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As a reminder, the library is closed on November 11 (Veteran’s Day). On November 18, we’ll take up the topic as agreed last week…the day before the election: an election debrief.

At the time, we thought we’d be discussing a flurry of litigation over who had won a close race for president—I guess that won’t take too much time. Instead, we can discuss some (or all) of the following:

Democrats

• Why did Kamala Harris lose/what would have had to happen for her to win?
• Have Democrats stopped listening to working class Americans as David Brooks suggests?
• What lesson will Democrats take from the election overall:
  • Move firmly toward the working class (go to center)?
  • Double-down on progressive initiatives (go to left)?
  • “Steady as she goes” (perhaps this election was an anomaly and the overall platform is solid)?
• To what degree will they support Republican initiatives on key voter issues (such as immigration)?

Republicans

• To what degree will Trump’s actions be more moderate than his rhetoric?
• To what degree will congressional Republicans push back on the Administration’s most aggressive initiatives?
• How will Republicans manage high public expectations in light of the likely “tri-fecta” (Presidency plus a majority of both houses of Congress)? [Maybe a “quad-fecta” with a conservative majority on the Supreme Court as well.]
  • Will the Senate filibuster fall (or be constrained to narrower voting subjects)?

As agreed at last week’s meeting, we’ll discuss the Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. And more about the state of the race and each of their campaigns.

In case you missed the debate, here’s a replay posted by ABC News.

See you tomorrow.

There is often a lot of focus on local, town issues and events and those occurring at the Maine state level. But we rarely hear about activities at the county level–other than, perhaps, Hancock County law enforcement (Sheriff and District Attorney). Blue Hill taxpayers send about $450,000 of property tax money to the county.

• What do we get for our money?
• How is county spending levels set and prioritized?
• What changes, if any, would we like to see in terms of how the county is managed?

Becky Wentworth, a consistent Beyond Labels participant and Democratic candidate for the County Commissioner seat representing the Peninsula, will (hopefully) share her views. But we should be prepared with our own.

Here’s a link to the Hancock County website, which is a good starting point for research. And the 2023 (?!) county budget.