A Few Election Related Comments
First, I am not surprised at the results for the simple reason that I have long believed that the first woman to become President of the U.S. will be a Republican. My logic is that a high enough percentage of the right wing would not submit to having a woman in power, so would only vote for a woman if doing so could be perceived as a sort of ideological purity. There are a handful of Republican woman who I would find acceptable (say, Susan Collins), but they are also the ones least likely to be nominated.
Second, I think there's a big neglected psychological factor in how the candidates presented themselves. I believe Hillary is a classic introvert and that made her suspicious in her dealings with the media and led to the perception of secretiveness. For what it's worth, extroverts tend to be perceived as warmer and are trusted more.
Third, I can't help but notice that two of the states that flipped and gave the election to Trump are North Carolina and Wisconsin, which are among the states with the greatest efforts at voter suppression. That is entirely speculative on my part, of course.
Finally, for the people who claim Sanders could have beat Trump, I sincerely doubt it. The same people who wouldn't vote for a woman wouldn't vote for a Jew or a socialist and certainly not someone who is both. I think Joe Biden might conceivably have done better, though he certainly hasn't been immune to attacks of hoof-in-mouth syndrome. But it's a moot point as circumstances prevented him from entering the fray.
As for what to do now, we've had repugnant politicians before, though I am not sure there have been any in my lifetime who are quite as vulgar. But trying to go around the system just plays into his hands. Work the system for all it's worth to protect the vulnerable and to keep Trump from destroying the country.
For those who want there to be a new party, I'm with you, but it has to start at the lower levels. I will offer up my Congressional district as one that is ripe for a third party, as our one-time liberal Republican congresscritter was forced out of office by the extremism of the party (he has said this himself, so it isn't speculation on my part) and the Democrat who replaced him a few elections ago is unlikeable and unliked, but has run unopposed twice now. My vision of what a new party should look like is probably not the same as yours, since I am a Radical Centrist of the Dead Armadillo stripe (i.e. firmly middle of the road) but we can talk.
Second, I think there's a big neglected psychological factor in how the candidates presented themselves. I believe Hillary is a classic introvert and that made her suspicious in her dealings with the media and led to the perception of secretiveness. For what it's worth, extroverts tend to be perceived as warmer and are trusted more.
Third, I can't help but notice that two of the states that flipped and gave the election to Trump are North Carolina and Wisconsin, which are among the states with the greatest efforts at voter suppression. That is entirely speculative on my part, of course.
Finally, for the people who claim Sanders could have beat Trump, I sincerely doubt it. The same people who wouldn't vote for a woman wouldn't vote for a Jew or a socialist and certainly not someone who is both. I think Joe Biden might conceivably have done better, though he certainly hasn't been immune to attacks of hoof-in-mouth syndrome. But it's a moot point as circumstances prevented him from entering the fray.
As for what to do now, we've had repugnant politicians before, though I am not sure there have been any in my lifetime who are quite as vulgar. But trying to go around the system just plays into his hands. Work the system for all it's worth to protect the vulnerable and to keep Trump from destroying the country.
For those who want there to be a new party, I'm with you, but it has to start at the lower levels. I will offer up my Congressional district as one that is ripe for a third party, as our one-time liberal Republican congresscritter was forced out of office by the extremism of the party (he has said this himself, so it isn't speculation on my part) and the Democrat who replaced him a few elections ago is unlikeable and unliked, but has run unopposed twice now. My vision of what a new party should look like is probably not the same as yours, since I am a Radical Centrist of the Dead Armadillo stripe (i.e. firmly middle of the road) but we can talk.