The Thrill of Victory (“Shellacking’” Part II), and Agony of Defeat – A Bullet Dodged
The “Shellacking’”
Part 2
Following is a log of my Facebook posts, with dates and times –
beginning on election evening, and aftermath posts, exchanges, and commentary.
Nov 8
6:50pm: So far, so good, this election night. No matter
how it turns out, I'm loving it seeing the shock of the ABC crew at how close
it is in many states Hillary was thought to do better in, and how well Trump is
doing generally, especially in the battleground states. Interesting that
they're noting a divide largely by rural vs urban America.
7:42:
New York Times projection: 91% chance Trump wins. Panic in the Democrat
camp. Pre-election odds were something like 75% for Hillary.
7:45: Trump has won Ohio & North Carolina!
And winning Florida.
8:08:
Florida called for Trump. Hillary's path to 270 now more questionable
than Trump's.
8:10: Utah for Trump.
8:20: The GOP is holding the Senate &
House.
8:30: The Blue Wall has been broken --
Wisconsin for Trump!!!
8:55: Trump
has 254 electoral votes, and is significantly ahead in NH & AZ, giving him
269 at least. Even if he only ties with that and gets no more, then the House
gives it to Trump. One way or the other, it's president Trump. Oh, I just
noticed he's ahead in Michigan, which is another path to a tie-breaker with 16
votes there.
9:47pm (not long before I went to bed): In
Monty Python terms, "And now, for something completely different..."
9:19pm: The
last time a Republican president had both houses of Congress was 1928. (I
mistakenly passed on what I heard from one pundit, but was fact-check-corrected
by my nephew.)
11/9/16
One Facebook
response: Fantastic. A narcissistic
misogynistic monster with no brakes on him.
Mark Clayson As far as I can tell, he's an equal opportunity offender
when he gets his dander up, whatever the term for that is. Seems to hire and
work well with lots of professional women who praise him, and has a good
family. Much less a "monster" (or narcissistic) in many more
significant ways than Bill and Hillary (who are better at covering their flaws,
or having the biased media and corrupt agencies ignore them), and much more
palatable from a policy standpoint. Yes,Obama did significant damage with no
brakes his first 2 years -- disasters like Obamacare, massive ineffective debt
spending, etc. But the GOP isn't as monolithic and Kool-Aid drinking as the
Dems, and Trumps near-term proposals certainly don't sound disastrous. He's
hired solid men and women so far, and proposed solid SCOTUS nominees. Of course
we'll see, but a lot of the election hysteria about Trump is largely just that.
Just like a lot of other hysteria the Left hypes, and that fortunately at least
this time the American people largely saw through. Including many Republicans
all too aware of his flaws. But also apparently many undecideds and
independents who were apparently won over by his openness and reflection of
their concerns, and put off by Hillary's facade, corruption, identity politics
(can we look beyond race, gender, etc. for the bigger picture?), lies and more
of the same failed policies.
[A Neighbor:] “Yeah,
and despite the fact that he has NO IDEA how he's going to accomplish that
goal. Repeal NAFTA? Yeah right. Build a wall? Yeah right. Punish women who are
pro-choice? Yeah right…….Ironic that you were standing behind me to vote!!!”
[My response to a neighbor:] I thought your dream about Bill
Clinton you related [while in line] was interesting. I think we were both
uncertain & apprehensive of the
outcome, and maybe that helped our civility. But you had more reason to hope
than I did with the polls and pundits favoring Hillary. I think we were both surprised.
I remember how surprised and devastated I was 4 years ago after my hopes were
so high, and all I'd invested in it, and my mother literally went into
seclusion for a couple or few days. I'm well aware of Trump's faults -- I
blogged about them for months during the primaries. He was my very last choice
-- maybe you even noticed I put my Cruz-Carly sign up for a few days before
putting up my Trump signs, acknowledging my regrets.
But everything is relative, and more important to me than
personal flaws (of which Hillary also has her share as I've noted), or race, or
gender, are basic philosophical and policy differences between the parties and
platforms that the candidates are committed to. I'm sure we both love our
country (and hopefully we can both hope and pray that Trump will act wisely),
and just differ on how best to run it. I just feel that a change is sorely
needed from failed policies of the past 8 years that would largely be
continued.
In every election there is some demonization of the opponent,
but this one was particularly vitriolic. And I see unusual animosity towards
Trump. Similar to that towards Bush, whose legitimacy was also questioned. I
thought our leaders (Obama, Hillary & Trump) set a good example for us,
that after all their personal attacks, they so graciously conceded (or
accepted) and said we need to come together. I hope people will at least give
Trump a chance. I know he's sometimes inarticulate -- he's new at politics --
and I think often misunderstood. Most important is what he actually
accomplishes, which only time will tell. I sense he does have basic goodness
and love of country, and desire to make it better -- he's sacrificed and
suffered a lot to get here. As did Hillary. I would have accepted her as my
president. Although I would be critical. And I will be critical of Trump when I
think he needs it.
[Neighbor] Hi mark! Well, I was seriously
depressed for a few days after the election. I was shocked! I thought, after
all that Trump said and did, that people would realize what type of person he
is. Sure Hillary has her faults, but at least she understands the system and knows her way around
within it. DT has absolutely no experience, not even City Council....and why do
people keep sayinig he's such a "good businessman"? His casino
failed, his university failed, and it seems like his talent for making money is
just for his own selfish satisfaction. Didn't he exploit a lot of people to
make that money? I don't get the feeling he wants to help people as you seem to
think. I think Michael Moore was right in saying that he is a con artist, and
said and did a lot of things just to gain power, which seems to be his primary
motivation. I am truly frightened to think what he might do when negotiations
or confrontations with Iran or Korea get stressful. He seems to have very
little self-discipline or restraint. What has he "sacrificed and
suffered"? Hillary was sooo much more qualified. I'm scared. And thinking
of moving to another country. You've been a great neighbor. : ) C.
[To my Neighbor], thanks for the "vote" of
confidence as a neighbor -- that means a lot. I think you're also a great
neighbor. I sense that we're each getting our information about the candidates
from completely different, and not unbiased, sources. You're right about his
government inexperience, but apparently that was exactly what many voters
wanted -- someone outside the "system." And same for the Sanders
supporters. Sometimes those too comfortable in the system are prone to
continuing the bad aspects that people are weary of. Some go as far as saying
Hillary's dealings were corrupt misuse of government influence (see
"Clinton Cash") -- we'll see what the ongoing investigations
conclude. At an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion, Trump has clearly had more
success than failure. In any business there will be some failures. But through
it he's employed many people who are very loyal, and that benefits the
government, as well. These days capitalism seems to almost be a dirty word --
"for profit." But business that don't make a profit don't last, and
don't provide salaries to employees. Some would say Hillary, too, is
power-hungry. And almost anyone running for president has an ego. I think one
indication of the kind of man Trump is that was acknowledged by Hillary is the
quality of his children. And he has a good marriage. He apologized to his wife
for those statements made 11 years ago. As to sacrifice, much of Trump's
campaign was self-financed, and he will not be keeping any salary as president.
He and his family were, and continue to be, subjected to a lot of hatred. He
seems to be showing discipline & restraint in his meetings with the
president of Mexico, president Obama, etc. Only time will tell whether he
really will help people as he insists he wants to, including especially inner
city disadvantaged.
[My Facebook commentary on the following cartoon:] Bon Voyage
and good riddance. And the protesters can join them -- they say Trump's not
their president. Maybe they prefer Chavez or Castro.
An email from
the president-elect:
Mark,
They said we could never do it.
But last night you showed
the world that America will once again be a country of, for, and by the PEOPLE.
You fought like a winner,
you defied all odds, and history will forever remember the role you played in
taking our country back.
I never could’ve done it
without you, Mark. Your contributions, your sacrifices, and your unyielding
commitment to our movement made last night possible!
Thank you
Thank you
Last night we learned
that America is still a beacon of hope where the impossible is possible.
For far too long, we’ve
heard Washington politicians give the excuse that “it can’t be done.” They say
we can’t balance the budget, we can’t stop corruption, we can’t control the
border, we can’t bring jobs back to our country.
I REFUSE to accept that
it can’t be done. This is the country that declared its independence, won two
world wars, and landed a man on the moon. This is America. We can and we WILL
get it done.
Now it’s time to start uniting our country and binding the wounds of our divided nation. I promise to be a president for ALL Americans. I will work for you. I will fight for you. And I will win for you.
Now it’s time to start uniting our country and binding the wounds of our divided nation. I promise to be a president for ALL Americans. I will work for you. I will fight for you. And I will win for you.
You will soon remember
what it’s like to win as an American.
Thank you and God bless
you,
Donald J. Trump
America didn’t believe the hysteria & scare tactics about
Trump, or fall for celebrity endorsements of Hillary.
We don’t know exactly what Trump will do, although there are
some specifics & policies given during the campaign. Wait and see – it will be the change from the
last 8 yrs that the electorate demands.
He continues to reach out with polls to his supporters to help define
the agenda – he listens.
Paul Krugman of NYT: “I don’t understand the country I live
in” – yes, that’s the Left’s problem.
Dennis Prager: “I feel relief – massive relief.”
A couple of hints this was coming. 1. Focus groups of undecideds/independents on
both CNN & Fox were breaking strongly for Trump after the debates – they don’t
fall for the polished but calculating, insincere, elitist claptrap of the
Left. 2. Many more people follow Trump
on Twitter than Pres. Obama.
The concession and victory speeches were gracious, which
should be good to help heal a very divided nation after an unusually
contentious election.
Rubio, Cruz & Medved:
“God’s not done with America, yet.”
Regarding the student protesters saying “not my president,”
isn’t that as bigoted as if conservatives had done the same about Obama? Of course they would have been accused of
racism, and disrespect. Some protesters
said “Love trumps hate.” Indulging in a
bit of sarcasm, yes, and their gracious election loss is a very fine example of
that, and the Left’s usual loving and tolerant demeanor towards any who disagree
with them. But if it makes them feel
better, I suppose they need to vent. If
any of them don’t think we conservatives felt every bit as devastated and
concerned at the last 2 presidential race losses, they’d better think
again. My mother literally went into
seclusion for 2 or 3 days – even from the rest of her family. But you didn’t see us having a nervous
breakdown, or throwing tantrums and riots in the streets. That, of course, is what they accused Trump’s
supporters of threatening. Again, projection.
They are the ones who are against lawful, orderly &
peaceful transfer of power. And school
administrators are fanning the flames and promoting all this. A counselor on GMA suggested telling kids
after the election it’s not OK to criticize people unfairly – clearly imputing
that to Trump. Of course Democrat
criticism is all “fair.” The protesters
are narcissistic – “me” can’t understand the notion of “we.” They’ve been coddled, and played sports with
no winners or losers, and now they can’t deal with the real world. Why do they shut down L.A. freeways, when
California (especially the big coastal cities) went overwhelmingly for
Hillary. They think of themselves as
morally superior (“love trumps hate,” “they go low, we go high”) – they talk the
talk, but when the rubber hits the road, they can’t walk the walk.
They continue to say how unfair it is for Hillary to have won
the popular vote and lost the election.
And they and Stein continue to seek subverting the electoral college,
and pursuing recounts in battleground states.
It’s ironic that the Dems often accuse the GOP of fear
tactics, but all I heard from the Dems & media was fear and demonization hyped
over Trump. Which has resulted in all
this heightened fear being vented in the streets, on the stage, etc. Just like the hyped “systemic campaign” by
police to shoot unarmed Blacks, which has resulted in a continuing toll in
ambushed police – 4 more on Nov. 20.
Their hysteria has consequences.
And they show no concern over it.
Take a breath, and give Trump a chance to deliver on helping the Black,
and all, communities. Even Hillary &
Obama, after all the terrible things they said about Trump and his supporters,
were very civil and gracious in defeat – at least publicly.
This is getting really nasty, going so far as to promote, as
many have, disowning relatives & friends who voted for Trump – even at this
holiday season. What happened to liberal
tolerance, love and diversity? And “love
trumps hate?” And “They go low, we go
high?” Did you ever see conservatives
descending to such narcissistic, hateful tactics?
11/11/16
Sure, Trump’s rough around the edges – not the 30-year
polished politician Hillary was. Medved
quoted Shakespeare’s Henry V who’d been a rowdy prince, cavorting with
Flagstaff in the taverns, etc. But upon
coronation, he became disciplined and one of the best kings of England. Trump has so far given similar indications. People can focus on, or try to bring out, the
best or worst in him.
Even Michael Moore recognized that this election was not
about bigotry/racism/misogyny, etc., but rather regular, middle-class people
who are tired of having their economic concerns ignored [and tired of being
called bigoted, racist, misogynist, etc.].
But we continue to hear echoes of their old lines – “whitelash,” etc.
All this griping about the electoral college not being
democratic is ridiculous. The founders
set up a republic, not a strict democracy.
There were good reasons for the electoral college, as I’ve shared
outlined in Prager U’s short video.
These people need some basic lessons on civics that they obviously slept
through in school. There are rules, and
Trump played to win the electoral college, not the popular vote. If the rules were for popular vote, Trump
could have campaigned more in California & New York, and probably without
too much trouble made up the relatively small difference that Hillary had in
the popular vote. But you don’t change
the rules after the game’s over. It’s
happened a few times before that the electoral winner didn’t also win the
popular vote. Get over it. We’re a nation of law, not the French
revolution. It was settled at the ballot
box.
Congressional Democrats – “It would be a mistake to overreach
your mandate.” Yes, like Obama &
Obamacare 8 years ago when they unilaterally shoved it down our throat, with no
bipartisanship, because, as he said, “elections have consequences.” Yes, and by the same arguments, this
president & Congress have every bit as much right to repeal and replace
Obamacare – unilaterally.
11/14/16
An interesting
self-assessment of what the Dems did wrong -- beyond the campaign.
The party bears plenty of blame for its sorry lot — and for the
country’s.
NYTIMES.COM|BY FRANK BRUNI
My thoughts: GOP outreach – “give me a chance…what have
you got to lose?” Democrat outreach – “a
basket of deplorables, bigoted, xenophobic, sexist, racist, …. Irredeemable.”
A great 5 minute
video explaining the electoral college vs popular vote and why the former is so
important. Dems are not only pushing to reverse the results of this election,
but I was not aware of the National Popular Vote (NPV) effort already nearing
its goal of defeating the purpose of the electoral college. Bad idea.
Right now, there's a well-organized, below-the-radar effort to
render the Electoral College effectively useless. It's called the National
Popular Vote, and it would turn our presidential elections into a majority-rule
affair. Would this be good or bad? Author,…
PRAGERU.COM
Messages from President Obama relevant to the protesters &
25% of Hillary voters polled who don't accept Donald Trump as their president,
as well as Democrat critics of his appointees & policies:
"Elections have consequences."
"I'm not on the ballot, but my legacy is."
Ann Coulter has the last laugh after this prescient statement
about Trump in an appearance on Bill Mahr in June 2015, when she was laughed to
scorn. And brilliant Obama got it wrong, as well. I've long been a fan of Ann,
and have several of her books, including "Adios, America," and
generally agreed. But we parted ways during much of the primary contest when
she went with Trump. I did return when Trump was the nominee. I guess I should
have stuck with her all along.
Ann Coulter
correctly predicted Trump would "Win" over a year. Got Laughed at by
100s of lib
Here's another clip where Ann goes on to give her 2nd choice(s),
whom I agreed with at the time.
YOUTUBE.COM
More Leftist hysteria – they have to promulgate the lie that
Trump is anti-semitic to bolster the slanderous Hitler/Nazi analogy and
demonize/marginalize him before he even takes office. It’s ludicrous – his son-in-law for whom he
has great love & respect is Jewish, and his grandchild(ren), and other kids
are dating Jews. And he’s been a strong
proponent of Israel, unlike this administration. They said if Reagan won, the KKK would be in
the White House. Biden said “they’ll put
y’all back in chains.” Is it any wonder
their children (young and old) are anxious and concerned about their future
under Trump? They’ve built quite a
bogeyman.
11/15/16
Ryan – “If we’re going to put this country back on the right
track, we’ll have to be bold, and go big.”
Echoes of the 2013 Scout National Jamboree – “Go big, get wild.”
11/17/16
Prager & guest psychologist who did a Prager U video on
vitamin N (“No!”) that kids today are deficient in.
11/18/16
Trump is now doing a real life “Apprentice” – interviewing
and hiring administration members. Mark
Levin, one of the strongest critics of Trump, loved Trump’s picks of Flynn,
Pompeo & Sessions, and the Left hates them – so good choices.
Trump & Pence met w. Mitt Romney!! After all the bad blood between them. They are both big enough to put aside their
differences and look out for the best interests of the country. Maybe Trump will assemble somewhat of a “team
of rivals,” as Lincoln did. Unifying and
broadening the party.
11/29/16
The “whoopin’” (Obama’s term for the previous Congressional
election) that began in 2014 (see below) with countrywide GOP gains across the
states in governorships & state legislatures, setting all-time records, pretty
much held & continued again this year, extending to the presidency.
“Republican gains
extended to state legislative chambers as well. Before Election Day, the GOP
controlled 59 of 98 partisan legislative chambers across the country. On
Tuesday, preliminary results showed Republicans had won control of both the
Nevada Assembly and Senate, the Colorado Senate and state House chambers in
Minnesota, New Mexico, Maine, West Virginia and New Hampshire. That would give the party control of 67 chambers,
five more than their previous record in the modern era, set after special elections in 2011 and 2012. It
also would give Republicans total control of 24 states, in which
they hold the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the state legislature (Nebraska’s
unicameral legislature is technically nonpartisan, but in practice Republicans
control the chamber by a wide margin). Democrats, by contrast, are likely to
control all three legs of the governing stool in only six states.
“Since that piece was
published, there have been additional updates. State Senates in Maine and West Virginia have
officially gone red, meaning that the GOP will field majorities in 69 out of 98 partisan legislatures
(Nebraska's state legislature is unicameral and nonpartisan). For those
keeping score at home, that's 70 percent of all legislatures. And that's
with Republican governors presiding over
nearly two-thirds of all states.
2014: “Obama's legacy. He didn't make the oceans recede,
but he sure made the country a whole lot redder.
11/30/16
2016 By the Numbers
Electoral College: Trump 306, Hillary 232 (270 needed to
win)
Popular vote: Hillary 64.9M (48.1%), Trump 62.5M (46.4%) or
1.8% difference
Senate: GOP 51, Dem 48
House: GOP 239, Dem 194 (218 needed for control)
Mark Levin reported a legitimate poll that 18% of voters
liked neither Trump nor Hillary, but they broke about 60% for Trump, 30% for
Hillary, especially in the critical battleground states. And that basically decided the election. In other words, the people who held their
noses on Trump in order to stop Hillary who was recognized as much more
troublesome. He also noted that Obama
was a rare exception to the last several decades where no Democrat got more
than 50% of the vote, but several Republicans have. Hillary got more votes than Trump, but she
didn’t get the majority of votes in the country – most people voted against
her.
[from https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Congress_elections,_2016]
“A total
of 469 seats in the U.S. Congress (34 Senate seats
and all 435 House seats) were up for election on November 8, 2016.[1]
The
big story of the 2016 congressional election cycle was whether or not the Democratic Party would be able to regain control of the Senate. In order to take
the chamber back, Democrats
needed to gain five seats in 2016. They fell short of this goal, only picking
up two seats in the general election. The majority of vulnerable seats were held
by Republican incumbents, many of whom were freshmen who were swept
into office in the Tea Party wave of 2010. As a result of this wave, Democrats
only had 10 seats to defend in 2016, while 24 Republican incumbents were up for
re-election.[2]
The unexpected death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, 2016, placed even
greater importance on the 2016 Senate elections. Confirmation of
a new Supreme Court justice requires 60 votes in the Senate, giving
the Republican-controlled
Senate the ability to deny any nominee chosen by President Barack Obama. Several
Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,
declared that the next president should have the responsibility of appointing
the new justice. McConnell said in a statement, "The American people
should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.
Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President."[3]
Appointment and confirmation of the replacement
justice will be left to the newly elected president and Senate in 2017. This
put increased pressure on both parties to win the Senate in 2016, as the
chamber has the ability to confirm or deny the next president's nominees. This
also raised the issue of Republican obstructionism in some battleground states. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said of the issue, "I
believe that many of the mainstream Republicans, when the president nominates a
mainstream nominee, will not want to follow Mitch McConnell over the cliff. The
American people don't like this obstruction. When you go right off the bat and
say, 'I don't care who he nominates, I am going to oppose him,' that's not
going to fly."[3][4]
Although it was extremely unlikely for Democrats to retake the House, the
possibility had been discussed prior to the election. In order to flip control
of the chamber, the Democratic Party would have needed to pick up 30 seats.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated 23 races as battlegrounds and
an additional 14 as races to watch. If Democrats had won every one of those 37
races and lost no other seats, they would have just hit the 30 seats required
to retake the chamber. As expected, the
Republican Party easily held the chamber, losing just six seats.[5][6][7]
Past
partisan breakdowns
|
|||||||
Senate
|
House
|
||||||
Year
|
Democrats
|
Republicans
|
Independents[45]
|
Net
change
|
Democrats
|
Republicans
|
Net
change
|
2014
|
44
|
54
|
2
|
+9
R
|
188
|
247
|
+13
R
|
2012
|
53
|
45
|
2
|
+2
D
|
201
|
234
|
+8
D
|
2010
|
51
|
47
|
2
|
+6
R
|
193
|
242
|
+64
R
|
2008
|
57
|
41
|
2
|
+8
D
|
257
|
178
|
+24
D
|
2006
|
49
|
49
|
2
|
+5
D
|
233
|
202
|
+22
D
|
Comments
Post a Comment