I Was Wrong
I don’t know what happened and, right now, I’m not inclined to find out.
Everything I’ve learned and observed in politics all my life was wrong. Everything I believed about the American electorate was wrong. Everything that I thought I knew was wrong.
I’m a data guy, and data let me down. I’m a field guy, and field let me down. I’m an American, and America let me down. But worst of all, I let you down.
I apologize to all of you. I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve written over the last year from the smug comfort of my own self-importance. I apologize to everyone I led to false hope. I promise I will do better in the future.
Right now, we don’t have the luxury of wallowing in self-pity. I fear for the greatness, nay, I fear for the life of this nation as I never have before, and I feel called to re-enter public life in order to fight the creeping fascism which threatens anyone who doesn’t conform to the WASP ideal.
For what it’s worth, I think there’s a chance that he doesn’t even finish his term. Cold comfort, with Theocracy Ken waiting in the wings.
As I said, right now, I’m not inclined to find out what happened. I am still trying to process the shock and grief that I am sure has enveloped us all like damp, grey woolen blanket.
But…
We’re only 4 days short of 2 years to the midterms. We’re going to shake this off, and come out fighting. This is not a new war. This is the same old war, a war centuries old: the war against superstition, ignorance and hate. We lost a big battle in this war. This is indeed a huge setback.
I’m going to love up my family, I’m going celebrate Christmas, then I’m going to start again to try to fix this. This fight may take longer than we’d thought. It may be harder than we’d like. But it’s a fight I have no inclination to shirk and no intention to lose again.
Bless you all, my friends. Let’s enjoy these holidays coming up. Then let’s get to work!
You have plenty of prediction company, including me. My Millennial son has been saying all along that Trump would win and I could not believe him. Surely, SURELY, Americans would see through this charlatan. He, the goons he brings into the cabinet, and the Republicans in Congress will do everything they can to take away everything we value — everything that makes America ALREADY great. I’ve never wanted to be much involved in the political process, but there is too much at stake here. We need to organize and fight. We much to reach out to those people who voted for Trump because their lives have become difficult and miserable and they were ready to grasp at anything. People who have had their jobs taken away need help. The Dems should have seen the handwriting on the wall and been more proactive for them. We need to bring these people back.
1We must reach out …
2Well, there’s one thing we can count on: The Rethugs ALWAYS overreach when they are in power.
With the stuff already coming out about the contacts between Russia and the tRump campaign, and the fear that he will listen to Newtie and allow the Baltic states (which are NATO partners) to be swallowed up by Putin; and, with his upcoming deposition in the Trump U fraud case, things might be pretty putrid by the time inauguration arrives.
3“This is not a new war. This is the same old war, a war centuries old: the war against superstition, ignorance and hate.”
“This fight may take longer than we’d thought. It may be harder than we’d like.”
This is bringing tears to my eyes. I truly appreciate the perspective that you’re bringing that this is the same old war and that the fight may take longer and be harder than we’d like. These are very important words for me to hear and to realize in order to have the strength I’ll need to keep fighting.
4Oh, Primo, the fact that you were one among so many experienced politicos who “got it so wrong”, makes me suspicious of the election results.
5No more mea culpas. Let’s find out what really happened.
Russian officials are already announcing there were connections with Trump’s campaign. We also know the FBI was staunchly Republican and the whole WikiLeaks garbage chain was obviously involved. It’s not too far a jump to guess that voting machines or results could have been hacked. Is there any way to trace all those leads?
#notmypresident
6Comrade Drumpfski claimed over and over the election was rigged. Let’s take him at his word. Since a number of his staff didn’t seem surprised he won, let’s find out what they knew and when they knew it.
The Kremlin admitted today they had a number of contacts with Drumpf during the campaign. Comrade mangled apricot hellbeast Drumpfski says that is not true. Someone needs to come up with a word(s) to describe how far beyond pathological liar Comrade Drumpfski has strayed.
7In case you missed it, Aggieland Liz is bidding JJ’s adieu. (See comment 86 in post I Can’t)
I for sure, will miss her charm and wit as I would with many other posters here. Good luck and hopefully you can find some sanity for your life.
8Yes, we all need to take the rest of 2016 off to enjoy family and friends. Then, time to get organized for the 2018 midterms and throw out those bums! Let’s turn Congress blue again.
9You may have offered false hope, but that’s because you were applying NORMAL to the ABSURD REALITY TV world. Throughout the campaign, many pundits kept making predictions that always seemed to NOT come true where Trump was concerned.
I think there are a lot of factors involved, but most is a sense of need for radical change–much like pre-Nazi Germany. I am deeply sorry for the results. My shining thought is that the Republicans have spent 8 years perfecting obstructionist practices and many in office don’t like or agree with Trump. So I anticipate the next two years to be quite a bit of a dog-fight on policy, but a rubber stamp on appointments…sigh.
10Primo, don’t be so hard on yourself, Everybody got snookered by this election (which makes me deeply suspicious that monkey business was involved in the results). I couldn’t agree more that we need to get rested up and recharged, then get to work on the midterms, to take back Congress and limit the damage Trump can and no doubt will do.
Celebrate the holidays with the people you love, pray for us all (if that’s what you do), and take up the fight again. And hope that Justice Ginsburg makes it through the Trump administration.
11I think almost everyone underestimated how mean and nasty people are and also underestimated how many people are self-centered and think they are so privileged that they didn’t care which person was elected to the presidency, because they believe it isn’t going to affect them either way and they couldn’t care less about other people. This definitely includes idiots who voted third party. The trump voters will reap what they sow, unfortunately they’ll continue to blame the consequences on other people and not themselves.
12I do not think anyone here faults you. I have always enjoyed your perspective and wonderful way with words. We were all wrong, and perhaps a bit too smug in our beliefs. The Houston Chronicle (I wrote about this earlier) headline this morning was “Democrats urge nation to unite behind Trump.” Stunning, in my opinion. I could not help but reflect about a Republican response should Clinton have won. President Obama was extraordinarily gracious to the man who questioned his legitimacy throughout his entire term in office. And, as Democrats, we should just roll over and play nice? Clinton won the popular vote – strong arguing point with right wingers. Politifact posted six (or more) pages of Trump falsehoods. I am ready to engage (torches and pitchforks?), but do require direction. Please continue your posts and offer advice and suggestions going forward. Trump did not win a mandate. He was elected by right wing extremist, Clinton/Obama (irrational) haters, and idiots. We simply cannot surrender.
13A great hue and cry from a silent majority? No, there was a guy named Trump who wanted to play at presidenting and he started rambling in incoherency; ranting racism, hatred and insults until low and behold he started getting feedback from like minded white folk.
14Donald Trump was elected because he told redneck America what it wanted to hear.
And please, media world, do not praise Trump for his victory. He is still the Eternal No, the hate monger, the racist, the sexist, the liar, the singular fool he was up til the election.
He had the simplest platform in history: tell the small-minded rednecks what they want to hear.
Now, big shot, put that plan on the playing field.
The worry I have most of all is that we have seen our last election that even has a resemblance of fair. This time we saw states cut the number of voting places drastically. With a remade SCOTUS, voter ID will be declared constitutional and states will have free license to discriminate against and hinder minority voters. Russian interference, allowed and encouraged by Trump, will make it hard to get him and his cronies out of office.
15@Primo
Thanks for giving your words to the experience which we shared Tuesday evening.
In the aftermath, through BrandNewCongress.org I reconnected with (a now much older) Jim Hightower, an acquaintance from the early 90s with whom I had lost touch,
I connected with BrandNewCongress.org. I discovered some rocks still fit my hand. My little bride is encouraging me to chunk the ones that fit. Hard.
I’m considering a run at elective office. My state rep varmint was just re-elected so that is out but maybe a city or county post will open in the next two years.
16i’m not sure it wasn’t rigged.
but i AM sure that when less than 20% of the population is enough to win an election, then there is plenty of blame to go around.
17Republicans so wanted to control the Supreme Court that they voted for the devil incarnate. The morons just voted for a TV star who spewed the hate they have always felt for minorities and women. Unfortunately, we got what THEY wanted.
18Unless someone can prove they fixed it, we are in for the most oppressed America we’ve ever seen. I admire the people who are out marching to protest Comrade Trump’s steal. I am so depressed I don’t want to leave home. Don’t see a way forward.
Micr: Go for it! City and county posts are where we need to start.
19Appreciate your mea culpa – makes for a clean mind and slate to move forward. Is it not true that the only way we truly learn is to make a mistake first?
20Michael Moore did a 5-pt guild on what to do now. He’s a bottom line guy spot on.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-moore-morning-after-to-do-list_us_5823ab47e4b0aac62489134f
Think we need to assume vote interference ala Ohio attempt in ’12 by russia and other hackers. How to prepare for ’18 & ’20 elections esp since the repugs control even the FBI? Enlist Anonymous? Adopt a version of Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared!” and live it.
After, during, before cleaning the dnc house, go back to Howard Dean’s MO of 50 states and local organizing.
How to shelter a new, true DNC from the beltway seducer? Maybe reduce their time in DC, rotate some out-in-the-sticks time for all “deciders”.
Primo, perhaps you can lead a re-org thinking and planning clearing house to get ideas from around the country. Likely security of communication has to be taken into account.
Guilty? Are we guilty of underestimating the haters? Maybe so. Samantha Bee has a few words to heed as we approach 2018.
** … forget the usual work and children warnings. Everyone needs to hear this.
http://crooksandliars.com/2016/11/samantha-bee-highlights-americas-white
21Micr – I’d been looking at brand new congress and they kept putting the meet-up in my area off. Then it got closer to the election and I stopped looking. They have been in my thoughts the last day for sure.
22This is how wingnuts behave when their members want to work with the opposition to get stuff done.
http://midnightsunak.com/2016/11/09/alaska-gop-issue-statement-threatening-republicans-joining-new-house-majority/
23Jim Hightower does a weekly column at otherwords.org
24I try not to miss it.
Primo, you have me hope when I badly needed it, and its not your fault you were wrong–we all “misunderestimated” what blackheads our fellow Americans can be. Maybe after 4 years of full Snailbuper rule, they’ll start to see the light, but I won’t swear to that.
But we press on, and we have to deal with this mess, just had we had to deal with Shrub. (Please, if there is a god, don’t stick us with Pence.)
.
25I am with you.
26I think HRC would have won if the voter repression hadn’t been so widespread and rampant. Where was the FBI on this? The courts?
I voted for her, but I was often put off when she raised her voice, which she doesn’t do well. She sounds great at close personal range, and microphones and a good sound engineer and voice coach would have helped a lot.
Deplorables? Really? That alone could have cost the election. I’ve been smart all my life, and been resented, even hated for it. I learned long ago to not dump on people about their culture. A bartender told me long ago that the best way to start a bar fight, and this election WAS one, is to tell someone they’re a loser. HRC did just that, to half a nation. So they voted for an asshole to show her.
27What I hope is all the Democrats who sat on their a$$ instead of voting did it for some other reason than thinking their vote wouldn’t matter. I’m scared for my country I wore a uniform for for 25 years for the first time in my life.
28Anybody remember 2008? I do.
Anybody remember a 2008 headline saying “Republicans urge nation to unite behind Obama”?
I didn’t think so.
29Our goal should be to make sure Hair Drumpf is a one term (or less) president.
30slipstream, I remember. I also remember Donnie as chief birther conspiracy attack dog. I say “snub him for now, then club him in 2018.”
maryelle, that Donnie can be head of the Trump U fraud and now appoint a Sec of Education is absurd. Impeach his sorry butt the minute he is convicted of that fraud.
31I can’t help but be a wise-ass, sorry: I had commented here and elsewhere that we had a flawed candidate, perhaps fatally so, and how determined the enemy was/is’; only got a negative reaction.
I got enthusiastic anyway, just like for Obama (not my first choice, and I still consider him to be sorely lacking in “Leadership”; if he weren’t, we wouldn’t be here); my poor ex is taking it very hard.
Here’s a guy, from Illinois too, who has also been a Democratic Cassandra (Primo, you and he need to team up, you’re both very talented political animals, we’all need you (Micr too, if he’s gonna run for ?)).
He (ID of “Midwesterners”) puts it very concisely, now and a year ago; here, over on Daily Kos, read it (I’ll quote a bit below (all right, I lied)):
“I wrote this diary a year ago. Tragically, some of us foresaw yesterday coming in a big, bad way.”
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/9/1594724/-I-wrote-this-diary-a-year-ago-Tragically-some-of-us-foresaw-yesterday-coming-in-a-big-bad-way
.
I just turned on the news on PBS-BBC-NBR-Newshour: seeing that SOB sitting in the WH with Pres. Obama makes my blood run cold… The thought of what the damage Repukes are set to do to our nation and people is chilling. Wait until the R’s gut Medicare, ACA, SS, the economy, raging inflation, Nat’l Debt, enviro, etc. Those older teabaggers are going to pay along with everyone else.
32.
(Sorry for the very long partial quotes following, like myself usually for various reasons, most may not take a link to the original):
(“…I get no satisfaction in repeating this diary. Indeed, I am not reprinting it here to say I Told You So; I am reposting it because I am hoping that Democrats will finally begin to take stock in what folks like me are saying….While I am upset and even devastated by the Democratic losses of last night, I am not the least bit shocked by them. As a sixty-something-year-old-political junkie, I didn’t believe for one minute any of the polls that predicted that the Democratic candidate would win the Kentucky’s Governor’s race. The reason that I doubted all of these predictions is simple: This is America in 2015–and the Electorate that exists today is not the same Electorate that existed anywhere in America when I was growing up in the 1950s, 1960s or even the ‘70s. It no longer matters that a candidate like Matt Bevin may appear as a wild and crazy Tea Party member who wants to dismantle the Kentucky version of Obamacare–or Kynect–which so many Kentucky residents themselves have come to embrace. The bottom line is that a growing number of voters throughout America in 2015 have become increasingly more Republican. They will vote for any candidate with an “R” after its name–plain and simple. …In other words, the Republicans have won the Culture Wars they started four or five decades ago. For a growing percentage of people, the Democratic Party has become synonymous with “Guvment”–and that is all that matters. (This is especially true of white voters, but it is by no means inclusive of only them.) …Furthermore, with such a large number of Americans obtaining their version of “reality” from “Faux News,” it does not appear as if things are going to turn around for a long time now. Why not? Because these are the folks who get out and vote. The Republican Party figured out long ago that if you gin up people with enough fear, hatred, paranoia, or whatever, that they will somehow make it to the ballot box. [Edit: Something Democrats DO NOT!]…
This is something that seemingly few “pundits” and even “pollsters” understand, including those on the Left. Unfortunately, most pollsters and pundits do not have a grasp upon just how much hate and anger is out there. … I wish the Democrats would begin to realize this very real trend in the American Electorate. I say this above all because I fear that things do not bode well for the 2016 Election–no matter which candidate gets the Democratic nomination for President and no matter what the polls end up predicting. We Democrats can continue to delude ourselves that the Republican Party is in shambles and that the 2016 Political Season is emerging as yet another Republican Clown Show. … I have volunteered for Democratic candidates in just about every election since 1968–when I stood on the street corners of Downtown Chicago as a teenager campaigning for Senator Eugene McCarthy and his anti-war platform. If you fast forward to today, I am still an Illinois resident that is active in our Democratic Party. …
Democrats everywhere need to wake up and quit deluding themselves. For starters, Democratic candidates should not put too much stock in polling figures–no matter how rosy the numbers may look for them. Yes, the American Electorate may one day become more Democratic-leaning–perhaps in three or four decades. In the meantime, the damage that the Republican Party will have inflicted upon our country and upon our environment will be irreversible–and not just in Kentucky. “)
Ooops, forgot my new-old cynical sig:
Willkommen im Vierten Reich!
33Sieg Heil, Heil Trump!
GOP Űber Alles!
@Sandridge
MSF said the same thing in the 1960s about Texas Dem voters. He said the Dems would come out in a hurricane to vote. The times may have changed but the people havent. They merely changed part affiliations.
I’m doing my best to stop calling the others “Republicans” and start labeling them what they are, ultra-conservatives. Ultra-cons. And stop calling the group with which I associate “Democrats”. I actually prefer Progressives.
34DaChipster- the Cubs won. Somehow America will survive this orange buffoon and then Dems will be called upon to clean up another right wing mess. We’ve been there and done that. Be nice if wingnuts wouldn’t 4 letter expletive the nest every time to get to be the boss, but they do and always will.
Drumpf campaigned against wall street and he has several wall street figures and lobbyists on his staff already. So much for his campaign promises.
35Micr, MSF? You got me…
Repukes or Rescummies work for me as appropriate proper plural nouns, or various other words not allowed around here ;].
Both my small pop TX counties went 73-75% NYNazi, their demographics trend towards lower income Anglos, with some very rich, and about 30-40% MexAm (who likely didn’t vote in any numbers compared to the motivated proto-Brownshirts).
The Democratic Party is in need of a purge, and the likes of Donna Brazile are not capable (DNC finally dumped DWS for DB). Ms. JJ may have some good ideas after she recharges a bit. We need something major.
Although IMO, we’ve gone past the PNR (Point of No Return). The PNR occurred in the W admin, wasn’t/couldn’t be corrected under Obama with his deficiencies and R sabotage. Meanwhile the Chinese, Russians, etc., have almost moved into dominance in most areas, especially the PDRC. Those working class fools who voted for the guy who imported all his junk ’cause ‘jobs’ are inexorably doomed now, along with the rest of us. A much more probable WWIII now might not be so bad after all.
Kind of funny how TRaunch is bloviating about creating ‘millions’ of jobs rebuilding USA infrastructure, when if Obama had even pushed for that (as he should have made it top priority) the Repukes would/did have stuffed it up his ***.
.
Ja,
Willkommen im Vierten Reich!
Sieg Heil, Heil Trump!
GOP Űber Alles!
*(hey, Micr, when you spent time in New Braunfels (my spellcheck wants “braincells” here) did you ever go to that good restaurant a block east and south (nominally) of the square (IIRC) where in the morning (breaktime for us working stiffs then, heh) there was more German spoken than English or Spanish?)
36@Sandridge
Sorry I speak Micrbonics too much. MSF My sainted father.
My father-in-law died 25 years ago but the restaurant he liked outside of Oktoberfest was a big standalone building near a major road decorated in a Bavaria folk story way. Everywhere we went with him German speakers predominated.
I played a round of golf one of those years with 3 of his old fart friends – my f-i-l didnt play, and not a word of english passed between them except hello and good-bye to me.
During Oktoberfest we always went to places with patios as opposed to drinking/eating inside or under cover.
Couple of years ago we took the SA fam to NB for the day to the big park. The local gendarmes were firm but fair: if you don’t have a local address you can’t sit at a picnic table!
37This is something I posted elsewhere today, which contains my take on one of the reasons the numbers came out weird:
My partner, who has a part time job outside the store, said her boss wasn’t TOO obnoxious (yesterday), which is a win because the boss is rather a troubled soul with more issues than NationalGeo, so it’s very hard for her be socially appropriate sometimes.
Said boss also shared that she lied and told her son she voted for Hillary so he would not be angry with her. I think it was exactly this sort of thing times several million that helped cause the polls to be so wrong.
382am November 9th 2016
39“I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”
You just called it as you saw it. I had hoped Hillary would prevail. I couldn’t believe people would choose an incompetent, loudmouthed, ass over the most qualified and experienced person to to run since GHWB. I was aware of how much the general public views The Clintons as avaricious, hypocritical and grasping but it is also accepted, even among their detractors that they are intelligent, savvy, and politically adept. It seemed that the choice was clear, even amongst those who disliked the choices. From now on, from city council to President, we need to choose the primary candidate that embodies our ideals without even the appearance (as they told us on P &Z commitee) of impropriety or conflict of interest. I have no clue how much of this loss was due to misogyny. But the nearly half of the electorate that didn’t vote stayed home because they didn’t feel one was a better enough choice between the two to make it worth the effort. The perception of hypocrisy concerning Wall Street hurt the campaign badly amongst those she has worked so many years to help. The money they paid her for those speeches helped sink us.
40Hey Sauron, here’s that ring you were looking for.
41Knock yourself out. yours, Frodo
From LOTR 2016
9/11 a tragedy
4211/9 a travesty
Micr, Ahh, MSF- friction-fried a few brain cells on that one, trying to think of some old TX pol.
43That ‘Bavarian’ place, know it exactly, but I usually got the exclt BBQ across the road. Or went to the exclnt Treetops at the Comal bridge (raspa stand across the bridge too).
My mom’s side of the fam were like that at big get-togethers, mostly German spoken, at least the olds, us kids didn’t know it.
They restrict things at Landa Park now? Used to take the kids there often, no probs. But then we rarely went at peak times. Ever hike up Panther Canyon? Take lots of water…and don’t even think of sneks.
Primo, no apologies needed. We all saw the Golden City on the hill and it was Hill and still is. God bless her and her tribe forever.
44Primo – Field didn’t let you down. Our county is a little blue island in a sea of red, and it’s because of Field. We did have a chance to watch Hil’s Field up close, and it was abysmal.
It’ll be a long haul, but we all know about the Arc of History…
45Well, if you look at the Texas color coded map that just came out on how the vote came in, about halfway between Ft Worth and Lubbock you will see a tiny little blue dot. Hello Abilene. It’s a pinpoint of a blue dot, but it’s a start. Colbert said last night that Sarah Freakin’ Palin is being considered for Secy of the Interior?!? I went back into my fetal position.
46still in the gloom … reading this morning is the first time reading anything on line. full of sorrow and hate (yep know that is the thing I need to discard first) Thank you
47After I finish my electroshock therapy I think I`ll be ready to rumble.We Democrats need to find a message that resonates to the people who used to support us.I think our national leadership needs a complete makeover.We need leaders like Howard Dean,Elizabeth Warren to step up,and save our country and party.I fear the congress more than Trump.Paul Ryan intends to dismantle every social program that Democrats have championed through the years.He will move quickly before the deplorables wake up to what his intent is and turn on him.
48AfterTrump.org is a group recently founded to resist the growing tide of Authoritarianism overtaking the world – Trump, LePen, Erdogan, etc. They particularly am to protect liberal and democratic values. I urge everyone to visit the website and consider how you might help in this. Most of the members are academics, writers, bloggers – people with a ‘platform’ to educate and influence others.
49