So, it’s official. Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States. I’m excited that Hillary was defeated. It’s enormously gratifying to see liberals, Democrats, and the media running the gamut of emotions from shock to despair. So many were predicting that Trump was done (note: I didn’t think he could pull it out, either). It will be interesting to see who is the first to proclaim misogyny in Hillary’s loss, as well as the first to proclaim that the election was stolen. You know it is coming.
The NY Times editorial board is, unsurprisingly, a bit unhinged about the whole thing. I’d usually go with their screed, but, the one from the Washington Post editorial board is a bit more amusing
You have to know that had Hillary won, it would have been about rallying behind Hillary and her mandate.
DONALD TRUMP was elected the 45th president of the United States on Tuesday. Those are words we hoped never to write. But Mr. Trump shocked the pollsters, riding a wave propelled in part by rural and Rust Belt voters who felt the political establishment had cast them aside. While Mr. Trump might not have done the same for his rival, Hillary Clinton, had she won, all Americans must accept the voters’ judgment, and work for the best possible outcome for our country and the world.
It will also be interesting to see if the main Trump supporters spend their time bashing #NeverTrump rather than Hillary and Dems. Will they be magnanimous in their surprising win? Or will they attempt to forge alliances and be welcoming? I will say, though, that bashing those Republicans who proclaimed they would vote Hillary is not out of bounds. It’s one thing to say you’ll hold on to your principles and either not vote for president or pick a 3rd party. It’s entirely something else to vote Hillary, utterly abandoning your principles.
Here’s where it starts getting really fun
What does that mean in practice? First, to hope that Mr. Trump will be a better president than we fear, and to support him when he does the right thing. Mr. Trump will soon command a sprawling federal bureaucracy, sophisticated law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and the world’s most powerful military. We have every wish that he will understand that the U.S. system of government is not for or about one person. He alone cannot fix it. The powers of the Oval Office do not exist to punish his enemies, about which he mused as the campaign drew to a close, according to a recent New York Times article.
Funny that the WPEB never bashed Obama for using the powers of the Oval Office to punish his enemies. I’m also looking forwards to the WPEB and the rest of the media bashing Trump when he plays golf.
The new president will face immense and unrelenting challenges from Day One. He inherits a world in which liberal democracy is in retreat and U.S. leadership is doubted. The Middle East is in turmoil, North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is growing, Russia and China are flexing their muscles. At home, President Obama bequeaths an economy in generally good health but facing problems: slow growth, stubborn inequality, long-term stress on the federal budget.
So, wait, things are pretty bad all around? I though the era of Obama brought rainbows, unicorns, and puppies? No? The economy is in good health for the rich. It’s the rest who are suffering.
We can’t pretend to optimism that Mr. Trump will suddenly shape more rational responses to these problems than he offered on the campaign trail, nor that he will discover a discipline or wisdom he has yet to display. Over the course of his campaign, Mr. Trump spoke about jailing Ms. Clinton, suing women who accused him of unwanted sexual advances, neutering the speaker of the House and revoking press freedoms. Per the Times article, he has spoken of creating a super PAC dedicated to political vengeance. He has promised to deport millions, rip up trade agreements, apply religious tests and sabotage international efforts to fight climate change, each of which would hurt many people.
I really can’t argue with the beginning. Some of that is what really concerned Republicans. However, Hillary belongs in jail. Perhaps she and Bill will just head off to live in another country, and we can move on to these criminals. What’s wrong with suing people who have defamed you? So far, there is zero proof of sexual assault. Is it really illegal in Liberal World for a man to come on to a woman? Political vengeance? Let’s hope that was simply election yammering, which happens every election season.
As to the last, let’s hope he follows through, especially on ‘climate change.’ If he wacks Obama’s Clean Power Plan, tears up Obama putting the U.S. (not legally, mind you) in the Paris climate agreement, and reigns in the EPA on climate change, he’ll have earned me as a follower. Now is the time to make good on what he proclaimed.
If he attempts to act on these goals and inclinations, others must rally to the defense of constitutional principles and sound government.
Like how Obama legislated from the White House with his pen and phone? Demanded that the Paris agreement be crafted so he could go around the duly elected U.S. Congress? Sicked the IRS on conservative groups? Those Constitutional principles?
At this point, I’d almost say Trump, with the way he won, has a mandate.
Americans are not and have never been united by blood or creed, but by allegiance to a democratic system of government that shares power, cherishes the rule of law and respects the dignity of individuals. We hope our newly elected president will show respect for that system. Americans must stand ready to support him if he does, and to support the system whether he does or does not.
After almost 8 years of Obama and the way the media, including the Washington Post, ignored the way Obama acted in an opposite manner from that paragraph, the only response is
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/wteach/bandwagon/52197-Picard-facepalm-gif-ubif_zpsz5zxfmue.gif
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: Washington Post Explains How Trump Won In A World Where America Has Issues »
