Bitter Pill to Swallow

by

Cross-posted from RestoreReason.com.

Emotions have run very raw in my household since Tuesday night and this is being played out across my community and across the country as evidenced by the protests in our major cities. Many of my friends have greeted me on the verge of tears and I’m watching them go through at least three of the five stages of grief: denial, depression, and anger.

I feel many of these emotions along with a small amount of relief, that at least the election is over. Of course, that sword cuts both ways. The election is over so we at least have an idea of what’s to come, but we also must face the reality that President-elect Trump is on the verge of being the most powerful man (some might say child), in the world. We also know that there is little possibility we’ll continue to move forward (at least for now), on the issues that we Progressives hold near and dear. How much damage can a President Trump and his GOP-led Congress and Supreme Court, do to the environment, to civil liberties, to international relations, and to world peace?

The truth is that the Left isn’t just grieving, we are viscerally fearful. How much of the rhetoric Trump spewed over the last year will turn into reality? And even if he doesn’t pursue his hateful agenda, how will others use him to further their’s (McConnell, Bannon, Giuliani, Gingrich, etc.?)

Those who supported Trump are telling us Liberals to get over it. Just as we, when Obama got elected, told them to do the same. I don’t remember hearing back then though, that anyone had concerns about Obama with the nuclear codes. That’s the big difference now. Trump’s campaign staff did after all, in the last week of the presidential election, take away his access to his Twitter account so he couldn’t tweet something that might further damage his ability to get elected. His campaign staff did not trust him to tweet, it is no wonder the vast majority of us don’t trust him with our nuclear weapons.

Nonetheless, the system that has elected the past 44 presidents of the United States, elected Donald J. Trump to be the 45th. No matter how devastated I am about it, he is our President-elect. And, I’ve made a choice to accept that fact. I will not forgive or forget the disdain he has demonstrated for the vast majority of Americans. Neither will I push aside my concerns for what damage he can bring not to just our Nation, but the entire world. I’ve also chosen to understand though, that we all helped him get elected. “Wait just a damn minute” you say “not me!” “I donated to Hillary, had her yard sign outside my home, canvassed for her, made calls for her, and voted for her.” But, I ask, were you ever glued to MSNBC to watch for the next outrageous thing Trump would say? Did you find yourself thinking that his supporters were either just “haters” or to stupid to know any better? I am guilty of both of those.

My decision to accept that he is our president-elect does not mean I am rolling over. Quite the contrary. Even though it might seem that the United States of America is less and less a place “of the people, by the people, and for the people, we are still are the greatest democracy in the world. It is not time to move to Canada or to throw our hands up in despair. It is time to turn our angst and anger into action. Write your elected officials at all levels or run for office yourself or support like-minded candidates who do. Donate to volunteer for organizations that work on behalf of causes you are concerned about and write letters to the editor to express your concerns. And please remember, with Hillary winning the popular vote by 395,595, Donald Trump does NOT have a mandate from the people. What he does have, is the title of President-elect, granted him by the Electoral College.

Through it all though, remember that blame is not constructive and hate is not who we are. The nation is divided for a reason and we must deal with that reason. I believe it is because we collectively haven’t been focused on solving the problems most negatively affecting our people. Flint, MI for example, still doesn’t have safe drinking water, the loss of manufacturing has left many without the hope for a better life, the education of our children of color lags, and college debt has made it very difficult for many to realize their American dream. Who is responsible for fixing these problems? Ultimately, it is up to all of us. After all, we elect representatives to, well…represent us. By either our support or our acquiescence, we give them their marching orders. As long as we continue to reward their performance with reelection, we’ll always get what we’ve always gotten.

I’ll close with the point that, it wasn’t “a Trump insurgency, but a Clinton collapse”) as Jonathan Webber coined) that elected him.” Hillary lost because she got 10 million fewer votes that Obama in 2012, and 15 million fewer than in 2008. That is probably the most bitter pill of all to swallow. But swallow it I must and then I will pick myself up, dust myself off, and rejoin the battle to keep the American Dream alive for ALL Americans!

21 thoughts on “Bitter Pill to Swallow”

  1. I believe the Constitution requires 3/4ths of the States to approve an Amendment, not just half. Given our current state of division, getting 3/4ths of Americans to agree on anything seems rather unlikely.

    But I do agree with you, the Electoral College no longer serves a purpose and should be eliminated. I am glad she wasn’t elected, but Hillary should have won the election.

  2. Trump has a mandate because he won under our system and the win was significant. If Dems or anyone else had an issue with the electoral college after Bush v Gore in 2000, they had 16 years to fix it. They not only did not fix it, they did not even try.

    Trump won fair and square and he is our president. Oppose him if you want but respect the win and accept the mandate.

    • What an incredibly arrogant statement considering Trump LOST the popular vote. And it’s terrible that only 57% of voters nationwide even voted. A disgrace. But your pals at APS have their bought and paid for ACC.

      • Trump’s win is not my statement. It is the mandate of the U.S. constitution and it is not arrogant. It is the law.

    • I respect the win, but Trump does NOT have a mandate. A mandate would indicate the voters overwhelmingly selected him to be our President. Clinton is on-track to win the popular vote by an estimated 2 million votes. Obviously, there are a lot of Americans who preferred her for President. No, Trump does not have a mandate. What he does have, is an incredible responsibility to lead. I am willing to give him the chance to step up, but his first tweet after his election, where he said the protesters were being “unfair”, was not a good sign. Doesn’t he get that it isn’t personal? He really needs to put his big boy panties on and start thinking about the country!!!!

    • How GOP could justify supporting this candidate, his vile behavior and still calling themselves public servants?

  3. Look at trumps record, he does amazingly well working with very difficult people. Can you imagine the complexity of building a skyscraper in NYC? His connection with the working class mirrors that of Steve jobs. He turned the education of his kids over to electricians and CAT drivers. Conservatives are as likely to be disappointed by trump as liberals.

    The fact that the stock market hit records bodes well for the poor. They need jobs not more welfare. His economics people are saying all the right things.

    • Why would you assume Trump does amazingly well working with very difficult people? Who can you point to specifically? We know he continually stiffed contractors that worked on his projects. And what the hell on your comment about Steve Jobs? I understand he was far from a great guy to work for.

      I will agree with you that Conservatives are likely to be disappointed by Trump. Just wait and see what happens when he doesn’t build the wall, doesn’t deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, doesn’t totally do away with the Affordable Care Act, doesn’t etc., etc., etc.. I learned a long time ago that if it was easy to fix, someone would have fixed it. We have these huge unresolved problems because they are extremely complex and require all of us to work together to find solutions. Therein lies the rub!

      • I didn’t vote for trump. I actually read his books and listened carefully to what he said and tried to read what he was really thinking.

        He fought, fought hard, against the premier policy of all time. TEFRA, the tax rate reduction of 1986. Every modern success comes from the economic strength delivered by TEFRA.

        Wonder why we could afford to spend 2.3 billion and create a 50 billion intelligence infrastructure to hunt down bin Laden ? Tefra

        Wonder why we could deficit spend 20 trillion in the last 8 years without a massive fireball of inflation? Tefra

        Not an iota of trumps emotions support his position on tax rate reduction. He was simply mouthing words that economic conservatives wanted to hear. He never evinced the slightest understanding of the complex sophistry used by a corrupt research community to convince a gullible public and complicit media to contradict the overwhelming evidence that supply side economics was a spectacular success.

        But, he is an incredibly smart guy, let’s see how this plays out. He has been smarter and luckier than everyone else so far. And, it’s been my experience that luck favors the hardest working, the bold and the most intelligent in that order. He’s been bold, he obviously has a work ethic second to non and he has an powerful intuitive intelligence.

    • It will be hysterical when the “Freedom Caucus” pitches a fit when Trump is not as purely conservative as they want him to be. Mark it down, first statement I ever agreed with John on.

      • I would bet good money that you think the women who accused Bill Clinton of being a sexual predator were lying, don’t you?

  4. the electoral college must be done away with. 13 state leg. have vote for popular vote winner we need 12 morse states.

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