Will the midterms matter?

With the midterm elections less than two weeks away, Democrats are heavily favored to take control of the House of Representatives and slightly favored to take control of the Senate. Both sides have described the election in near-apocalyptic terms. Professor Timothy Snyder, author of “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century,” maintains that it is “probably the most consequential election since the eighteenth century.” Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, calls it the “most important” election in United States history.

But will it really make that much of a difference? After all, regardless of who wins, a convicted fraudster/sexual predator/insurrectionist will still occupy the Oval Office for two more years, and he will still be capable of inflicting immense damage on our democracy and the world. This is the man who, just in the past week or so:

• Openly supported the murderous dictator Putin in his war to take over our democratic ally Ukraine, both by lifting existing sanctions on Russia’s sale of diesel fuel and by refusing to implement new Russia sanctions in a bill that he just signed into law last month. This revolting turn of events was described by numerous Republican senators as “a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies.”

• Authorized a dawn raid on the home of a sitting Congresswoman by the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to strip her of her citizenship and deport her. Congresswoman Omar, who became a citizen 26 years ago, has long been an outspoken Trump critic and a target of his racist rants, and the raid was a naked display of retribution, persecution and intimidation.

• Called for the execution of government employees who leak sensitive information to the press, and told a crowd at his rally that journalists were “almost as bad.”

• Posted snuff films online of people being mauled and killed by animals.

And yet, there is reason to believe that the outcome of the midterms will very much matter. In practical terms, control of the House would give Democrats control of all House committees. This would give them the power to conduct investigations, compel testimony and the production of documents, and hold public hearings. To be sure, shining a light on and further uncovering the depredations of Trump and his administration would not by itself result in accountability. But it would be an important first step towards accountability.

Among other things, a Democratic victory would enable Congress to investigate this administration’s unprecedented carnival of corruption and self-enrichment. A tiny fraction of these activities includes the $420 million 747 Trump accepted from a foreign country, the funding of his son’s wedding by a Russian mobster with close ties to Putin, the increase in Trump’s net worth while in office by over $3 billion, Kimberly Guilfoyle’s shakedown of a donor to pay her $100,000 AMEX debt, border czar Tom Homan’s acceptance of $50,000 in a paper bag from undercover FBI agents, Jared Kushner’s numerous business deals in the Middle East and with Russia while he serves as Trump’s envoy to these regions, rampant insider stock trading, the outright sale of presidential pardons, and the curbing of antitrust and IRS enforcement for donors to the president.

A Democratic win would also enable the investigation of dozens of other issues, such as:

• The multiple abuses of ICE, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the mistreatment of people held in ICE detention centers;

• The Defense Department’s extrajudicial killings of dozens of people on the high seas, explained only by the unsupported assertion that they were running drugs;

• The dismantling of the Agency for International Development, which has been responsible for saving millions of lives around the world;

• Massive cutbacks and a leadership purge at the Centers for Disease Control, formerly the world’s premier public health agency, that have endangered public health;

• The true extent of the damage sustained by our military bases in the Mideast due to the Iran War, as well as an accurate accounting of all military personnel killed or wounded; and

• The decimation of the top ranks of the military by Pete Hegseth, who has created a dangerous leadership vacuum by firing dozens of exemplary generals and other top officers without explanation.

If Democrats win control of the Senate as well as the House, they will be in a position to block confirmation of Trump-supported judges, including nominees to the Supreme Court. During their confirmation hearings, Trump’s appointees have consistently refused to acknowledge the irrefutable fact that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. That refusal does not bode well for their ability to impartially decide matters involving this administration, and underscores the importance of the Senate’s confirmation power.

A sound thumping of Trump’s candidates at the polls would also give us something perhaps more valuable than congressional power: Hope. Hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hope that our long national nightmare may soon be over. Hope that we can begin repairing the staggering damage wrought by Trump and his minions.

James Speyer lives in Sharon.