Please read this 🎁🎁🎁 gift article 🎁🎁🎁 by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. It summarizes a good strategy for responding to Donald Trump's victory.
1. I accept Donald Trump's victory.
2. I will be a watchdog, not a lap dog.
3. I will back organizations fighting to uphold human values.
4. I will subscribe to a news organization. The news organizations have failed us, but they will watch Trump at least some of the time.
5. I will try to understand why so many Americans disagree with me.
“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” -Robert Jones Jr., essayist (quote has been mis-attributed to James Baldwin)
I agree that there are two camps of Trump supporters: those who really are racist, mysoginistic, homophobic, non-Christian-phobic, fearful, etc. who agree that we'd be better off as a white Christian nationalist country - and those who are disinformed/uninformed and gullible enough to believe or too lazy to find out how to inform themselves with facts and discern what they are hearing/reading. One of the most disturbing things I listened to yesterday was a clip of interviews with college students voting for Trump. According to the students: Trump has better policy, he did a great job in his previous four years, he did an interview with Joe Rogan and Kamala didn't so she must not want to be honest with us!
And I thought the young folks would help save us, not help destroy us (and themselves). We have so much work to do.
The level of intentional ignorance is stunning. When you try to talk economic policy, many say "oh I'm no economist", as if one needs to be one to understand (it's mostly sociology anyway, as much as they try to pretend it's science by making mathematical models without nearly enough variables). When you talk environmental issues, it's "I don't believe in climate change" as if it's some imaginary thing like religion..
It's lack of curiosity, lack of belief in their own intelligence. It's giving up.
Our society decided a century ago to tolerate intentional ignorance and dishonesty about evidence by stupidly failing to denounce the immorality of lying about physical reality. Creationism has long been treated as a morally benign knowledge deficit. That’s a terrible mistake. It is a malignant dishonesty about proven physical reality which is supported by growing overwhelming evidence. The consequences of tolerating such dishonesty about fact include degradation of political, legal, and social systems and destruction of the environment.
Ann, I too cannot understand how young people, attending college no less, could vote for this man. "Trump has better policy." Please, show, don't tell!
MAGA, at this point, seems to have found the delivery system that reaches the most people today.
I just have to say, please let's not start lumping groups of people together like those loyal to Donald Trump - that's why we are where we are. Each person wears so many different hats. I detest the "category" analyzing - gender, age, rural, metro, Hispanic, white, Black, college-educated, non-educated, professionals, and on and on.
Many young people did vote for Kamala, including my granddaughters and their friends. My grandsons would have, too, if they were one year older. They will next year. Let's not denigrate the "group". They still broke more for VP Harris.
I'm an over 65, Boomer, white, rural, college-educated woman. By all metrics of analyzation, I should have voted for Trump. I DID NOT!!! It's time to start talking about citizens, neighbors, co-workers, fellow Americans and quit all this dividing rhetoric in my opinion. All it does is make people angry and defensive and often denigrated. One more example....my granddaughter's boyfriend is bi-racial, Gen Z, and just entered the military. Who do you think he would have voted for? Well, it wasn't Donald Trump.
Once again, all this over analyzing of groups is not helpful, and yet that's what the media loves to do (sorry Steve Kornacki - I do love you!)
Did you see the crowd at Kamala's concession speech - many young people in tears. If we are to preserve our union, we cannot allow this loss to make those who supported Kamala to descend into darkness. As she said, in darkness is when we see the stars.....we need to add to those stars and the light. Shining light on misogyny, racism, etc. and sharing light to lift up those who are still in the struggle to make the United States, a "more perfect union". And, as VP Harris also said, we need to quit pointing fingers and start locking arms. I love a quote from (believe it or not) Jimmy Dean: “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
Jimmy Dean of sausage fame? Impressive. Thanks for the quote; it is truly wonderful! And I too am "white rural college-educated" etc woman and Kamala fan (and Liz too). I agree overanalyzing is not helpful. Blame is not useful even if there is plenty to go around and mostly deserved. And nobody is correct -- basically because everybody's individual observation/s are colored by who they are, who they think they are, and what is unseen and unremembered in their memory banks. Nobody has a complete picture. And analyzing is as exhausting as it is unhelpful. Time to adjust our sails and (pair this quote with Churchill's): We're "going through hell; keep going." Also "lock arms!" Thanks for this post.
When are people going to understand Pod Casts always have a political bent of some kind. And most podcasters are neither real journalists nor have any real training as Journalists. I don't know Joe Rogin & I've never heard his casts. But I bet he's a trumper type through & through. Why would I believe he has my best interests at heart? MSM is supposed to be unbiased but wait, there's the Sinclair Broadcast Group. They're so biased even a 4th grader should see right through their news commentary programs.
Time for people to wise up & learn the first rule of journalism: know your sources & resources.
Ann, that does make me sad, but I suspect those folks were deliberately selected because of their MAGA views. We all know how easily manipulated some college students can be and how often they follow rather than tread new ground. I love young people, but do understand their limitations. They are young and not all of them care enough yet to realize how much their lives were and are dependent on what they did on Tuesday. I'm, sorry, but Seth Rogan is just another hack trying to prove he is more something than everyone else; he isn't, but young folks are encouraged to think so. Besides, what I have heard of that interview was appalling. Trump had no clue and the questions were not what one would expect a presidential candidate to fumble so badly. I am guessing those students do not listen to Seth Rogan or if they do it is a minimal amount. We need our young people to be stronger and better informed. We need to support our public schools and universities more fully and include a wider range of students.
I don't think that trying to understand their vote eliminates the possibility of calling it out as hurting others and being a morally bankrupt vote. I'd like to understand why this happened. I think that Trump's behavior was normalized to the point that many voters were able to mentally set it aside and vote based on their vain hopes for lower grocery prices and such. There's plenty of blame to go around for this normalization - traditional media, social media algorithms, foreign disinformation campaigns, cultural institutions such as churches, and so on. I also agree with Bernie Sanders that the Democratic Party has failed to attract the working class, or even pay meaningful attention to their very real problems.
How else can anyone pay attention to these "working class" folks? Support union, done. Raise minimum wage done. Tax the uberriches, proposals done by Kamala and Joe too. Provide school lunches, strengthen ACA, Medicare, Social Security, done and was supposed to be an ongoing process. Yet, these people voted for someone who thinks they are garbage. Misogyny, racism.
Yes, I agree. Biden even walked the picket line with workers. Maybe foul play involved? We will never find it out probably but it could well be a possibility.
Something just doesn't seem right. I know there are no facts suggesting that, but my mind continues to go back to Trump saying he and Mike Johnson had a "little secret" but wouldn't reveal it until after he won! It bothers me that after all the Trump administration people came out against him and Republicans voted Democrat plus all the amazing endorsements, she would lose like that. Of course, I'm in denial and worried about my gay friends and my disabled daughter knowing that Trump thinks those who are disabled aren't worth living and should die. I also feel for our Allies who will suffer, too. Thanks for all the comments as it helps reading how strong we'll all be.
It seems to me that the way to impress the working class seems to be vulgarity. The more uncensored he got , the more they liked him. The dumbing down of America.
They are simply uneducated. The red states have undermined the educational system in order to promote religious schools. People have not been taught critical thinking.
I would love to do an analysis of votes for Trump and educational system ranking by state. Of course, since the rankings are based on standardized tests instead of civics, logic, and humanities, it still would not tell the whole dismal story.
Yes! It boggles my mind that Harris had endorsements from so many iconic influencers (Taylor Swift, Oprah, both Obamas, many Puerto Rican entertainers) plus many notable Republicans such as the Chaneys, the top military and national security establishment, some mayors. Next, toss in the (presumed) union support, the extensive ground operation, a vast army of volunteers canvassers, postcard writers, and oodles of money for ads. Yet, 10 million former voters stayed home; the 75 million or so who could vote but usually choose not too remained on their couches as well. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign consists of unrefined vitriol, insults, and invective seasoned with a roundup of immigrants herded into makeshift camps. The only policy proposals I can recall hearing were a promise for across the board tariffs (certain to kill the economy and mightily piss off all our trading partners) and an end to taxing tips. The young voters were concerned for the slaughter and welfare of Palestinians. Do they not know that Trump is Netanyahu's poodle and will give him carte blanche to murder at will and grab territory in the same illegal manner that Putin uses--military force and violence against civilians. All this is beyond my (age 84) understanding.
My son, who has traveled widely and lived abroad and appreciates the differences between cultures and, thus, accepts that others may hold different, equally valid points of views , sums it up this way: the Dems blew it by not holding real primaries and allowing their voters to pick their candidate. In his mind it was clear, way before the debate catastrophe, that Biden wasn't fit to continue on as president. Second, the country was not ready to vote for a woman of color.
Harris ran an exceptional, vigorous, almost error free campaign. She went from zero to sixty in a split second. It is all so sad and baffling.
In my comments above I forgot to mention what I thought would be the largest factor in a huge turnout for Harris: women's liberty and reproductive freedom. Coupled with Trump's insidious patronizing "I will protect women whether they like it or not;" I thought women (and men)would want to push back with their no votes.
Fact is that a woman of color could NOT be elected to run the Country. She was the best possible candidate to take him on and something went seriously wrong. God help us!
I tend to agree with your son. I said as much when Biden decided to run again. When he was nominated, it was understood he would be a one-term President. That’s why Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg withdrew with many votes and gave them to Biden. I respect what the Biden Administration has done, but by holding on to the Presidency, I fear he and the Democrats have handed over the country to the party of Donald Trump, defeating what Biden ran on - The Soul of America. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were almost flawless - not their fault.
Very well stated. Thank you. We are all searching for “explanations” blame?) for this disaster. Certainly the media in general failed to inform and educate many people about which “side” was lying to them. And social media has become a social disease.
Harris barely put a toe wrong! This was the starkest choice any election in any country in history could have been given. Those of us with decent human values are gobsmacked that the country made the devil's choice instead of the one we thought America stood for.
We truly do have to get through the stages of grief... because we have to handle the devil's choice now and preserve whatever we can of the Republic for the hell about to be unleashed by Project 2025 et al.
That is the stat I have been looking at most. I think it is misogyny with some racism thrown in. (Someone suggests those votes were cast but not being counted -- a better conspiracy theory than most....) Because pretty much ALL those Missing Votes for Biden were taken from Harris.
John, our country is and always has been based in misogyny and racism. I think that Kamala Harris, being who she is, is what is behind trump's victory. It's really sad when misogyny and racism trump competence and caring. (Pun intended even though I couldn't think of a replacement word.)
Biden walked the picket line. No other President has ever done that for union workers and he signed the infrastructure bill that Pete Buttigieg as Secretary Of Transportation oversees that created working class jobs. And that's just what came to mind. Is it a messaging problem? Did Bernie have any ideas in how to fix it?
I already spent the entire last 9 years trying to understand why so many Americans disagree with me. I think I have a good idea. I understand this not from a place of thinking they are correct, and I just don't get it, but understanding that I am correct and they just don't get it. I am not going to explain my understandings, but I assume many people have them. I am not going to spend 4 years trying to understand them, but will spend it trying to understand how democracy works better, and how to implement it in the face of fascism.
Yes, I believe they, along with the rest of us and the world, will suffer. Elon Musk even came out and said our economy will get much worse before it's better. Wonder what he has in store for us as he gets richer and richer off government contracts.
I agree. Let the morons suffer from their willful ignorance. I have stopped caring. I used to care a lot about the less fortunate and about our society in general, and all it got me is pain. I am done. I have significant financial resources (even after my innumerable generous donations to a wide variety of good causes). Now I will just concentrate on protecting myself and family from the horrible consequences of this election travesty.
Subscribe to mainstream media? Lol! Like the NYT who sane washed Trump and will continue to? I don't think so. I'll continue to support NPR and other "filters" on Substack!
I agree with you. I have subscribed to the NYT and WAPO for years, being a native New Yorker came easy for me t subscribe to the NYT. I think both papers have let us down in so many ways. The same for cable news. I was a huge fan of Rachel Maddow, watching her nightly. When Trump did not win in 2020, I was so grateful that we might not hear about him for awhile. That was not the case. Very frequently, he was the object of the news. I was so disgusted, I stopped watching Rachel and pretty much anyone who was focused on Trump. I can't stand him, his voice, his endless photos and his whole demeanor, and now were are there again. I will turn my attention to NPR and PBS in Chicago.
I hear what you are saying, Joanna. I too cannot stand the sight of Trump and I was hopeful that I wouldn't have to hear his whiny, hateful voice much after the election. Like a Pavlovian dog, I have been trained by years of hearing him and seeing him, to recoil. I couldn't have the tv on at all yesterday for fear of hearing that voice again. I am taking baby steps to help navigate our path as liberals and Dems through this minefield filled country that millions of us voted for.
Agree 100% of everything you wrote. We live in Rome as well as San Francisco. With my 81 year old, cancer survivor husband I will spend very little time in the US and do everything I can to resist fascism from overseas. No news anymore except a few substacks.
Ah, Rome, Purobi! A dream for me to live in Italy and trying to get my dual citizenship for years, if only I can get an appointment with the Italian Consulate in Chicago. I'm presently in Germany visiting my family and our only small grandchildren. We have a TV in our Airbnb but don't watch. It's an extraordinary place where we stay, a small and gorgeous village only 10 minutes from our family. It brings a great sense of peace. Fog so thick this morning, I can barely see out the window and I love it. Even though Italy now has Meloni, I think it's still a livable place to be. Enjoy your time there and I wish you and your husband Buon salute.
NYT in the past month has had front page articles on Trump’s cognitive decline, dementia symptoms, and how the hell can he be allowed to sit in the Oval Office.
Too little; too late. For eight years they normalized his obvious lack of character and unfitness for holding a position of public trust. His first lie as president will be when he puts his hand on a Bible and takes the oath of office swearing to protect the Constitution and to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. The NYT headline will be: "President Trump was sworn in today by his Chief of Justice, John Roberts...."
The Guardian is the best alternative to US media. The NYT, the Washington Post and the LA Times have failed miserably. Some smaller market newspapers have stood up.
Find a local news outlet. We have the Colorado Sun (old Denver Post people) and Colorado Newsline (which is I think part of a national consortium) -- small local independents.
It's been alarming to listen to the NPR station air BBC America. They spend far too much time interviewing trump supporters and acting as if they're sane.
Agreed. I have texted the BBC World Service several times on their tendency to air clips of DJT and only summarize Harris. Victoria in particular seems to favor him, based on her questions.
You “nailed” a critical piece of this: the media’s unethical “reporting both sides” even when one side is lying, ignorant, irrational, and hateful. That sure has proven to be a failure to inform and educate the majority of American voters.
I read the article cited by Kathleen, and it's a good read. I belong to a FB group from my Midwest hometown, and they are pretty solidly for DJT. They have reveled in his ascension to the presidency. They pretty uniformly are happy to see what they call the "woke" agenda set aside. They have, as others have noted, overlooked all the solid good that the current administration has done. But they have romanticized the time before Covid and when inflation hit. They have bought the Fox et al rhetoric about rampant crime, unchecked immigration, and the homeless crisis, which they "believe" was allowed out of some misguided concern by the Ds. Much of this belief has come from the likes of Fox, and if you've ever listened to them, their hate-mongering is loud and strong. They believe it. Unfortunately, this breaks a bit between those educated and those not, and aside from supporting unions, which seems to get overlooked, those folks feel completely ignored by the Ds. How they can ignore what just came out on CNN is that 10 of the world's richest men just got $64B richer after the election results. Like many of us, I find it inexplicable that people look over all of that, which we knew before the election. All I can say is that an explanation does not equal sound reasoning. (This post is way too long, I know!)
I, too, cannot agree with item 5. I have wasted enough time trying to understand them, and will expend no more effort in that direction. I have three granddaughters, and those who voted for T**** (including my late mother) will get no forgiveness or understanding from me. They have decided wrongly: they are now my sworn enemies, and will remain so.
Do you remember all the hand wringing after 9/11 and all the exclaiming about, ‘why do they hate us?’ Even back then 23 years ago, I thought, ‘who cares why they hate us?’
I refuse to try to understand people who are either greedy, racist, misogynist and religious bigots who believe that only people exactly like them deserve a voice. There’s no room for anyone not like them. And that would be most of us.
Yeah still for our own sake we need to understand or get ahold of what is going on, now with a majority of the electorate. It affects us directly.. wherever we hide.
This is a country with divisions that have widened. People are busy getting and spending, complacent and taking for granted that the government fixes things or should with no deep understanding. That poll questions got answers like inflation and immigration tells me a lot about what in people's heads, what gets put into them. People seem to vote impulsively, emotionally, unthinking and uncaring about the country as a whole. It's a veritable battleground for too many now, us against them and ripe for a dictator, a strongman. This is not what this country is about, not why we became a nation. Now we will all have to fight as these facts, this fearful turn and its probable effects come to our own doors.
There is a big difference between the frustrations of 9/11 and today. The anger of 9/11 was directed at a group that we had no affiliation with and owed no duty to. They attacked us without any apparent provocation. Very similar in many ways to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
But this is dealing with our own citizens. We may completely disagree with their views and positions but we HAVE to acknowledge that they too are citizens of this country and have a right to their opinions no matter how wrong-headed we believe them to be. And in that regard, they WON, something we can't undo. So whereas the 9/11 enemy was from outside, these are our own people and we really have no choice but to at least try to understand. We'll it help? I don't know, I expect it to be very problematical. But if we DON'T try to understand and find common ground, we will be lost forever. And that is not something I e am willing to concede at least not without an effort.
Yes but THEY have to understand what they voted for. That can only happen, not by telling them but by suffering the consequences which unfortunately we will all have to do.
I understand those here who say they are fed up trying to understand them.
I agree, Potter. Last night I made the mistake of looking at my FB feed for the first time in a long while. I immediately wanted to unfriend anyone who posted in support of this madness. But then I wondered... when the arrests start, will they support that too? Will they post, "Hell, YEAH!" when Liz Cheney is arrested for disagreeing? How about Nancy Pelosi? Adam Schiff? What happens if executions start? Will THAT be too far? I think I need to see, in real time, if the voting majority of this country is beyond redemption. And as an aside, I fear Taylor Swift should leave the country for her own safety.
But item 5 ia the key to change. And it's like our new prz. Simple. Those who voted for this POS have become so fascinated with social media that their attention and comprehension span is about 15 seconds. So, to compete with the king of sound bites, you have to communicate complicated concepts like the success of the economy in 15 seconds. Complicated but not impossible. You're smart, figure it out and do it before 26. DonOLD will be 80 in 26 and 82 in 28 but hopefully heart attack, dementia or a better sniper will take him by then but we can undo this mess in 26. Don't give up!!!
But JD is far, far less "charismatic" to the MAGAs than is Trump's mysterious appeal for them...plus JD was against Trump before he was with him. True MAGAs might reject him. A MAGA (un)civil war might be a result. We can hope, anyway.
I agree- attack with ads at their level of understanding. Hard to do, but possible. Also use humor. All dependent on if we get another chance. '26 will be important, so we need to mobilize fast.
#5? What about them understanding why I disagree with them? The time for understanding is over. The time has come for straight talk: "No. I reject that. It is wrong." You can follow with "tell me why you think that way," or you can preface it with "That's what you think. Here's what I think..." But the time has come for tough love, for showing our own anger, in conversation and demonstration. Band together, sure, but it starts with the bravery to stand up for yourself. And for us.
I agree. The brutal clarity of an opposing statement helps people recognize it — perhaps sufficiently to alter their perceptions, points of view and opinions. The American electorate, largely unsophisticated, needs simple, powerfully recognizable "brass rings" to grab onto and to hold close. Statements embodying clear, powerful, actions; stark descriptions of disasters that may actually occur. Precision isn't the point, and the idea of democracy apparently too vague for millions. Raising awareness and inducing appropriate fear of the GOP's agenda is the point.
By the way, Trump used this strategy. It worked. It even persuaded millions of Americans to vote against their own interests. I recall no GOP effort to understand their opposition. In fact, continual ad hominem attacks and lies became their, and our, normal. Base, easily recognizable statements persuaded millions — in thoughtless frustration or hatred — to identify themselves with the GOP's simplistic remedies that would cure their anger.
Those susceptible to propaganda don't need our understanding; a dishonest, timid placating. In itself, the act of placating will neither gain their respect nor change their view. We don't need to be Neville Chamberlains. We don't need to be intimidated into fake kindness toward our adversaries. We need to be affronted and to simply, clearly state our unvarnished opinions — hurt feelings be damned. Fake respectfulness be damned.
True respect for another is to speak truthfully. Covering, disguising or softening the truth is lying — and always a sign of disrespect. To think best of your fellow citizens, state your truth; demonstrate that you respect them. Don't lie by omission. Respect yourself. Respect your blazing truth. If that troubles you, fortify yourself with the gentle yet estimable John Lewis, his "good trouble" — and the infinitely high stakes.
You ignore the one issue that is critically important. THEY won, not us. WE are in the position (something most Americans aren't used to) of being on the losing side and arrogance and attitude doesn't have much currency for losers. If we take your view, they will very likely just kick us to the curb. And why not? What's in it for them?
Standing firm is not arrogance. Disagreement is not arrogance. Honest dialogue is not arrogance. We have come across as soft, ignorant of economics (both beneficial and hardship), and unpractical. We need to engage in direct conversation about the facts, whether we are talking about the economy, the crime rate among immigrants, or corporate profit rates. The facts are on our side, we have to point that out. What's in it for them is that when tariffs increase costs, when medical costs go up, and many other examples, they will remember that we were speaking the truth.
Well have at it. You (we) just lost possibly the most important election in our lifetime and you want to "point out" that we were right and they were stupid. Good luck with that.
It is most definitely arrogant and one of the major reasons we are where we are today. I understand your frustration because I agree with our side but I learned a long time ago (when Ronald Reagan won in 1980) that a little humility goes a long way.
Keeping up the us versus them makes things worse. Hate and blame arise. The Trump voters have to learn the hard way by living with this .. the man who is going to fix it all. Unfortunately they take us with them. The arguing is useless at this point. We are venting deep disappointment and it's necessary.They need the consequences and to be the ones asking why. This was going to be a momentous and consequential election either way. When the rest of the country gets to see and feel consequences, we can have a discussion with them, if they look up from the grocery prices and the mis and disinformation.
If more understanding and reaching out to include them really was going to work, it would have. A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. When up against the most blatant and clearly stated lies, we must be blatant and clearly state our facts. We need to stop giving Trump and his beliefs all the oxygen by trying to understand them and start talking about our beliefs and our facts.
Republicans were still the "loyal opposition" (more or less) 40+/- years ago. The rules of the game have morphed into something a little different. Appeasement has never been the answer and now not merely appeasement, but any approach with courtesy and hat in hand will be viewed as weakness.
You know who 'won', Jon? The 15 million who couldn't be bothered enough to get off their asses and go vote. If there is an issue that needs to be addressed in this country, it is that. And in less than a year, those 15 mil will be the loudest complainers, and biggest whiners!
Well maybe you should think a little about WHY they didn't vote. I really doubt it is because they were all lazy. They managed to go out and vote 4 years ago.
Maybe, just maybe, their candidate wasn't doing enough to meet their needs? Have you even CONSIDERED that as a possibility?
I realize this all hurts (I've been through many election losses in my 50+ years of working on politics) but acting like it's someone else's fault is really the worst excuse. Start with what YOU might have done wrong before you point a finger at others.
What I did, Jon, was spend virtually every day for the last 3 weeks canvassing, knocking doors, talking to people. And I heard countless people saying their vote didn't matter, so why bother. 'He's going to steal the election anyway, what can I do?' Is there a 'WHY' in there?
What are your suggestions on specific actions to take, Jon? I’m seriously asking because I see this all the time (60-ish myself & remember the Reagan years) that Dems are asked to self-reflect after losses.
However, since 2015, I haven’t seen that question asked of Republicans - humility, learning from your mistakes, etc. What I’ve seen is doubling & tripling down on their hate & vitriol & grievances.
This isn’t Reagan’s Republican Party anymore. IMO, it’s turned into a cult which is led by a bully. Bullies don’t care about self-reflection of the “others”. They see humility shown towards them as acquiescence to their power and superiority. This cult’s followers have gobbled that up.
IMO, I think that our approach needs to shift because the Republican party has seismically shifted. Humility won’t cut it.
I imagine the ones that did not vote, at least in part, did not want to vote Trump but could not bring themselves to vote for a Democrat despite Liz Cheney. There are of course other reasons... scared by bomb threats, confused by mis and disinforaton, fed up (bothsides) etc.
As well I imagine, don't know, many voted Republican not liking Trump because they always vote Republican etc.
Jon, I agree with you. Listening and seeking to understand does not mean abandoning our principles. Regardless of how ignorant, misguided, or fantastical "they" may seem (or perhaps because of this), there are reasons so many people voted for this man. Those reasons may not seem valid to us, but they are in the catbird seat right now, and many are willing to use force to stay there. We must try to understand life from their perspective.
Sorry to disagree, Mr. Rosen....but Dems have been on "the losing side" in a good many ideological battles between the R's and D's. Granted, the Dems don't always learn or learn very much from these losses, but we certainly have had more than our share of political losses in the past 50 years.
Oh I see. I said AMERICANS weren't used to being in the losing side. That was intended to allude to the fact that we have tried to be a global policeman and mostly have succeeded. I agree that in domestic political conflicts both sides have won some and lost some. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
This is not a matter of everyone being out of step except my Johnny. This country is almost divided 50/50 and we are not sone minority opinion thinking everyone is out of step but us.
I made up my mind today to ask for details when maga people just quote Fox News (I call it another f word now - but I’ll be nice lol). And then ask them to “help me understand “ where the children are going to school as boys and coming home as girls. And where they are murdering babies as soon as they are born. I want to get them to prove with factual evidence vs “someone “ heard it. I tried to get along too much before - but now I will make them prove to me what they are saying / spreading. Maybe it will get them to ask that question for themselves next time.
And this may be cruel - but I’m going to laugh at them when the tariffs hit their pockets. Not one bit of sympathy. This is what they asked for
I am much more aligned with Democratic perspectives than Republican, but I do not have major heartburn that Republicans won versus Democrats. I think that the pattern of administration flips every cycle or two is a feature, not a bug of our democracy.
But I am really disturbed that Trump won, and I struggling with the reality that many Christians supported him. I believe he has no moral or ethical compass which he has demonstrated consistently in his personal, his professional and his political endeavors.
My intention is to reach out people that support him and explore how do they square his character and actions with their lived faith. I hope that if I do this in good faith and with genuine curiosity that I might come to understand it. It is possible that those who discuss will gain - maybe about me and maybe about themselves.
We need to help build a new media juggernaut to rival and break through the talk radio and podcast information and propaganda silo that MAGA has built to cocoon their followers from EVER even hearing the Dems message. The mainstream media totally failed our democracy with false equivalencies and normalization.
Brian Taylor Cohen nailed the post-election analysis in the youtube below.
We saw the effect Taylor Swift had on voter registrations with one tweet. We need Swift and Beyonce to start doing political counterprogramming. They have the recognition and access to production resources to get up and running fast. We need the substack crowd to provide the research, guests and content to educate the electorate.
That's a pipe dream. We lost the war. We need to stop acting like we are the only ones who are right and start figuring out how to get along with others. Otherwise it won't matter because our future will be limited.
That and about $3 week get you a ride on the NY subway. I'm glad you think that way but as I said, we lost. You can stick your head in the sand and say "but they are wrong" all you want but it won't change the result and it won't help make any progress either.
And besides maybe they aren't completely wrong either. You might want to remind yourself that they all live in this country too. They are citizens and they have rights. Maybe if you open UP your mind rather than shutting it down you might figure out a way to find at least some common ground?
Because the "my way it the highway" approach didn't work in case you hadn't noticed.
I am sorry for being so tough on this issue but I WANT to see us prevail someday and the best way to start that is to find common ground.
What common ground is there between established, proven, corroborated FACT and just made-up bullshit? What common ground is there between massive amounts of scientific evidence and fantasy? What common ground is there between the informed opinion on Trump’s tariff proposals of many Nobel Prize-winning economists and a MAGA moron who has studied nothing?
Great start to solving a problem. Call your presumed friends lazy sobs? Gotta love the olive branches used around here. Anyone saying that to my face would get this reasons... "with a friend like you, who needs enemies?"
I hope there is still right and wrong, no matter who's in charge. Understand, yes; but thinking all perspectives have some "rightness" about them from a humane perspective is one reason why we're here today.
I'm afraid I already failed #6.....I lost my temper with my son today when he said my thoughts on tRuMp were ridiculous and then laughed at me. I am beyond sad. :(
Just keep repeating the truth because within a short amount of time the lies are going to start being exposed and the consequences are coming and will hurt. And whatever happens, DO NOT bail him out! Suffering the consequences is the only way this country will wake up!
I have no intention of trying to understand Trump voters. They are evil and stupid and have no idea what they have done to this country all to "own the libs."
Thank you Kathleen Weber. Guided by the Vice President's speech to the Nation at her alma mater Howard University in DC: "This is a time to organize, to mobilize & to stay in engaged". "Time to roll up your sleeves".
I disagree with #1. I hope & pray before he leaves, President Biden & DOJ find the fraud in this election; The math isn't matching with the #s. I hope I'm wrong, but something doesn't feel right about Trump winning this election.
Thanks for this. I have been so angry with the NYTIMES for their biased reporting on Biden, I can’t bring myself to read the post election coverage, so I would have missed this.
Thank you for this link. And no to number 4. I have canceled the WaPo. (and NYT) and now look on independent writers (Substack), Reuters, AP and a variety of international publications as my main news resources. Indivisible is a good source of statistical analysis.
Apparently those who voted for "IT" appreciate short simple answers so keep on doing what we've been doing but in terms of IG or MUSX. The economy and immigration etc are things that don't explain easily and definitely not in REPUBLICAN'TS sound bites but you're smart enough to figure out how to explain it in a dumber way that THEY can understand.
Winston definitely had a way with the English language, Dale could you please Can someone explain to me how in the 2020 election Biden got almost 81 million votes and Trump 74 million votes, more or less a total of 155 million. In 2024 Trump gets 73 million votes and Harris 68 million votes, more or less. When I went to sleep Monday night, over 78 million had already voted, all day Tuesday there were lines around the block with very eager voters where they were staying open after scheduled closing because so many were still standing in line, and the vote total was around 141 million, 14 million less than in 2020. Then Harris gets 13 million less votes than Biden in 2020, and Trump 1 million less than in 2020. So in an election that was so eagerly anticipated by women and Democrats, how is this possible. Also that the totals of 14 million difference between the two elections comes up twice. It does not make sense to me. Kamala ran a flawless campaign with packed arenas, Trumps they were walking out early. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but we know that Elon Musk is a world class one with the resources to implement with Russian assistance something nefarious. So will someone please explain how this happened? Thank you in advance, Maureen & James.
I think it's pretty obvious what happened (and the polls reflect this).
1. For Trump, very little changed from 2020 to 2024. With a few differences which probably were off setting, he got just about the same vote in 2024 as in 2020.
2. Harris was never really close. There was an initial burst of enthusiasm, but in the end she ran a very flawed "flawless" campaign. It was flawless in one sense... she speaks well, she connects with people, she had a great connection. But it was also highly flawed. She NEVER really came into her own with a program that was c clear and convincing and differentiated herself from Biden (who was severely flawed despite all his great efforts on our behalf). She refused to put distance between herself and Biden on important policies. She clearly lost a big support group of people who supported Gaza. Despite Trump's constant anti- Hispanic rants, she lost a large part of the Hispanic vote which Biden swept overwhelmingly in 2020.
3. There was a huge racist and misogynist factor which worked against her.
Yes she got 67 million votes. But in the end she lost so many votes from Biden's 2020 victory that she never really had a chance.
Clearly Biden's refusal to do what he had promised at outset of 2021 hurt. He should have NEVER run again. He was too old. He was clearly diminished. And most importantly he DIDN'T do what he said he would do which was only serve one term. Had he declined to run for 2024 who knows what might have happened. Maybe Harris would have had the time to build a stronger coalition. Or maybe someone else would have emerged as a better stronger candidate. But Biden boxed everyone in for his own ego gratification and now his term in office will be remembered as "the term between Trump's two terms" not exactly a great legacy.
So where are all the women in this mess? I kept reading about how the women would coalesce and vote for someone like Harris. However, what I saw was women committed to Trump which I frankly don’t understand. There are more women than men voters and yet cannot rally together and sway a country. To me the ultimate blame goes to Obama who joked about Trump in a 2011 White House dinner. I think that started the ball rolling because Trump is a vengeful son of a bitch.
YUP. His timidity was the wrong choice and it paved the way for more voters to admire the orange turd for his "balls" (never a good thing, as ovaries are much better!) and think he was a REAL FUCKING MAN.
OK, 'nuff said about blame. NOW LET'S GET TO WORK. This morning I already did one of Nick Kristof's steps: I increased my support of "The Guardian" because that paper is NOT owned by a broligarch and is reader-supported. I also am talking to women friends about connecting so we can work together against the attempted changes to the governmental structure and policies of this country. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? TELL ME HERE!
But you leave out one important point. Biden refused to do anything about the border until the last minute. He should have invoked the insurrection act or an executive order. He did neither because by doing so, he would have acted in the same manner as Trump.
I know it’s a big ask for someone who is the leader of the whole free world to step down. But I always love Kamala Harris and saw the ticket of Biden and Kamala before he picked a vice president. I would’ve loved for him to step down sooner and allowed her gifts and talent to shine, and I think we would’ve won, because people didn’t know her or trust her, but if they saw her in action, they would be proud to be an American. But there’s no time right now for what if,
And I don’t wanna be like the mega party I don’t wanna hate and scream and cut other people off. I want to be different and I want people to see the difference and not want to deal with that crazy man. I think it has to be grassroots. I think we need to love our neighbors and be kind and do something different. I’m not sure what it is. I’m not a spiritual leader, but I know that true love is powerful and true care is powerful and when we start losing our neighbors and our lawn care people and our nannies to being rounded up and putting in concentration camps there’s gonna be a lot of room For anger. And I hope and pray for voice to rise up reason for people to see what’s going on here
So that’s what I’m encouraging people to do be different be grassroots love your neighbor care for others grieve underneath anger is pain and it’s more powerful to be in the pain than it isto be in the anger. But we’re in her in the anger we feel more powerful so we’d rather stay in our power of anger, but when we grieve it invites others to grieve with us those are just my thoughts.
I have had similar thoughts about this week's election James. The only difference I noticed at my polling station was new machines, similar to those we used for several years. The process was a little different too..........the voter was not required to sign the 'book of voters' where your address was listed. I don't know if these changes are typical of all places or not. It would be interesting to me to find out the history of the new machines.
Delaware County, PA changed to an electronic pollbook 2 years ago. Election workers inquire name, address then you electronically sign pollbook which they compare to previous signature. It also lists polling place so if you arrive at the wrong location, can be directed to correct one. Printout is given to you to take to scantron ballot staff --each party's staff record one's name on paperbooklet while election worker hands you ballot to place "inside secrecy vanilla file folder" , go to partitioned table to record vote, head to scantron machine, insert ballot and it signals light when scan complete. Big difference from machine days when we flipped down levers or progress to later computer button pushed.
I've monitored the testing of our voting machines in past elections. We don't use a 'sign-in book' - the poll workers check your voter registration on a computer and, if necessary, ask for identification. The ballots are paper, mark-sense type, and placed in the scanner by the voter after being filled out. The machines are tested before each election to make sure they correctly count the ballots: it was eye-opening to see the many possible ballot mistakes voters make that are caught by these scanners. And with paper ballots (let us NEVER give them up - that will be the nail in democracy's coffin) we have an audit trail. BTW, none of the electronic equipment is connected to the Internet, eliminating that source of intrusion.
I marched in the Woman’s March on Washington. I remember boarding one of 3 buses at Trinity College in Hartford at 1 AM. All were women on the bus with two exceptions; the bus driver and a Hartford Courant reporter. I was all set to have a woman sit next to me so I could chat and hear a woman’s perspective on things. I too, was writing on events. But crapola who sits next to me but the male reporter. We didn’t have much to say on the ride to Washington. Oh heck, I’ll pull it out of my collection of stories shortly.
Just a brief admonishment, Joyce. I once used the term “circling the wagons” while talking with an old Native Indian activist and boy, did I have to do a mea culpa.
The Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017
(It just seems like yesterday)
I am traveling to Washington DC this Saturday to participate in the Women's March on Washington. I am going because the threat of President Trump to defund Planned Parenthood. I don't need any other reasons to show my solidarity. There is no need to augment my decision with the realization that Mr. Trump has no morals or business ethics; which insures that he will make a horrible leader.
I am somewhat surprised that the overwhelming majority of marchers are in fact, women. But hey, it's a "Women’s March" right? The evening before the trip, I listened to commentators on the PBS Nightly News that a "massive March is being planned." During the table discussion, someone asks if only women are going. Another commentator answers "...and other hangers-on." That's me, the hanger-on. I have always been a hanger-on so this is not news to me.
I have anticipated the nuances of being in the middle of a huge throng of marchers. I packed four eggplant Parmesan sandwiches (made the day before) and two bottles of water. I took Imodium tablets a few hours before leaving on buses reserved for this event. I can't predict my bowel movements at my age anymore and it wouldn't be wise to get stuck in a crowd of a million women with sudden bodily needs. Ahem...
A Hartford Courant reporter sits next to me. Of all the women travelers on board, I get the chance encounter to sit next to a guy. I anticipated sitting next to a woman so I could elicit her perspective on the March.
Our four buses depart from Trinity College in Hartford and we all arrive at RFK Stadium later this morning. Most of us decide to walk the two miles to the Mall. It's a historic and ironically festive occasion. Many avenues are filled with joyful marchers as we converge near the Capital Building.
I cannot get close to the stage area. I'm now stuck in the crowd unable to move. The marchers that are close enough to the stage can hear speeches. The rest of us automatically cheer when a speaker makes a good point and this cheering is like a water wave that sweeps over the ocean of humanity. A yell is heard from the masses and it’s probably Madonna screaming something about wanting to blow up the White House (as this was later reported in the press). I slowly squish myself through sliver of openings of the throng until I reach some scaffolding remaining from the inaugural the day before when Mr. Trump was sworn to uphold the laws of the land.
I reach the scaffolding and look up at climbers scurrying through the monkey bars. I pause a moment and consider my sixty three year-old bones. I pause only for one moment. Now I too have joined the club climbing up the bars. Sixty is the new forty and I know I can make it up to the top. Besides, I need my panorama photos of the crowd.
My photographic studies are done. I have climbed to the mountain top (of the scaffolding). It nears two PM, the time at which my Connecticut Congressional delegation has opened their office reception room nearby at the Sam Rayburn Office Building for us marchers to rest, use the lavatory and enjoy a light lunch. They are kind and generous to offer this accommodation for their constituents. Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty thanks us repeatedly for making the trip. The room is quickly filled with fellow marchers sitting at tables and on the floor. We soon clean out the food. After the much needed rest, it is time to slowly walk back toward the Stadium.
This event evokes past marches to Washington DC especially President Nixon’s anti-Vietnam protests of the 1970s. And the big anti-Vietnam march of 1967 when as a child of 14, I boarded the overnight Amtrak train. My experiences have taught me that a march doesn't change anything. But an accumulation of marches and grass-roots organizing can and does change the body politic. President Trump will have his day in the sun. I haven't the slightest doubt that it will be for one term only. But a person can do a lot of damage in four years.
An announcement is made at the reception that the march through the streets has been officially canceled because of the crowd size.
On the return bus ride home, we make a rest stop in New Jersey. I need to use the men's room. But the men's room this moment is no longer for men only. It's been co-opted by hundreds of women returning from Washington. Why not? There are maybe nine women to every one man waiting in a long line at the entrance.
And now, I am waiting to go. One woman turns to me and says, "Oh, you don't need to wait. The urinals are available." I guess she thought I only needed to go pee pee. She was correct. But as I began to enter the lavatory, a voice in me said that this was an historic moment - of sorts. I yell out, "This is a fucken photo opt" as I yank out my IPad. I shoot those waiting in line. I enter the facility and continue shooting. I sense that I need to shoot quickly and get the hell out before a disgruntled male takes an issue with my camera. Before I have finished with a few different photo perspectives, and after my visit to an available urinal, a man yells me and at that moment, I exit.
It’s time for me to return to the bus and get some much needed sleep. We will have an unsettling four years ahead of us. May our nation survive.
I’m wondering how to prepare myself for another exhausting and soul-depleting four years of an even more rabid Trump Administration. And I will never fathom his depth of support across the country after everything he has said and done over the years. I realize how alienating my country has become for me and those I care about.
It is still mind-boggling how millions of Americans voted for a convicted felon. If those voters saw qualities they admired in him, heaven help us all.
I think you name something important. The opposite of alienation is inclusion. And if the Dems want to guide the tone of the nation, they need to do more on a grassroots level to help you feel included, invited. Ongoingly, not just at election time
Yes, this has to be a core premise. I vacillate on Mr. Walz, but he really is a blue collar guy and he was barely visible. Kamala came from working class but she got crushed on the "economy" and the border. People who know that Trump is a convicted felon still believe that he can and will help them with prices, which are coming down. As are interest rates. Biden/Harris will get no credit, but the economy may very well take off and soar. As it did when he inherited the Obama economy.
Unless he spends inordinate time and money trying to evict Brown people, and prices climb because of labor shortages in harvesting crops, cooking meals, serving them, etc. etc. Watch the movie, "A Day Without a Mexican"
The tone that they voted for was racist and misogynist. That is not the inclusion I aspire to. Their cover was the economy, the truth was pure prejuidice.
Thank you for making this point. Democrats have a history of acting like they want all of us to be involved but really wanting to be the nation’s mommy and daddy. People like Nancy Pelosi don’t take kindly to young upstarts like AOC having new ideas. This is the exact opposite of what a true community does. A true community is open to new ideas! In fact, America won World War II because a pioneer in the art and science of organizational development used community based learning as a method for how all of the weapons we needed to win the war were manufactured. That person‘s name is W. Edwards Deming. I invite everyone to research his work to learn how the Democrats could re-organize as a true community based political party.
Democrats will never be able to organize. There are too many factions under the big tent, too many one-issue voters, too much technology growth between generations. Progressives need their own party, and should have broken away when Bernie Sanders ran on the Democrat party's coattails. Instead, he spouted the "socialist" label that has haunted the party, and given more ammunition to republicans to paint Dems as enemies of our country. And Pelosi? Mock her if you wish, but she's already in the history books as THE most effective Speaker ever. She not only managed to keep trump in line, but did a great job of taming AOC's raw instincts, and teaching her to pick battles wisely and stealthily. AOC is a better legislator because of it, and will become even more formidable in the future. Community-based organization is a great concept, until the community gets too large and diverse. Same thing happened decades ago with all the successful communes in this country - as more people came in with new ideas, infighting started, rules were changed by power-hungry leaders, and the "community" lost original purpose. Human nature. Tribal nature, maybe. I'm an Independent who leans pretty liberal. I refused to join the Dem party, mainly because the DNC may as well try to herd cats. Sorry, but there it is. IF we have any semblance of a democracy left after trump's ego-stroking oligarchs and talibangelists start serving up Putin cocktails, there will certainly be room in this country for two viable liberal parties.
Think about this for a second. Did you ever see the movie about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter? Remember the people who rushed to support him and the efforts to overturn his conviction? That's why millions of people voted for a convicted felon. I understand you (and i) don't agree with this but they see Trump as their "Hurricane". And that's precisely why millions of people voted for him. They think he is the aggrieved one, and even though I believe they are nuts to feel that way and that he really IS a felon and should be locked up, they think he is wrongfully accused. And that's why they support him and vote for him.
Simple- they were told repeatedly, and believed, these were corrupt and politically motivated hit jobs, aka ‘Lawfare’.
You are the same in that you also believe what you hear repeatedly and consistently throughout all of your media. At this level you are no different and if you can’t comprehend this, you’re not equipped to solve the American problem of being divided against itself.
There is no mystery how America is divided nearly 50-50 against itself: Half has been told ‘A’,
half told ‘not-A’.
Some mystery in how much of this equal division can be attributed to:
1) active-balancing of news by commercial media interests who want maximal conflict so as to sell maximal ads, vs
2) foreign interests who benefit most from a nearly equally divided country, with tfg slightly ahead, vs
Mark, "You" messages are offputting. There is a difference in quality and content of information. There is a difference in checking multiple sources. There is a difference in caring when lies are told and rejecting them. Please don't put us in the same category as MAGAs for example.
It is important that we understand, in detail and depth so we can know how to defeat it. I was born in 1948 and i've seen worse. My parents were born in 1918, and they saw much much worse. My grandparents were born in the 1890s. Their parents were born in the Civil War. It's a long hard fight. Take care of yourself. Take breaks, but don't give up. Never give up.
It’s only been 2 days and I can’t count how many times I’ve already read “Get your passport ready/renewed!!” That’s not a possibility for many of us. It takes money to move to another city let alone another country. You can’t just pull up stakes and go either. You have to be able to offer your new country a reason to allow you to stay. Do you have a job that will benefit them? Are you rich and able to benefit their economy through your purchases and investments?
I’m a disabled veteran. I live on my disability comp & take part-time jobs when I’m able to in-between the surgeries I’ve needed to repair the damage caused by my service. I’m stuck here. I already have to fight tooth & nail to get the healthcare I earned and it’s going to get so much worse. I already know trump will gut veteran’s compensation & healthcare services. I already know I will then lose my home & end up in one of the camps miller & trump promise to use for all ‘the lazy, useless homeless’. My passport isn’t going to help me one bit.
People need advice rooted in reality, not pie in the sky bullshit that only the rich can afford.
Plus, not everyone will want to leave. Does patriotism matter? What about choosing to stay and fight for all those the trump cult deems expendable? I’m already feeling stress, worry and frustration and I know it pales beyond measure next to what those in the groups trump & his cult have targeted are feeling right now. If everyone leaves who will fight for those who can’t?
If moving to Canada or elsewhere is an option & you want to & can go, then go. I wish you good luck with that.
I am in disbelief, too. My childhood group, dozens of them, are gleefully celebrating trump’s win in my presence. They do this even knowing that many of our childhood friends are devastated. This is a cruel betrayal of all due respect. It will never heal.
I am preparing myself by ceasing all donations (previously generous, numerous, and broadly varied) except to those organizations that directly benefit me and my family. We have cancelled our WaPo, NYT, and Bloomberg subscriptions and cancelled streaming services. Years ago I cancelled my FB and Twitter accounts. I will no longer travel to and spend my money in red states. I will preferentially buy products manufactured in Europe (new Mercedes made in Bremen is on the way). I will do nothing to contribute to this degraded society unless I benefit. I will feel no pity for stupid MAGA morons who suffer because they listened to Mr. Worm-in-Brain and refused vaccination. I can afford the inflation caused by Trump’s stupid tariffs and have stopped giving a damn about others who cannot - too many of them voted for Trump or didn’t vote. I used to care a lot. The only thing that got me was pain. Let the willfully ignorant Trumpers suffer in worsening heat waves. They deserve no sympathy.
I am a CPA on Bainbridge Island. I have Mexican and Guatemalan gardeners. They told me they were for Trump. I asked them why. They said they listen to Hispanic radio all day long and it was telling them frightening stories that made them want to go for Trump, mostly of a gay or transsexual nature, which offended their masculinity. This talk radio was sold to a friend of Jared Kushner about a year ago, when the format changed to MAGA. The irony is Trump would easily put my guys into a deportation camp in a blink. The talk radio played upon their homophobia and castration anxiety. All over the USA these Hispanic blue collar laborers listen to this station
Trump is the great imposter. He is a criminal mind, grifter, and gangster. He is going to steal billions. Furthermore, he is a Russian agent. He will go back to selling State secrets and revealing undercover agents overseas who will be arrested and thrown out of windows. He was shake down industries with threats of tariffs. The list is endless. He has a complete carte Blanche now. Iceberg dead ahead.
I am afraid that you are correct Michael C. Berry. We each need to prepare ourselves and any family and friends who will listen, for some horrible times ahead. I fear for those who will be singled out for deportation, work camps, and any other demeaning situations the upcoming regime demand. It could be a difficult lesson to learn for many people.
Thank you for your posts and for telling it exactly as it is. We are in for a horrible time.
I feel for those who were taken in by the propaganda and weren’t able to understand that that’s what it was. I’m not referring to or insulting their intelligence at all. It’s a very specific step in propaganda to play on a group’s biggest fears, especially those rooted in cultural beliefs. We are all susceptible. I can only imagine how utterly betrayed they’ll feel when they realize they were played and are now the target.
Similarly, I have two personal care assistants, both of who said they would vote for Trump because he will deport the immigrants who want their jobs. ??? One is Black, and the other is white; both are Americans, not immigrants. Where do they get this stuff? It will take us decades to ferret out all the misinformation and disinformation that made this election happen.
Honestly, how do these immigrants find the time? Between living like royalty on government assistance (because they are too lazy to work), simultaneously stealing all the good "AmAmerican" jobs, PLUS taking over cities and committing crimes, they must be exhausted.
I had an assistant in 'August when my foot was in a non-driving boot. She had come to America with her parents from Mexico when she was 8 years old; she's now 50. They are all citizens now but she said her father and most men in her extended family (his cousins all came and are all citizens, too) are all trumpers because they "came the legal way" and don't want to allow people who don't come "the legal way" into the US and trump would stop the illegals from coming. sigh.
Sadly those men will soon be reminded that racism doesn't care about your actual status just like Asian Americans suffered when the cheeto blamed China for COVID.
Trump cut legal immigration quotas drastically, allowing the fewest number of legal immigrants in many years. That compounded the problem of so many desperate people coming across the border illegally. They had no other option.
There is one specific talk radio station they all listen to while they are working. It was sold two years ago to a friend of Jared Kushner who changed its format to MAGA. This radio station is played by all these workers all over the USA.
Propaganda wins every time and they know how certain people will react to those kinds of perceived threats. There will be so many people hurt by trump and his haters; that is the what is so horrible about his election.
Especially so, SPW, because it was all a very deliberate, very specific propaganda fueled by hate, bigotry, racism & misogyny.
Those who voted for trump did so (generally speaking) for the benefits they personally will see (tax cuts), those who agree with all that hate and those who were targeted by very specific propaganda.
Almost all undocumented workers pay into Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment, Labor and Industries on phony Social Security Numbers. This helps to support Social Security but they will never receive benefits.
I am wondering if it will be like Florida where a huge portion of the immigrant population left when they enacted a law about employers having to verify the legal status of their workers. Will there be a mass exodus across the nation?? I work in a big box store and am wondering if a lot of the people I see regularly will leave. Business is already tough.
I too have been wondering if all the scary rhetoric is intended to frighten undocumented people into leaving the country or even legal workers like the Haitians in Ohio. On the other hand, they really canʻt go back if their home country deadly dangerous to them.
When I was canvassing and phone banking the most difficult conversations I had were with two different voters who immediately started ranting at me about how they could not vote for Democrats because they support having men in women's bathrooms and men on women's sports teams and they needed to protect their young daughters. Somehow concern about their daughters' reproductive health and freedom in their later years never factored in to their worldview. This irrational fear of trans people somehow ruining their daughter's lives or doing more than live the lives they want as the people they are is one of the most disturbing aspects of this last campaign.
Thank you, this is helpful. It boggles my mind that these folks would vote for Trump. This helps explain, along with another fear-mongering tactic resurfaced in an NPR story a few days ago: many Guatemalans, Venezuelans, Cubans fear Socialism - as in the socialism that ruined their countries ... so Trump and Vance and Republicans in general invoke the threat of Socialism if Democrats get into office. The scare-tactic works.
That's interesting. I think I have relatives on Bainbridge Island. And we heard that Trump spent the last four years building a highly effective network to win this election, but that is really deviously smart stuff. What is the radio station? Are their programs broadcast nationwide? Or did they buy stations across the country? Please tell us more. We have to watch for similarly underhanded tactics beginning now.
Stupid and ignorant people make stupid and ignorant choices for their sources of “information” and we have naively allowed freedom of speech to be a license to lie.
The problem is the winning side is NOT going to make eggs and had any cheaper. The election was bought by big corporations and billionaires who have price gouged consumers because they could. The previous administration mishandled the pandemic so badly that over a million died needlessly. The economy was in a huge downturn while Trump was talking about taking bleach to cure Covid.
My state has lots of immigrants, legal and otherwise, who form the backbone of our economy in agriculture, construction, meat production, as well as high tech jobs in the Research Triangle Park. If most or all of those people are not at those jobs, our economy will nosedive. Housing and food prices won’t be any cheaper for sure. Native born Americans will absolutely not take those jobs. (Do you aspire to work in a chicken processing plant?) I think people will be unpleasantly surprised by what chaos the winner of this election and his minions will cause. I have no sympathy for people who voted for the winner of this election if the chaos rains down on them. They chose it.
I agree. I cannot fathom that people can’t remember the trauma of his first four years. How could they be so cavalier with other people’s lives to vote for him again?! It’s unbelievable that so many crave authoritarianism.
It isn’t the immigrants who are lazy and living off others…it is Americans who do that. They don’t aspire to work in a chicken or meat processing plant??? Oh surprise, surprise. Watch your prices go up folks. Don’t even dare to complain!
I expect that mostly the same people voted for him. And most of them felt he did a "fine" job and was ousted by Biden for no good reason. They almost all believe the 2020 election was stolen. Their ability to be highly discriminating in their political outlook is probably not very high. Sigh...
This is one reason why I think the ONLY solution is unrestricted borders. Of course it's too late for that now but it resolves the problem of so-called "legal" immigration. We have never been able to adequately restrict immigration especially from our southern border (I grew up in Tucson AZ). Trying to draw the fine line on who gets in and who gets left out is very difficult and basically has resulted in an ongoing process of "draw a line, let some in legally, more get in illegally, everyone complains, give the illegals amnesty, rinse and repeat". For me, open unrestricted immigration is the best and simplest process.
"Give me your tired, your poor!" Emma Lazarus said it best.
The people who claim their biggest concern was inflation are going to be in for a rude shock. If Trump's deportation threats become real, the rapid escalation in food prices when all the migrant workers who pick our crops disappear, and the even higher cost of housing when all the construction workers disappear are going to make the inflation of the post covid years look mild.
We still have a responsibility to protect the rights over vulnerable people - some of which might have voted for trump. Letting trumpers suffer the consequences of their decision won’t enlighten fools, but will everyone suffers.
Those who voted cheaper gas and eggs don't realize the cost of everything is about to skyrocket. May they rot in hell. May those men have ED. May those men and women have STDs/STIs.
Let’s be sure to remove all the pharmaceutical ads from tv that sell cheap products for men that ensure their ability to perform sexually. If the now elect felon goes for the comstock act for contraception and medical abortion meds, let’s make sure the law is applied equally across the board.
Eggs and gas had absolutely nothing to do with the election results! The results demonstrate half the country hate women and especially women of color. Call it was it is and stop pretending this is not about racism and misogyny!
Both things can be true at the same time! We were singularity focused on saving democracy and protecting the most vulnerable among us, but media pushed a different narrative for many. Latinos who voted for him heard lies that Trump would protect them from gang members coming over the border. White women vote to please their husbands looking out only for their own future. Also, too many white men and women clearly won’t vote for a women. There were lots of reasons people overlooked reality and voted for the madman.
As you point out, there are also more racists than we ever realized too.
It comes down to white grievance. Many white people somehow believe that someone of another color is the reason for their problems in life. My neighbors are very much of this mindset. You can’t convince otherwise. They watch Fox and vote for chump who could care less about anyone but himself.
I made the mistake of checking my phone at 4 or 5 AM and read the horrid news. The rest of my sleep sucked to say the least. I guess I'm lucky to have had the day off. I had Bourbon on hand and I'm not sure that helped but there's that. I'm offered solace from Kamala's words that we're basically not done and the good work will continue. Some words from Lawrence O'Donnell made some sense too when he quoted Frederick Douglass: "If there is no struggle, there can be no progress." Douglas was in his thirties when he said this and an escaped slave.
Might I offer: grieve. Give yourself time to mourn. I wouldn’t recommend too much time but you know what is best for you.
Then, when you are ready, find like-minded people, your community, who are willing to do the work to get us through this, to the other side. There is strength in numbers.
Kelly, did deep dear. There are hundreds of examples of others in the past that came thru worse (WWII underground, for instance). Stand strong. He's just a loud carnival barker and an old man with goofy hair. Keep calm and carry on.
I just worked so hard. I door knocked in a swing state. I donated time, money, talked to people. I couldn’t have done more, but I feel like I didn’t do anything. I just… can’t.
I am a hospice chaplain. One of my patients was a Jewish woman who survived the Nazi occupation. Her parents and sister and brother all died in camps or on the way. She herself had a traumatic story of survival escaping from a train headed to a camp and his in an abandoned town with a couple of other girls at the hands of Russian doctors and soldiers. She was a young teen. She eventually made it to America. She managed to thrive. Her motivation to keep living at all costs, to keep fighting and thriving was that she KNEW the Nazi’s wanted her dead as they wanted all Jews dead and she wasnt going to let them have the satisfaction. So she did everything to survive, she wasn’t going to die or be extinguished. Draw strength from others like her. From the generations of people descended from African slaves whom at every turn have had have people trying to silence them.
I think you, you all, did an amazing job of investing yourselves right into the campaign, donating time energy and hard earned money. I think I understand how gutted you feel, (because it would be selfish to assume I know). I personally cannot understand how 'they' pulled the rug out from under a very well disciplined campaign with a very well disciplined person in Ms Harris. I think it is because a lop-sided battle has been fought, but the democrats went in playing by the rules. You would HAVE to know that anything trump related is tied to a scam, I imagine the democrat think-tank assumed they had all maga's options and contingencies covered, but no, even reading messages above regarding Hispanic radio stations broadcasting and amplifying maga/trump's false scare tactic messaging in 'their' native tongue. What else then that 'we' wouldn't consider fair play did this machine get up to? Who made the bomb threats in sensitive swing state voting areas?
Really, with Musk, the mainstream media, other nations with their interests, all assisting one team. YOU, WE didn't have a snowball's chance of winning this. It's a long walk back from this depressing outcome for sure, but you're young and strong, and the country is going to need the strength and commitment you have despite it being deflated to crap right now. Every person you 'touched' will remember, and that will catalyse in the future when trump/maga get into their stride and get cocky with it. You and the others like you have been the vanguard for this long fight … and it wasn't time wasted at all.
Hang in there Kelly. I am with you. I, too, was in total despair yesterday when I heard the news that he had won. I did the same things you did short of the door-knocking as I am disabled and live in Indiana and am caregiver to my 84 year old Mother who Voted for him no less. (Ugh). I do not want to live in Trump's America either but after a long conversation with my oldest daughter who thank God is a Psychologist, she told me it would kill her and her Sister if I decided to "check out" early. So somehow I will carry on. Somehow we will find a way to navigate this dark road ahead of us. #RiseResistRepeat #LoveWillKeepUsAlive. This song and this Band (The Eagles) have helped me get through this Election about more than anything. Stay strong Sister. ❤️🇺🇸💙
You did everything you could. It wasn’t useless. Take good care of yourself now. Try to focus on what is right in front of you - the big picture is too much at this moment. Do what brings you support and comfort. Rest. Eat good food. When you can you will be able to start anew.
At 83, it is very tough to look @ what is ahead for my remaining years. For a good 8 years it has been a struggle know democracy was on the table , not the price of eggs or bacon. The previous struggle for women's rights to have a credit card & financial security & basic respect. I am too angry & grieving & all out of optimism
It’s all so awful isn’t it? We’ve all fought against the hate & cruelty since 2015 and now we’re facing an unknown number of yet more years, knowing it’s going to be even worse. It’s exhausting.
Earlier today I was thinking about how my bank willingly allowed my then husband to withdraw my money from my sole account all because “he’s your husband, he has the right” and that was in the 90’s! Not so long ago. We can’t go back to that.
Do you have a community or a group that can offer you comfort, support & strength? Are there things that you can turn to for even tiny moments of joy?
For me, that’s feeding the birds & squirrels & watching their antics. Or walking or sitting at a local park to be in nature. I don’t have enough concentration right now to read a book but when I do it helps. I don’t presume to know what brings you joy - I list these only as what helps me.
I am wishing you well and hope you have support through these awful days of accepting what happened & figuring out which way to go from here. All my best to you.
I refuse to let him take anymore oxygen in my life. I refuse to worry about things I have no control over(his win) but I will do everything I can to protect the vulnerable.
One last comment if people are complaining about cost of food now wait till he does his promised mass deportations. Who do they think is going to pick the crops?
Yeah - remember during the pandemic most of them went back home and crops were rotting in the fields? Leading to high prices for low quality goods but it was the only game in town.
His tech bro buddies likely have robot crop pickers and other things like this on the drawing board (old fashioned imagery! ). Anything to avoid hiring a human being. I was watching a gardener at a condo recently using a leaf blower. A robot could do that, but then the man would lose his job and likely heʻs not skilled at this point to do more than he is doing. There are a lot of jobs that could be automated but then the workers lose their jobs and canʻt be retrained for anything meaningful. Heck, from what Iʻve seen already in the workplace AI will eliminate the need for a lot of people whose jobs involve writing. All these people worried about high prices are going to have a lot more to worry about when their jobs disappear. Even professionals are going to be impacted.
There will be a few arrests of gang members, who will be deported and some raids on neighborhoods. Then the chaos that surrounds him will create other crises and attention -media attention-will be averted.
What is maddening is the fact that agent orange will now get away with all the crimes he committed (and for which he was indicted or convicted). Our legal system failed one of its biggest tests ever. I have a very hard time with this realization.
I spent my entire career in state and federal courts and totally believed in the rule of law knowing from experience that it can be slow going. I no longer believe at all. I had and continue to have an emotional breakdown over Tuesday’s result and don’t know quite how to continue on.
He has figuratively shot everyone without penalty. Having just read about the Dodds experience as ambassador to Germany in 1933 , this sounds similar & people's reactions are similar. Project 2025 full steam ahead! It will take more than elections, if we have any, or we will have rigged ones like in Hungary, to take anything back & that will take several life times.
Yeah - me too. The dark money cases along with trump immunity and gun proliferation have soured my thoughts about justice and the rule of law. I’ve seen the harm that is caused to some and I realize it will now get much worse.
I liked what Sunny Hostin said on The View, that this election was "a referendum on cultural resentment". A large percentage of white American voters, faced with losing their majority, chose to blow up our country. So selfish and wrong. Putin, through his Trump/Vance puppets, is going to dismantle America and steal everything he can steal, including US military strength. American children will lose freedom and democracy. Shame on Americans who chose an unqualified obvious Putin puppet over a well-qualified candidate with excellent character.
I don't share any of your optimism. The majority of white women voted for Trump. And what I realized is this is what the majority wanted - Trump. They weren't going to vote for a Black woman. They wanted this foul, deranged convicted felon rapist. The nastier he is, the more they love him. He will never leave. He has promised to deport millions and destroy his enemies. Think Hitler 2.0. Today a large pickup blew past us with a large Trump flag. It has begun, and it's going to be bad.
I remember the Woman’s March in 2017. I was there with my daughter and her friends. It was a day where there was a sense of being part a huge statement. The mood was upbeat. Today I am not so sure. My daughter is devastated . My granddaughter is afraid her mother will be deported - she is English and also a US citizen. I had to assure my granddaughter that it will be ok and that she will be safe. It has been a tough day but I will get up every morning , put one foot in front of another and keep moving forward. At 82 I am determined to live long enough to vote again for Kamala Harris. Self care everyone, it will be a long haul but we will get there.
I sincerely believe that Trump will not last the 4 years. We have to consider what to do about Vance. He is not the charismatic character that Trump is(was). Will he have the same following? He is more intelligent but not street smart
It will be all the silent backers that wrote Project 2025. It will be the Elly Musks , Steve Bannons, Steve Millers with their foot in the door & butts in the cabinet. I trump will be off playing golf.
I think vance will kick trump to the curb within six months. His VP will be Mike Johnson (who fervently believes in an End Times religion) or someone else equally dangerous.
Yes, dangerous. Vance, Johnson ... there's a whole lineup and I'm sure they have a plan to deploy. I hate that I even have to think that might be true.
Nobody has the charisma T has. And he makes sure not ever to promote anyone who could replace him. I think he's in early dementia and will slowly crumble, but I see nobody who can channel what he does, with such an overwhelming response.
Take the sizzle out of his rallies or gatherings and the whole thing is deflated and stale.
The depth and breadth of systemic racism and misogyny in this country is clearly much greater than most of us can comprehend.
We can kid ourselves there are other reasons Kamala lost, but sadly that is the reason and it is a very tough competitor. The work of the resistance begins again soon….
I appreciate your comments. But we have to deal with this fact: Trump’s crimes, flaws, and plans for a second term were well known, and a majority of our fellow citizens embraced them. Trump is the leader they desire. Trump’s vision of America is their vision. I grew up in 1950s Birmingham. I really thought things were on the upswing, that as Dr. King reminded us, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Does it? I can’t say I believe that anymore.
If you ask a First Person they will tell you that arc comment is for pp who have power and has nothing to do with the reality of day to day life of those not in power. Marginalized pp will be murdered, displaced, persecuted and sexually assaulted at a rate never seen before. That is the real arc of the universe.
“Whatever the next days and weeks hold, the most important thing is not to let Donald Trump take away your sense of power as an American.” Thank you for your encouragement, but what you said above is exactly where I am. I’m 75 and feel absolutely powerless. Trump has established he can indeed do anything he wants, and he most certainly will. And there will be no guard rails. I feel nothing but dread.
"If you're going through hell, keep going." --- Winston Churchill
Please read this 🎁🎁🎁 gift article 🎁🎁🎁 by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. It summarizes a good strategy for responding to Donald Trump's victory.
1. I accept Donald Trump's victory.
2. I will be a watchdog, not a lap dog.
3. I will back organizations fighting to uphold human values.
4. I will subscribe to a news organization. The news organizations have failed us, but they will watch Trump at least some of the time.
5. I will try to understand why so many Americans disagree with me.
6. I will keep my cool.
7. I will care for my mental health.
8... 9... 10... 11... 12... 13... 14...
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/opinion/trump-democrats-loss.html?unlocked_article_code=1.X04.FR2X.59IizgT4xYIr&smid=url-share
Can't agree with number 5. It's because they live in fantasy land or are racists/mysoginists.
Agree with you, Don.
“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” -Robert Jones Jr., essayist (quote has been mis-attributed to James Baldwin)
Excellent quote ! Thank you for that.
I agree that there are two camps of Trump supporters: those who really are racist, mysoginistic, homophobic, non-Christian-phobic, fearful, etc. who agree that we'd be better off as a white Christian nationalist country - and those who are disinformed/uninformed and gullible enough to believe or too lazy to find out how to inform themselves with facts and discern what they are hearing/reading. One of the most disturbing things I listened to yesterday was a clip of interviews with college students voting for Trump. According to the students: Trump has better policy, he did a great job in his previous four years, he did an interview with Joe Rogan and Kamala didn't so she must not want to be honest with us!
And I thought the young folks would help save us, not help destroy us (and themselves). We have so much work to do.
The level of intentional ignorance is stunning. When you try to talk economic policy, many say "oh I'm no economist", as if one needs to be one to understand (it's mostly sociology anyway, as much as they try to pretend it's science by making mathematical models without nearly enough variables). When you talk environmental issues, it's "I don't believe in climate change" as if it's some imaginary thing like religion..
It's lack of curiosity, lack of belief in their own intelligence. It's giving up.
Not doing it.
My sister said that to me once. My reply was climate change exists whether you believe it in or not. It’s not a belief system but science.
Our society decided a century ago to tolerate intentional ignorance and dishonesty about evidence by stupidly failing to denounce the immorality of lying about physical reality. Creationism has long been treated as a morally benign knowledge deficit. That’s a terrible mistake. It is a malignant dishonesty about proven physical reality which is supported by growing overwhelming evidence. The consequences of tolerating such dishonesty about fact include degradation of political, legal, and social systems and destruction of the environment.
Ann, I too cannot understand how young people, attending college no less, could vote for this man. "Trump has better policy." Please, show, don't tell!
MAGA, at this point, seems to have found the delivery system that reaches the most people today.
I just have to say, please let's not start lumping groups of people together like those loyal to Donald Trump - that's why we are where we are. Each person wears so many different hats. I detest the "category" analyzing - gender, age, rural, metro, Hispanic, white, Black, college-educated, non-educated, professionals, and on and on.
Many young people did vote for Kamala, including my granddaughters and their friends. My grandsons would have, too, if they were one year older. They will next year. Let's not denigrate the "group". They still broke more for VP Harris.
I'm an over 65, Boomer, white, rural, college-educated woman. By all metrics of analyzation, I should have voted for Trump. I DID NOT!!! It's time to start talking about citizens, neighbors, co-workers, fellow Americans and quit all this dividing rhetoric in my opinion. All it does is make people angry and defensive and often denigrated. One more example....my granddaughter's boyfriend is bi-racial, Gen Z, and just entered the military. Who do you think he would have voted for? Well, it wasn't Donald Trump.
Once again, all this over analyzing of groups is not helpful, and yet that's what the media loves to do (sorry Steve Kornacki - I do love you!)
Did you see the crowd at Kamala's concession speech - many young people in tears. If we are to preserve our union, we cannot allow this loss to make those who supported Kamala to descend into darkness. As she said, in darkness is when we see the stars.....we need to add to those stars and the light. Shining light on misogyny, racism, etc. and sharing light to lift up those who are still in the struggle to make the United States, a "more perfect union". And, as VP Harris also said, we need to quit pointing fingers and start locking arms. I love a quote from (believe it or not) Jimmy Dean: “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
Jimmy Dean of sausage fame? Impressive. Thanks for the quote; it is truly wonderful! And I too am "white rural college-educated" etc woman and Kamala fan (and Liz too). I agree overanalyzing is not helpful. Blame is not useful even if there is plenty to go around and mostly deserved. And nobody is correct -- basically because everybody's individual observation/s are colored by who they are, who they think they are, and what is unseen and unremembered in their memory banks. Nobody has a complete picture. And analyzing is as exhausting as it is unhelpful. Time to adjust our sails and (pair this quote with Churchill's): We're "going through hell; keep going." Also "lock arms!" Thanks for this post.
And the cheating system that reaches the most people but that's not just today.
When are people going to understand Pod Casts always have a political bent of some kind. And most podcasters are neither real journalists nor have any real training as Journalists. I don't know Joe Rogin & I've never heard his casts. But I bet he's a trumper type through & through. Why would I believe he has my best interests at heart? MSM is supposed to be unbiased but wait, there's the Sinclair Broadcast Group. They're so biased even a 4th grader should see right through their news commentary programs.
Time for people to wise up & learn the first rule of journalism: know your sources & resources.
Ann, that does make me sad, but I suspect those folks were deliberately selected because of their MAGA views. We all know how easily manipulated some college students can be and how often they follow rather than tread new ground. I love young people, but do understand their limitations. They are young and not all of them care enough yet to realize how much their lives were and are dependent on what they did on Tuesday. I'm, sorry, but Seth Rogan is just another hack trying to prove he is more something than everyone else; he isn't, but young folks are encouraged to think so. Besides, what I have heard of that interview was appalling. Trump had no clue and the questions were not what one would expect a presidential candidate to fumble so badly. I am guessing those students do not listen to Seth Rogan or if they do it is a minimal amount. We need our young people to be stronger and better informed. We need to support our public schools and universities more fully and include a wider range of students.
I don't think that trying to understand their vote eliminates the possibility of calling it out as hurting others and being a morally bankrupt vote. I'd like to understand why this happened. I think that Trump's behavior was normalized to the point that many voters were able to mentally set it aside and vote based on their vain hopes for lower grocery prices and such. There's plenty of blame to go around for this normalization - traditional media, social media algorithms, foreign disinformation campaigns, cultural institutions such as churches, and so on. I also agree with Bernie Sanders that the Democratic Party has failed to attract the working class, or even pay meaningful attention to their very real problems.
How else can anyone pay attention to these "working class" folks? Support union, done. Raise minimum wage done. Tax the uberriches, proposals done by Kamala and Joe too. Provide school lunches, strengthen ACA, Medicare, Social Security, done and was supposed to be an ongoing process. Yet, these people voted for someone who thinks they are garbage. Misogyny, racism.
I have to agree with you. I know Latino men voted red because they do not believe a woman is capable of leadership.
Yes, I agree. Biden even walked the picket line with workers. Maybe foul play involved? We will never find it out probably but it could well be a possibility.
Something just doesn't seem right. I know there are no facts suggesting that, but my mind continues to go back to Trump saying he and Mike Johnson had a "little secret" but wouldn't reveal it until after he won! It bothers me that after all the Trump administration people came out against him and Republicans voted Democrat plus all the amazing endorsements, she would lose like that. Of course, I'm in denial and worried about my gay friends and my disabled daughter knowing that Trump thinks those who are disabled aren't worth living and should die. I also feel for our Allies who will suffer, too. Thanks for all the comments as it helps reading how strong we'll all be.
Thank u!
It seems to me that the way to impress the working class seems to be vulgarity. The more uncensored he got , the more they liked him. The dumbing down of America.
They are simply uneducated. The red states have undermined the educational system in order to promote religious schools. People have not been taught critical thinking.
Say it loud for the people in the back!
I would love to do an analysis of votes for Trump and educational system ranking by state. Of course, since the rankings are based on standardized tests instead of civics, logic, and humanities, it still would not tell the whole dismal story.
What I'm trying to wrap my head around is that there were 10million (?) less voters in this election than 2020.
Yes! It boggles my mind that Harris had endorsements from so many iconic influencers (Taylor Swift, Oprah, both Obamas, many Puerto Rican entertainers) plus many notable Republicans such as the Chaneys, the top military and national security establishment, some mayors. Next, toss in the (presumed) union support, the extensive ground operation, a vast army of volunteers canvassers, postcard writers, and oodles of money for ads. Yet, 10 million former voters stayed home; the 75 million or so who could vote but usually choose not too remained on their couches as well. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign consists of unrefined vitriol, insults, and invective seasoned with a roundup of immigrants herded into makeshift camps. The only policy proposals I can recall hearing were a promise for across the board tariffs (certain to kill the economy and mightily piss off all our trading partners) and an end to taxing tips. The young voters were concerned for the slaughter and welfare of Palestinians. Do they not know that Trump is Netanyahu's poodle and will give him carte blanche to murder at will and grab territory in the same illegal manner that Putin uses--military force and violence against civilians. All this is beyond my (age 84) understanding.
My son, who has traveled widely and lived abroad and appreciates the differences between cultures and, thus, accepts that others may hold different, equally valid points of views , sums it up this way: the Dems blew it by not holding real primaries and allowing their voters to pick their candidate. In his mind it was clear, way before the debate catastrophe, that Biden wasn't fit to continue on as president. Second, the country was not ready to vote for a woman of color.
Harris ran an exceptional, vigorous, almost error free campaign. She went from zero to sixty in a split second. It is all so sad and baffling.
In my comments above I forgot to mention what I thought would be the largest factor in a huge turnout for Harris: women's liberty and reproductive freedom. Coupled with Trump's insidious patronizing "I will protect women whether they like it or not;" I thought women (and men)would want to push back with their no votes.
Fact is that a woman of color could NOT be elected to run the Country. She was the best possible candidate to take him on and something went seriously wrong. God help us!
I tend to agree with your son. I said as much when Biden decided to run again. When he was nominated, it was understood he would be a one-term President. That’s why Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg withdrew with many votes and gave them to Biden. I respect what the Biden Administration has done, but by holding on to the Presidency, I fear he and the Democrats have handed over the country to the party of Donald Trump, defeating what Biden ran on - The Soul of America. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were almost flawless - not their fault.
Very well stated. Thank you. We are all searching for “explanations” blame?) for this disaster. Certainly the media in general failed to inform and educate many people about which “side” was lying to them. And social media has become a social disease.
Harris barely put a toe wrong! This was the starkest choice any election in any country in history could have been given. Those of us with decent human values are gobsmacked that the country made the devil's choice instead of the one we thought America stood for.
We truly do have to get through the stages of grief... because we have to handle the devil's choice now and preserve whatever we can of the Republic for the hell about to be unleashed by Project 2025 et al.
That is the stat I have been looking at most. I think it is misogyny with some racism thrown in. (Someone suggests those votes were cast but not being counted -- a better conspiracy theory than most....) Because pretty much ALL those Missing Votes for Biden were taken from Harris.
Hey Joyce..can you answer that^^^^^ question?
John, our country is and always has been based in misogyny and racism. I think that Kamala Harris, being who she is, is what is behind trump's victory. It's really sad when misogyny and racism trump competence and caring. (Pun intended even though I couldn't think of a replacement word.)
Would someone please put up big billboards saying:
+++ trump took over a great economy from Obama & killed it. That's why Joe & Kamala struggled so hard to get us back on track!!!+++
It's part of our proactive education program. He may have won but we can still educate folks.
Biden walked the picket line. No other President has ever done that for union workers and he signed the infrastructure bill that Pete Buttigieg as Secretary Of Transportation oversees that created working class jobs. And that's just what came to mind. Is it a messaging problem? Did Bernie have any ideas in how to fix it?
I already spent the entire last 9 years trying to understand why so many Americans disagree with me. I think I have a good idea. I understand this not from a place of thinking they are correct, and I just don't get it, but understanding that I am correct and they just don't get it. I am not going to explain my understandings, but I assume many people have them. I am not going to spend 4 years trying to understand them, but will spend it trying to understand how democracy works better, and how to implement it in the face of fascism.
Linda, you've seen this Solnit piece, haven't you?
https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-on-not-meeting-nazis-halfway/
I have now. Thank you.
Great article! Thanks for sharing.
They are imbeciles in my estimation. I am comforted knowing they will suffer under trump’s actions like the 67 million who voted for Kamala!
Yes, I believe they, along with the rest of us and the world, will suffer. Elon Musk even came out and said our economy will get much worse before it's better. Wonder what he has in store for us as he gets richer and richer off government contracts.
Time to ditch the Tesla.
I agree. Let the morons suffer from their willful ignorance. I have stopped caring. I used to care a lot about the less fortunate and about our society in general, and all it got me is pain. I am done. I have significant financial resources (even after my innumerable generous donations to a wide variety of good causes). Now I will just concentrate on protecting myself and family from the horrible consequences of this election travesty.
Subscribe to mainstream media? Lol! Like the NYT who sane washed Trump and will continue to? I don't think so. I'll continue to support NPR and other "filters" on Substack!
I agree with you. I have subscribed to the NYT and WAPO for years, being a native New Yorker came easy for me t subscribe to the NYT. I think both papers have let us down in so many ways. The same for cable news. I was a huge fan of Rachel Maddow, watching her nightly. When Trump did not win in 2020, I was so grateful that we might not hear about him for awhile. That was not the case. Very frequently, he was the object of the news. I was so disgusted, I stopped watching Rachel and pretty much anyone who was focused on Trump. I can't stand him, his voice, his endless photos and his whole demeanor, and now were are there again. I will turn my attention to NPR and PBS in Chicago.
I hear what you are saying, Joanna. I too cannot stand the sight of Trump and I was hopeful that I wouldn't have to hear his whiny, hateful voice much after the election. Like a Pavlovian dog, I have been trained by years of hearing him and seeing him, to recoil. I couldn't have the tv on at all yesterday for fear of hearing that voice again. I am taking baby steps to help navigate our path as liberals and Dems through this minefield filled country that millions of us voted for.
Agree 100% of everything you wrote. We live in Rome as well as San Francisco. With my 81 year old, cancer survivor husband I will spend very little time in the US and do everything I can to resist fascism from overseas. No news anymore except a few substacks.
Ah, Rome, Purobi! A dream for me to live in Italy and trying to get my dual citizenship for years, if only I can get an appointment with the Italian Consulate in Chicago. I'm presently in Germany visiting my family and our only small grandchildren. We have a TV in our Airbnb but don't watch. It's an extraordinary place where we stay, a small and gorgeous village only 10 minutes from our family. It brings a great sense of peace. Fog so thick this morning, I can barely see out the window and I love it. Even though Italy now has Meloni, I think it's still a livable place to be. Enjoy your time there and I wish you and your husband Buon salute.
What makes you believe that NPR, PBS, Substacks and the rest will be allowed to exist? They will simply be outlawed.
Good point
NYT in the past month has had front page articles on Trump’s cognitive decline, dementia symptoms, and how the hell can he be allowed to sit in the Oval Office.
Too little; too late. For eight years they normalized his obvious lack of character and unfitness for holding a position of public trust. His first lie as president will be when he puts his hand on a Bible and takes the oath of office swearing to protect the Constitution and to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. The NYT headline will be: "President Trump was sworn in today by his Chief of Justice, John Roberts...."
It will be interesting to watch.
I truly think the Vance Heritage Foundation Peter Thiel triumverate will remove Trump within a year or two. They don't need him now.
The Guardian is the best alternative to US media. The NYT, the Washington Post and the LA Times have failed miserably. Some smaller market newspapers have stood up.
Find a local news outlet. We have the Colorado Sun (old Denver Post people) and Colorado Newsline (which is I think part of a national consortium) -- small local independents.
It's been alarming to listen to the NPR station air BBC America. They spend far too much time interviewing trump supporters and acting as if they're sane.
Agreed. I have texted the BBC World Service several times on their tendency to air clips of DJT and only summarize Harris. Victoria in particular seems to favor him, based on her questions.
You “nailed” a critical piece of this: the media’s unethical “reporting both sides” even when one side is lying, ignorant, irrational, and hateful. That sure has proven to be a failure to inform and educate the majority of American voters.
Forget BBC. Try Sky News or TimesRadio (UK) or Channel 4 (UK pbs) and DWNews (Germany). All post on YouTube. (I cut cable several years ago.)
I've tried for 8 years to understand and the only things I've come up with is that it is only by self-intereste$ or ignorance & stupidity.
They have no concern whatsoever about understanding us. I won't live in their misbegotten world.
I read the article cited by Kathleen, and it's a good read. I belong to a FB group from my Midwest hometown, and they are pretty solidly for DJT. They have reveled in his ascension to the presidency. They pretty uniformly are happy to see what they call the "woke" agenda set aside. They have, as others have noted, overlooked all the solid good that the current administration has done. But they have romanticized the time before Covid and when inflation hit. They have bought the Fox et al rhetoric about rampant crime, unchecked immigration, and the homeless crisis, which they "believe" was allowed out of some misguided concern by the Ds. Much of this belief has come from the likes of Fox, and if you've ever listened to them, their hate-mongering is loud and strong. They believe it. Unfortunately, this breaks a bit between those educated and those not, and aside from supporting unions, which seems to get overlooked, those folks feel completely ignored by the Ds. How they can ignore what just came out on CNN is that 10 of the world's richest men just got $64B richer after the election results. Like many of us, I find it inexplicable that people look over all of that, which we knew before the election. All I can say is that an explanation does not equal sound reasoning. (This post is way too long, I know!)
I could forgive the first vote for Trump as a vote for change. Not this one.
The media in this country is corrupted by money…we need to figure out a response to that because legacy media is cowed more than ever.
Fear of female leadership
+
Racism
+
Information Loudness
+
False Information
=
People angry based on falsehoods, and thus willing to vote against their own interests
Misogynist. Linked to guns. Shameful
#5, They drank the social media kool-Aid. 🥲
I would add members of the Cult.
If that's true, Don, then this is predominantly a racist, misogynistic country. And I believe it is.
I, too, cannot agree with item 5. I have wasted enough time trying to understand them, and will expend no more effort in that direction. I have three granddaughters, and those who voted for T**** (including my late mother) will get no forgiveness or understanding from me. They have decided wrongly: they are now my sworn enemies, and will remain so.
Do you remember all the hand wringing after 9/11 and all the exclaiming about, ‘why do they hate us?’ Even back then 23 years ago, I thought, ‘who cares why they hate us?’
I refuse to try to understand people who are either greedy, racist, misogynist and religious bigots who believe that only people exactly like them deserve a voice. There’s no room for anyone not like them. And that would be most of us.
Yeah still for our own sake we need to understand or get ahold of what is going on, now with a majority of the electorate. It affects us directly.. wherever we hide.
This is a country with divisions that have widened. People are busy getting and spending, complacent and taking for granted that the government fixes things or should with no deep understanding. That poll questions got answers like inflation and immigration tells me a lot about what in people's heads, what gets put into them. People seem to vote impulsively, emotionally, unthinking and uncaring about the country as a whole. It's a veritable battleground for too many now, us against them and ripe for a dictator, a strongman. This is not what this country is about, not why we became a nation. Now we will all have to fight as these facts, this fearful turn and its probable effects come to our own doors.
There is a big difference between the frustrations of 9/11 and today. The anger of 9/11 was directed at a group that we had no affiliation with and owed no duty to. They attacked us without any apparent provocation. Very similar in many ways to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
But this is dealing with our own citizens. We may completely disagree with their views and positions but we HAVE to acknowledge that they too are citizens of this country and have a right to their opinions no matter how wrong-headed we believe them to be. And in that regard, they WON, something we can't undo. So whereas the 9/11 enemy was from outside, these are our own people and we really have no choice but to at least try to understand. We'll it help? I don't know, I expect it to be very problematical. But if we DON'T try to understand and find common ground, we will be lost forever. And that is not something I e am willing to concede at least not without an effort.
Yes but THEY have to understand what they voted for. That can only happen, not by telling them but by suffering the consequences which unfortunately we will all have to do.
I understand those here who say they are fed up trying to understand them.
I agree, Potter. Last night I made the mistake of looking at my FB feed for the first time in a long while. I immediately wanted to unfriend anyone who posted in support of this madness. But then I wondered... when the arrests start, will they support that too? Will they post, "Hell, YEAH!" when Liz Cheney is arrested for disagreeing? How about Nancy Pelosi? Adam Schiff? What happens if executions start? Will THAT be too far? I think I need to see, in real time, if the voting majority of this country is beyond redemption. And as an aside, I fear Taylor Swift should leave the country for her own safety.
But we do understand. They CHOSE ignorance and hatred.
We need to understand and that will help us be stronger and build back better. So #5 is important.
But item 5 ia the key to change. And it's like our new prz. Simple. Those who voted for this POS have become so fascinated with social media that their attention and comprehension span is about 15 seconds. So, to compete with the king of sound bites, you have to communicate complicated concepts like the success of the economy in 15 seconds. Complicated but not impossible. You're smart, figure it out and do it before 26. DonOLD will be 80 in 26 and 82 in 28 but hopefully heart attack, dementia or a better sniper will take him by then but we can undo this mess in 26. Don't give up!!!
Be careful what you wish for. Vance is just as bad, but smarter.
But JD is far, far less "charismatic" to the MAGAs than is Trump's mysterious appeal for them...plus JD was against Trump before he was with him. True MAGAs might reject him. A MAGA (un)civil war might be a result. We can hope, anyway.
I agree- attack with ads at their level of understanding. Hard to do, but possible. Also use humor. All dependent on if we get another chance. '26 will be important, so we need to mobilize fast.
I don't intend to. To borrow a phrase, I'm going to "fight like hell" to defeat the T**** agenda.
#5? What about them understanding why I disagree with them? The time for understanding is over. The time has come for straight talk: "No. I reject that. It is wrong." You can follow with "tell me why you think that way," or you can preface it with "That's what you think. Here's what I think..." But the time has come for tough love, for showing our own anger, in conversation and demonstration. Band together, sure, but it starts with the bravery to stand up for yourself. And for us.
I agree. The brutal clarity of an opposing statement helps people recognize it — perhaps sufficiently to alter their perceptions, points of view and opinions. The American electorate, largely unsophisticated, needs simple, powerfully recognizable "brass rings" to grab onto and to hold close. Statements embodying clear, powerful, actions; stark descriptions of disasters that may actually occur. Precision isn't the point, and the idea of democracy apparently too vague for millions. Raising awareness and inducing appropriate fear of the GOP's agenda is the point.
By the way, Trump used this strategy. It worked. It even persuaded millions of Americans to vote against their own interests. I recall no GOP effort to understand their opposition. In fact, continual ad hominem attacks and lies became their, and our, normal. Base, easily recognizable statements persuaded millions — in thoughtless frustration or hatred — to identify themselves with the GOP's simplistic remedies that would cure their anger.
Those susceptible to propaganda don't need our understanding; a dishonest, timid placating. In itself, the act of placating will neither gain their respect nor change their view. We don't need to be Neville Chamberlains. We don't need to be intimidated into fake kindness toward our adversaries. We need to be affronted and to simply, clearly state our unvarnished opinions — hurt feelings be damned. Fake respectfulness be damned.
True respect for another is to speak truthfully. Covering, disguising or softening the truth is lying — and always a sign of disrespect. To think best of your fellow citizens, state your truth; demonstrate that you respect them. Don't lie by omission. Respect yourself. Respect your blazing truth. If that troubles you, fortify yourself with the gentle yet estimable John Lewis, his "good trouble" — and the infinitely high stakes.
You ignore the one issue that is critically important. THEY won, not us. WE are in the position (something most Americans aren't used to) of being on the losing side and arrogance and attitude doesn't have much currency for losers. If we take your view, they will very likely just kick us to the curb. And why not? What's in it for them?
Standing firm is not arrogance. Disagreement is not arrogance. Honest dialogue is not arrogance. We have come across as soft, ignorant of economics (both beneficial and hardship), and unpractical. We need to engage in direct conversation about the facts, whether we are talking about the economy, the crime rate among immigrants, or corporate profit rates. The facts are on our side, we have to point that out. What's in it for them is that when tariffs increase costs, when medical costs go up, and many other examples, they will remember that we were speaking the truth.
Well have at it. You (we) just lost possibly the most important election in our lifetime and you want to "point out" that we were right and they were stupid. Good luck with that.
It is most definitely arrogant and one of the major reasons we are where we are today. I understand your frustration because I agree with our side but I learned a long time ago (when Ronald Reagan won in 1980) that a little humility goes a long way.
You might learn a little from that too.
Keeping up the us versus them makes things worse. Hate and blame arise. The Trump voters have to learn the hard way by living with this .. the man who is going to fix it all. Unfortunately they take us with them. The arguing is useless at this point. We are venting deep disappointment and it's necessary.They need the consequences and to be the ones asking why. This was going to be a momentous and consequential election either way. When the rest of the country gets to see and feel consequences, we can have a discussion with them, if they look up from the grocery prices and the mis and disinformation.
If more understanding and reaching out to include them really was going to work, it would have. A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. When up against the most blatant and clearly stated lies, we must be blatant and clearly state our facts. We need to stop giving Trump and his beliefs all the oxygen by trying to understand them and start talking about our beliefs and our facts.
Republicans were still the "loyal opposition" (more or less) 40+/- years ago. The rules of the game have morphed into something a little different. Appeasement has never been the answer and now not merely appeasement, but any approach with courtesy and hat in hand will be viewed as weakness.
You know who 'won', Jon? The 15 million who couldn't be bothered enough to get off their asses and go vote. If there is an issue that needs to be addressed in this country, it is that. And in less than a year, those 15 mil will be the loudest complainers, and biggest whiners!
Well maybe you should think a little about WHY they didn't vote. I really doubt it is because they were all lazy. They managed to go out and vote 4 years ago.
Maybe, just maybe, their candidate wasn't doing enough to meet their needs? Have you even CONSIDERED that as a possibility?
I realize this all hurts (I've been through many election losses in my 50+ years of working on politics) but acting like it's someone else's fault is really the worst excuse. Start with what YOU might have done wrong before you point a finger at others.
What I did, Jon, was spend virtually every day for the last 3 weeks canvassing, knocking doors, talking to people. And I heard countless people saying their vote didn't matter, so why bother. 'He's going to steal the election anyway, what can I do?' Is there a 'WHY' in there?
What are your suggestions on specific actions to take, Jon? I’m seriously asking because I see this all the time (60-ish myself & remember the Reagan years) that Dems are asked to self-reflect after losses.
However, since 2015, I haven’t seen that question asked of Republicans - humility, learning from your mistakes, etc. What I’ve seen is doubling & tripling down on their hate & vitriol & grievances.
This isn’t Reagan’s Republican Party anymore. IMO, it’s turned into a cult which is led by a bully. Bullies don’t care about self-reflection of the “others”. They see humility shown towards them as acquiescence to their power and superiority. This cult’s followers have gobbled that up.
IMO, I think that our approach needs to shift because the Republican party has seismically shifted. Humility won’t cut it.
I imagine the ones that did not vote, at least in part, did not want to vote Trump but could not bring themselves to vote for a Democrat despite Liz Cheney. There are of course other reasons... scared by bomb threats, confused by mis and disinforaton, fed up (bothsides) etc.
As well I imagine, don't know, many voted Republican not liking Trump because they always vote Republican etc.
Jon, I agree with you. Listening and seeking to understand does not mean abandoning our principles. Regardless of how ignorant, misguided, or fantastical "they" may seem (or perhaps because of this), there are reasons so many people voted for this man. Those reasons may not seem valid to us, but they are in the catbird seat right now, and many are willing to use force to stay there. We must try to understand life from their perspective.
Sorry to disagree, Mr. Rosen....but Dems have been on "the losing side" in a good many ideological battles between the R's and D's. Granted, the Dems don't always learn or learn very much from these losses, but we certainly have had more than our share of political losses in the past 50 years.
Of course. Did I say differently? I honestly don't think so.
Oh I see. I said AMERICANS weren't used to being in the losing side. That was intended to allude to the fact that we have tried to be a global policeman and mostly have succeeded. I agree that in domestic political conflicts both sides have won some and lost some. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Temporary satisfaction, ultimate failure for America, to not try to understand why ‘everyone is out of step except my Johnny’.
This is not a matter of everyone being out of step except my Johnny. This country is almost divided 50/50 and we are not sone minority opinion thinking everyone is out of step but us.
Are you THE Mark Shields from Brooks and Shields? I miss you so much!
I miss him too! Passed away June 18, 2022.
I am happy to be A Mark Shields. ;)
I made up my mind today to ask for details when maga people just quote Fox News (I call it another f word now - but I’ll be nice lol). And then ask them to “help me understand “ where the children are going to school as boys and coming home as girls. And where they are murdering babies as soon as they are born. I want to get them to prove with factual evidence vs “someone “ heard it. I tried to get along too much before - but now I will make them prove to me what they are saying / spreading. Maybe it will get them to ask that question for themselves next time.
And this may be cruel - but I’m going to laugh at them when the tariffs hit their pockets. Not one bit of sympathy. This is what they asked for
I am much more aligned with Democratic perspectives than Republican, but I do not have major heartburn that Republicans won versus Democrats. I think that the pattern of administration flips every cycle or two is a feature, not a bug of our democracy.
But I am really disturbed that Trump won, and I struggling with the reality that many Christians supported him. I believe he has no moral or ethical compass which he has demonstrated consistently in his personal, his professional and his political endeavors.
My intention is to reach out people that support him and explore how do they square his character and actions with their lived faith. I hope that if I do this in good faith and with genuine curiosity that I might come to understand it. It is possible that those who discuss will gain - maybe about me and maybe about themselves.
*** It is possible that those who discuss will gains better understanding - maybe about me and maybe about themselves.
We need to help build a new media juggernaut to rival and break through the talk radio and podcast information and propaganda silo that MAGA has built to cocoon their followers from EVER even hearing the Dems message. The mainstream media totally failed our democracy with false equivalencies and normalization.
Brian Taylor Cohen nailed the post-election analysis in the youtube below.
We saw the effect Taylor Swift had on voter registrations with one tweet. We need Swift and Beyonce to start doing political counterprogramming. They have the recognition and access to production resources to get up and running fast. We need the substack crowd to provide the research, guests and content to educate the electorate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XGlZcV26-8&t=2s
That's a pipe dream. We lost the war. We need to stop acting like we are the only ones who are right and start figuring out how to get along with others. Otherwise it won't matter because our future will be limited.
There's right, and there's wrong. T**** supporters are just wrong.
That and about $3 week get you a ride on the NY subway. I'm glad you think that way but as I said, we lost. You can stick your head in the sand and say "but they are wrong" all you want but it won't change the result and it won't help make any progress either.
And besides maybe they aren't completely wrong either. You might want to remind yourself that they all live in this country too. They are citizens and they have rights. Maybe if you open UP your mind rather than shutting it down you might figure out a way to find at least some common ground?
Because the "my way it the highway" approach didn't work in case you hadn't noticed.
I am sorry for being so tough on this issue but I WANT to see us prevail someday and the best way to start that is to find common ground.
Peace...
Do you think there are any T**** supporters who want to find common ground?
What common ground is there between established, proven, corroborated FACT and just made-up bullshit? What common ground is there between massive amounts of scientific evidence and fantasy? What common ground is there between the informed opinion on Trump’s tariff proposals of many Nobel Prize-winning economists and a MAGA moron who has studied nothing?
The war we lost is with the lazy sumbitches who couldn't be bothered to get off their asses and go vote!
Great start to solving a problem. Call your presumed friends lazy sobs? Gotta love the olive branches used around here. Anyone saying that to my face would get this reasons... "with a friend like you, who needs enemies?"
I hope there is still right and wrong, no matter who's in charge. Understand, yes; but thinking all perspectives have some "rightness" about them from a humane perspective is one reason why we're here today.
I'm afraid I already failed #6.....I lost my temper with my son today when he said my thoughts on tRuMp were ridiculous and then laughed at me. I am beyond sad. :(
Just keep repeating the truth because within a short amount of time the lies are going to start being exposed and the consequences are coming and will hurt. And whatever happens, DO NOT bail him out! Suffering the consequences is the only way this country will wake up!
I have no intention of trying to understand Trump voters. They are evil and stupid and have no idea what they have done to this country all to "own the libs."
Donald Trump is NOT my President.
Thank you Kathleen Weber. Guided by the Vice President's speech to the Nation at her alma mater Howard University in DC: "This is a time to organize, to mobilize & to stay in engaged". "Time to roll up your sleeves".
I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you.
Nikita Khrushchev
So how do we do deal with that? Education, the Media, our actions.
I disagree with #1. I hope & pray before he leaves, President Biden & DOJ find the fraud in this election; The math isn't matching with the #s. I hope I'm wrong, but something doesn't feel right about Trump winning this election.
Thank you for the unlocked article, Kathleen.
Thanks for this. I have been so angry with the NYTIMES for their biased reporting on Biden, I can’t bring myself to read the post election coverage, so I would have missed this.
Thank you for this link. And no to number 4. I have canceled the WaPo. (and NYT) and now look on independent writers (Substack), Reuters, AP and a variety of international publications as my main news resources. Indivisible is a good source of statistical analysis.
Thank you Kathleen. That was a very inspiring article.
Thank you so much for giving us all this wonderful gift, Kathleen!
Exactly! Racism and misogynistism STILL rule us here in America! Sadly...
Apparently those who voted for "IT" appreciate short simple answers so keep on doing what we've been doing but in terms of IG or MUSX. The economy and immigration etc are things that don't explain easily and definitely not in REPUBLICAN'TS sound bites but you're smart enough to figure out how to explain it in a dumber way that THEY can understand.
Winston definitely had a way with the English language, Dale could you please Can someone explain to me how in the 2020 election Biden got almost 81 million votes and Trump 74 million votes, more or less a total of 155 million. In 2024 Trump gets 73 million votes and Harris 68 million votes, more or less. When I went to sleep Monday night, over 78 million had already voted, all day Tuesday there were lines around the block with very eager voters where they were staying open after scheduled closing because so many were still standing in line, and the vote total was around 141 million, 14 million less than in 2020. Then Harris gets 13 million less votes than Biden in 2020, and Trump 1 million less than in 2020. So in an election that was so eagerly anticipated by women and Democrats, how is this possible. Also that the totals of 14 million difference between the two elections comes up twice. It does not make sense to me. Kamala ran a flawless campaign with packed arenas, Trumps they were walking out early. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but we know that Elon Musk is a world class one with the resources to implement with Russian assistance something nefarious. So will someone please explain how this happened? Thank you in advance, Maureen & James.
I think it's pretty obvious what happened (and the polls reflect this).
1. For Trump, very little changed from 2020 to 2024. With a few differences which probably were off setting, he got just about the same vote in 2024 as in 2020.
2. Harris was never really close. There was an initial burst of enthusiasm, but in the end she ran a very flawed "flawless" campaign. It was flawless in one sense... she speaks well, she connects with people, she had a great connection. But it was also highly flawed. She NEVER really came into her own with a program that was c clear and convincing and differentiated herself from Biden (who was severely flawed despite all his great efforts on our behalf). She refused to put distance between herself and Biden on important policies. She clearly lost a big support group of people who supported Gaza. Despite Trump's constant anti- Hispanic rants, she lost a large part of the Hispanic vote which Biden swept overwhelmingly in 2020.
3. There was a huge racist and misogynist factor which worked against her.
Yes she got 67 million votes. But in the end she lost so many votes from Biden's 2020 victory that she never really had a chance.
Clearly Biden's refusal to do what he had promised at outset of 2021 hurt. He should have NEVER run again. He was too old. He was clearly diminished. And most importantly he DIDN'T do what he said he would do which was only serve one term. Had he declined to run for 2024 who knows what might have happened. Maybe Harris would have had the time to build a stronger coalition. Or maybe someone else would have emerged as a better stronger candidate. But Biden boxed everyone in for his own ego gratification and now his term in office will be remembered as "the term between Trump's two terms" not exactly a great legacy.
Truly sad indeed.
So where are all the women in this mess? I kept reading about how the women would coalesce and vote for someone like Harris. However, what I saw was women committed to Trump which I frankly don’t understand. There are more women than men voters and yet cannot rally together and sway a country. To me the ultimate blame goes to Obama who joked about Trump in a 2011 White House dinner. I think that started the ball rolling because Trump is a vengeful son of a bitch.
Let’s add to the “blame
list Merritt Garland for his timid, overly cautious handling of all T’s crimes. The man took top secret government documents & got away with it.
YUP. His timidity was the wrong choice and it paved the way for more voters to admire the orange turd for his "balls" (never a good thing, as ovaries are much better!) and think he was a REAL FUCKING MAN.
OK, 'nuff said about blame. NOW LET'S GET TO WORK. This morning I already did one of Nick Kristof's steps: I increased my support of "The Guardian" because that paper is NOT owned by a broligarch and is reader-supported. I also am talking to women friends about connecting so we can work together against the attempted changes to the governmental structure and policies of this country. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? TELL ME HERE!
But you leave out one important point. Biden refused to do anything about the border until the last minute. He should have invoked the insurrection act or an executive order. He did neither because by doing so, he would have acted in the same manner as Trump.
He could still do that.
I know it’s a big ask for someone who is the leader of the whole free world to step down. But I always love Kamala Harris and saw the ticket of Biden and Kamala before he picked a vice president. I would’ve loved for him to step down sooner and allowed her gifts and talent to shine, and I think we would’ve won, because people didn’t know her or trust her, but if they saw her in action, they would be proud to be an American. But there’s no time right now for what if,
And I don’t wanna be like the mega party I don’t wanna hate and scream and cut other people off. I want to be different and I want people to see the difference and not want to deal with that crazy man. I think it has to be grassroots. I think we need to love our neighbors and be kind and do something different. I’m not sure what it is. I’m not a spiritual leader, but I know that true love is powerful and true care is powerful and when we start losing our neighbors and our lawn care people and our nannies to being rounded up and putting in concentration camps there’s gonna be a lot of room For anger. And I hope and pray for voice to rise up reason for people to see what’s going on here
So that’s what I’m encouraging people to do be different be grassroots love your neighbor care for others grieve underneath anger is pain and it’s more powerful to be in the pain than it isto be in the anger. But we’re in her in the anger we feel more powerful so we’d rather stay in our power of anger, but when we grieve it invites others to grieve with us those are just my thoughts.
I have had similar thoughts about this week's election James. The only difference I noticed at my polling station was new machines, similar to those we used for several years. The process was a little different too..........the voter was not required to sign the 'book of voters' where your address was listed. I don't know if these changes are typical of all places or not. It would be interesting to me to find out the history of the new machines.
Delaware County, PA changed to an electronic pollbook 2 years ago. Election workers inquire name, address then you electronically sign pollbook which they compare to previous signature. It also lists polling place so if you arrive at the wrong location, can be directed to correct one. Printout is given to you to take to scantron ballot staff --each party's staff record one's name on paperbooklet while election worker hands you ballot to place "inside secrecy vanilla file folder" , go to partitioned table to record vote, head to scantron machine, insert ballot and it signals light when scan complete. Big difference from machine days when we flipped down levers or progress to later computer button pushed.
I've monitored the testing of our voting machines in past elections. We don't use a 'sign-in book' - the poll workers check your voter registration on a computer and, if necessary, ask for identification. The ballots are paper, mark-sense type, and placed in the scanner by the voter after being filled out. The machines are tested before each election to make sure they correctly count the ballots: it was eye-opening to see the many possible ballot mistakes voters make that are caught by these scanners. And with paper ballots (let us NEVER give them up - that will be the nail in democracy's coffin) we have an audit trail. BTW, none of the electronic equipment is connected to the Internet, eliminating that source of intrusion.
To Joyce:
I marched in the Woman’s March on Washington. I remember boarding one of 3 buses at Trinity College in Hartford at 1 AM. All were women on the bus with two exceptions; the bus driver and a Hartford Courant reporter. I was all set to have a woman sit next to me so I could chat and hear a woman’s perspective on things. I too, was writing on events. But crapola who sits next to me but the male reporter. We didn’t have much to say on the ride to Washington. Oh heck, I’ll pull it out of my collection of stories shortly.
Just a brief admonishment, Joyce. I once used the term “circling the wagons” while talking with an old Native Indian activist and boy, did I have to do a mea culpa.
The Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017
(It just seems like yesterday)
I am traveling to Washington DC this Saturday to participate in the Women's March on Washington. I am going because the threat of President Trump to defund Planned Parenthood. I don't need any other reasons to show my solidarity. There is no need to augment my decision with the realization that Mr. Trump has no morals or business ethics; which insures that he will make a horrible leader.
I am somewhat surprised that the overwhelming majority of marchers are in fact, women. But hey, it's a "Women’s March" right? The evening before the trip, I listened to commentators on the PBS Nightly News that a "massive March is being planned." During the table discussion, someone asks if only women are going. Another commentator answers "...and other hangers-on." That's me, the hanger-on. I have always been a hanger-on so this is not news to me.
I have anticipated the nuances of being in the middle of a huge throng of marchers. I packed four eggplant Parmesan sandwiches (made the day before) and two bottles of water. I took Imodium tablets a few hours before leaving on buses reserved for this event. I can't predict my bowel movements at my age anymore and it wouldn't be wise to get stuck in a crowd of a million women with sudden bodily needs. Ahem...
A Hartford Courant reporter sits next to me. Of all the women travelers on board, I get the chance encounter to sit next to a guy. I anticipated sitting next to a woman so I could elicit her perspective on the March.
Our four buses depart from Trinity College in Hartford and we all arrive at RFK Stadium later this morning. Most of us decide to walk the two miles to the Mall. It's a historic and ironically festive occasion. Many avenues are filled with joyful marchers as we converge near the Capital Building.
I cannot get close to the stage area. I'm now stuck in the crowd unable to move. The marchers that are close enough to the stage can hear speeches. The rest of us automatically cheer when a speaker makes a good point and this cheering is like a water wave that sweeps over the ocean of humanity. A yell is heard from the masses and it’s probably Madonna screaming something about wanting to blow up the White House (as this was later reported in the press). I slowly squish myself through sliver of openings of the throng until I reach some scaffolding remaining from the inaugural the day before when Mr. Trump was sworn to uphold the laws of the land.
I reach the scaffolding and look up at climbers scurrying through the monkey bars. I pause a moment and consider my sixty three year-old bones. I pause only for one moment. Now I too have joined the club climbing up the bars. Sixty is the new forty and I know I can make it up to the top. Besides, I need my panorama photos of the crowd.
My photographic studies are done. I have climbed to the mountain top (of the scaffolding). It nears two PM, the time at which my Connecticut Congressional delegation has opened their office reception room nearby at the Sam Rayburn Office Building for us marchers to rest, use the lavatory and enjoy a light lunch. They are kind and generous to offer this accommodation for their constituents. Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty thanks us repeatedly for making the trip. The room is quickly filled with fellow marchers sitting at tables and on the floor. We soon clean out the food. After the much needed rest, it is time to slowly walk back toward the Stadium.
This event evokes past marches to Washington DC especially President Nixon’s anti-Vietnam protests of the 1970s. And the big anti-Vietnam march of 1967 when as a child of 14, I boarded the overnight Amtrak train. My experiences have taught me that a march doesn't change anything. But an accumulation of marches and grass-roots organizing can and does change the body politic. President Trump will have his day in the sun. I haven't the slightest doubt that it will be for one term only. But a person can do a lot of damage in four years.
An announcement is made at the reception that the march through the streets has been officially canceled because of the crowd size.
On the return bus ride home, we make a rest stop in New Jersey. I need to use the men's room. But the men's room this moment is no longer for men only. It's been co-opted by hundreds of women returning from Washington. Why not? There are maybe nine women to every one man waiting in a long line at the entrance.
And now, I am waiting to go. One woman turns to me and says, "Oh, you don't need to wait. The urinals are available." I guess she thought I only needed to go pee pee. She was correct. But as I began to enter the lavatory, a voice in me said that this was an historic moment - of sorts. I yell out, "This is a fucken photo opt" as I yank out my IPad. I shoot those waiting in line. I enter the facility and continue shooting. I sense that I need to shoot quickly and get the hell out before a disgruntled male takes an issue with my camera. Before I have finished with a few different photo perspectives, and after my visit to an available urinal, a man yells me and at that moment, I exit.
It’s time for me to return to the bus and get some much needed sleep. We will have an unsettling four years ahead of us. May our nation survive.
I’m wondering how to prepare myself for another exhausting and soul-depleting four years of an even more rabid Trump Administration. And I will never fathom his depth of support across the country after everything he has said and done over the years. I realize how alienating my country has become for me and those I care about.
It is still mind-boggling how millions of Americans voted for a convicted felon. If those voters saw qualities they admired in him, heaven help us all.
I think you name something important. The opposite of alienation is inclusion. And if the Dems want to guide the tone of the nation, they need to do more on a grassroots level to help you feel included, invited. Ongoingly, not just at election time
Yes, this has to be a core premise. I vacillate on Mr. Walz, but he really is a blue collar guy and he was barely visible. Kamala came from working class but she got crushed on the "economy" and the border. People who know that Trump is a convicted felon still believe that he can and will help them with prices, which are coming down. As are interest rates. Biden/Harris will get no credit, but the economy may very well take off and soar. As it did when he inherited the Obama economy.
Unless he spends inordinate time and money trying to evict Brown people, and prices climb because of labor shortages in harvesting crops, cooking meals, serving them, etc. etc. Watch the movie, "A Day Without a Mexican"
Tina - Rachel Maddow posted earlier: https://youtu.be/NCna8cLHgMI?si=sQmAxcC9Gf5jVaj2
Suggestions? I don't see the Republicans doing that, so I'm curious and would love to hear your ideas.
The tone that they voted for was racist and misogynist. That is not the inclusion I aspire to. Their cover was the economy, the truth was pure prejuidice.
So much this, Ellie! I am sick to death of the double standard!! Dems need to do x,y,z, make nice, blah, blah, blah.
While I never hear anyone saying that to or about Republicans. WTF?!
To Tina -
Rachel Maddow today offered a path forward that will include all of us:
https://youtu.be/NCna8cLHgMI?si=sQmAxcC9Gf5jVaj2
Thank you for making this point. Democrats have a history of acting like they want all of us to be involved but really wanting to be the nation’s mommy and daddy. People like Nancy Pelosi don’t take kindly to young upstarts like AOC having new ideas. This is the exact opposite of what a true community does. A true community is open to new ideas! In fact, America won World War II because a pioneer in the art and science of organizational development used community based learning as a method for how all of the weapons we needed to win the war were manufactured. That person‘s name is W. Edwards Deming. I invite everyone to research his work to learn how the Democrats could re-organize as a true community based political party.
Democrats will never be able to organize. There are too many factions under the big tent, too many one-issue voters, too much technology growth between generations. Progressives need their own party, and should have broken away when Bernie Sanders ran on the Democrat party's coattails. Instead, he spouted the "socialist" label that has haunted the party, and given more ammunition to republicans to paint Dems as enemies of our country. And Pelosi? Mock her if you wish, but she's already in the history books as THE most effective Speaker ever. She not only managed to keep trump in line, but did a great job of taming AOC's raw instincts, and teaching her to pick battles wisely and stealthily. AOC is a better legislator because of it, and will become even more formidable in the future. Community-based organization is a great concept, until the community gets too large and diverse. Same thing happened decades ago with all the successful communes in this country - as more people came in with new ideas, infighting started, rules were changed by power-hungry leaders, and the "community" lost original purpose. Human nature. Tribal nature, maybe. I'm an Independent who leans pretty liberal. I refused to join the Dem party, mainly because the DNC may as well try to herd cats. Sorry, but there it is. IF we have any semblance of a democracy left after trump's ego-stroking oligarchs and talibangelists start serving up Putin cocktails, there will certainly be room in this country for two viable liberal parties.
They did see something they admire. What it is I don’t know. The ugly American is back.
Think about this for a second. Did you ever see the movie about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter? Remember the people who rushed to support him and the efforts to overturn his conviction? That's why millions of people voted for a convicted felon. I understand you (and i) don't agree with this but they see Trump as their "Hurricane". And that's precisely why millions of people voted for him. They think he is the aggrieved one, and even though I believe they are nuts to feel that way and that he really IS a felon and should be locked up, they think he is wrongfully accused. And that's why they support him and vote for him.
Simple- they were told repeatedly, and believed, these were corrupt and politically motivated hit jobs, aka ‘Lawfare’.
You are the same in that you also believe what you hear repeatedly and consistently throughout all of your media. At this level you are no different and if you can’t comprehend this, you’re not equipped to solve the American problem of being divided against itself.
There is no mystery how America is divided nearly 50-50 against itself: Half has been told ‘A’,
half told ‘not-A’.
Some mystery in how much of this equal division can be attributed to:
1) active-balancing of news by commercial media interests who want maximal conflict so as to sell maximal ads, vs
2) foreign interests who benefit most from a nearly equally divided country, with tfg slightly ahead, vs
3) …?
Half has no reasoning ability and no curiosity. "Being told" isn't what works for a lot of us. Science works. Facts work.
The rest prefer to believe lies.
Mark, "You" messages are offputting. There is a difference in quality and content of information. There is a difference in checking multiple sources. There is a difference in caring when lies are told and rejecting them. Please don't put us in the same category as MAGAs for example.
It will be more than four years. He said he is going to be a dictator. Believe him.
Or we will get Donald Jr. or JD. If the Idiocracy who.know nothing of democracy.continue to vote these mopes in.
JD will be in by February or March.
It is important that we understand, in detail and depth so we can know how to defeat it. I was born in 1948 and i've seen worse. My parents were born in 1918, and they saw much much worse. My grandparents were born in the 1890s. Their parents were born in the Civil War. It's a long hard fight. Take care of yourself. Take breaks, but don't give up. Never give up.
Volunteer to care for the needy if you have the time. PLenty of women and children will be suffering.
Canada is looking good.
It’s only been 2 days and I can’t count how many times I’ve already read “Get your passport ready/renewed!!” That’s not a possibility for many of us. It takes money to move to another city let alone another country. You can’t just pull up stakes and go either. You have to be able to offer your new country a reason to allow you to stay. Do you have a job that will benefit them? Are you rich and able to benefit their economy through your purchases and investments?
I’m a disabled veteran. I live on my disability comp & take part-time jobs when I’m able to in-between the surgeries I’ve needed to repair the damage caused by my service. I’m stuck here. I already have to fight tooth & nail to get the healthcare I earned and it’s going to get so much worse. I already know trump will gut veteran’s compensation & healthcare services. I already know I will then lose my home & end up in one of the camps miller & trump promise to use for all ‘the lazy, useless homeless’. My passport isn’t going to help me one bit.
People need advice rooted in reality, not pie in the sky bullshit that only the rich can afford.
Plus, not everyone will want to leave. Does patriotism matter? What about choosing to stay and fight for all those the trump cult deems expendable? I’m already feeling stress, worry and frustration and I know it pales beyond measure next to what those in the groups trump & his cult have targeted are feeling right now. If everyone leaves who will fight for those who can’t?
If moving to Canada or elsewhere is an option & you want to & can go, then go. I wish you good luck with that.
I wish everyone god speed. There’s another vote coming up in two years.
I'm not so sure that THIS was the last election we will see for a VERY long time.
I am in disbelief, too. My childhood group, dozens of them, are gleefully celebrating trump’s win in my presence. They do this even knowing that many of our childhood friends are devastated. This is a cruel betrayal of all due respect. It will never heal.
And chaos, always chaos. I was so hoping the national chaos would be over.
I am preparing myself by ceasing all donations (previously generous, numerous, and broadly varied) except to those organizations that directly benefit me and my family. We have cancelled our WaPo, NYT, and Bloomberg subscriptions and cancelled streaming services. Years ago I cancelled my FB and Twitter accounts. I will no longer travel to and spend my money in red states. I will preferentially buy products manufactured in Europe (new Mercedes made in Bremen is on the way). I will do nothing to contribute to this degraded society unless I benefit. I will feel no pity for stupid MAGA morons who suffer because they listened to Mr. Worm-in-Brain and refused vaccination. I can afford the inflation caused by Trump’s stupid tariffs and have stopped giving a damn about others who cannot - too many of them voted for Trump or didn’t vote. I used to care a lot. The only thing that got me was pain. Let the willfully ignorant Trumpers suffer in worsening heat waves. They deserve no sympathy.
Why the Hispanic vote went for Trump.
I am a CPA on Bainbridge Island. I have Mexican and Guatemalan gardeners. They told me they were for Trump. I asked them why. They said they listen to Hispanic radio all day long and it was telling them frightening stories that made them want to go for Trump, mostly of a gay or transsexual nature, which offended their masculinity. This talk radio was sold to a friend of Jared Kushner about a year ago, when the format changed to MAGA. The irony is Trump would easily put my guys into a deportation camp in a blink. The talk radio played upon their homophobia and castration anxiety. All over the USA these Hispanic blue collar laborers listen to this station
Trump is the great imposter. He is a criminal mind, grifter, and gangster. He is going to steal billions. Furthermore, he is a Russian agent. He will go back to selling State secrets and revealing undercover agents overseas who will be arrested and thrown out of windows. He was shake down industries with threats of tariffs. The list is endless. He has a complete carte Blanche now. Iceberg dead ahead.
I am afraid that you are correct Michael C. Berry. We each need to prepare ourselves and any family and friends who will listen, for some horrible times ahead. I fear for those who will be singled out for deportation, work camps, and any other demeaning situations the upcoming regime demand. It could be a difficult lesson to learn for many people.
Yesterday, the stock in private prisons rose dramatically.
Thank you for your posts and for telling it exactly as it is. We are in for a horrible time.
I feel for those who were taken in by the propaganda and weren’t able to understand that that’s what it was. I’m not referring to or insulting their intelligence at all. It’s a very specific step in propaganda to play on a group’s biggest fears, especially those rooted in cultural beliefs. We are all susceptible. I can only imagine how utterly betrayed they’ll feel when they realize they were played and are now the target.
And Melanoma is his handler
Red Sparrow
He's a worse madman than King George of American Revolution infamy.
Similarly, I have two personal care assistants, both of who said they would vote for Trump because he will deport the immigrants who want their jobs. ??? One is Black, and the other is white; both are Americans, not immigrants. Where do they get this stuff? It will take us decades to ferret out all the misinformation and disinformation that made this election happen.
Honestly, how do these immigrants find the time? Between living like royalty on government assistance (because they are too lazy to work), simultaneously stealing all the good "AmAmerican" jobs, PLUS taking over cities and committing crimes, they must be exhausted.
//heavy sarcasm intended//
I had an assistant in 'August when my foot was in a non-driving boot. She had come to America with her parents from Mexico when she was 8 years old; she's now 50. They are all citizens now but she said her father and most men in her extended family (his cousins all came and are all citizens, too) are all trumpers because they "came the legal way" and don't want to allow people who don't come "the legal way" into the US and trump would stop the illegals from coming. sigh.
Sadly those men will soon be reminded that racism doesn't care about your actual status just like Asian Americans suffered when the cheeto blamed China for COVID.
And when Japanese Americans were put in "internment camps" during WWII for the crime of being Japanese.
Legal and illegal will be a distinction without a difference very soon.
Trump cut legal immigration quotas drastically, allowing the fewest number of legal immigrants in many years. That compounded the problem of so many desperate people coming across the border illegally. They had no other option.
There is one specific talk radio station they all listen to while they are working. It was sold two years ago to a friend of Jared Kushner who changed its format to MAGA. This radio station is played by all these workers all over the USA.
Shades of Rwanda
Propaganda wins every time and they know how certain people will react to those kinds of perceived threats. There will be so many people hurt by trump and his haters; that is the what is so horrible about his election.
Especially so, SPW, because it was all a very deliberate, very specific propaganda fueled by hate, bigotry, racism & misogyny.
Those who voted for trump did so (generally speaking) for the benefits they personally will see (tax cuts), those who agree with all that hate and those who were targeted by very specific propaganda.
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lapoliticaonline.com%2Fmexico%2Fsection-english-mx%2Fn-132752-kushner-intervenes-mexican-media-landscape-operates-in-favor-of-spanish-giant-grupo-prisa%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C1df968fdcaf04513b95d08dcff18dddd%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638665729464302827%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=AFUQMsM3Lh0EpZwmHNBEGu6aTZBZaM4uuE5eNSfEh%2BI%3D&reserved=0
Almost all undocumented workers pay into Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment, Labor and Industries on phony Social Security Numbers. This helps to support Social Security but they will never receive benefits.
Thank you Michael for this information. I doubt that most people are aware of this talk radio station.
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lapoliticaonline.com%2Fmexico%2Fsection-english-mx%2Fn-132752-kushner-intervenes-mexican-media-landscape-operates-in-favor-of-spanish-giant-grupo-prisa%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C1df968fdcaf04513b95d08dcff18dddd%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638665729464302827%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=AFUQMsM3Lh0EpZwmHNBEGu6aTZBZaM4uuE5eNSfEh%2BI%3D&reserved=0
I am wondering if it will be like Florida where a huge portion of the immigrant population left when they enacted a law about employers having to verify the legal status of their workers. Will there be a mass exodus across the nation?? I work in a big box store and am wondering if a lot of the people I see regularly will leave. Business is already tough.
https://www.propublica.org/article/florida-immigration-bill-farmers-rick-roth?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter&utm_content=feature
I too have been wondering if all the scary rhetoric is intended to frighten undocumented people into leaving the country or even legal workers like the Haitians in Ohio. On the other hand, they really canʻt go back if their home country deadly dangerous to them.
When I was canvassing and phone banking the most difficult conversations I had were with two different voters who immediately started ranting at me about how they could not vote for Democrats because they support having men in women's bathrooms and men on women's sports teams and they needed to protect their young daughters. Somehow concern about their daughters' reproductive health and freedom in their later years never factored in to their worldview. This irrational fear of trans people somehow ruining their daughter's lives or doing more than live the lives they want as the people they are is one of the most disturbing aspects of this last campaign.
Thank you, this is helpful. It boggles my mind that these folks would vote for Trump. This helps explain, along with another fear-mongering tactic resurfaced in an NPR story a few days ago: many Guatemalans, Venezuelans, Cubans fear Socialism - as in the socialism that ruined their countries ... so Trump and Vance and Republicans in general invoke the threat of Socialism if Democrats get into office. The scare-tactic works.
That's interesting. I think I have relatives on Bainbridge Island. And we heard that Trump spent the last four years building a highly effective network to win this election, but that is really deviously smart stuff. What is the radio station? Are their programs broadcast nationwide? Or did they buy stations across the country? Please tell us more. We have to watch for similarly underhanded tactics beginning now.
May I suggest that a highly effective network built Trump, instead?
And their effingreligion teaches them that their penises are ever so important, entitles them to rule over the better half of the population.
What will they do in the deportation camps?
People will suffer and die from abuse and lack of food, medical care and shelter.
Stupid and ignorant people make stupid and ignorant choices for their sources of “information” and we have naively allowed freedom of speech to be a license to lie.
Legal and illegal will be a distinction without a difference in the new world order. ETTD.
In this election one side wanted cheaper gas and eggs while the other side wanted to save democracy and people in our communities.
There is much work to be done. We must stand united against the tyranny that they want to inflict on our most vulnerable. I pledge to stand up.
The problem is the winning side is NOT going to make eggs and had any cheaper. The election was bought by big corporations and billionaires who have price gouged consumers because they could. The previous administration mishandled the pandemic so badly that over a million died needlessly. The economy was in a huge downturn while Trump was talking about taking bleach to cure Covid.
My state has lots of immigrants, legal and otherwise, who form the backbone of our economy in agriculture, construction, meat production, as well as high tech jobs in the Research Triangle Park. If most or all of those people are not at those jobs, our economy will nosedive. Housing and food prices won’t be any cheaper for sure. Native born Americans will absolutely not take those jobs. (Do you aspire to work in a chicken processing plant?) I think people will be unpleasantly surprised by what chaos the winner of this election and his minions will cause. I have no sympathy for people who voted for the winner of this election if the chaos rains down on them. They chose it.
I agree. I cannot fathom that people can’t remember the trauma of his first four years. How could they be so cavalier with other people’s lives to vote for him again?! It’s unbelievable that so many crave authoritarianism.
It isn’t the immigrants who are lazy and living off others…it is Americans who do that. They don’t aspire to work in a chicken or meat processing plant??? Oh surprise, surprise. Watch your prices go up folks. Don’t even dare to complain!
Of course they will complain. And blame the Democrats!!
I expect that mostly the same people voted for him. And most of them felt he did a "fine" job and was ousted by Biden for no good reason. They almost all believe the 2020 election was stolen. Their ability to be highly discriminating in their political outlook is probably not very high. Sigh...
They want it for others and think they are too special themselves to fall into that “other” category.
Agree. And what do the Native Americans think of the white people who indignantly proclaim "Keep them out! It's our country"?
"This country has always had an illegal immigration problem. Ask any Native American."
This is one reason why I think the ONLY solution is unrestricted borders. Of course it's too late for that now but it resolves the problem of so-called "legal" immigration. We have never been able to adequately restrict immigration especially from our southern border (I grew up in Tucson AZ). Trying to draw the fine line on who gets in and who gets left out is very difficult and basically has resulted in an ongoing process of "draw a line, let some in legally, more get in illegally, everyone complains, give the illegals amnesty, rinse and repeat". For me, open unrestricted immigration is the best and simplest process.
"Give me your tired, your poor!" Emma Lazarus said it best.
The people who claim their biggest concern was inflation are going to be in for a rude shock. If Trump's deportation threats become real, the rapid escalation in food prices when all the migrant workers who pick our crops disappear, and the even higher cost of housing when all the construction workers disappear are going to make the inflation of the post covid years look mild.
Chaos is the intention and has been all along.
We still have a responsibility to protect the rights over vulnerable people - some of which might have voted for trump. Letting trumpers suffer the consequences of their decision won’t enlighten fools, but will everyone suffers.
Those who voted cheaper gas and eggs don't realize the cost of everything is about to skyrocket. May they rot in hell. May those men have ED. May those men and women have STDs/STIs.
Let’s be sure to remove all the pharmaceutical ads from tv that sell cheap products for men that ensure their ability to perform sexually. If the now elect felon goes for the comstock act for contraception and medical abortion meds, let’s make sure the law is applied equally across the board.
My thought exactly. Just say no.
I pledge to stand up too.
Eggs and gas had absolutely nothing to do with the election results! The results demonstrate half the country hate women and especially women of color. Call it was it is and stop pretending this is not about racism and misogyny!
Both things can be true at the same time! We were singularity focused on saving democracy and protecting the most vulnerable among us, but media pushed a different narrative for many. Latinos who voted for him heard lies that Trump would protect them from gang members coming over the border. White women vote to please their husbands looking out only for their own future. Also, too many white men and women clearly won’t vote for a women. There were lots of reasons people overlooked reality and voted for the madman.
As you point out, there are also more racists than we ever realized too.
It comes down to white grievance. Many white people somehow believe that someone of another color is the reason for their problems in life. My neighbors are very much of this mindset. You can’t convince otherwise. They watch Fox and vote for chump who could care less about anyone but himself.
My thoughts exactly. So short sighted and only concerned with themselves. Just like the felon elect!
I made the mistake of checking my phone at 4 or 5 AM and read the horrid news. The rest of my sleep sucked to say the least. I guess I'm lucky to have had the day off. I had Bourbon on hand and I'm not sure that helped but there's that. I'm offered solace from Kamala's words that we're basically not done and the good work will continue. Some words from Lawrence O'Donnell made some sense too when he quoted Frederick Douglass: "If there is no struggle, there can be no progress." Douglas was in his thirties when he said this and an escaped slave.
I'm ready to begin learning what I myself, with others, can do, starting tomorrow, to limit his reach and staunch the bleeding I know he will cause.
✅
I’m beside myself. I have no optimism left at this point.
I don’t know the specifics about your situation.
Might I offer: grieve. Give yourself time to mourn. I wouldn’t recommend too much time but you know what is best for you.
Then, when you are ready, find like-minded people, your community, who are willing to do the work to get us through this, to the other side. There is strength in numbers.
I myself need to do this, need to find community.
I grieved for four years last time.
I’m not grieving - I’m MAD !!!
I’m both.
Same here.
Kelly, did deep dear. There are hundreds of examples of others in the past that came thru worse (WWII underground, for instance). Stand strong. He's just a loud carnival barker and an old man with goofy hair. Keep calm and carry on.
I just worked so hard. I door knocked in a swing state. I donated time, money, talked to people. I couldn’t have done more, but I feel like I didn’t do anything. I just… can’t.
I am a hospice chaplain. One of my patients was a Jewish woman who survived the Nazi occupation. Her parents and sister and brother all died in camps or on the way. She herself had a traumatic story of survival escaping from a train headed to a camp and his in an abandoned town with a couple of other girls at the hands of Russian doctors and soldiers. She was a young teen. She eventually made it to America. She managed to thrive. Her motivation to keep living at all costs, to keep fighting and thriving was that she KNEW the Nazi’s wanted her dead as they wanted all Jews dead and she wasnt going to let them have the satisfaction. So she did everything to survive, she wasn’t going to die or be extinguished. Draw strength from others like her. From the generations of people descended from African slaves whom at every turn have had have people trying to silence them.
I think you, you all, did an amazing job of investing yourselves right into the campaign, donating time energy and hard earned money. I think I understand how gutted you feel, (because it would be selfish to assume I know). I personally cannot understand how 'they' pulled the rug out from under a very well disciplined campaign with a very well disciplined person in Ms Harris. I think it is because a lop-sided battle has been fought, but the democrats went in playing by the rules. You would HAVE to know that anything trump related is tied to a scam, I imagine the democrat think-tank assumed they had all maga's options and contingencies covered, but no, even reading messages above regarding Hispanic radio stations broadcasting and amplifying maga/trump's false scare tactic messaging in 'their' native tongue. What else then that 'we' wouldn't consider fair play did this machine get up to? Who made the bomb threats in sensitive swing state voting areas?
Really, with Musk, the mainstream media, other nations with their interests, all assisting one team. YOU, WE didn't have a snowball's chance of winning this. It's a long walk back from this depressing outcome for sure, but you're young and strong, and the country is going to need the strength and commitment you have despite it being deflated to crap right now. Every person you 'touched' will remember, and that will catalyse in the future when trump/maga get into their stride and get cocky with it. You and the others like you have been the vanguard for this long fight … and it wasn't time wasted at all.
Go well.
Hang in there Kelly. I am with you. I, too, was in total despair yesterday when I heard the news that he had won. I did the same things you did short of the door-knocking as I am disabled and live in Indiana and am caregiver to my 84 year old Mother who Voted for him no less. (Ugh). I do not want to live in Trump's America either but after a long conversation with my oldest daughter who thank God is a Psychologist, she told me it would kill her and her Sister if I decided to "check out" early. So somehow I will carry on. Somehow we will find a way to navigate this dark road ahead of us. #RiseResistRepeat #LoveWillKeepUsAlive. This song and this Band (The Eagles) have helped me get through this Election about more than anything. Stay strong Sister. ❤️🇺🇸💙
https://youtu.be/4-kF-wgTHfo?si=LP8lHk6Aon92Vy7N
From a fellow Hoosier, thank you for what you’ve written. I wish you well.
Thank you so much. ❤️
You are a hero. Not all heroes win the fight, but they all give all they have. Thank you, and God bless you.
🙏💙
You did everything you could. It wasn’t useless. Take good care of yourself now. Try to focus on what is right in front of you - the big picture is too much at this moment. Do what brings you support and comfort. Rest. Eat good food. When you can you will be able to start anew.
Problem is the old man might be incompetent, but his minions will carry out his ugly whims.
Elon Musk is quite competent at getting his hands on taxpayer money already.
You greatly under estimate the carnival barker and his minions. The destruction of this country is coming….
At 83, it is very tough to look @ what is ahead for my remaining years. For a good 8 years it has been a struggle know democracy was on the table , not the price of eggs or bacon. The previous struggle for women's rights to have a credit card & financial security & basic respect. I am too angry & grieving & all out of optimism
It’s all so awful isn’t it? We’ve all fought against the hate & cruelty since 2015 and now we’re facing an unknown number of yet more years, knowing it’s going to be even worse. It’s exhausting.
Earlier today I was thinking about how my bank willingly allowed my then husband to withdraw my money from my sole account all because “he’s your husband, he has the right” and that was in the 90’s! Not so long ago. We can’t go back to that.
Do you have a community or a group that can offer you comfort, support & strength? Are there things that you can turn to for even tiny moments of joy?
For me, that’s feeding the birds & squirrels & watching their antics. Or walking or sitting at a local park to be in nature. I don’t have enough concentration right now to read a book but when I do it helps. I don’t presume to know what brings you joy - I list these only as what helps me.
I am wishing you well and hope you have support through these awful days of accepting what happened & figuring out which way to go from here. All my best to you.
I refuse to let him take anymore oxygen in my life. I refuse to worry about things I have no control over(his win) but I will do everything I can to protect the vulnerable.
One last comment if people are complaining about cost of food now wait till he does his promised mass deportations. Who do they think is going to pick the crops?
Not to mention the truly stooped tariffs!!
Yeah - remember during the pandemic most of them went back home and crops were rotting in the fields? Leading to high prices for low quality goods but it was the only game in town.
His tech bro buddies likely have robot crop pickers and other things like this on the drawing board (old fashioned imagery! ). Anything to avoid hiring a human being. I was watching a gardener at a condo recently using a leaf blower. A robot could do that, but then the man would lose his job and likely heʻs not skilled at this point to do more than he is doing. There are a lot of jobs that could be automated but then the workers lose their jobs and canʻt be retrained for anything meaningful. Heck, from what Iʻve seen already in the workplace AI will eliminate the need for a lot of people whose jobs involve writing. All these people worried about high prices are going to have a lot more to worry about when their jobs disappear. Even professionals are going to be impacted.
Exactly re food harvesting!
There will be a few arrests of gang members, who will be deported and some raids on neighborhoods. Then the chaos that surrounds him will create other crises and attention -media attention-will be averted.
What is maddening is the fact that agent orange will now get away with all the crimes he committed (and for which he was indicted or convicted). Our legal system failed one of its biggest tests ever. I have a very hard time with this realization.
Hardest part for me. He has gotten no consequences for anything he did.
I spent my entire career in state and federal courts and totally believed in the rule of law knowing from experience that it can be slow going. I no longer believe at all. I had and continue to have an emotional breakdown over Tuesday’s result and don’t know quite how to continue on.
He has figuratively shot everyone without penalty. Having just read about the Dodds experience as ambassador to Germany in 1933 , this sounds similar & people's reactions are similar. Project 2025 full steam ahead! It will take more than elections, if we have any, or we will have rigged ones like in Hungary, to take anything back & that will take several life times.
Per prior statements, we will never have to vote again.
Elections will not be the same and will be for show only.
Yeah - me too. The dark money cases along with trump immunity and gun proliferation have soured my thoughts about justice and the rule of law. I’ve seen the harm that is caused to some and I realize it will now get much worse.
I liked what Sunny Hostin said on The View, that this election was "a referendum on cultural resentment". A large percentage of white American voters, faced with losing their majority, chose to blow up our country. So selfish and wrong. Putin, through his Trump/Vance puppets, is going to dismantle America and steal everything he can steal, including US military strength. American children will lose freedom and democracy. Shame on Americans who chose an unqualified obvious Putin puppet over a well-qualified candidate with excellent character.
I don't share any of your optimism. The majority of white women voted for Trump. And what I realized is this is what the majority wanted - Trump. They weren't going to vote for a Black woman. They wanted this foul, deranged convicted felon rapist. The nastier he is, the more they love him. He will never leave. He has promised to deport millions and destroy his enemies. Think Hitler 2.0. Today a large pickup blew past us with a large Trump flag. It has begun, and it's going to be bad.
Totally agree with you!!!
I remember the Woman’s March in 2017. I was there with my daughter and her friends. It was a day where there was a sense of being part a huge statement. The mood was upbeat. Today I am not so sure. My daughter is devastated . My granddaughter is afraid her mother will be deported - she is English and also a US citizen. I had to assure my granddaughter that it will be ok and that she will be safe. It has been a tough day but I will get up every morning , put one foot in front of another and keep moving forward. At 82 I am determined to live long enough to vote again for Kamala Harris. Self care everyone, it will be a long haul but we will get there.
I sincerely believe that Trump will not last the 4 years. We have to consider what to do about Vance. He is not the charismatic character that Trump is(was). Will he have the same following? He is more intelligent but not street smart
Vance is actually worse.
He is slick. He won't stuff his foot in his mouth like Rump. Rump will bless him and.lookout 2028.
I agree mer t, I also don't see tRump lasting 4 more years, and fear that Vance will be even more cruel.
It will be all the silent backers that wrote Project 2025. It will be the Elly Musks , Steve Bannons, Steve Millers with their foot in the door & butts in the cabinet. I trump will be off playing golf.
I think vance will kick trump to the curb within six months. His VP will be Mike Johnson (who fervently believes in an End Times religion) or someone else equally dangerous.
Yes, dangerous. Vance, Johnson ... there's a whole lineup and I'm sure they have a plan to deploy. I hate that I even have to think that might be true.
Nobody has the charisma T has. And he makes sure not ever to promote anyone who could replace him. I think he's in early dementia and will slowly crumble, but I see nobody who can channel what he does, with such an overwhelming response.
Take the sizzle out of his rallies or gatherings and the whole thing is deflated and stale.
I predict he will make a move by Feb or March.
The depth and breadth of systemic racism and misogyny in this country is clearly much greater than most of us can comprehend.
We can kid ourselves there are other reasons Kamala lost, but sadly that is the reason and it is a very tough competitor. The work of the resistance begins again soon….
I appreciate your comments. But we have to deal with this fact: Trump’s crimes, flaws, and plans for a second term were well known, and a majority of our fellow citizens embraced them. Trump is the leader they desire. Trump’s vision of America is their vision. I grew up in 1950s Birmingham. I really thought things were on the upswing, that as Dr. King reminded us, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Does it? I can’t say I believe that anymore.
If you ask a First Person they will tell you that arc comment is for pp who have power and has nothing to do with the reality of day to day life of those not in power. Marginalized pp will be murdered, displaced, persecuted and sexually assaulted at a rate never seen before. That is the real arc of the universe.
“Whatever the next days and weeks hold, the most important thing is not to let Donald Trump take away your sense of power as an American.” Thank you for your encouragement, but what you said above is exactly where I am. I’m 75 and feel absolutely powerless. Trump has established he can indeed do anything he wants, and he most certainly will. And there will be no guard rails. I feel nothing but dread.
You have 50 years of hindsight since Roe passed. I marched in support back then. We may be too old to do much marching but we can speak out loudly!
Sandy S, we have survived many years, and need to be around a few more in order to help the next generations.
@ 83 , I feel the same. It will take many generations , if ever, to see a democratic constitution.