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EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) On Wednesday, the Border Network for Human Rights convened local thought leaders and advocates to discuss the potential effects on border communities and immigration policies pursuant to the elections and ongoing public health crisis.

This is a defining moment, says Fernando Garcia, executive director at the Border Network for Human Rights.

Whatever the result, politics is not going to be the same. It is not only the soul of a nation but what an American is supposed to be, he continued. In the last four years, weve seen unprecedented situations at the border: children in cages, people rejected, walls erected in our neighborhoods.

Garcia spoke on issues that he says are indicative of the federal governments desire to militarize the border and criminalize migrants and refugees.

Wed like to think thats not the character of our country, said Garcia, that immigrants are not criminals, but assets.

Whatever the results, it is our duty and the American way to pass comprehensive immigration reform to allow immigrants to live in this country with dignity, Garcia continued.

Diocese of El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz addressed the pervasive senses of anxiety, frustration and desperation that many are feeling while states work to tally the votes.

Were choosing a President not a Savior, said Seitz, reminding the community of its duty to protect the vulnerable and those in need.

Seitz underscored the many challenges migrants and refugees have faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the zero tolerance policy established in March designed to halt immigration into the U.S. from the Mexican border.

There are no practical methods for people who need to cross the border to gain legal access into the U.S., argued Seitz.

The welcome mat has been removed and replaced by a wall, he said.

Issues of racism domestic and foreign were buttressed by efforts to examine and change these systems in El Paso.

Pastor Michael Grady, who serves on the El Paso Accountability Task Force, says its the task forces mission to uncover systemic racism in the Borderland, speak truth to power and demand accountability to meet the needs of those served by the El Paso Police Department.

We must have law enforcement who is not prejudiced, but rather are dedicated to serving those who have been left out, the disenfranchised, said Grady.The thing to bring us together is not the law its empathy.

Despite an overwhelming sense of confusion and bleakness, community leaders urge El Pasoans to be proud of the organization and mobilization of voters.

You went out there to vote during the middle of a pandemic, despite the dangers and the hurdles, said Cemelli de Aztlan, a network weaver at the El Paso Equal Voice Network.

I read a thousand El Pasoans are going to die by December from COVID-19 and the election doesnt change that, she said.But you went out there with your sanitizers and your masks and you voted.

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Local leaders discuss election outcomes on immigration policies and the Borderland - KTSM 9 News

Colorado knows where it stands after sending a strong rebuke to President Donald Trump and making it clear that we are a solidly blue state in terms of both representation and policy matters. But as a nation, we are in crisis drowning in division and floundering for a way forward. Colorados rejection of Trump, and the installation of a second moderate senator, could be a life-line if wed only grab it.

Former Vice President Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in Colorado by a 14% margin, a 9% increase over Clintons margin in 2016. In what was once pegged as the top Senate race in the country, former Gov. John Hickenlooper flipped an important senate seat after decisively defeating Sen. Cory Gardner by 10 points.

Democrats expanded their majority in the state Senateto 20 seats of out 35and held their 41-seat majorityout of 65 seatsin the House. The Senate majority could reach 22 seats before all races are settled.

Progressive statewide ballot measures were adopted as well. Colorado passed an amendment to create a new state-run paid family medical leave program in Colorado funded by employee and employer contributions by 14%, repealed the Gallagher Amendment and became the latest state to adopt an agreement among states to elect the president by a national popular vote. And, they soundly defeated a 22-week abortion ban amendment by 18%.

Republicans sole bright spot in Colorado was with the narrow victory of political newcomer Lauren Boebert in the hotly contested 3rd Congressional District, which was previously a Republican seat held by Congressman Scott Tipton.

Regardless of the clear-cut Colorado outcome, the most important question remains: will our democracy and institutions be structurally sound in the aftermath of the election results? We have seen the spoiled fruits of this division play out in Washington and in every corner of our great country.

The close election outcome reflects a country deeply divided with the outcome likely to be litigated as Trump has begun filing lawsuits in order to obtain an electoral advantage and victory.

If the system was working, Congress would have negotiated and passed a much-needed stimulus package instead of rushing through a partisan Supreme Court justice nomination, whose vote could potentially decide the outcome of our presidential election and do Trumps business to overturn Roe and the Affordable Care Act.

If the system was working, our leaders would be working to address systemic racism, social justice reform and pass a police reform accountability package, much like Colorados.

If the system was working, we wouldnt be playing pandemic politics with peoples lives.

America is a powder keg waiting to explode.

This is the reason why stores across the country boarded-up doors and windows and hired extra security as cities brace for election unrest. This is a moment of great uncertainty and deep divisions. Politics is a blood sport, but governing should not be. Americans are tired of the knife fight in the alley. Our country desperately needs to heal these wounds and find a workable path forward.

We have been here before.

One hundred and fifty-five years ago, the Civil War was coming to an end. Abraham Lincoln, a statesman for the ages, delivered his six-minute second inaugural address aimed at healing a divided nation. Lincoln talked about slavery as the true cause of the Civil War and how both the North and South were complicit for this moral offense.

Lincoln then called on Americas better angels for reunification. With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

America will survive this election, but if we are going to heal our national wounds we need to channel Lincoln through strong, principled leadership from Democrats and Republicans alike.

In Colorado, our state Democratic leaders, who control every branch of government, must not forget about the huge portions of Colorado that are disenfranchised from them and who do not feel represented by state government.

In Washington, our leaders are out of touch with whats best for Americans. Senator-elect Hickenlooper will have an important role to play alongside his once and future colleague, Sen. Michael Bennet. Bennet, who once served as Denver Mayor Hickenloopers chief of staff and played a significant role in persuading Hickenlooper to run for the U.S. Senate.

Bennet was part of a bipartisan Gang of 8 senators who collaborated on immigration reform; he understands the importance of working across the aisle.

Hickenlooper doesnt just talk the talk about collaboration; he brought cities together that didnt get along when he became mayor, and worked to build the nations best economy by collaborating with the public and private sector, moving us from 40th to 1st in job creation.

In his second inaugural address as governor, Hickenlooper aptly summed up his style of governing when he said, I believe there is no margin in making enemies. I believe that if we are willing to compromise and collaborate on what may seem like an imperfect solution, it is far better than if we cling to entrenched positions and work against one another in pursuit of different, allegedly perfect solutions. Progress, even if incremental, is better than gridlock.

There wont be surprises with Hickenlooper. He has always said that nooneparty has all of the answers and that he will follow the facts and science, while consulting his heart and conscience to look for solutions that will benefit the most Coloradans. That recipe has served us well and can be an important bridge to building a powerful legacy in Washington.

For this dynamic duo to bind up the nations wounds of our day, we voters need to let the representatives weve elected know that the partisan blood sport is over; we now expect them to do the governing that we elected them to do and place country over party.

To fail to do so is to lose track of the entire point of democracy that we can self-govern because we can listen and compromise. Lincoln understood that the fight only mattered if it was followed by healing. Do we?

Doug Friednash is a Denver native, a partner with the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck and the former chief of staff for Gov. John Hickenlooper.

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Friednash: Colorado rejects Trump and throws a life-line to the nation - The Denver Post

When polls suggested that President Donald Trump might lose badly on Election Day, some vulnerable Republican senators started tiptoeing away from him particularly on his handling of the pandemic. He also faced criticism for not clearly denouncing a white supremacist group during the first presidential debate.

Now that Mr. Trump has overperformed expectations in the election results, and still has a shot at winning, party officials are circling the wagons. His grip on the party seems as tight as ever. And even if he loses, he will remain the partys leader, at least through the midterms and likely until theres a clear GOP presidential front-runner for 2024.

As a political agenda, Trumpism is part Reagan Republicanism lower taxes, less government regulation, cultural conservatism plus a pivot toward a hard line on immigration and an America First approach to foreign policy. Its also infused with old-fashioned populism.

And its here to stay.

Says veteran political analyst Stuart Rothenberg: The Trump wing of the Republican Party is the Republican Party, and its big enough now such that it would take a stunning blow to get those people to reassess.

Washington

President Donald Trump may lose reelection, but if the nail-biter contest of 2020 has shown anything, its that Trumpism is here to stay.

As a political agenda divorced from the more controversial aspects of his personality and style, Trumpism is part Reagan Republicanism lower taxes, less government regulation, cultural conservatism plus a pivot toward a hard line on immigration and an America First approach to foreign policy. Its also infused with old-fashioned populism, in its appeal to Americans who feel forgotten by the powerful.

As long as President Trump himself remains in the public eye which he is expected to do, win or lose his outsize persona will ensure that his political brand dominates the Republican Party for the foreseeable future.

But the preeminence of Trumpism within the GOP is not just about one mans ability to garner attention and appeal to a significant portion of the electorate. Its also about the deeper currents of thought that he has tapped into and which long predated his fateful ride down the escalator at Trump Tower in June 2015.

For the past 40 years, our political paradigm has shifted from left versus right to front versus back, says Mo Elleithee, director of the Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University.

Its about people who feel stuck at the back of the line versus those at the front who they feel are keeping them back, he says.

In Mr. Trumps terms, its about fighting the swamp the Washington establishment, of both parties, that he says are in it for themselves, not hardworking Americans.

In recent memory, a series of outsider presidents has come to Washington from Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, all of whom staked claims to addressing concerns of the little guy.

But nobody can match the sheer disruptiveness of Mr. Trump, both in style and policy. The presidents continuing popularity within the Republican base means that he still holds the party in his thrall, regardless of how GOP leaders feel.

The Trump wing of the Republican Party is the Republican Party, and its big enough now such that it would take a stunning blow to get those people to reassess, says veteran political analyst Stuart Rothenberg.

When polls suggested that Mr. Trump might lose badly on Election Day, some vulnerable Republican senators started tiptoeing away from him particularly on his handling of the pandemic. He also faced criticism for not clearly denouncing a white supremacist group during the first presidential debate.

Now that Mr. Trump has overperformed expectations in the election results, and still has an outside shot at winning, party officials are circling the wagons. His grip on the party seems as tight as ever. And even if he loses, he will remain the partys leader, at least through the midterms and likely until theres a clear GOP presidential front-runner for 2024.

Its also possible Mr. Trump will run again for president himself. At the very least, he is expected to maintain a public presence via Twitter, public appearances, possibly his own media venture which would allow him to keep the embers of a potential political comeback burning bright.

For experienced party hands, Mr. Trump is a wonder to behold. In early 2013, Henry Barbour, Republican National Committee member from Mississippi, co-wrote a report on the future of the GOP. Dubbed the autopsy, it aimed to reimagine a more inclusive party, following presidential nominee Mitt Romneys loss in 2012.

Most memorably, the report embraced comprehensive immigration reform, in an effort to recast the party as more welcoming to minorities. At the time, Mr. Trump lashed out against that recommendation: Does the @RNC have a death wish? he tweeted.

The rest is history. He launched his 2016 campaign by railing against unauthorized Mexican immigrants. Build the wall has been a Trump rallying cry ever since.

Certainly, the presidents tone on immigration is not consistent with what we wrote in the report, Mr. Barbour says in an interview. It is what it is.

But, he notes, the president did better Tuesday than he did four years ago with Latino voters as well as African Americans. And he points to a logic in Mr. Trumps approach.

Thats something we missed in the report, Mr. Barbour says. How do we consistently win working-class voters of all backgrounds?

At heart, the future of Trumpism is very much tied to the legions of Americans he has brought into his orbit, including first-time voters some of whom have sat out many elections but are now invested in Mr. Trump and his goals.

Mr. Trump has won many converts, such as Steven Mosley of Alexandria, Virginia, who works in higher education. Four years ago, he didnt vote for Mr. Trump but on Tuesday, he did.

He is the only Republican in my lifetime that actually said he was going to do something and did it, says Mr. Mosley, who points to judicial appointments, moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and defunding Planned Parenthood.

All political parties are coalitions, as is the Trump electorate effectively the Republican Party, minus the Never Trumpers. Not all Trump voters like his brash style but many do, citing his willingness to fight hard and flout norms.

A lot of his base, they love his behavior, says Dick Wadhams, a veteran GOP strategist in Colorado.

Others are willing to vote for Mr. Trump in spite of his style, citing his traditional Republican approach to taxes and regulation.

For now, GOP strategists say, Mr. Trump is the Republican Party. To some Never Trumpers a slice of the Republican elite that cannot abide the presidents persona or values a Trump loss in the presidential race would mean the end of his party control.

Trumpism is a cult, says Rick Tyler, a former top aide to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. And if Mr. Trump loses the election, the cult goes away.

To University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket, Trumpism represents a loyalty to him rather than to any specific ideology. Its an alternative to conservatism.

Indeed, perhaps Mr. Trumps most significant departure from conservatism is his seeming lack of care about the debt and deficit, even before the pandemic.

Other analysts see a certain logic in Trumpism.

Trumpism itself has a much more anti-globalist ideology than traditional Republicanism, says Brandice Canes-Wrone, a political scientist at Princeton University. Its more generous in terms of social insurance; hes not trying to significantly reform Social Security or Medicare, or even indicating any interest in doing that.

She notes that elements of Trumpism adhere to traditional Republican philosophy, including in its conservative judicial philosophy and its approach to taxes and regulation.

Those areas are consistent, Professor Canes-Wrone says. But the anti-globalism and even the kind of strong preservation of Social Security and Medicare and the willingness to spend a lot during the pandemic, you could say anyone would do that. But with Trump, you dont sense the kind of hesitation you might find with a more traditional Republican.

How Mr. Trump would handle a second term a live possibility at time of writing could go a long way to determining the future of the GOP. One important question: How would he behave, given that he would no longer need to campaign, at least for himself?

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He could take a look at how his own behavior clouded the success of his administration over these past four years, and make the decision to be different, says Mr. Wadhams. Or he could double down and be even more confrontational than he was the first term.

Staff writer Noah Robertson contributed to this report.

Continued here:
Why Trumpism is here to stay - The Christian Science Monitor

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The long-awaited declaration of a victor in the presidential race finally came on Saturday morning, and Staten Islanders prominent in the boroughs politics are reacting to Joe Bidens projected win.

Congratulations President-elect Biden! said James Clinton, executive director of the Staten Island Democratic Party. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the right leaders to lead all of us through these times. We look forward to a strong future for this country.

Democratic Rep. Max Rose -- who has not yet conceded in his election to Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, pending the count of about 40,000 absentee ballots -- offered his congratulations to Biden and Harris in a Tweet Saturday afternoon.

Now is the time to put aside differences others use to divide us, heal the nation, rebuild the economy and beat this pandemic, he wrote.

That message echoed the sentiment of unity projected by Biden in televised speeches on Thursday and Friday evenings, as the country waited for a winner to be named.

But one of the most boroughs most recognizable Trump supporters, the controversial public artist Scott LoBaido, railed against messaging that he sees as hypocritical.

It is despicable!" LoBaido said. "The same people who did not accept Trump as president and spent four years frivolously, unconstitutionally trying to bring him down, and disrespected him are now the party of Unity?

"Call me a sore-loser or whatever, he continued. I call bull****! I will continue my decades-long mission to preserve America as we know it and keep her from being slaughtered from within!

In contrast, comments from Trumps strongest detractors on Staten Island put into stark relief the divergent viewpoints that made the presidential election so hotly contested.

Illustrating the anti-Trump sentiment held by some Biden voters, activist Yesenia Mata said: No more children in cages, no more families separated, no more attacks on our immigrant communities and time for bold immigration reform."

Mata is the executive director of La Colmena, a job community center in Port Richmond.

Councilman Joseph Borelli, who has been a strong supporter of Trump and was instrumental locally in the presidents 2016 campaign, simply congratulated Biden and wished him luck.

Councilwoman Debi Rose commented on the historic nature of the win.

Todays news is a win for democracy over demagoguery, and a win for women and our struggle to break the glass ceiling of inequity councilwoman Rose said. "This is especially significant for women of color, who will have a mirror image of themselves present in the second highest office in America.

I hope and pray that this nation will come together to defeat this pandemic, rebuild our economy and unite in a spirit of healing and mutual respect.

TRUMPS STATEN ISLAND WIN

Bidens projected win is a bright spot for Staten Island Democrats, who saw some stinging results at the polls on Election Day, with local Republicans riding a wave of support for President Trump.

Republican Michael Tannousis won the vacant East Shore state assembly seat; the Chairman of the Staten Island Democratic Party, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, is currently behind in a nail-biter with his challenger; and, despite Rep. Roses refusal to concede, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis declared victory in their hard-fought battle.

Malliotakis did not respond to an Advance/SILive.com request for comment in time for publication, but Trumps endorsement of her candidacy for Congress was a prominent part of her campaign and she thanked him on Election Night in her victory speech.

She tweeted on Saturday support for the presidents efforts to pursue their options until every legal vote is counted.

Staten Island was the only borough in New York City won by Trump in 2016, and with just the in-person ballots counted so far, almost 9,000 additional Staten Island votes have already been counted for Trump in 2020.

Trumps total vote count in 2016 was 101,437, and at least 110,094 in-person votes cast for him during the 2020 pandemic.

It is unclear how wide Trumps margin on Staten Island will be after the more than 30,000 mail-in ballots from Staten Island voters are counted, but only about 67,000 votes were made in-person for the Biden-Harris ticket.

SOME NEW YORKERS TAKE TO THE STREETS

People celebrate in Times Square, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)AP

In Manhattan, Biden supporters filled Times Square on Saturday afternoon, cheering and celebrating the projection of the former vice presidents victory.

Throngs also cheered on the sidewalk outside Trump Tower, the presidents longtime home, and gathered by the hundreds in public plazas that have served as gathering spots for Black Lives Matter protests.

Kyle Boyd, of Brooklyn, said he heard the commotion and instinctively grabbed the cowbell he had banged during nightly celebrations for health care workers throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

I hadnt quite imagined it, Boyd said over the shouting of revelers as a man hoisted a bottle of champagne nearby. I had no idea when it would come.

In Harlem, chants of Black Lives Matter mixed with cheers, claps, horn-honking among a multiracial crowd on a plaza on the neighborhoods main drag, 125th Street. Some danced to R&B classics and, later, sang Lift Every Voice and Sing, the hymn also known as the Black national anthem.

If Biden does what he says hes going to do, were going to be a great country, Terence Blakes, who goes by the name Born Life, said as he watched. The 53-year-old, who works at a Harlem school, said hed waited two to three hours to vote in his precinct in Brooklyn.

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From the right leaders to despicable: Staten Island reaction to Bidens projected win - SILive.com

Venture capitalists on either side of the Atlantic have weighed in on a nail-biter race for the White House which has yet to determine whether incumbent President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden will spend the next four years in the Oval Office.

Biden is narrowing the gap with Trump in key states such as Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Business Insider asked tech investors in the US and Europe to share their gut reactions to the news so far.

Matt Clifford, the cofounder and CEO of the startup accelerator Entrepreneur First, told Business Insider he had been predicting a "big and clear" win for Biden.

Speaking from his home in London, Clifford, who has a master's degree in American politics, said the neck-and-neck race was a "disaster" for pollsters.

"I thought they were treated unfairly in 2016, given a Trump win was within the margin of error. But this is unquestionably a disaster," he said.

No matter who ends up taking the presidency, Clifford said US policy toward high-skilled immigrants would be of great interest to the tech sector.

Last month, Trump announced major changes to the H-1B visa program, which allows high-skilled foreign workers to be employed in the US and was considered an asset that allowed American startups to import talent.

The changes introduce new obstacles for visa holders and are being challenged by major US tech firms in court. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella both once held H-1B visas.

Biden has suggested he would ease the visa restrictions, though potentially not all of them.

Clifford also pointed to the emerging "arms race" between the US and China for dominance of artificial intelligence and quantum-computing technologies.

"Whatever happens, I think Europe is going to be a lot wearier of letting the US take the lead on these issues in the West," he said.

Ophelia Brown, a cofounder and general partner at Blossom Capital, said the election served as a reminder for European entrepreneurs to "keep their foot to the pedal."

She said: "Whichever candidate ends up in the White House, tech companies in Europe have a huge opportunity ahead of them, and should keep their attention on dealing with the opportunities and challenges directly in front of them."

Meanwhile Spencer Lake, a partner at Element Ventures, said the tightening polls offered an "unfortunate commentary on the divisiveness that exists in the US." He added: "Hopefully, the naturally strong business acumen of the American people will continue to prevail, regardless of the outcome."

PitchBook data indicates that venture capitalists donated $69.7 million to the 2020 election with about 80% going to Democratic candidates and organizations.

Investors are keen to see more support for the H-1B program from Biden and vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris, but not everything they bring is viewed as a positive.

Logan Allin, a managing partner at Fin Venture Capital, said he believed the Biden administration would be a strong net positive but predicted an increase in corporate taxes, which would "drag on earnings" and the potential for "higher long-term capital gains," affecting innovation in the sector.

Immigration reform and higher corporate taxes could be a net positive for Europe, however, according to Stephen McIntyre, a founding partner at Frontline, a venture-capital fund that specializes in helping US companies set up in Europe.

"Tighter US immigration controls and COVID-induced remote work have blown open the global market for skilled talent," he told Business Insider. "Silicon Valley is losing its monopoly on tech talent, and we expect to see US startups hire more engineers and executives in Europe, which remains the first destination for US tech companies overseas."

For the latest news on the 2020 US election, follow Business Insider's live coverage here.

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US and European tech investors on US election - Business Insider