The election
A few random thoughts now that it is all over but the crying.
- I might as well have voted for Trump. I voted third party for the same reason - deep hatred of the two-party system and crony capitalism. In case you're wondering, no I don't have any regrets: I did say that revolutions are never easy or without casualties, and I did advocate "scorched earth" at one point;
- I'm told that Clinton won the majority of delegates fair and square, and she won the popular Democrat vote fair and square. That means the Democrats lost the White House fair and square. We all know that Sanders polled higher than Clinton against Trump, we all knew it before the convention. The party and the DNC chose to run an establishment candidate against a populist at a time when the establishment was extremely unpopular;
- And no, blaming the Sanders holdouts and third party voters doesn't a) change the fact that Clinton lost, b) change the fact that Trump won because a whole lot of people are pissed off at the establishment, c) change the fact that Clinton made some pretty noteworthy tactical blunders (like assuming blue states would stay blue without so much as "hi there" visit), d) change the fact that no one owes any politician their vote, or e) make said Sanders holdouts and third party voters any more eager to support the Democrat ticket in 2020. That's no way to get that support back in 2020;
- it could be that everyone has a hard lesson to learn from this election: the populists who voted for Trump need to learn that both parties are part of the problem, and I think they will learn that the establishment is going to protect itself against populism with everything it has. And maybe the Democrats need to step back and re-evaluate their party platform -who they represent, and how;
- In the meantime, here's what you (we) should do: anticipate that Trump will make a lot of things worse for a lot of people, and be ready to fight back on a daily basis. Put on your safety pin. Get involved in politics beyond just voting - voting is the bare minimum required; it's your civic duty so if you just voted you don't even have the right to complain. Donate more to charities that support the people that Trump's administration will piss all over - either time or money. Sign petitions. Whatever you can do to fight the good fight until 2018 (midterm elections) at best, but probably at least until 2020;
- I'm looking forward to next year, just to see the fireworks between not just Dems and GOP, but between establishment and populist. Who will the Republicans hate more- establishment Democrats or the outsider?
- the electoral college has been here ever since the founding of the Republic; it ain't going anywhere anytime soon. Deal with it. And it's not to blame anyway; the fact that states give all electoral votes to whoever won is why Trump won so handily. If all states awarded them proportionately (as Maine and Nebraska and only Maine and Nebraska do), Clinton would have won.