The Political Fallout

Continuing with more random thoughts on the stunning results of the 2016 presidential election:

HILLARY CLINTON WON

The way we elect American presidents must be closely re-examined and perhaps overhauled.  Fact:  Hillary Clinton won more votes than Donald Trump.  While the poll numbers are still rolling in, the final tally will undoubtedly show that the Democratic candidate won the votes of more Americans than the Republican candidate.  This has been the case in 6 out of the last 7 presidential elections.  Aside from the timing of this partisan comment, there is something inherently wrong with a broken system where a majority of Americans voting in favor of one candidate over another doesn’t translate into that candidate being elected.  This system isn’t just flawed.  It’s broken.  The electoral system must be changed.  It’s time to create a bi-partisan national commission to implement a better way to elect our leaders.

A GENERATIONAL DIVIDE

We of a different generation often beat up unmercifully on Millennials.  We still think their music sucks and we’re totally convinced they spend far too much time worrying about the latest bullshit trend on social media.  But, for the most part, Millennials in this election got things right.  Younger people have the most at stake personally when it comes to politics.  Their future is in jeopardy.  We now have a president-elect who denies global warming, who intends terminate women’s reproductive rights, who resorted to a gutter level of personal conduct that’s unprecedented in American political history, who adheres to a set of core beliefs grounded in the distant past rather than the future.  For the most part, a majority of young people REJECTED that message and that candidate.  My generation can’t be so proud of itself.  In fact, we should be ashamed.  We’ve burned up the planet, poisoned the air and the oceans, empowered the banks to tether you by the balls, and now we’ve just given you Donald J. Trump for President.  Here’s a shout out to young activists who are committed to progressive causes — get involved.  This isn’t a plea.  It’s a fucking obligation.  Our future depends on you.  We hope that you can become the greatest generation.  Please.

JEB BUSH WAS NOMINATED, AFTER ALL

An uninspiring presidential candidate with a famous last name was once thought to be the inevitable nominee of his party.  And, turns out, she was.  Hillary Clinton turned into a Democratic reincarnation of all the stupefying negatives of Jeb Bush, earlier perceived as the heir-apparent to the presidential thrown.  Like Bush, Clinton often had difficulty connecting with average voters.  She, and her complacent campaign staff, distanced the candidate from questions and scrutiny.  While Donald Trump was basking in the glow of unprecedented media coverage, Clinton was tightly controlled.  She held virtually no press conferences.  She sequestered herself away from media while traveling.  Everything was carefully orchestrated by the handlers and “experts,” leaving the average voter with the (accurate) perception that Clinton was hopelessly out of touch with people living and working on Main Street.  Unfortunately, the political machinery of the Democratic Party didn’t weed out the mediocrity of candidate Clinton in the same manner Republicans were able to quickly expunge Jeb Bush from the national political scene.

POLLSTERS EATING TRIPLE HELPINGS OF CROW

I lost whatever sliver of respect I still had for pollsters way back in 2004, after most of the pundits that year predicted the election of John Kerry.  They were wrong back then.  But this time, they really blew it.  Witnessing the polling group and website Five-Thirty-Eight have the audacity to continue posting flawed “data” last night, all night long, in the midst of such a massive slap in the face to their credibility was excruciating.  Sure, surprises do happen.  But national pollsters should have been able to employ more accurate survey methodology and at the very least factor in outlying habits of key demographics that might not align with traditional ways of conducting polls.  Move over Hillary.  The night’s biggest losers were the pollsters and pundits.

A NATION OF ANGRY VOTERS HYPOCRITES

The 2016 national electorate has been widely described as “angry.”  That’s certainly accurate.  What’s grossly inaccurate, however, is the mainstream media’s portrayal of widespread anger being almost entirely monopolized by the Trump campaign.  That’s simply not true.  Plenty of Clinton supports were angry, too.  In fact, Bernie Sanders supporters were arguably the angriest constituency of all.  We continue to demand a complete overhaul of the economic and political system of this country.  Many die-hard Clinton supporters were also angry, as well as horrified, as the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency.  And so, like me, we rallied around an admittedly-flawed, often wavering compromise of a presidential candidate who wasn’t so much an inspiration, but a desperate firewall.  The 2016 election will INACCURATELY go down in history as a popular manifestation of intense voter anger with Washington and the rest of the political establishment and elites, supposedly targeted at both parties.  But if voters were so “angry.” then why did they end up doing what voter inexplicably do every election in my memory, which is RE-ELECTING establishment politicians, namely incumbents in overwhelming numbers?  Fact:  There were NO SURPRISES in congressional, senate, or gubernatorial elections.  None.  The establishment won, once again.  Big surprise.  So, quit the the “anger” bullshit.  Voters must not be too angry, after all, since they re-elected 95 percent of the incumbents who were running for re-election.  I could have gone along with a massive political sweep and housecleaning.  That’s DIDN’T HAPPEN.  Hypocrites.

WHITELASH

Trump’s victory is being described by some as the last gasp of a frightened segment of the population — namely older Whites — soon to be outnumbered by looming horizonal shifts in racial and cultural demographics.  I previously thought we are becoming a more tolerant nation, a more secular society, a more empathetic people to the struggles of others.  But, alas we are not.  We’re stooped and stymied in the same ugliness that once engulfed other advanced nations in similar scary times when an imperfect storm of seemingly unlikely events creates an unforeseen political pox.  I can’t even begin to understand what it must be like to be an immigrant, a Muslim, a responsible journalist, a social worker who deals with family crisis’ and wakes up this morning in a different America than we thought, just 24 hours earlier.  I cannot fathom the fear.  I cannot fathom the disappointment.  I can only fathom my own sense of shame.

More to come…..

The Mourning After

The talk this morning is of conceding a bitter election defeat and bringing a divided country back together again.

Fine.  I’m willing to go along with that.

But first, some fingers need to be pointed.  Names need to be called out.  The guilty should be identified.  Heads must roll.

Let’s make one thing clear.  The floundering Democratic Party establishment failed us.  They had the money.  They had the machinery.  They had it all.  All the so-called elites, the political operatives, the sycophant enablers, the corrupt party leadership — they all fumbled what should have been a rout of epic proportions.  This should have been as ass-kicking.  Well, I guess it was.

Democrats were all but gift-wrapped what should have been a massive electoral landslide of 1964 proportions with the nomination of a candidate as vile as Donald Trump.  This should have been a slam dunk, a grand slam, and a hole in one.  Instead, it turned into a pick-six and a strike out and a triple bogey.  And we, those of us who adhere most stridently to progressive values, we will ultimately end up paying the heaviest price for the failures of our failed “leadership.”

We told you so.  Democrats had a golden chance to nominate a thoroughly likable and trustworthy presidential candidate who, even with what some might consider far-Leftist views, still enjoyed widespread high marks for integrity and the respect of his political adversaries.  But now, all the evidence plainly shows the Democratic National Committee conspired against the more electable candidate.  Accordingly, in the face of such an embarrassing defeat, every DNC executive should resign immediately.

Moreover, the Democratic Party must completely expunge its congressional leadership.  All of them.  They need to go.  These names have become politically toxic to a majority of Americans.  Sen. Harry Reid can’t retire quickly enough.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi must be stripped of her minority post in the House of Representatives when Congress re-convenes next January.  Anyone in a position of power in this party must step aside for their failures on such a massive scale.  Debbie Wasserman Shultz should be recalled by her constituency.  Donna Brazille, whom I once greatly respected, should never be allowed to work again in a position of trust.  John Podesta will go down in history as the campaign chairman who couldn’t manage a used car lot.

Democrats absolutely blew the presidency.  They blew control of the Senate.  They blew the chance to pick up substantial seats in the House.  Democrats blew it in all the state races, as well.  Once again, they failed to pick up any significant victories in gubernatorial elections or winning control of state assemblies.  Despite enjoying all the advantages of a well-oiled machine, they crashed the family car into a tree.  Now, we the progressives will take over the drivers seat.  My message to the Democratic establishment:  Get out of the car.  You can walk from here.  In fact, take a hike.  We’re taking over.

Here’s a call out to all my fellow progressives, especially younger people.  Now, it’s time to step up.  Big time.  Yes, many of the previous generation, my generation, let you down.  So, your time has come.  We are counting on you.  We need you.

I’ll be looking ahead for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to take over this movement, which includes the millions of Bernie Sanders supporters who now desperately crave a new voice and guiding light.  We need Rep. Gabbard and other new voices not only to step forward and be heard, but to articulate a message to Americans that progressives stand for causes which are vital to our future — equality and protection for all, inclusion both economically and politically, dedication to a clean environment, and other virtues which are now seriously in danger with the election of Donald Trump.

We must not merely accept defeat gracefully.  While we must adhere to the principles of a peaceful transition of power, we must also retool our message and (most important) replace our messengers in order to reverse the terrible pain of this awful moment.

More thoughts to come……