base. If anything, this base, trafficking in conspiracy theories and alternative facts, could well be the most enduring legacy of his presidency. Any hope of weakening this racist, revanchist juggernaut will turn not so much on uplifting words as the enactment of anti-racist and anti-crisis policies by the incoming administration and Congress. Such policies won’t neutralize this reactionary grouping entirely; that is too much to ask for. But if they cause some of its working class supporters (broadly defined) to reconsider their loyalties and views that may be about as much as we can hope for in the short term.

Our democracy survived 4 years of Trump. But it also revealed cracks in our democracy and a party – the Republican Party – that has littler attachment to democratic principles and governance. That should cause democratic minded people to pause. Even though we dodged a bullet this time, the experience tells us that “it could happen here,” if action isn’t take to democratize our political/constitutional structures and extend and safeguard democratic rights, beginning with voter rights. Republicans whose future rests on white minority rule will surely resist such efforts and will likely find support from the courts. The struggle continues.

The terrain of engagement in the year ahead will depend on the outcome of two Senate races in GA. If Democrats come out victorious and end up in control of the Senate, the boundaries of the doable expand greatly. If, on the other hand, the Democrats come up short and McConnell once again rules the Senate, the legislative struggle turns into a steeper climb for Biden, Congressional Democrats, and the democratic coalition/movement. In these circumstances, the passage of legislation will depend on breaking off a few Republican Senators from McConnell as well as securing the agreement of the more conservative members of the Democratic Caucus. It would have been so much easier if a blue wave up and down the ticket had been the breaking news election night. In any event, sustained action of the democratic coalition that ushered Biden and Harris across the finish line on election day, will be imperative no matter what the outcome of the Georgia Senate elections.

Even if the two Senate seats in Georgia fail to fall into Democrats hands in the runoff election in January and control of the Senate remains in Republican hands, I would still hope that President Biden will vigorously advocate for his program of democratic and progressive reforms – the DP platform is a good point of departure. Anything less would be an unwarranted concession and anything more be premature. Political realities – not least the balance of power in the Senate and the degree of popular mobilization – will determine if we set in train a season of reforms. Such an approach will not only engage and enthuse the tens of millions who voted for Biden, but also stands a chance of enticing some of the white workers and small business people who voted for Trump to bail on him.

The building out of the Democratic Party and democratic movement in rural communities strikes me as an imperative that we should draw from this and recent elections. Our side of has nowhere near the organizational presence and voice that the right wing has. To give but two examples: the evangelical church and the NRA.