The man on top of the mountain did not fall there - Anonymous
What historians will say: My prediction would be that this was a turning point in American History. The division of America into Red States/Blue States was definitely felt as the new war between the states with this election.
It's a Change Election without Hope. Obama's Hope & Optimism is still on display as he struggles to make it through this transition period.
Our own friends and family differences are showing us to be more starkly divided as a nation than ever before. Trump's America is a dark and divisive one The Tea Party gave us the tea leaves for this changing American landscape. They showed us who they were, and now the time to act is at hand.
One of the most interesting comments came from Mike Barnacle on Morning Joe…who noted that we are moving from the last vestiges of the Industrial Revolution, an age of mechanization and into the Technological Revolution. This is a new world that's computerized and a robotic world of the future. Jobs and the nature of work are changing rapidly.
Implicit in his comment lies the fact that no amount of trade deals or braggadocio is going to bring coal and manufacturing jobs back to the Rust Belt. These jobs are gone, and you can't bring them back by talking or with a catchy phrase. There were plans in place, mostly from Clinton, to work with the Midwest to restore jobs and for re-training and community college affordability, but those ideas are now dead.
**How the System Failed: The pollsters failed, the pundits failed, the political operatives failed to warn us of this tidal wave of Trump-ism.
*The Media: They failed as a body by not taking on Trump, and by not exposing him earlier.
*Our Government: The FBI failed the citizens of this country, as did our own broken gridlocked government systems.
*The Political System: It's no surprise that we have a broken two-party system with dark money flooding in. The question now is, what can we do about it?
*The Economic Times: There's a strong wave of anti-government feeling, stemming back to '08!
The Polls: were wrong on Brexit, and they were wrong here.
The Common Wisdom: all past norms went out the window in this election. An old Jewish guy from Vermont captured the imagination of the Youth of America. And Trump, the New York billionaire, became the populist champion of the heartlands and the invisible man and the little guy. And the candidate with the most money and the ground game, who was favored, came up short in the end.
**Should I stay or should I go? There is an argument among Dems to either leave the country, or to stay and fight the good fight. The Argument to leave America is a strong one, as most would argue it's best days are now behind us. The things that most progressives fought for are all on the chopping block ready to be severed.
The New Mantra: Not My President: Not My Problem
The Climate Change/Paris Accord: Comes under the Mantra: Not My President: Not my Problem
Healthcare and the ACA: Not my President: Not my Problem.
Trade: Not my President; Not my Problem.
The Deficits: NMP: NMP
The War-Iraq/Syria/Iran: NMP; NMP
Most would argue that it is our problem as a collective whole, but in the very real sense of the democratic roots of our country, there is no governing stake for liberals, progressives, and democratic voters in this New America.
*****
As for Hillary:
JFK mused after the Bay of Pigs on the quote from the Italian Count Ciano: Victory has a hundred fathers, and defeat is an orphan. The blame game has begun, with many blaming her for all parts of the mess that has been created in the wake of her loss. The Media STILL hasn't come to grips with their role in the rise of Trump.
The Women voters who voted for Obama, are gone. Hillary LOST those voters and more.. She had 5-6 million less people voting for her. But she won the popular vote, and then fell short in the Electoral College.
Trump was about average for a Republican candidate, with about 59 million votes-which was the level Romney LOST at! So, there was no great groundswell of support from some silent body of Americans.
He had the Republican party vote, but Hillary lost the Obama coalition-including Millenials and African Americans. You pretty much get the government you pay for, and that is about right in this New America.
The Media concentrated primarily on the unpopularity of Hillary: Her e-mail scandals, and other concerns took up most of their time with most operatives and representatives asked questions basically that started: Why don't people like her? Why can't she put this behind her? When did you stop beating your wife…?
As for the Nation, in Obama's words, we WANT America to prosper. This is the Problem with Change in a change Election. You need to have some hope in there.
The Industrial Revolution and the Technological one have come too fast for most of us. There have been jobs lost, and the Great Recession has displaced many millions of people. We need Empathy for the Other among us. We need to feel empathy for others. Change isn't always the goal. We must have empathy.
As for Globalization, it's real, as is Climate Change. So Trump's Protectionist and Isolationism will be tossed to the wayside in the march towards the future. Perhaps ignored?
Trump is triumphant as the TV King becomes the TV President. The ultimate culture war winner has won the highest stakes. We hope it is worth the cost to make it to the top of this hill.
The man on top of the mountain did not fall there.- Anonymous
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