This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Before the election, many commentators and observers said the answer to the question in this blog headline would be “yes.”

Democracy was under attack.  Election deniers were arrayed all over the ballot.

But, as the results came in last week, American democracy emerged mostly intact.

Here is the way hill.com put it in a story this week:

“Fears of significant violence or chaos at polling places on Tuesday did not materialize.  Even candidates who had equivocated about the result of the 2020 election accepted their own outcomes, for the most part.

“But that doesn’t alter the fact that the fabric of American public life has become very frayed.

“According to exit polls, more than two-thirds of all voters believe democracy in America is either ‘somewhat threatened’ or ‘very threatened.’

“Even those voters split down the middle in terms of their voting behavior.

“Precisely half the voters who said democracy was ‘very threatened’ voted for Republican candidates, while 48 per cent voted for Democrats.

“The message is obvious:  Lots of Americans believe democracy is in danger, but they have contrasting views about where the threat is coming from.

“For Democrats, the danger lies with Republican election-deniers and conspiracy theorists, as well as with Trump himself.”

I add that, for some Republicans, they don’t even appear to think about the future of democracy.

In the Washington Post, columnist Jennifer Rubin suggests that there are several reasons to be optimistic about the future of democracy.  Here is how she started her column:

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“The mid-term elections could have gone badly.  Really badly.  There were serious concerns that right-wing groups would resort to voter intimidation, violence or other antics at polling places.  But none of that came to fruition.

“In fact, while threats to democracy remain, 2022 might be seen as the point at which the erosion of democratic values and critical institutions were halted.” 

She cited these reasons for her optimism:

• First, courts have proved adept at heading off election-related shenanigans.
• Second, massive early voting demonstrated the ability of voters to adjust to new election rules.
• Third, low turnout in competitive mid-term contests is no longer the norm.
• Fourth, younger voters have learned to show up at mid-term elections, boding well for the health of democracy values.
• Finally, the Republican Party might finally be tiring of Donald Trump.

In sum, democracy is looking stronger than it did a week ago.  With federal and state prosecutors still at work, there is a rationale to believe that Trump and his cronies (minions, acolytes, blind followers) will face accountability for their actions, even if, as predicted, Trump announces tonight that he is running again.