I was up late–for me, which isn’t all that late– watching the returns. I went to bed long before the overall results were known. This morning, I need time to process the results, to see what I think the votes–and the games that were played and the lies that were told and the money that was raised and spent– are telling us.
We know some things, of course.
To paraphrase a Texas pundit, this wasn’t a persuasion election. It was a mobilization election. Americans are as polarized as I have ever seen them; the question was never how to appeal to the undecideds, because there weren’t enough of them to matter. The question was whether the majorities of Americans who have steadfastly disapproved of President Trump would register that displeasure in sufficient numbers to constitute the hoped-for “blue wave.”
The people I know personally–Republican and Democrat alike–understood what was at stake, and they lined up at the polls as soon as early voting began. For their part, Trump voters have enthusiastically embraced the party’s rejection of everything America stands for. Fear and bigotry predicted their presence at the the polls.
Those were the givens.
What we didn’t know and couldn’t predict was whether the enormous numbers of Americans who don’t follow politics and rarely bother to vote would be more engaged this time around. We didn’t know and couldn’t predict how many votes Democrats would lose to Republicans’ vote suppression, gerrymandering, fear-mongering and race-baiting. We hoped but couldn’t know whether young voters would finally begin to turn out, or whether the polls were more accurate than in 2016.
We hypothesized–but couldn’t know for sure–that increased turnout would give us that hoped-for “blue wave.”
To say that I have been a basket case leading up to yesterday would be an understatement. But I certainly wasn’t alone. (Two of my sons sent me this SNL clip, which they said was an accurate portrayal …)
I think it is fair to say that the huge blue wave I wanted didn’t materialize.When I went to bed last night, the results were far more mixed and ambiguous than I had hoped.
It seems inconceivable to me that the revulsion that I (and everyone I know) feel for Trump and his intentional appeals to the most despicable elements of our society wouldn’t manifest itself in the election results. I thought the enormous increase in turnout–and the polls– were confirmation of my assumption.
The data is still coming in. I need to examine it, and determine just how precarious our situation is, and just how much danger the voters in our stubbornly Red states pose to what used to be America.
I’m afraid it won’t be enough. This is what we were/are up against:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/04/america-minority-rule-voter-suppression-gerrymandering-supreme-court
Without the decisive rejection we needed yesterday, the GOP will not rethink Trumpism. I fear that we (especially members of minority groups) better have our passports at the ready.
thanks everyone,we held our breath,but we still have issues,but mueller may be free to carry on. trumps run away train is slowing down. at least we have some decorum coming back to goverment.. i hope the dems,will shoot back,as it happened,in the face of those whos name is on every move to discredit the people. now, lets change the speakers name..pelosi should sit down and listen..
That pretty much sums it up. Now comes the lawsuits in several states like Georgia and Texas but the courts in those states will side with the GOP. What took place in Georgia should make Uncle Sam’s blood boil but I doubt that it will.
Sherrod Brown in Ohio embraced progressives and won. Donnelly embraced conservatives and lost.
The news about all the broken polling machines in New York falls on the Governor. Lots of issues which will make for some interesting inquiries or investigations.
Andrew Gillum cast aside Bernie for Hillary and lost in Florida. He flopped on Universal Healthcare after a visit from Hillary giving the state to a racist. Bravo!
Time for new leadership at the DNC and DCCC. Either embrace progressive causes which put the people first or expect more and more losses to racists and Nazis. Nancy and Chuck need to go bye-bye and let younger more progressive leaders speak for the party.
I doubt the corporate media will embrace progressivism because they are still run by large multinational conglomerates who control the message with the help of censorship.
The House will help slow down Trump and there will be a record number of diverse women entering Congress. We should hear some interesting debates in Congress as the diversity will make it sound more like America vs a white Christian patriarchy.
My takeaway is I underestimated Nazism in this country and the years of propaganda washed onto the eyes and ears of U.S. citizens. I’ll be looking at foreign perspectives today. They have to be disappointed as well.
We failed to attack the ground zero of the virus of hatred that has energized Trumpism. You can’t do that through partisan politics, nor thru the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Using the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we lacked the necessary “civic courage” to face-up to that central problem. It’s that simple.
The last count I saw for the Florida gubernatorial election is so close, it should call for an automatic recount. My only surprise about the Donnelly loss was the vast difference in numbers; but, like those Bernie Bots who ignored Bernie Sanders plea to vote for Hillary as a vote against Trump, Indiana Dems ignored the many realities of our perilous situation.
I have deep regrets at the loss by Stacey Abrams and Beto O’Rourke; their elections were vital to the country, not only their home states. Kim Davis is O-U-T of her family’s Kentucky Clerk’s Office; she had replaced her mother and was elected twice. Two lesbian governors and her ousting is a major step forward for all LGBTQs; can it add up to preventing Rev. Pence from taking Indiana’s RFRA to the national level. These election results are all interlaced and all vital to all of us; beginning at the local level all the way to the Oval Office. I saw in increase in women elected but no report on Blacks who were running. I still haven’t seen the results for Indiana Democratic candidates Rep. Forestal and City Councilor David Ray. As Sheila warned us earlier; these local elections all matter in the final count.
There were so many issues at stake in this mid-term election which will affect the future for all of us; didn’t Democratic voters understand this? Along with Sheila; I’m waiting for the final count to know if recovering the House will provide the needed protection from Trump for this country and for the state of Indiana.
Should have voted blue!
A vignette from the Precinct where I was the Clerk: 3 precincts share the space. When a first time voter appears, she is applauded by all present. I say ‘she’ because the first timers I could see were all female! And black. Admittedly not scientific, but perhaps an omen.
The lesson that the Indiana Democrat Party refuses to learn is that ten percent of their base will put principle before political expediency every time.
Wayne,
At the rate things are going, by the time Trump is through, voting will be an afterthought.
“Republicans will pitch this as a split decision, because they gain seats in the Senate. It’s not; the Senate map was highly favorable to them, meaning that maintaining control of it was expected. Democrats just took over a chamber of Congress, and that’s a big thing for them, period.
Their math when it comes to winning the Senate in coming elections got tougher, but they now have a seat at the table in Washington.”
Copied and pasted from a Washington Post article by Aaron Blake, 11/7/2018 at 4:10 AM. That “seat at the table” is a first step; but will not be a step forward till January 1, 2019, a ray of hope in the darkness.
“The data is still coming in. I need to examine it, and determine just how precarious our situation is, and just how much danger the voters in our stubbornly Red states pose to what used to be America.”
As Sheila says, “The data is still coming in.” And our darkness continues as long as Republicans remain in total control of Congress, they can still pull that seat out from under us in the days ahead. But we are in a slightly better position today than we were yesterday; something to hang onto, we woke up yesterday with nothing.
I’m trying to feel encouraged that more people voted – especially younger people. I’m disheartened (and shocked) that I live in a state where so many people have values so vastly different than my own. More motivated than ever to do what I can personally to live my values and to help those on the margins. I can’t control the direction of my country but I can control the direction of my actions.
Ruth, you put it beautifully. Thank you.
The most unfortunate thing to happen was that the Senate is still red. The Senate and 45 will continue to pack the courts with unqualified idealogues and the most crooked cabinet in American history will probably become even more crooked. Think about that; more crooked than the Teapot Dome, more crooked than the Grant administration, in fact more crooked than both combined. It will take decades to recover our environment from the damage they have already perpetrated.
God help us, we are who we seemed to be.
People are scared; and when someone is so scared they don’t know what to do, they do what they’ve always done because it’s always worked. And when someone is bombarded with information they can’t assimilate (for whatever reason…), they shut down and do the same thing they’ve always done. It’s all about education. We can’t stop people from believing lies. Maybe we can just get louder and more frequent with calling them out until the truth feels more comfortable than lies.
Cheryl,
“It’s all about EDUCATION. We can’t stop people from believing lies. Maybe we can just get louder and more frequent with calling them out until the truth feels more comfortable than lies.”
Thanks Cheryl. That’s our only answer. They need to understand the, eventual, END GAME of all their hatred. The CONSEQUENCES will be UNAVOIDABLE. The Germans, because of their Nazi history, understand our predicament much better than we do. They’ve had to deal with another, similar, END GAME. All the FACTS are there.
Thankfully, the heavy hand of a wanna-be fascist has been lifted. He is going to go into full campaign mode is my bet – that is all he knows is adulation – he will tell you he shits gold if it will get you to be ‘on his side.’ But now he is going to get it back in spades (for his personality) and you will see the ‘real core’ in trump – it is a mass of personalities and lies; there is nothing else in thiere! Be prepared. One of two scenarios come to mind – We see more domestic terrorism in a variety of forms and he attempts a full-on martial law (to end the ‘terrorism’.) Now this is granted, my somewhat pessimistic thinking – but then when you examine his track to now, you will realize it could be close to what he is thinking, and those behind him! Don’t forget he owes the Russians, he owes the Chinese Mob, and I think I know why he is so ‘against’ MS13 – He is indebted to their Mob syndicate – the real syndicate. Oh I forgot the Jewish Mob – what do you think ‘mr. clean’ Jered Kushner is doing all the time in Israel? (Wonder where the idea to shoot rock and stick throwers came from? Think about it but not too long.) The second scenario – we see a greater bi-partisan participation and government gets actually moving for Americans again – and he just decides ‘to quit.’… Knowing his personality profile, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t try at some point. Of course with this in mind – we may see him get us into a real war – just to stop the dogs of justice on his ass. And that is what I have not been able to shake. He is evil if there ever was such a thing. But the People spoke! And we have a chance, albeit a slim one – but maybe we can save ourselves from ourselves! Let’s see what happens. P.S. I voted for all the Women I could – being from Minnesota – yes I helped vote a Muslim into the House! I just hope we can see all of them bring some reason to the over abundance of testosterone that has embarrassed this man many times over. Perhaps this addition of the ‘other half of Humanity’ will bring some semblance of reason and dignity to our government. (One can hope!) You do realize the push for an Equal Rights Amendment could be re-framed in its entirety now… Maybe?)
“Dennis Hof, a brothel owner who died last month, overwhelmingly won an election to Nevada’s State Assembly on Tuesday.
Hof, a reality-television star touted as the state’s most well-known pimp, ran as an outspoke Republican for Nevada’s Assembly District 36 before he died in October at the age of 72. Due to state law, however, he remained on the ballot and the state’s leading GOP officials had urged voters to still cast their ballots for him in order to deprive Democrats of the chance to flip the seat.
The Nevada Independent noted that signs had been posted at polling places throughout Hof’s district informing voters that he had died, but some estimates say he still won about 63 percent of the vote regardless.”
This is an example of the current Republican party still in full control of both Senate and House. “The Nevada Republican Party will now be responsible for filling the dead man’s office.” Hopefully; they opt for a living, breathing person. Prostitution is legal in some counties in Nevada but not all; that is a moot point at this time, how is it legal to run a dead candidate? This has happened before in this country and the candidate was elected…and probably only in this country.
Do any of you watch the series “The Walking Dead”? Just askin’
Professor Roger Beaumont laid it all out in “The Nazis’ March to Chaos: The Hitler Era Through the Lenses of Chaos-Complexity Theory” published in 2000.
if the dems grow some backbone,and biden and bernie do some stormin,maybe they will get some public media.. whats the issue?,,maybe im looking at a far greater hide away issue, seems the trump mob all calls for the creation of jobs,,wow,so,many jobs,big deal..maybe a real time account of sure jobs,but when they only defend the cost of living,and staying as close to broke or the poverty line,maybe the dems should just say it,wages have been stagnate for 40 years,why support wall streets rhelm of profit,when were seriously tired of just making it.this is where we kick the wall street demos to the curb,and make a public shaming of their atttempt to to hide the profits,that,we the working class,see it all going to the top,and we do all the work. time,for change,time for this voice to be heard above all. when wall street delibertly controls the economy by extortion,holding growth,unless their needs are met,first….the republicans are well aware of this as are the dems. if you look at the sudden jump after trumps swearing in, it goes to show whos really in control. time to remove that control,and change it. real time spending should be on main street,not wall street. they have tooooo much control. if we all made a decent wage,we wouldnt be dieing from the lack of care. we could afford it.. time to pickapart the profit,and send it to the working class,again…
How about Duncan Hunter and that other wanker in New York who are under Federal felony indictments by the dozen? They got reelected too. I guess they’ll have to legislate from their jail cells. There is no more perfect scenario for Republicans than these two assholes. They and their voters personify the 5th Avenue crowd, don’t they?
BUT there is one name to keep on your front burner: Adam Schiff. I think he is quivering with anticipation about re-opening the investigations that his pathetic Trump dog Nunes ignored. I can hardly wait until January.
While the wave (as we would define it) did not materialize, there were offsetting “waves” yesterday. We Democrats were motivated (if insufficiently) but so were our opponents so that, relatively speaking, our wave turned out to be a ripple. I was disappointed with some of the high-profile losses we had yesterday in Texas, Georgia and Florida, but there were no blowouts, and with old white racists dying off and activated women in the mix the future looks good, if delayed. That day is coming, and our task is to survive until it arrives.
A House majority will finally break the silence of the spineless GOP when Trump lies, his tax returns will be available to House committees, Mueller’s efforts will be protected, and subpoena power will be utilized to check out Don’s Russian money laundering and other such intertwining business arrangements with the Kremlin and others etc., and while the Senate and Trump’s veto pen will see to it that corrective legislation from the House doesn’t go anywhere, such proposed legislation will highlight the depths to which this emolument-deaf president has gone and is going, and if the evidence is what I think it will be, the Senate will have to find Trump guilty on the House’s and Mueller’s impeachment findings or themselves be voted out in a bloodbath next election.
I am not happy with some of our high profile individual losses yesterday, particularly in Georgia, Texas and Florida, but all is not lost. Democracy is the big winner with the House majority in Democratic hands with the return of the checks and balances Madison envisioned, so the “election” is not over and never will be because democracy must be nourished 24-7, and especially now with fascist inmates running two branches of the asylum.
Geopolitical influences rule the day, as they always have, which means geology rules politics: location, location, location.
In America, it boils down to rural versus urban. Americans are not brainwashed by government or corporate rascality; they are conditioned by population density of the particular geography in which they live — the country road or traffic-congested boulevard, the pastoral countryside or the zero lot line, the uniformity of human appearance or the diversity of cultures, the people’s eleventh grade (average) education or the population of college degrees, the needlessness or the efficacy of regulations and rules — but it is the geography that dictates all.
Foreign exchange programs were invented to foster inter-cultural understanding between residents of different countries. I purport the difference between American urban culture and American rural culture is now greater than cultural differences between any two countries of the world. So, perhaps, it is time to invent a cultural exchange program in America through which young individuals spend a year walking in the shoes of their opposite culture, as well as a regularly occurring series of encounter groups in which individuals of both rural and urban culture must interact, interplay and interthink with each other.
Or …it is time to invent a new government by which neither urban nor rural citizens have to live, work or play under rules imposed by the other, except in matters of mutual defense or any other overriding matter agreed upon by treaty. Think of the country being organized into 200 or so “reservations”, each similar to an Indian Reservation, homogenous appearance, similar prosperity, same basic religion, education, values, etc., fitting together geographically like a child’s puzzle. Hopefully, the thought of such a thing encounters in each mind a conscious instinct that there has to be a better way.
It appears that the constant “threat” of a blue wave in the news brought out the R voters to make sure that didn’t happen. In addition, the bigots were emboldened even more than usual by trump and by fox noise, hannity, limbaugh and their ilk. I cannot even imagine how high their blood pressure goes when they listen to those liars.
How in the world do we beat them without playing by their ugly rules? I am a believer in fighting fire with fire, but I have my limits.
FYI, when I chose to run for the office of Township Trustee as a Democrat I was not wearing rose colored glasses. I knew that if I switched parties and ran as I Republican I could easily win, but that would mean selling my soul, which I could not do. The man that won as an R did so with 70% of the votes. He had no platform, no ideas, no qualifications, nothing. He just ran. That is all you have to do if you are a republican – run and you will get the votes. It is sad.
A bit of good news in the Indiana Senate J.D. Ford (D) has defeated Mike Delph (R). At least for a month before the election I received in the mail one hatchet job mailer after another from Delph against J.D. Ford.
In 2014, Delph tweeted his frustration about a delayed vote on a gay marriage ban. Delph championed the ban, which included language that would also bar civil unions. Delph lashed out at members of his own party, the media and the “self absorbed Godless culture that is fast tracking our nation to ruin.”
Well what goes around comes around: J.D. Ford is the first openly gay person elected to the Indiana General Assembly.
The Corporate Democratic Party is making a huge mistake in thinking you can “Reach across the Aisle”, because past experience has demonstrated when the Democrats do so their hand is hacked off.
Joe Donnelly has just found this out.
Hopefully, Nancy Pelosi will step down, or get voted out of her leadership position.
Ruth spoke for me. Well said. Very intriguing idea thoughtfully posed by Larry Kaiser. Urban Rural Exchange Program to build future leaders. Please Larry, OH please!! … do not send me to Norris, Montana.
There is no solace in democrats taking back the House of Representatives. Every election feels like another defeat no matter the outcome. The facts are that Trump has run his mouth non-stop for two years and has overtly divided the country by stoking fear and racism and hate, and it was all brushed aside by too many voters. The only thing that will rouse these people from the trance is economic punishment in the form of job losses and higher prices at the market. Looks like Trump is solid for second term, unless the “leadership” in the democratic party can start connecting the dots and generate a message to entice voters.
daleb – I disagree with Trump’s prospects in 2020. We Democrats won last night by an aggregate of 10.2 million votes at a national level, which strongly suggests that Trump is through (assuming he is still around to run and the electoral college doesn’t end majority rule once again). We had a wave win last night, but our opponents had one of their own, too, thus reducing our positive optic. I think Trump will be lucky to be around for the 2020 fracus in view of the investigations of his criminal activities over the last 40 years, continuing to today. He may have a new address – Leavenworth, Elba, or some embassy in Moscow.
Mueller got what he needed and has been waiting for, a house willing to hold Trump and his thugs accountable. His investigation can now be revealed and dealt with.
I personally see no way for the economy to hold between now and 2020. Unfortunately that means significant suffering primarily among the Republican base. Will that wake them up? Of course Trump will blame it on the Democratic House and some of his base will believe that lie just like they believe the daily lies he’s fed them in the last two years.
I believe that we can say that Americans have accomplished step one. The journey back has begun but there be dragons beyond.
Let’s look at the positive side. We could have lost the House of Representatives. If nothing else, it gives us some breathing room to regroup for the long haul.
We’re dealing with a FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE. Hopefully, by 2020, we will be, PROPERLY, re-organized for the challenge.
Our first priority should be creating and applying an ANTIDOTE for the virus [meme]of hatred that Trump has continued to make more VIRULENT both here and, thru Steve Bannon, also abroad.
I went to the Southport HS Trump rally to do a little primary source research. I did not see the problems the protesters reported, because I got directly into line and did not see the protesters. However, what I did see scared the hell out of me. The Trump supporters are everyday middle class Americans, and they don’t just love him, they *adore* him. I can’t put that strongly enough. (Worship?) And I can’t think of anything short of a major disaster that will change that adoration before the next presidential election. Furthermore, the rally itself was wrapped in the flag, patriotism, and veterans. They prayed, recited the pledge of allegiance, sang the national anthem, and generally sent the message that if you are against Trump, you are a traitor to your nation. We have big trouble ahead, because these people’s feet are mired in concrete, and they have no moral base from which to make good decisions.
I am dismayed that Hoosiers elected Mike Braun who believes in the “free market” of health care. I got my RN licensure in 1972 when no nurse had to worry about being downsized. All that economic strategy has done is raise the price of health care including medications so high that many Hoosiers can’t afford it. It has placed profit as a the highest priority, not quality care for the sick. He also supports Trump who has damaged the financial security of farmers in Indiana. What do they not understand? In my opinion, anyone who supports Trump, does not believe that the president should have a solid moral foundation.
I am very glad that JD Ford won! To me that’s a rebuttal to RFRA and homophobia! I am also glad that quite a few women won their races in the house. We need to keep creating diversity in our representatives in both the state of Indiana and in the federal government.
Ruth, Cheryl, and Marv: Your comments are brief and you nailed it! Surely we have learned something from this election cycle. At least we regained the House. Fight on!
Things turned out better than I feared–but not much. The Blue wave came in, but with just depth enough to wet one’s ankles.
Todd is dead wrong–dead wrong–about Gillum. He did not embrace Hillary. His campaign was focused on health care (among other issues) from the beginning. His loss is tragic, as is Nelson’s. Scott is one of the most corrupt politicians in history and will not just refuse to help the disadvantage, but will use them for target practice.
Marv: Please define “central problems.” Gillum, Beto and Abrams were excellent candidates with a progressive message. They failed not because of their positions but be because of the countervailing Red wave of bigotry. A great loss for all of us.
I suggest reading How Fascism Works, Jason Stanley 2018 for a more timely and accurate portrayal of the current situation.
I hear you, Sheila, but if you take a look at the total number of Democrat vs. Republican votes that were cast, several million more votes went for Democrats nationally overall. That’s not counting provisional ballots and voters whose names were struck from the voter rolls in places like Georgia. There WAS a blue wave. It just wasn’t fully effective, due to gerrymandering.
As usual, Indiana proved it is a state heavily tilted toward ignoramuses* who enthusiastically support the racist, xenophobic and misogynistic values espoused by Trump and Braun. But, that’s also why no matter the amount of incentives offered to companies like Amazon, they won’t come here. Aaron Renn wrote a piece yesterday saying that Crystal City, VA and a location in Queens, NY would share in being Amazon’s HQ2. He opined that the reason was that the top talent Amazon it needs to shape a successful future simply don’t want to live in places like Indianapolis, or even Chicago, which is more cosmopolitan. Thank you, Mike Braun.
For my part, I make it a point that I will never do business with any company located in Kentucky, because it gave us Mitch McConnell, nor will I ever again vacation in the Carolinas. These places give us the most toxic and un-American politicians whose negative and partisan conduct will affect America for generations. I make it a point to let businesses located in those states know I am boycotting them for that reason, too.
*Sorry, but there really isn’t any better descriptor for people who fall for Trump and his rhetoric. There are some worse words and phrases that could be used.
Although the outcome of the election was not all that we had hoped for nationally, retaking the house –which was the essential bottom line for trying to work back toward a salvageable democracy–was accomplished. Here in Minnesota, Democrats swept all the major state offices, mostly by large margins, and the state house of representatives was returned to Democratic control for the first time in eight years (the Republicans retain a one vote majority in the state senate). Keith Ellison was elected as state Attorney General in spite of a bogus smear campaign. The county (Hennepin) which includes Minneapolis elected the first openly gay sheriff in the Midwest, ousting the ICE-loving Trump-backing twelve year incumbent. In Wisconsin Scott Walker appears to have lost–a huge rebuke to Trump. While the candidates I sent money to in Georgia, Texas, Indiana, and Ohio all lost, they were strong candidates and they will be back. All in all, my sense of dread and despair has backed off quite a bit. While the results were not as positive in many states as in Minnesota and Wisconsin I think we all have some things to be quite happy about.
JoAnn,
“can it add up to preventing Rev. Pence from taking Indiana’s RFRA to the national level?”
Do you think Pence learned no lesion when he was smacked down in Indiana for copycatting RFRA and screwing it up? What is the matter with these people in high offices who are learning disabled in the present case being led by the shortcircuited leader-in-chief?
It’ll be fun to watch the effects of the Midterm Elections and the budding leadership of the likes of Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell.
Next is the election of new committee chairpeople, their interpretation of their mandates and the new dawn in January. Despite his usual bluster, Trump revealed that he received the message of the Midterms actually with words of praise for Nancy Pelosi. At his meeting with the press this afternoon he showed signs of some contrition…..we’ll see if that’s Fake News.
I think his former handlers will not let him do it; there’s too much at stake leading to 2020
Natacha – great comment.
Right there with you: afraid the gains are not enough. We must move forward, though, celebrating the wins we accomplished. And now Sessions is out. Good time to go see a movie?
Sherry,
I don’t know how you mustered the strength and courage to stand among the trump supporters. Kudos to you for your research.
How frightening to find out that they actually adore him.
Well it IS after the mid-term elections and Sessions IS gone; replaced by someone worse who has not recused himself from the Mueller Russian investigation. Like a cobra; Trump strikes fast in retaliation but we are waiting for his follow-up, there is more to this than we have seen the past 2-3 hours. Hell hath no fury like a demon with retaliation seeking a target…and WE are in his cross hairs.
We may still be up “Shit Creek” but we now have a paddle (The House)
Wray,
“Marv: Please define “central problems.”
I don’t recollect using the words “central problems.” Were you referring to my use of the term “fundamental change”in my post at 11.28 a.m.? A fundamental change is a game changer. It differs from, for example, a technical change. When that occurs you have to come up with a new game plan to have a positive effect.
The election of Donald Trump was a game changer, as was the election of Adolph Hitler as Germany’s Chancellor in 1934.
The Republican Party [Tea Party] has been using strategy and tactics straight out of a Nazi-playbook for many years. Just like in a football game, we have to counter with the knowledge gained from an anti-Nazi playbook to have a fighting chance. There were some magnificent anti-Nazi minds during that era, notwithstanding the holocaust: such as Oster, Canaris, Rauschning, Reuter, Bonhoeffer, Brandt, Foerster, Cassirer, and Bloch, just to name a few. Unfortunately, most of them failed to move quick enough to counter the ingenious propaganda campaign put together by Josef Goebbels. Oster, Canaris, Bonhoeffer, and Bloch were all executed.
We’re fortunate to be in the enviable position to learn from their mistakes. We don’t have to lose the “big one.”
Most important to remember:
“I skate to where the puck is gonna be, not where it has been.”
~Wayne Gretzky, the great National Hockey League player
Marv:
Mea culpa. In an earlier post you referred to “the central problem,” not “problems.” I must have conflated a couple of your posts. Actually my defense of Beto, Gillum and Abrams supported your thought.
Wray,
Sorry for my misinterpretation. I’ll take full responsibility for my prior post. No need for a dual execution.
As someone else opined today, there was a blue wave in the House and gubernatorial races and a red ripple in the U.S. Senate.
Sad as the red ‘ripple’ was, overcoming the gerrymandered Republican House districts was MONUMENTAL in enabling the Democrats to gain the majority. To do so with House members to spare was even more monumental.
Overtaking several gubernatorial seats and a good number of state legislative seats should help several states overturn Republican gerrymandering in their states.
I wish Indiana would have joined the blue wave, but there is much to celebrate. Hopefully there’s even more on the way where absentee and provisional ballots are still being counted. It’s not over til all the votes are counted.
Now for another view –
I had very mixed feelings last night – there was good and there was bad. The Senate was lost, but that always was a long shot. At one time I thought Donnelly would win, but the last few weeks changed that. His “rhetoric on both sides” ad equated yelling at Sarah Sanders with urging someone to kill the Jews and the Blacks and — anyone different. I felt the steam going out as he tried to prove his bonafides as “I’m pro-Trump, no I am independent, no Trump, no ….”.
On the other side, I had never seen turnout like yesterday, and that was after satellite early voting. Also, my home precinct is Republican – always was. No more. More democratic votes were cast in that precinct – a first. Monotonous already mentioned JD Ford’s victory. Given the candidate and the strength of his campaign, I am not surprised.
Today is a brighter day. The Republicans increased their Senate lead, but they didn’t knock off Tester in Montana and Rosen beat Heller in Nevada. The Democrats took back the House, despite gerrymandering and voter suppression. Democrats have taken back some seven or eight Governors’ seats, including in Wisconsin. Hundreds more local legislative seats have now become Democratic.
Being from Detroit, with my brother still in Michigan, I can report that Democrats took the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General and one of the two Supreme Court seats. Two Congressional seats were flipped. Additionally, Oakland County (Detroit’s northwest suburbs) has long been the main Republican stronghold. The County Commission, for the first time in history, has a Democratic majority.
Then we can look at the ballot measures. Three or four states passed measures calling for independent redistricting commissions (thank you ACLU and others). In addition, Michigan also restored straight party voting, provided for same day registration, no-reason absentee voting and automatic registration (opt-out, not opt-in). Florida will restore voting rights to citizens with felony records.
I look at the Republican efforts, voter suppression and fear mongering, as the last gasps of those about to lose power. Granted, I have lived in mostly Democratic states before moving to Indiana, but I don’t remember the “if my opponent wins there will be rioting and raping and murder and a destroyed economy and and and” ads like this time.
The point I am making is that yesterday was the first step, and even if it looked smaller than we hoped, it was the first step of a long march back to normalcy. If we throw up our hands, we will be like those voter’s Chris Hayes interviewed in Flint, Michigan, who would only vote IF a candidate excited them. However, if we recognize that we have taken the first step of a long journey and we continue, we will prevail.
Note to JoAnn – Dennis Hof is not the first dead person elected to office. There have been a few. Although she was not dead, I did vote for Gladys Spellman for Congress (she received some 80% of the vote). She was a fine Representative and better when I voted for her than many current Representatives — did I mention that she was in a coma and not expected to recover?