It is hardly a surprise that Trump won the election or that the Republicans gained control of the Senate. It is a surprise that as of this writing it seems fairly certain that Trump will have won the popular vote by several million, which was not on most people’s expectation radar.
A very good talking to those of us prone to freaking out. I’m tired of being angry, negative and anxious. Time to stop tantrumming and deal with what is. Hopefully it’s less destructive than we fear.
I get it - thank you for a calm and thoughtful response. I don't think you're dismissing the very real "bad" behavior that we experienced (and are likely to again) - but, in many ways, what I see you saying is that it's up to us to step away from the click-bait madness and not live in fear or feel helpless.
Thank you. I feel like "the media" and the fundraisers were mainly focused on making a buck off the election and milking the outrage of whomever they could outrage. I'm a Harris supporter, don't get me wrong, but if over half the people in the country voted for Trump, there is some unmet need there that I and those in my bubble cannot comprehend. But it does not mean that the grievances on the other side are not real.
Correct. As a Trump supporter I notice that liberal people don't have much idea what we think, surrounded as they are by their media and entertainment universe that repeats the same narratives and demonizes opposition.
"You do not understand your own position until you understand your opponent's position, as explained by his most articulate and intelligent spokespersons".
For those who prize authentic understanding for its own sake, I would recommend making a genuine effort to understand the various reasons people voted for Trump.
"You know that you understand your opponent's position when you can recite it to him and he says, unperturbed, yes, that's what I believe."
It would bring a huge improvement to this country if we stopped letting politicians and the media polarize us and tried to have the respectful exchange of views people claim to be seeking.
I'm amazed that many of the liberals with whom I work clearly assume that I must agree with them politically. I'm always amused because I think my attitude and behavior screams conservative, but I think they just assume a highly educated and credentialed, urban professional must be liberal. It's striking how poorly they understand us.
I asked my many Conservative friends why they were voting for Trump and their responses were conspiracy theories and erroneous Trump rhetoric which contained not a scintilla of truth, e.g. Trump stating he gave Biden “a country with no inflation.” They watch and read only far right media which has excluded much of reality while spawning inaccuracy. It is difficult to engage in meaningful dialogue under these circumstances.
I have a 47-year-old son who is not only a Trumper but a Q follower as well. The stuff he spouts is enough to make me want to tape up his mouth. He is not allowed to talk about it in my house period. He always marched to the beat of a drum only he hears but has gotten worse since Quanon came into the picture. He has a brother & sister older and a sister younger but even they have trouble understanding all the conspiracy BS.
Large numbers don't mean their grievance is real, either.
More importantly, they voted for someone who will resolve none of those grievances - but they did it as a protest. A burn-it-all-down-type protest: this was an electoral riot.
I can only speak for me, my wife and adult children, when I say you are partially correct. But not entirely. We truly believe Trump will be able to get the economy booming again and we will struggle considerably less financially-speaking, get the border under control, and dampen the very real crime problem, and once again stop the forever wars. In terms of the protest aspect of it... there is definite appeal to those of us who possess Punk Rock sensibilities. Yes, it is a great feeling to stick it to the proverbial Man. Especially when the Man in question has nothing but open contempt for you. It does feel good to put the Establishment (our Ruling Class) in its place and provide a big middle fingered F U to "our betters". Not only the elected ones, either. But again, this is not to say we want to burn it all down. Rather we want to bolster the structural integrity of the Republic by reenforcing its foundations and rededicating the Republic to its Constitutional roots. There is clearly a lot of work to do. PS If some of the pop-culture craziness is also tamped down that would be welcomed as well (but not crucial). FWIW of course.
Serious question - have you looked at the actual statistics on the economy and crime? Violent crime is literally at its lowest point in decades. I agree with you that we need immigration solutions. But many of the other talking points that drew in Trump voters were not based in factual reality, and that's part of what is so upsetting about it -- he used fear mongering.
Sarah, the official source of crime stats in the U.S. is the DOJ. They do not show a meaningful drop in crime. The FBI also reports crime and does show a drop, but they are changing their reporting system. Many municipalities have had difficulty with the new reporting process and are simply not submitting numbers, hence the lower crime figures. I’m talking about cities like Miami and New York. Another point you should be aware of is that FBI only records reported crimes, while DOJ interviews citizens directly and includes both reported and unreported. Many crimes are never reported. The FBI is now allowing cities to report under the old system. Everyone in the criminal justice world is saying to ignore recent FBI statistics until they get this sorted out, which I understand should happen by 2025.
Absolutely. And the fact that Hitler and Mussolini came to power obviously shows there were real unmet needs and that a lot of people picked on those two guys without any real good reason. Don't you think?
I hope the Democratic Party follows your lead and refuses to engage in any meaningful soul searching and self-reflection about this election. That it continues along with the preposterous fascist name calling and denigration of the majority of the 2024 U.S. electorate. That it keeps pushing the same easily dismissable histrionics. Because that will ensure a President Vance in 4 years.
I mean, this is a strange take for several reasons... oh, nevermind. I am a boring, middle-aged 20th century Historian of sorts. I would just be writing things you could read on your own.
Yes, yes, yes. If there is a law of attraction, Democrats attracted Trump and Project 2025 by talking obsessively about them online. It's all I ever saw in my feed. It was like a replay of 2016, and the same thing happened... except worse. Pay attention to what you want, not what you don't want. And, I've also watched Dems overreact to so many things. (And then they get mad at me for not reacting enough. Ugh!) I am not freaking out. I am going to wait and see what actually happens. We have real problems in this country without making up ones that haven't happened yet. Thank you for saying what I've been feeling but am sometimes afraid to say.
You're absolutely right! It would have been far better to never mention project 2025 or any of the totalitarian things that Trump had done and was promising to continue doing. Just assume everything will be fine and stop holding people accountable and reminding the public why they need to be held accountable. Pretend that Trump is like any other politician and let him go without any criticism whatsoever. Yeah, that'll work.
I see that often about Project 2025, as if it's some boogeyman or evil plot to overthrow the world. It's not. It's been around, in some form or another since Reagan. The Dems have a suggested strategy/platform for governing as well. I think that a lot of media people misconstrued (purposefully or not I don't know) what's in it and used it as a tool to stoke fears about what Trump would do if elected. Having read several sections of it while researching some of the claims, I can tell you not everything in there is bad. It's free to download, and can be easily searched by anyone to determine the veracity of claims made by someone (on either side) about the document.
The one thing I found truly concerning in Project 2025 was the plan to find reasons to get rid of public servants who are not with the program. To me that sounded totally disruptive and undermines the one positive thing that comes from bureaucracy: stability and institutional memory.
It will be interesting to see how his followers react when they start losing benefits like Obamacare, lower prescription drug prices no longer being negotiated, the cap on out of pocket Medicare costs, etc., etc., etc…. Midterms are only two years away.
Does anyone actually like Obamacare in practice? I'm not talking about government healthcare in theory, I'm talking about the practical reality of signing up, paying for, and using Obamacare. How many people actually think it has improved their lives? I seriously doubt very many are terribly attached to it.
I think what happened is it gave healthcare to a lot of people who didn't have anything before, which naturally made it more expensive and bureaucratic for those of us who managed to have insurance before that.
Yes it’s not perfect and my preference would be universal healthcare as many countries have. However in the meantime 45 million people are currently enrolled in Obamacare and there are no better alternatives at the moment. Trump says he has a “concept” of a better plan but he’s been saying that for years and has ever delivered.
One thing we won't forget is how Mr. President-elect failed to get anything done in his first term except a tax break for the wealthiest citizens and their corporations. He fumbled the response to Covid and it cost hundreds of thousands of lives! He wants to abandon our allies to win praise from foreign dictators. The guy is a menace to our country. And the nation referred to as "Idiot America" in the Green Day tune will suffer for its lack of awareness, or worse, its awareness of his spite with acquiescence.
Shush Neal! Don't you understand that the only reason Trump won is because we held him accountable for the serious felonies he committed. If we had let him go Scott free and actually didn't criticize him at all for the many horrible things he did undoubtedly Harris would have won. You can bet the farm on that one!
The one area we agree upon is that we spent too much time talking about him--but not enough time educating the public as to the impact of policies on their daily lives. And if you are a woman, a member of religious minority, not heterosexual, you are about to face real life implications in denial of health care, religious freedoms, and the ability to love and present yourself as you wish.
Furthermore, you are minimizing or ignoring the impact of Project 2025 and the actual impact of the SCOTUS decision overruling the Chevron doctrine. Good luck on clean air, clean water, consumer protection and general protections that the regulatory framework has provided us for decades.
And remember that this administration will be appointing federal judges who want to further decimate your rights and take us back to the glorious days of the 1880s when corporations could do as they wanted and the 99% could do little to nothing.
Saying people need to be "educated" is just as bad as calling them uninformed. It's hard, but accept that the public doesn't need education. Over half of them just disagree with you.
I think he won because of uninformed voters, ignorance, and amnesia. Why did Biden win in 2020?because people were sick of his shit and tired of being told COVID wasn't real while watching people die. But then Biden made things better and this election with COVID receding in the rearview mirror, with low unemployment, a growing economy, more people with healthcare insurance than ever, and a living wage - (oh, and paying more for milk and McDonalds ☹️ )- they got comfortable forgot why they didn't want Trump in 2024. And then there's the sexism and racism issue. I WISH he was going to be held accountable for something, anything!
Keep going, Susan. 74 million "uninformed, ignorant voters with amnesia". I would try to dismiss it as condescension, but like most deranged liberals, the intent is purposeful and amazingly misguided, as has been demonstrated by the electoral landslide, shared with glee. I hope you do indeed keep up the personal attacks and bashing, and as time moves on, we can watch you slowly fade away.
and you just reinforced what he wrote in his article, just as Harris' campaign is blaming voters, Biden, anyone they can except for the woman who ran. People love to be told they are uninformed about what matters to them, especially when it's a coastal elite or Hollywood celebrity that knows very little about being poor gets online or on TV and tells them how they should vote; they love to be talked down to.
Even as a lowly, uninformed Garbage Person, with (clearly) a sub-standard pedigree, this cuts to the quick of it. It is super obnoxious to hear this tedious school marm tone from people who suppose they might self-aggrandize at my expense and (quite inexplicably) expect no comeuppance whatsoever. It is a horrible strategy, as demonstrated just days ago. It is strange to see a vanquished person continue to double-down on the very same strategy that led to their present lamentations in the first place. Very odd behavior.
Susan, more than half the country disagrees with you. Are we all “uninformed and ignorant “? Is that your position? No wonder your peeps lost. Can you perhaps be a bit more constructive?
I'm paraphrasing and don't remember the exact quote, nut when near death Mark Twain said something like "I spent most of my life worrying about all the terrible things that would happen to me, none of which wound up actually happening".
The only people who were saying it was going to backfire were Trump's people. For you to argue that that was some sort of exclusive reason for this man eaking out a win yesterday is ludicrous.
Yes, it was lawful--and certainly not UNdemocratic. The plan was to object to the electors from certain states and, if that succeeded, to replace them with alternate electors. Democrats have used similar tactics in every recent instance when a Republican president was elected. All such efforts have failed. But if it was okay for the Democrats to try, it should be okay for the Republicans too.
By the way, the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 interfered with that plan. So, it would make no sense for Trump to have orchestrated it. He wanted his supporters to show up at the capitol and protest peacefully. Beyond that, I'm sure he had no strategy in mind. (Written by a non-Trump voter.)
The popularity of Trump is because of the open derision of the elites, most pronounced in the corporate media. Lecturing working Americans about their "greed", gaslighting them to say they are not struggling, and blaming them for "racism" and "sexism" when an election doesn't go their way. All the while, this establishment sends the wealth of future American generations to fund NATO defense, pay for death and destruction overseas, billions in bailouts to wealthy corporations, and bribe leaders and peoples of all kinds in most every country. This same establishment spent the last 20+ years depleting American middle class, while the middle class in China, India, Indonesia and others has exploded. Nobody has cared enough to DO something for average working Americans. Talk means NOTHING. Working Americans took a chance on Trump in 2016, and came back to him in 2024, primarily because economic life was better under him. They had a chance for a better life and they suffered greatly in the last 4 years. Demonize him all you want, but the average working person is backed into a corner and a vote for Trump was a measure of economic hope, regardless of all the other noise. Trump would be a complete non- factor if ANYBODY else demonstrated the willingness to help the average American worker. I am convinced Bernie Sanders would have beat Trump in 2016 with his populist bona fides. However, the elites ran him out because Clinton was the anointed choice, and you saw how her condescension played with working Americans.
I think liberals living in a bubble of narcissistic self-satisfaction need to stop talking, and listen to the opinions and concerns of the large majority of the US population; average working class people. Legal immigation is good, illegal immigration is bad. Free speech is good, suppression of free speech by woke radicals is not good. I can provide another 20 examples. Wake up Dem's, stop calling everyone racist and misogynistic, and learn to represent the interests of the majority
I think Liberals are capable of self-inventory. But I haven't met a Progressive person who I have taken as introspective. And by the initial takes of heard from the defeated Progs, they are still busy projecting rather than taking a self-inventory. I think it is part of the psychology of never taking ownership of one's own actions. It's a Fatalistic worldview where one is always the victim.
Thank you for a clear, reasoned discussion about the situation. Words are not actions. It was a pleasure to read this article. I found it through RealClearPolitics and I will be back to read more.
As a 3-time Trump supporter, (and yes, I acknowledge his messaging can be at times frustratingly dysfunctional), I simply want to thank you for your open-minded and accurate assessment of the landscape surrounding us. As Americans, we thrive with dialogue, not censorship. I hope you don't lose many subscribers for sharing these thoughts, (though it likely depends on how many could be TDS kool-aid addicts).
A well-considered antidote to the hysterical despair prevalent among left-leaning voters after the Trump victory.
Interesting, though, that the best example of incursions on individual freedom the writer can come up with are the restrictions on abortion that exist in a few states.
What about professors losing their jobs because they don't bow to progressive orthodoxy? What about peaceful shop owners being targeted by government and civil lawsuits for refusing to violate their religious beliefs? What about ranchers being shut down by the EPA because some endangered species was found on their property? What about the 8,000 military service members who were discharged for refusing a vaccine? The list of abuses by government and powerful institutions goes on and on.
A very good talking to those of us prone to freaking out. I’m tired of being angry, negative and anxious. Time to stop tantrumming and deal with what is. Hopefully it’s less destructive than we fear.
I get it - thank you for a calm and thoughtful response. I don't think you're dismissing the very real "bad" behavior that we experienced (and are likely to again) - but, in many ways, what I see you saying is that it's up to us to step away from the click-bait madness and not live in fear or feel helpless.
Thank you. I feel like "the media" and the fundraisers were mainly focused on making a buck off the election and milking the outrage of whomever they could outrage. I'm a Harris supporter, don't get me wrong, but if over half the people in the country voted for Trump, there is some unmet need there that I and those in my bubble cannot comprehend. But it does not mean that the grievances on the other side are not real.
Correct. As a Trump supporter I notice that liberal people don't have much idea what we think, surrounded as they are by their media and entertainment universe that repeats the same narratives and demonizes opposition.
"You do not understand your own position until you understand your opponent's position, as explained by his most articulate and intelligent spokespersons".
For those who prize authentic understanding for its own sake, I would recommend making a genuine effort to understand the various reasons people voted for Trump.
"You know that you understand your opponent's position when you can recite it to him and he says, unperturbed, yes, that's what I believe."
It would bring a huge improvement to this country if we stopped letting politicians and the media polarize us and tried to have the respectful exchange of views people claim to be seeking.
I'm amazed that many of the liberals with whom I work clearly assume that I must agree with them politically. I'm always amused because I think my attitude and behavior screams conservative, but I think they just assume a highly educated and credentialed, urban professional must be liberal. It's striking how poorly they understand us.
I experience this 100% of the time, as well. The default assumption is "Liberal unless otherwise identified." Hilarious.
I asked my many Conservative friends why they were voting for Trump and their responses were conspiracy theories and erroneous Trump rhetoric which contained not a scintilla of truth, e.g. Trump stating he gave Biden “a country with no inflation.” They watch and read only far right media which has excluded much of reality while spawning inaccuracy. It is difficult to engage in meaningful dialogue under these circumstances.
I have a 47-year-old son who is not only a Trumper but a Q follower as well. The stuff he spouts is enough to make me want to tape up his mouth. He is not allowed to talk about it in my house period. He always marched to the beat of a drum only he hears but has gotten worse since Quanon came into the picture. He has a brother & sister older and a sister younger but even they have trouble understanding all the conspiracy BS.
Give it a try. Start with re-reading this article.
Large numbers don't mean their grievance is real, either.
More importantly, they voted for someone who will resolve none of those grievances - but they did it as a protest. A burn-it-all-down-type protest: this was an electoral riot.
I can only speak for me, my wife and adult children, when I say you are partially correct. But not entirely. We truly believe Trump will be able to get the economy booming again and we will struggle considerably less financially-speaking, get the border under control, and dampen the very real crime problem, and once again stop the forever wars. In terms of the protest aspect of it... there is definite appeal to those of us who possess Punk Rock sensibilities. Yes, it is a great feeling to stick it to the proverbial Man. Especially when the Man in question has nothing but open contempt for you. It does feel good to put the Establishment (our Ruling Class) in its place and provide a big middle fingered F U to "our betters". Not only the elected ones, either. But again, this is not to say we want to burn it all down. Rather we want to bolster the structural integrity of the Republic by reenforcing its foundations and rededicating the Republic to its Constitutional roots. There is clearly a lot of work to do. PS If some of the pop-culture craziness is also tamped down that would be welcomed as well (but not crucial). FWIW of course.
Serious question - have you looked at the actual statistics on the economy and crime? Violent crime is literally at its lowest point in decades. I agree with you that we need immigration solutions. But many of the other talking points that drew in Trump voters were not based in factual reality, and that's part of what is so upsetting about it -- he used fear mongering.
Sarah, the official source of crime stats in the U.S. is the DOJ. They do not show a meaningful drop in crime. The FBI also reports crime and does show a drop, but they are changing their reporting system. Many municipalities have had difficulty with the new reporting process and are simply not submitting numbers, hence the lower crime figures. I’m talking about cities like Miami and New York. Another point you should be aware of is that FBI only records reported crimes, while DOJ interviews citizens directly and includes both reported and unreported. Many crimes are never reported. The FBI is now allowing cities to report under the old system. Everyone in the criminal justice world is saying to ignore recent FBI statistics until they get this sorted out, which I understand should happen by 2025.
this is an informative article re Crime: https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2024/10/16/stealth_edit_fbi_quietly_revises_violent_crime_stats_1065396.html
But at least it was civilized riot.
Absolutely. And the fact that Hitler and Mussolini came to power obviously shows there were real unmet needs and that a lot of people picked on those two guys without any real good reason. Don't you think?
I hope the Democratic Party follows your lead and refuses to engage in any meaningful soul searching and self-reflection about this election. That it continues along with the preposterous fascist name calling and denigration of the majority of the 2024 U.S. electorate. That it keeps pushing the same easily dismissable histrionics. Because that will ensure a President Vance in 4 years.
I mean, this is a strange take for several reasons... oh, nevermind. I am a boring, middle-aged 20th century Historian of sorts. I would just be writing things you could read on your own.
Yes, yes, yes. If there is a law of attraction, Democrats attracted Trump and Project 2025 by talking obsessively about them online. It's all I ever saw in my feed. It was like a replay of 2016, and the same thing happened... except worse. Pay attention to what you want, not what you don't want. And, I've also watched Dems overreact to so many things. (And then they get mad at me for not reacting enough. Ugh!) I am not freaking out. I am going to wait and see what actually happens. We have real problems in this country without making up ones that haven't happened yet. Thank you for saying what I've been feeling but am sometimes afraid to say.
You're absolutely right! It would have been far better to never mention project 2025 or any of the totalitarian things that Trump had done and was promising to continue doing. Just assume everything will be fine and stop holding people accountable and reminding the public why they need to be held accountable. Pretend that Trump is like any other politician and let him go without any criticism whatsoever. Yeah, that'll work.
I see that often about Project 2025, as if it's some boogeyman or evil plot to overthrow the world. It's not. It's been around, in some form or another since Reagan. The Dems have a suggested strategy/platform for governing as well. I think that a lot of media people misconstrued (purposefully or not I don't know) what's in it and used it as a tool to stoke fears about what Trump would do if elected. Having read several sections of it while researching some of the claims, I can tell you not everything in there is bad. It's free to download, and can be easily searched by anyone to determine the veracity of claims made by someone (on either side) about the document.
The one thing I found truly concerning in Project 2025 was the plan to find reasons to get rid of public servants who are not with the program. To me that sounded totally disruptive and undermines the one positive thing that comes from bureaucracy: stability and institutional memory.
It will be interesting to see how his followers react when they start losing benefits like Obamacare, lower prescription drug prices no longer being negotiated, the cap on out of pocket Medicare costs, etc., etc., etc…. Midterms are only two years away.
Does anyone actually like Obamacare in practice? I'm not talking about government healthcare in theory, I'm talking about the practical reality of signing up, paying for, and using Obamacare. How many people actually think it has improved their lives? I seriously doubt very many are terribly attached to it.
Since Obamacare, my healthcare has gotten more expensive and less available. I see a PA instead of my doctor and I wait longer for specialty care.
I think what happened is it gave healthcare to a lot of people who didn't have anything before, which naturally made it more expensive and bureaucratic for those of us who managed to have insurance before that.
Yes it’s not perfect and my preference would be universal healthcare as many countries have. However in the meantime 45 million people are currently enrolled in Obamacare and there are no better alternatives at the moment. Trump says he has a “concept” of a better plan but he’s been saying that for years and has ever delivered.
It's been a disaster for our family and for my business and my employees. FWIW.
One thing we won't forget is how Mr. President-elect failed to get anything done in his first term except a tax break for the wealthiest citizens and their corporations. He fumbled the response to Covid and it cost hundreds of thousands of lives! He wants to abandon our allies to win praise from foreign dictators. The guy is a menace to our country. And the nation referred to as "Idiot America" in the Green Day tune will suffer for its lack of awareness, or worse, its awareness of his spite with acquiescence.
Shush Neal! Don't you understand that the only reason Trump won is because we held him accountable for the serious felonies he committed. If we had let him go Scott free and actually didn't criticize him at all for the many horrible things he did undoubtedly Harris would have won. You can bet the farm on that one!
Steve, if you can’t engage more constructively, then you can’t be part of this forum.
He’s being sarcastic. I got it.
The one area we agree upon is that we spent too much time talking about him--but not enough time educating the public as to the impact of policies on their daily lives. And if you are a woman, a member of religious minority, not heterosexual, you are about to face real life implications in denial of health care, religious freedoms, and the ability to love and present yourself as you wish.
Furthermore, you are minimizing or ignoring the impact of Project 2025 and the actual impact of the SCOTUS decision overruling the Chevron doctrine. Good luck on clean air, clean water, consumer protection and general protections that the regulatory framework has provided us for decades.
And remember that this administration will be appointing federal judges who want to further decimate your rights and take us back to the glorious days of the 1880s when corporations could do as they wanted and the 99% could do little to nothing.
Saying people need to be "educated" is just as bad as calling them uninformed. It's hard, but accept that the public doesn't need education. Over half of them just disagree with you.
It is at once fascinating and disturbing to see adults self-soothe. "Rationalization is Mankind's second most compelling motivation."
Andrea, could you be more specific about what threats you are concerned about, or why you don’t like the Chevron ruling?
He orchestrated a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Was that “lawful and democratic?”
No. But he was then out of office and subsequent attempts to prosecute him badly backfired as many warned.
Wrong. The conspiracy started while he was still President.
I think he won because of uninformed voters, ignorance, and amnesia. Why did Biden win in 2020?because people were sick of his shit and tired of being told COVID wasn't real while watching people die. But then Biden made things better and this election with COVID receding in the rearview mirror, with low unemployment, a growing economy, more people with healthcare insurance than ever, and a living wage - (oh, and paying more for milk and McDonalds ☹️ )- they got comfortable forgot why they didn't want Trump in 2024. And then there's the sexism and racism issue. I WISH he was going to be held accountable for something, anything!
Keep going, Susan. 74 million "uninformed, ignorant voters with amnesia". I would try to dismiss it as condescension, but like most deranged liberals, the intent is purposeful and amazingly misguided, as has been demonstrated by the electoral landslide, shared with glee. I hope you do indeed keep up the personal attacks and bashing, and as time moves on, we can watch you slowly fade away.
and you just reinforced what he wrote in his article, just as Harris' campaign is blaming voters, Biden, anyone they can except for the woman who ran. People love to be told they are uninformed about what matters to them, especially when it's a coastal elite or Hollywood celebrity that knows very little about being poor gets online or on TV and tells them how they should vote; they love to be talked down to.
Even as a lowly, uninformed Garbage Person, with (clearly) a sub-standard pedigree, this cuts to the quick of it. It is super obnoxious to hear this tedious school marm tone from people who suppose they might self-aggrandize at my expense and (quite inexplicably) expect no comeuppance whatsoever. It is a horrible strategy, as demonstrated just days ago. It is strange to see a vanquished person continue to double-down on the very same strategy that led to their present lamentations in the first place. Very odd behavior.
Susan, more than half the country disagrees with you. Are we all “uninformed and ignorant “? Is that your position? No wonder your peeps lost. Can you perhaps be a bit more constructive?
I'm paraphrasing and don't remember the exact quote, nut when near death Mark Twain said something like "I spent most of my life worrying about all the terrible things that would happen to me, none of which wound up actually happening".
The only people who were saying it was going to backfire were Trump's people. For you to argue that that was some sort of exclusive reason for this man eaking out a win yesterday is ludicrous.
Three points isn't a narrow win in the 21st century. And it's eking.
"Eaking out a win"?...There's some true delusional thinking. Try "landslide win" Steve.
312 EVs, the Senate, the Popular Vote (by 5mil), and likely the House... is that really eking out a victory?
Yes, it was lawful--and certainly not UNdemocratic. The plan was to object to the electors from certain states and, if that succeeded, to replace them with alternate electors. Democrats have used similar tactics in every recent instance when a Republican president was elected. All such efforts have failed. But if it was okay for the Democrats to try, it should be okay for the Republicans too.
By the way, the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 interfered with that plan. So, it would make no sense for Trump to have orchestrated it. He wanted his supporters to show up at the capitol and protest peacefully. Beyond that, I'm sure he had no strategy in mind. (Written by a non-Trump voter.)
The popularity of Trump is because of the open derision of the elites, most pronounced in the corporate media. Lecturing working Americans about their "greed", gaslighting them to say they are not struggling, and blaming them for "racism" and "sexism" when an election doesn't go their way. All the while, this establishment sends the wealth of future American generations to fund NATO defense, pay for death and destruction overseas, billions in bailouts to wealthy corporations, and bribe leaders and peoples of all kinds in most every country. This same establishment spent the last 20+ years depleting American middle class, while the middle class in China, India, Indonesia and others has exploded. Nobody has cared enough to DO something for average working Americans. Talk means NOTHING. Working Americans took a chance on Trump in 2016, and came back to him in 2024, primarily because economic life was better under him. They had a chance for a better life and they suffered greatly in the last 4 years. Demonize him all you want, but the average working person is backed into a corner and a vote for Trump was a measure of economic hope, regardless of all the other noise. Trump would be a complete non- factor if ANYBODY else demonstrated the willingness to help the average American worker. I am convinced Bernie Sanders would have beat Trump in 2016 with his populist bona fides. However, the elites ran him out because Clinton was the anointed choice, and you saw how her condescension played with working Americans.
spot on.
I think liberals living in a bubble of narcissistic self-satisfaction need to stop talking, and listen to the opinions and concerns of the large majority of the US population; average working class people. Legal immigation is good, illegal immigration is bad. Free speech is good, suppression of free speech by woke radicals is not good. I can provide another 20 examples. Wake up Dem's, stop calling everyone racist and misogynistic, and learn to represent the interests of the majority
I think Liberals are capable of self-inventory. But I haven't met a Progressive person who I have taken as introspective. And by the initial takes of heard from the defeated Progs, they are still busy projecting rather than taking a self-inventory. I think it is part of the psychology of never taking ownership of one's own actions. It's a Fatalistic worldview where one is always the victim.
Thank you for a clear, reasoned discussion about the situation. Words are not actions. It was a pleasure to read this article. I found it through RealClearPolitics and I will be back to read more.
Thanks for this perspective. Very helpful with my fear right now. and yes, hopefully less destructive.
Thank you for your thoughtful words. You provided a calm and clear perspective.
As a 3-time Trump supporter, (and yes, I acknowledge his messaging can be at times frustratingly dysfunctional), I simply want to thank you for your open-minded and accurate assessment of the landscape surrounding us. As Americans, we thrive with dialogue, not censorship. I hope you don't lose many subscribers for sharing these thoughts, (though it likely depends on how many could be TDS kool-aid addicts).
Now is a time to gather information and opinions, to be weighed and sorted carefully. I find this piece a valuable contribution.
A well-considered antidote to the hysterical despair prevalent among left-leaning voters after the Trump victory.
Interesting, though, that the best example of incursions on individual freedom the writer can come up with are the restrictions on abortion that exist in a few states.
What about professors losing their jobs because they don't bow to progressive orthodoxy? What about peaceful shop owners being targeted by government and civil lawsuits for refusing to violate their religious beliefs? What about ranchers being shut down by the EPA because some endangered species was found on their property? What about the 8,000 military service members who were discharged for refusing a vaccine? The list of abuses by government and powerful institutions goes on and on.