As I said yesterday, political finger-pointing is utterly beside the point. Harris ran a masterful campaign–unfortunately, she was female and Black, running against a man who encouraged people to vote their misogyny and bigotries.
As I also said yesterday, the election results weren’t political–they were cultural.
The best analysis I’ve seen was from Talking Points Memo.
That analysis began with what we all saw: this was a campaign “fought directly over the issues of democracy, rule of law, basic decency and respect, and protection for the marginalized.” Those were the principles and values that lost–soundly. As David Kurtz wrote, this wasn’t another fluke of our crazy Electoral College.
The dark path ahead was chosen clearly and unequivocally: With 51%, Trump is on track to win a majority of the popular vote. Second, Trump will win without undue reliance on the quirks of our 18th century anti-majoritarian constitutional structure.
There is clarity in that result. This is who we are. Not all of us, but a majority of us. It presents a stark picture of America in 2024, without sugarcoating or excuse. It makes it harder to fool yourself about the task at hand, which is an enormous cultural one more than a political one.
Donald Trump’s win isn’t the product of a constitutional quirk. It’s not the result of a poorly conceived or executed campaign by Kamala Harris. It’s not a messaging failure or a tactical error or a strategic blunder. Other broader dynamics at play – like a post-pandemic revulsion toward incumbents or an anti-inflation backlash – are too limited in their scope and specific in their focus to account for the choice that was made: Donald Trump. It would be a category error to ascribe our current predicament to a political failure.
If politics is merely a reflection of culture, then we get to see that reflection clearly and sharply as the sun comes up this morning. If you don’t like what you see, don’t blame the mirror.
There’s a lesson here: don’t expect politics to fix a cultural problem. Kurtz isn’t counseling us to ignore politics–although he also reminds us that we are at risk of losing the mechanisms for achieving political results – the threats to free and fair elections, majority rule, and the rule of law itself will make politics much harder. What he is doing is reminding us that what needs to change is the culture.
For those of us who believe in the rule of law, a pluralistic society, and standing up to unkind people who engage in hurting others as public blood sport, we’re going to have to take a long view toward promoting those principles in all aspects of our culture so that they are ultimately reflected in our politics in a way they simply are not now. I recognize that many of us have already been doing this slow and steady work, which makes the overnight result even more discouraging. It remains an enormous, decades-long task, but it is something each of us can engage in without uprooting our lives or changing professions or moving abroad.
With respect to the political tasks we face, he reminds us that marginalized and the disenfranchised folks are always hurt first and that it will be worse this time because hurting them has been advertised as the point.
The challenge before us is enormous. It is not a challenge any of us signed up for. It’s been foisted upon us. The past decade has felt like a detour from the lives and aspirations we had hoped to have. I feel a special empathy for those who came of age in the 1960s at the peak of Great Society reforms and have spent their adults lives witnessing their erosion. Those of us with an act or two left, and especially those with their whole lives still to dedicate to making America better than she is presenting right now, owe it to those whose time is ending to summon our essential optimism, roll up our sleeves, and get to down to the hard work that our current predicament demands. That may sound like a rallying cry, but I’m also trying to convince myself.
The first step to finding a solution to any problem is to define it accurately. Blaming campaign errors or systemic electoral issues just keeps us from recognizing the (very ugly) truth: a majority of American voters are unhappy with social changes that confer civic equality on people they consider inferior. They are unable to recognize the multiple ways those social changes actually benefit them, and they want to “return” to a time that existed only in their imaginations.
Good people have work to do.
It occurs to me this morning that our country never was a democracy, but all along it has been a plutocracy.
Sheila – I agree in part and disagree in part. Where I disagree – is that – Trump – used – some social mediaish areas – indeed focused upon them – and it reached a lot of people – more effectively – particularly young people (generally male). I think that there were tactical errors that Harris made – including: focusing significantly on reaching – Liz Chaney – like – “Republican Suburban Women – who often supported Abortion Rights” – while significantly ignoring – Progressive – more Leftish People – beyond platitudes – like – “supporting unions” – while union members – tended to vote more Republican – not feeling connected to the Campaign. Trans-phobia + Immigration Concerns + Economic Concerns + Latino (particularly male) voting – hurt her campaign badly – as well as a tendency to not be Very Specific about – what she believes in and Values Significantly – besides Abortion/Women’s Rights – and even here – a lot of Women both voted for State Initiatives Supporting Abortion Rights – and also voted for Trump. Gaza – hurt her significantly with Michigan and perhaps other states like Pennsylvania. Just looking at a Red/Blue map of how PA – voted – shows the rural – urban area divide
Sadly many of the good people in our country are making urgent plans to leave. What will they leave for the rest of us? A horror show that destroys the rule of law, a rollback of rights for women and minorities, total corruption of the Supreme Court – for DECADES to come – and a ruination of our hard-earned economic successes. Only the rich will benefit … until there is nothing from which to benefit.
The greedy oligarchs that Todd keeps telling us about are going to enjoy maybe 10 years of unregulated gains in wealth. They will flood foreign banks with their profits while denying working people adequate living salaries. The Constitution will become a quaint museum piece that Republicans will laugh at and ignore.
These are just some of the prices of abject ignorance, learned and nurtured hate and cultural bigotry echoing back from even before our Civil War. What will the next civil war look like with armed militias roaming the streets and terrorizing whoever they want? After all, the orange monster has said he will pardon those who attacked our capitol in a blatant coup attempt.
I’m glad I’m old.
We can continue to examine this election until the cows come home. The question is, how do we come back or maybe can we come back to a more fair and just society? Is it even possible to avoid a collapse to autocracy?
Pundits used to claim that the more positive candidate would win. No one was more positive than Harris. She ran a great campaign. Let’s face facts, the people of America have twice elected the worst possible leader. Each time he won, his opponent was a woman and not just a woman, but a well qualified woman. If you’re hiring and you only have resumes for two candidates, but you only have initials to identify them, you would never pick the failed businessman, with six bankruptcies and thirty-four felony convictions. Can you say misogyny?
I’m sure I don’t have to define racism. The President Elect has done that with his own actions. Muslim bans, good people on both sides, and can’t you just shoot them in the leg referring to the George Floyd protesters.
Good people have work to do? I don’t think so. Politics is flawed beyond repair. It was flawed in the Roman empire, it was flawed with one of Rome’s nanescent colonies, Britain, and it was flawed with one of Britain’s colonies, America!
The common denominator in a lot of this is, the Roman church and the protesting off shoots that constantly clashed over dogma. We can get into the religious aspect, but in reality, in the first century AD, the changes were already afoot. Money, the reach for power and finding its niche, drove those in leadership of the church to accept a political anointing, started with the emperor of Rome.
Emperor Constantine was desperate for a stabilizing influence affecting the malaise of its citizens and subjugated cultures. He noticed that Christians would stick together, and they would die for their beliefs. If he could harness that, he would reinvigorate the Roman Juggernaut. It is Constantine’s dogma, not the dogma of Christ, which controls Christianity. As a result, Christianity took on The personality of its creator, Constantine!
The Roman Church (Catholicism), became the de facto extrajudicial judges and executioners! Constantine unleashed a hatred into society that had actually been predicted by Christ and his apostles. There was no love your neighbor, there was no love God, there was no respect and help your enemy in a time of distress, no treating the foreign resident with kindness, no mercy for the widows and orphans, but just the complete opposite. The Roman Church and those that protested (Protestant) Roman Church dogma, became tools to control society and instill fear into that societal DNA.
The Knight riders, the KKK, white supremacists, The Aryan brotherhood, are the love child or children, in this mixture of politics and religion. Instead of compassion and empathy, you had destruction and bigotry!
Until this connection is demolished, until you strengthen the separation of church and state, this Frankenstein compilation of politics and religion will continue to wreak havoc and quite possibly the end of civilized society.
There’s a reason why the seat of the Roman church, is in
Italy, and the last vestiges of Roman political power all rested in the House of Habsburg! This prompted constant conflict and gave rise to British power and American influence. Until this is eradicated, societal decay will speed up exponentially, becoming more hegemonic in thought and actions!
John Sorg: Excellent distillation of religious history. It explains what many of us on this blog have been suggesting one way or another. Add in the militancy and bigotry of Islam and we have, what I think, is the formula for extinction of the species.
I just watched “Oppenheimer” the other evening, and re-learned that those guys knew that letting the nuclear genie out of the jug was an ultimately fatal mistake. And here we are.
Andy Borowitz, because of the havoc and anguish in the past week, has made his TBR Sunday Read—normally for paid subscribers—free today. Titled “What Happens Now?”, he abandons his usual satire to remind those of us who are cognizant of history that, in their times, Nixon and Reagan were perceived to be unstoppable juggernauts—until they weren’t. So, if you’re wanting to start your week with less despair and some actual hope, I highly recommend reading it. It certainly brightened my morning, gloomy, rainy weather notwithstanding.
Government cannot fix culture. Also, homo sapiens are animals, and animals live by culture, not by laws.
Freedom is a culture of self-government. Where did that come from? We have believed for 250 years that we are free.
Currency, for instance, is based on the myth that a number preceded by $ written in an imposing, official-looking script is wealth.
Like the Pope. Another instance. People who believe that royal costumes set in a royal scene with millions of fans have special powers.
Here, a tribe is convinced that a man pretending to be in charge is now in charge of us.
In Israel, people used to believe that they could get along with their neighbors. Now, they choose to kill as many of them as possible and destroy their neighborhood.
Civilization is mythical.
All kinds of post election analysis is occurring. Robert Reich believes that price increases due to inflation played a major role, not mentioned above. But wrt culture, George Carlin said it best: that the politicians voted in are simply a reflection of the voters, or more concisely, “garbage in, garbage out”
https://www.facebook.com/redheadtarn/videos/1208496567045420/
Fascinating cultural history presented by previous commenters, revealing the fact that American culture isn’t all that different. Or is it? One thing that we’ll never know – and I agree, we have to move along now, there’s nothing to see here i.e., election parsing and blaming – is what the actual effects of an extensive disinformation campaign waged by enemies within and without had on the election. We know the unfortunate broad results of misogyny and racism but the faux news planted on so many social media platforms have been found piecemeal without enough empirical evidence backup for now. That could be a good place to focus on while figuring out how to do everything possible to thwart the upcoming impact of his majesty’s actions.
I’ve never agreed with the statement “That’s not who we are!” when people refer to the bad behavior or bad decisions of others. To the contrary, “That is exactly Who We Are”.
I think he’s correct that our current politics are cultural.
To get beyond merely hand waiving at “fixing the culture”, I think facts show the cultural issue is GOP hyperpartisanship. That came first.
Then, like slowly boiling a frog, once the walls were erected, Fox et. al. could successfully & sustainably fill the space with increasingly toxic culture-shifting views and groom previously decent people into accepting or advocating ugly views far from where they began.
Toxic people are only the proximate cause.
The ULTIMATE CAUSES are toxic identity-creating/shaping media and institutions.
THOSE are what any sufficient and sustainable solution will need to deal with.
Theresa is waking up to our history and current situation – oligarchy rules this country and Europe. The clowns in Europe, including Keir Starmer, in no way are Leftists, yet the press repeats this lie over and over again.
The press believes if you are pro-abortion, understand secularism, and support gays and minorities, then you are Leftist. However, looking back at the Leftists during the 30s through the 80s, they were unionized and focused on class and anti-war. After Clinton, Leftists became pro-minorities, pro-abortion, and pro-gay, but most of all, pro-oligarchy. Clinton aligned the DNC with the global financiers on Wall Street.
Obama talked about class warfare during his campaign but abandoned that concept once elected. Epic failure. That decision reframed politics and culture for the next several decades. Clinton’s RussiaGate hoax against Trump was a total waste of time. Mueller’s report was worthless, as one would expect.
We will experience an extremely heavy dose of oligarchic rule with massive obfuscation by the media/press. When I read a detailed analysis of the election without a focus on class warfare and/or oppression, I ignore it completely. They are pandering to the oligarchy, which owns 90% of the media.
If you want to address the massive gap in wealth and income inequality, you might want to focus on unions where workers can obtain power against the capitalists. Clinton promised the working class that he had their back if they let loose of union membership. He also lied by signing multiple foreign treaties like NAFTA. High-paying jobs vanished to Mexico overnight, and our Indiana community, which relied on the auto industry, has declined ever since. Very low-paying service jobs replaced those high-paying jobs. Union jobs in Indiana make up less than 10% of the workforce. Why would the Democratic Party yield power to the oligarchy?
Kamala’s mistake was not distancing herself from Biden. I don’t know if it was out of respect for the aged Biden or what, but it was fatal to all the people down the ballot. The DNC abandoned its core members, which are union members and progressives. Until the DNC kicks Clinton and Obama to the curb and ends their chants of American Exceptionalism (which is patently false), US workers will suffer under the oligarchy.
Until the DNC announces major changes and redefines its purpose as leveling our gross wealth and income inequalities, I wouldn’t waste my time or money on the languishing party. The same goes for the press/media. If they can’t explain the class war we are experiencing, don’t waste your time listening to them. As others have described, this will be an oligarchy on steroids because they believe last week’s election was a mandate.
start with mass media. the last 9 years trump sucked up any and all wind in the news.(im sure by plan after it started) greatfully given by the right,and pushed by the left in what is believed as WTF did he say today? saturate the time with his trivial shit and sell ads. it was blanket coversge for 9 years.since we have become numb to studying issues and getting a decent conversation in edgewise,we allowed the other side to barrage our senses with cheap rehetoric and hidden words of facism. ignorance prevailed. the cell phone world was moving too fast to gather and digest what was being said.
instead it was a carney barker and the commercial media following the circus like a cheap lawyer looking for a case. constant trump, Biden was blurred out and the media sold ads. if the people who will suffer the most over this didnt understand,we failed to teach them.tribalism sure, but its ingrained, it just gathered more like a vacuum truck sucking up dead minds along the way,the ones who can not or are,too lazy to think for themselves.imagine teaching your own children to hate. imagine all those who died directly/indirectly for Democray to be forgotten..(trump said,suckers and losers) as i said to many, change that and your a hypocrite. those who you gleefully shed honors on and for serving in the armed services. you just kicked everyone of them in the nuts. My own conversations with these people doesnt lack. its in your face.if thats not cultural what is. i dont hide in a box to be seen in you hand while driving your car. we have lost touch with others.if we were the majority, we now have become the minority.
the diffrence,this is my side of the isle. i work with these people, i work with them i do not walk with them.if we can muster a new start, better demand the monied bunch to find another party to seduce. the time has come for the majority to rule. once the heritage, alec and they start throwing anyone who works under the bus, there will be retaliation. as long as we still can vote,and thats to be seen. appologize to the world over our ignorance and become how not to allow money in it. we just allowed the rest of the democracies in the world to look at us and wonder whos next. this is what you get when you allow the money to take control over your freedom to live free.
point the finger,make sure its raised high enough to be seen,and counter the first change. somewhere in America we can find someone above this and have a leader. it shouldnt take money,it should be recognized. teach and lead, and never look back, the flames are up our wazoo now. shame how young people are now mindlessly going to be led to the slaughter of authoritarianism. pinochet anyone? seems were desitn to be accountable for milions to disappear..if Germany can have a freespeach law whereas ,they can arrest dissent against its constitution,and arrest people who merely shout out far right nazism, why cant we. study the issue. DW.com is a good place to understand what is going on with such orgs like proud boys,(who will be freed now) and why. and read why we just caused a panic on all democracys
best wishes. im waiting to see as Americans,who gets culled forst.
I happen to disagree with the Professor this time. I think it was the overwhelming mass media misinformation. These people are just learning what tariffs are and are not happy. Misinformation has run tic Tok and now we are all feeling stupid for not seeing it happen right before our eyes. How many areas do the conservatives have to go to for their messages? So many! Fox, OANN, Newmax, Joe Rogan, it’s overwhelming how many locations you can find with this disinformation.
And then you have to remember, how many LIBERAL news agencies there are? MSNBC? CNN (a joke since they were purchased), where else? You see, there are very few voices out there like Heather Cox Richardson to give us historical data to understand the current topics. She and Jon Stewart did a podcast on Thursday and it was so helpful. It’s an hour long and available for free on You Tube.
If you have Amazon Prime, check out the free movie called “Bad Faith.” I watched it yesterday but honestly, I didn’t learn anything because I knew all of the trends of the religious right since Reagan was elected. John Sorg covered it well.
Since this election is over, I’ve tried my best to ignore the news but that is difficult for me as I’m a news junkie. I have to give up my hobby because of the stress it’s causing my inner soul. I don’t want to hear his name, hear his voice or see his ugly mug every time I check the news. I’m going to continue my home improvement projects and listen to music. This election affected my health and it’s not going to pile on. Onward.
Pete, and John put it together well. The religion(s) of power and money are toxic.
The cultural structures we see are arbitrary and ephemeral, but we treat them as forever entities.
The conservatives were freaked out by the ’60’s counter-culture, (Love and Peace) do not make anybody filthy rich) and were determined to undermine it. In essence, they just finished the job, aided by a “Fifth column” of the actual “enemies within.”
Vernon’s point about those leaving the country is valid, and we had contemplated doing just that, but it won’t happen. The possible nuclear war he referred to, and doing the opposite of caring for the environment, for the sake of that $, will bring on the end of humanity by the end of this century (as per Stephen Hawking), and there will be no one to write the history of the species that brought it about. The universe will not miss this particular experiment in protoplasmic hubris.
Nancy – “write on”!!! MEism rules from the top and we “bowl alone” in our “brand” while amusing ourselves to death. Politics is just culture in the mirror.
One thought that creeped into my brain after last Tuesday was President Obama’s message to Biden in 2020 when he decided to run: ” you don’t have to do this, Joe.”
A new generation of Democrats might have emerged. Not to be.
Another view from a Black man…
Trump’s victory is a good thing for the left — there is little doubt anymore that progressives, liberals, and the Democratic Party are out of touch with a majority of Americans. That corporatism and neoliberal pandering do not appeal to voters. The party of FDR somehow forgot that ambitious economic policy and good communication can shift the course of history. In the next iteration of the Democratic Party, perhaps people will be treated as individuals and not as subcategories of their group identity. Perhaps a candidate will emerge who speaks honestly to people’s hopes and fears and does not retreat to consultant-approved talking points.
Aging Girl: I agree. The media is a huge issue–one I will be addressing. Not simply the misinformation, but the fragmentation that prevents actual communication, and feeds cultural division.
I recommend reading the book “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson for clarification of the culteral class system in America.
I was just discussing this with my husband this morning. I think a huge part of this is because of lies, disinformation and misinformation from the Republican campaign. When the Republicans are dedicated to one thing, gaining and keeping power, and will use any means to achieve that end, and the Democrats, on the other hand, are an actual political party, dedicated to serving a big-tent constituency, ranging from leftist progressives to anti-trump Republicans and providing them and all Americans with actual policy, one can see that the advantages, in terms of streamlined messaging, goes to the party that can say anything and lie with impunity, as they have no actual message.
Is this who we are? Food for thought – here’s a quote from Susan Sontag: “10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and the remaining 80 percent can be moved in either direction.”
And regarding the tabloid media (we live in a tabloid environment ie. profit is the only motivation) This quote from Jon Stewart: “The bias of the mainstream media is toward sensationalism, conflict, and laziness.” I’m supporting journalism by subscribing to it. I’m supporting ACLU. I supporting Southern Poverty Law. It’s more productive to focus on our response.
I returned from Vietnam in August 1970. You may have heard of the welcome we received. We got it again last Tuesday. I acknowledge my status as a sucker and a loser in the eyes of a majority of Americans.
Touching on the issue a bit more, things that have been mentioned ad’infinitum.
Three of the major religious dogmas on this planet are the offshoot of the Abrahamic covenant. The Jews of course believed in the Abrahamic covenant, so does Islam, and so does Christianity. The Jews believe in the sanctity of the Torah, Islam believes in the sanctity of the Tevrat, Christianity believes in the sanctity of the Pentateuch! What do all these have in common? All of these books are the first five books of the Bible. The Jews believe in the Psalms, Islam believes in the Zebur, Christians believe in the Psalms. The Islamic holy book Zebur Is the Psalms. Most Jewish sects do not believe in the New testament, there are a few that do. Islam believes in the Injil (books of the Gospel), and Christianity believes in the gospel books Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
So, if, they truly wanted peace, a peaceful existence or coexistence, it wouldn’t take much to bridge the gaps. Unfortunately, the Romans polluted Judaism and the burgeoning Christianity, and slightly later, Islam. The books are identical, but the visualization of the future is unpalatable for all three because neither one actually believes what their holy books say.
How can you operate a vehicle or piece of machinery or equipment without an owner’s manual? All of these major religious groups have an owner’s manual, but, those manuals are vociferously rejected by The shepherds and the sheep of these three powerful belief dogmas.
All three religions supposedly believe in the same books, and those books talk about many things including conscience, conduct, worship, compassion and empathy, and the greatest, love! But it’s something that’s not practiced by these religions, and not encouraged by their leadership.
They are replaced by politics and philosophical teachings which are not even remotely similar to teaching from the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic law, or the law of Christ. The orthodoxy of all religion on this planet is manufactured by the echelon of the “societal caste’ all for power, wealth and influence!
This won’t continue to thrive, because this planet cannot continue to be demolished without an extinction event. And I believe, through everything that I have read, which is quite a bit. That event is coming more sooner than later!
I saw this & I enjoyed it. As I have been enjoying reading your posts and the comments. So many interesting ones. I think it’s all a combination of everything. I just hope and pray we survive. It’s a Facebook reel from a TikTok.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1102500941496929/?s=single_unit&__cft__%5B0%5D=AZXuMritNvDzI1aJY3LtKcSK3wI1MRjiplhNlZQz1QYT7ahNoAQleAicP98rZznP4_WNaTbDMXTs_f4vDIKw7rl573FFmOwJOxtNu1H49NbK-H50Lap-m_9zsuCiQhXZOV_3gTCYKzHIs02Lwg4rLgSTNtq59rp0a4oYen_kH15b_Psli-tiNqlqdlf0ny_vgfA&__tn__=H-R
Eastern thought/religions obviously aren’t well-suited to advance scientific western thought and progressive advancement. The founders based a lot of the structure of Constitution on “Enlightenment” and the freedom it takes to search out the truth and live in accordance. Authoritarian religions/governments block that freedom and usurp individual talents and power for conformity for the group or leaders.
Anyway, I can’t agree with the statement “That’s who we are” since about half of US is not. When MAGA deprivation policies start taking effect there will be some buyer’s remorse if they’re allowed to see straight. We still believe in the Bill of Rights even if some MAGAS don’t.
Rose says, “When MAGA deprivation policies start taking effect there will be some buyer’s remorse if they’re allowed to see straight.”
MAGATs will never abandon their faith in Trump or their media, and the media will never tell them the truth about their circumstances. While Biden was POTUS, it was his fault for inflation. During Trump’s presidency, it will be China’s or the Fed’s fault.
Trump will never be held accountable by the right-wing media. Neither will the preachers hold him accountable.
Render unto Ceasar that which belongs to Ceasar. But just in case, put on your seat belts!
Too many Americans are clueless. Many people have the idea that the repeal of Roe was done by Biden because he was the President when it happened. We know that the GOP is pushing the myth that tfg saved Obama Care and that he also lowered the price of insulin, which he did for a short time, but reversed quickly. Biden did it permanently and has been negotiating with big pharma on a series of drugs.
If tfg says he’s responsible for anything Biden did, the MAGATS will believe it. They all now believe they were better off when their friends and neighbors were dying of Covid. The price of gas was so low because nobody was driving. Virtual graduations were the norm. Wow!! How do we forget that?
Until women and minorities are recognized for their intellect, abilities and talents there will be no equality. I strongly feel that Kamala Harris lost to a great degree because there are people who believe that “women are inferior in all areas to men.” This is such garbage but that with which we have to deal. It is really time for women and minorities to prove their equity and equality with the evangelical, what a joke, men…and perhaps their superiority to same.
John Sorg, just a clarification here—there are no Jewish sects that believe in the New Testament. Those who do are Christians, not Jews, regardless of what they call themselves and regardless of how many Jewish religious practices they appropriate. If they are Jews from birth, they have converted to Christianity.
Peggy, you are exactly correct. Most of our American citizens have as much understanding of how government works as the average 4th. grader. Kamala’s campaign was aimed at college level thinkers who understand what authoritarianism is, how the economy works and what the overturning of Roe means in the long game. Most Americans only care about what the amount of money in their wallet is. I watched CBS Sunday morning yesterday and a woman, who used to be a Democrat and runs a restaurant, voted for Trump because wages haven’t increased and the price of eggs has been too high. WTF!! Does she not understand that the economy under Trump is expected to tank?!?!? That the GOP, as it is currently fashioned, ONLY cares about the wealthy and their wallets?? These folks voted against their own interests – tariffs, ACA overturned, farm workers (“illegal immigrants”) gone and no one to pick tomatoes, the demise of Medicare, etc. — again! This time around there will be major hell to pay — for all of us, except the uber wealthy.