Postmortems

Posted on by

I’ve spent the past four days pouring my thoughts into this blog, and while I have more to say I need to get some air, so to speak. So for today, here are links to the best analyses of the debacle I’ve seen so far. I may add to these as I see more. In no particular order:

Frank Bruni, The Democrats Screwed Up

Thomas Edsall, The Democratic Coalition’s Epic Fail. See also this Edsall column from August, Is Trump Wrecking Both Parties?

Dan Roberts, My Journeys in Trumpland

Matt Taibbi, President Trump: How America Got It So Wrong

 

 

19 thoughts on “Postmortems”

  2. I had once seen a photograph of an SS unit..Einsatzgruppen D somewhere in, I think, Latvia and they were receiving communion from a Catholic Priest. I remember thinking what’s wrong with this picture?
    When I look at the results of this past election I find myself asking the same question. I can understand the backlash of anger born of financial frustrations, the racist component, the religious zealotry, and the blind adherence to party..but I think overall it’s the ignorance and lack of understanding and education was the major factor in producing the results we see today.
    God help us.. If Trump’s message was construed as a message of hope.. we are in worse shape as a nation than I ever thought possible.

  3. Trump wants Steve Bannon as his chief strategist, who’s been called nasty and vindictive toward anything he considers his enemy, willing to use or step on anybody to advance himself. And this coming from former wingnut conservatives he’s worked with.

    I’m beginning to think Moore will be correct in yet another prediction. Trump won’t be able to keep himself from getting impeached, or he’ll up and quit, after realizing POTUS isn’t much fun. And we’ll be stuck with Pence.

  4. You know I can’t even begin to think about what the Democrats have done wrong–Exactly why isn’t anyone screaming about Wiki leaks, Russia and Comey—those things are incredibly chilling to me. Could Hillary and her campaign and the Democrats done things better. certainly. Those three are a far greater threat. Please stop beating on Hillary.

    • “Exactly why isn’t anyone screaming about Wiki leaks, Russia and Comey” We were screaming about those before the election.

      Comey may very well have tipped the election to Trump, but the fact that something that was actually nothing, in the end, could upend a potential victory shows how weak and vulnerable Clinton was. Instead of the Teflon candidate, Clinton was the Velcro candidate. People who were genuinely enthusiastic about her wouldn’t have changed their votes, but a whole lot of people just plain weren’t that enthusiastic. She shouldn’t have been the nominee.

  5. When I think of the names being bandied about for cabinet positions, its bad enough, but to know that the democrats have little to no legislative power to provide a check on the excesses to come, is truly frightening. I can’t even bring myself to think of the supreme court.

    My insider friends and wannabes told me I was a fool to think that Hillary wasn’t going to be the next President, and that there was no way she could lose, especially not to Trump. Comey, Russia and Wikileaks all did their respective things, but when you consider that from 2008 to 2006, democrats lost 10 million votes, there obviously was a lot more wrong here than can be attributed to them. And its too significant of a loss with consequences that cannot be overstated, to not hold the DNC, the campaign and yes, Hillary Clinton accountable, if for no other reason than to prevent a replay of the kind of hubris that brought us this nightmare scenario of President-Elect Donald Trump in the first place.

    This is too big for accountability to not be on the table.

  6. Bruni’s take on how the Clintons have destroyed the Democratic Party is dead on. He nailed it in four paragraphs. However, some of the other things he says, not so much. In particular, the idea that Bloomberg might have beaten Bernie Sanders is ludicrous, and what’s more, it directly contradicts his main point, which is that most voters these days do not want to vote for establishment Wall Street types. Now if Bloomberg isn’t an establishment, Wall Street type, then who is?

  7. Ah yes Swami the bullets, babies, bibles and bullshit coalition is at the wheel.  Remember too that Italy, which surrounds the Vatican was part of the axis power structure.  Remember also that the pope who was a part of the Hitler youth is still alive and retired.  Note also that hypocrisy won big time last week. 

    That picture should look like an oxymoron.  It is a symbol of “good” anointing “evil”.  The Heir Peculiar not only hijacked the republican party but the country.  He did so with the complicity or acquiescence of  all major faith groups with little exception.  They should wallow in shame. 

    Also note that alt-right sources are reporting to middle America that “Pope Francis’ endorsement of Donald Trump helped avert the election-rigging” according to Kristof of the NYT who also reported it as a blatant lie.  The problem here is that middle America only gets alt-right news.  This story will not be repudiated by pulpits, church publications, or face-book posts.  It will stand as uncontested “truth”. 

    Is IT IS OK IF YOU ARE A REPUBLICAN going to be the first commandment or the eleventh?

  8. An interesting thought I had about Trump…we may have elected our first atheist/agnostic President without knowing it. Progress?

    One thing I haven’t been seeing in many post mortems is the effects of Shelby Co. and the voter roll purges by GOP governors. Will the Democrats be the party of voting rights going forward, or will they chase the white blue collar voting pool to the exclusion of all else?

  9. “…but when you consider that from 2008 to 2006, democrats lost 10 million votes,”

    Meant to say from 2008 to 2016, the drop off in democratic votes was about 10 million. So many previous democratic voters, for various reasons, decided either not to vote, or voted for other candidates in this race. I don’t think you can attribute all of that to Comey.

  10. President-elect Donald Trump said he’s “fine” with same-sex marriage as the law of the land, calling the issue “settled” by the Supreme Court
    Well, we can add million or so Bibleheads who voted for Trump because Mike Pence was on the ticket to the list of the soon to be disenchanted. It’s not an easy pill for them to swallow that Trump is “fine” with letting the Sodomites roam free and unaccosted.

  11. well it has begun. Trump properties are advertised on the transition team website( we taxpayers pay for), he wants to make his employees( really ours but he can’t see that) sign non disclosure agreements, and he wants security clearances for Uday Qusay and Goldilocks to advise him although the propaganda is they are a blind trust running Trump Inc and there is no conflict of interest. This is what authoritarianism looks like.
    I find it interesting that Row v Wade is not settled law, that Obamacare’s replacement will not mandate coverage of birth control , that if a woman is discriminated against, she can just quit. Digby is right: the first woman president will be republican, they will defend her from the sliming that Hillary was just forced to take.

  13. I was referring to a Kristof article in the NYT which Yes, did report just as your link supports, that the Pope never made such an endorsement.  That it was a lie. Kristof also stated that other lies get reported also and this was one of a list.  One I used as an example because it fit. 

    The point is that this stuff gets through to rural America unchallenged.  I called it a blatant lie.  A blatant lie that goes unchallenged from even the institutions the alt-right uses and abuses to get their hate message out.  That was the point I think I stated quite clearly. 

    The following point was that those very institutions do not correct and condemn those sources that misuse them and spread false messages.  This is why I contend that hypocrisy won. 

    Thanks for sourcing this lie at least partially.  Yes, as you stated, Kristof stated, and I stated originally and again now the Pope made no such endorsement. I hope this is clear to all.

  14. I see that Obama has finally embarked on that apology tour that the wingnuts were so fond of announcing at the beginning of his presidency. Except now he has something to really apologize about.. ” I don’t know what got into us, but it’s not my fault!”

  15. I wonder how many “hope and change” people saw TPP as ‘fear and worse’, then voted Trump?

  17. Lit3Bolt – I would quibble with your suggestion that Trump is Atheist/Agnostic. His picture belongs in Wikipedia under “Auto-Theist”.

  18. Lit3Bolt…Technically Trump being an atheist would be considered a progressive advancement, but that’s really grasping at straws to find a salvageable positive benefit to his being elected. True to his word of finding the best people possible he covered the God base with the rabid Pence. Hypocrisy at it’s finest!
    Some of the Christians I know have adopted the view that Trump’s abominable characteristics are going to be used to God’s glory through a humbling experience in him.. Good luck with that. Oh, me of little faith. I certainly won’t be holding my breath waiting for Trump to perform a foot washing on the members of the House of Representatives.

Comments are closed.