tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post1172798186904712070..comments2024-03-28T11:17:35.760-05:00Comments on Althouse: "December 1, we'll probably start climbing out from the smoking ruin and say, 'anybody else alive around here?'"Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47831258044641780682016-11-22T11:05:22.686-06:002016-11-22T11:05:22.686-06:00I think any post election evaluation that doesn...I think any post election evaluation that doesn't take into account first and foremost that it was a judgment on Obama's presidency and policies, misses the point entirely. Trump benefited from that in spades. It won't be so easy the next time. He'd be wise to put his policies into place, then for the second term hand the baton off to Pence , who is looking very presidential.<br /><br />I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs doing. There have to be ten or fifteen huge items that need to be addressed immediately. Putting a priority on getting the economy moving (which may actually affect five or six of those huge items) is my hope. I'm also hopeful that Trump doesn't get sidetracked, as he appeared to in the months leading up to the election. Like returning the name Denali to Mt. McKinley. Waaaay down the list.Bruce Geehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14163580152645651761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-27158912135118899152016-11-22T05:10:12.900-06:002016-11-22T05:10:12.900-06:00Althouse says. "
I also find it funny that so...Althouse says. "<br />I also find it funny that someone so unusual is going to be President. What a strange trip! You need some emotional skill to ride out a very strange trip. Laughter is part of it. Leaning into the freakout is not."<br /><br />Life, Althouse, is basically absurd. And the shit what doesn't kill you makes it even funnier.<br /><br />Rustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938263272237104128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90925568368503028542016-11-21T20:37:14.398-06:002016-11-21T20:37:14.398-06:00Another wonderful thing about this election was th...Another wonderful thing about this election was the diminished influence of newspaper endorsements. Nobody cares anymore about newspaper endorsements.Thuglawlibrarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06480863200195396815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-33595131829757886142016-11-21T14:00:34.900-06:002016-11-21T14:00:34.900-06:00"I didn't vote for either one. I can say ... "I didn't vote for either one. I can say "not my fault" regardless how it turned out."<br /><br />BS, Hawk. At the very least there was no way to tell if it might have been your (collectively with the thousand of other third party voters) fault "regardless of how it turned out". Don't go all Pontius Pilate on us here.JAOREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11819907966430540035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-2711685269488707492016-11-21T13:16:35.201-06:002016-11-21T13:16:35.201-06:00The thing that beat Hillary! that hasn't gotte...The thing that beat Hillary! that hasn't gotten nearly the attention it deserves- the DVR. Think about how much <i>time</i> she spent raising the money to run the ads that nearly everyone fast-forwarded through without ever noticing them running.Yancey Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16427042729449397357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-34621986302946653172016-11-21T12:11:51.945-06:002016-11-21T12:11:51.945-06:00I began the election process with Trump as my last...I began the election process with Trump as my last choice. Throughout the primaries I said I wouldn't vote for him until the general election and then I would crawl across broken glass naked to vote for him and against any possible Democrat.<br /><br />Once he had the nomination, I said regardless of who was elected I would cry, but if Trump were elected I would laugh first.<br /><br />Well, I'm still laughing and the urge to cry hasn't arisen. Admittedly, I did very nearly overdose on schadenfreude the first two days after the election, but I've cut myself back to no more than three generous helpings a day. I don't know how all this will end, but I'm allowing myself to become far too hopeful. <br /><br />If Sessions cleans out the Justice Department and sets a pack of hellhounds loose in the IRS, it will be a time for smiling.Steven Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11430645803810847730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-2433359656186740032016-11-21T11:30:14.874-06:002016-11-21T11:30:14.874-06:00I lost $100 to my wife, on a bet that Hillary woul...I lost $100 to my wife, on a bet that Hillary would win. I bet on the old cow not because I thought she was good, but because I recognized after Obama's win in 2012 that a corrupt GOP had lost all contact with reality, that a corrupt Democrat party was running the federal government, and that the Dem acceptance of corrupt Hillary was going to be hard to beat. <br /><br />I can't tell you how glad I am that I lost that bet. We have a chance now, just a chance, to remove some of the corruption from the federal government. Here's hoping we do.mikeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17875483485290838207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-64622468610504621972016-11-21T10:23:09.472-06:002016-11-21T10:23:09.472-06:00"One problem with the "Repub. party is s..."One problem with the "Repub. party is split/nuked/done for" view is that down ballot Repubs did quite well pretty much everywhere--House, Senate, and state legislatures. Had Trump lost or had he won while harming down ballot Repubs I think the party would have been hard to keep together, sure. But they won."<br /><br />The GOP will have the same challenge of any majority party--higher expectations to get results, many of which may be incompatible for different factions of their coalition. How they bridge that is anyone's guess. Last time they did it (a decade ago) they just spent like crazy, united on the War on Terror, and threw a few sops to the religious right from time to time, but it proved a short lived victory that led to the Tea Party (initially a reaction to big government Republicanism) and the Dem takeover. <br /><br />Dems though, while they have the advantage of only needing to oppose, also have to figure out what sort of party they are. I'm guessing they'll move in a more leftist direction, as the "moderate" wing probably feels Clinton lost because she couldn't energize the far left. That could prove fatal to them in the long run.<br /><br />For me the big question is how will polling adjust? National polling turned out to be accurate (giving Hillary a slight lead over Trump) but state level polling led to the big surprise (remember PA, MI, WI, VA, all "out of reach"?). Not sure how they'll change their calculations for the next time around.Brandohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06219319435229314554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-34901063182169864302016-11-21T10:17:05.728-06:002016-11-21T10:17:05.728-06:00"True enough. But, early on,I think Trump als..."True enough. But, early on,I think Trump also got a lot of media play because the MSM thought they could hold him out to say, "See what a clown car he Republican hopefuls are? My gawd, they even have Trump. And he's gathering VOTES!"."<br /><br />Yeah, his staying power surprised them. I'll admit I was pretty surprised too. <br /><br />Going forward, I think a lot of candidates are going to use free media (social media, viral videos) to reach a lot more people more effectively than paid ads used to. Celebrities have a leg up (free coverage) but the rest will just have to find a way to get famous early.<br /><br />What will be interesting is how the news media will change coverage in the future. A lot seem to think they weren't biased enough early on with Trump, so I imagine their coverage will get more harsh (and less trusted by about half the population). Brandohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06219319435229314554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-66296364587567894222016-11-21T09:26:45.090-06:002016-11-21T09:26:45.090-06:00One problem with the "Repub. party is split/n...One problem with the "Repub. party is split/nuked/done for" view is that down ballot Repubs did quite well pretty much everywhere--House, Senate, and state legislatures. Had Trump lost or had he won while harming down ballot Repubs I think the party would have been hard to keep together, sure. But they won.<br /><br />Where they go from here, and under whose leadership, is obviously a big open question. That's unusual and there's clearly more uncertainty about the direction of the party than there has been in a long time...but given their wins one has to understand that their freedom of action is, in theory anyway, much greater than it has been in years, so the potential upside of the Trump years is likewise much greater than anyone expected.HoodlumDoodlumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17591221162603652473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-3971276367697762912016-11-21T09:14:26.330-06:002016-11-21T09:14:26.330-06:00JAORE said...True enough. But, early on,I think Tr...<i>JAORE said...True enough. But, early on,I think Trump also got a lot of media play because the MSM thought they could hold him out to say, "See what a clown car he Republican hopefuls are? My gawd, they even have Trump. And he's gathering VOTES!". </i><br /><br />Yes, and in an entirely unrelated/coincidental occurrence it just so happens the Hillary Clinton campaign very much wanted to promote Trump (and Cruz) as viable/front-running candidates precisely because the campaign assumed that'd be the easiest way to win. <br /><br />I mean, I know it's strange that the Media acted exactly as the Hillary Clinton campaign wanted them to act--just a coincidence of course--the the fact is those guys WANTED to run against Trump, and that's what they got. The fact that they still lost...well, that just shows how stupid the Media is and how terrible a candidate Hillary Herself was. Oh, and of course how brilliant are the DNC/powerful Democrats who did everything in their power to clear the path for Hillary's primary victory, too.HoodlumDoodlumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17591221162603652473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53548760618836605822016-11-21T09:09:54.061-06:002016-11-21T09:09:54.061-06:00Rob Long is a sharp guy with a track record of get...Rob Long is a sharp guy with a track record of getting things done in Hollywood despite being a conservative. I would have expected him to "get" Trump better than he seems to have.Mike (MJB Wolf)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00936808380090258703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55012803487883368952016-11-21T09:08:13.325-06:002016-11-21T09:08:13.325-06:00Trump got plenty of free coverage from the beginni... Trump got plenty of free coverage from the beginning--if he had been some obscure real estate man (even running on the same issues) do you think he'd have had the same draw?<br /><br />True enough. But, early on,I think Trump also got a lot of media play because the MSM thought they could hold him out to say, "See what a clown car he Republican hopefuls are? My gawd, they even have Trump. And he's gathering VOTES!". <br /><br />Plenty of videos out there of learned elites reacting to anyone who said Trump could get the nomination, then Trump could win.<br /><br />There's an old saying about laughing last.JAOREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11819907966430540035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-39292204668725227292016-11-21T09:05:13.526-06:002016-11-21T09:05:13.526-06:00"The old Republican coalition has been nuked...."The old Republican coalition has been nuked."<br /><br />Up is down and down is up. Usually when your coalition is nuked, you lose. It seems as if the Republican Party managed both its dissolution and reformation within the same election cycle. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?CWJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03598487232861475833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-50796391911313571182016-11-21T08:58:39.458-06:002016-11-21T08:58:39.458-06:00Funny that people are worried about foreign policy...Funny that people are worried about foreign policy when the last eight years of Obama has severely weakened US influence across the globe and strengthened our enemies. Of course the Dems will blame Trump for the steaming shit piles left by Obama and Hillary.sane_voterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122061750041663802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-40260020846210043552016-11-21T08:41:51.543-06:002016-11-21T08:41:51.543-06:00I thought election night was funny. Well, funny m...I thought election night was funny. Well, funny might not be the word -- hilarious? surrealistic? absurd? catastrophic? the presidency we all deserve? <br /><br />I laughed on election night when I saw Wisconsin and Michigan were going for Trump.<br /><br />Yes, was absurd that this weekend news was about POTUS-elect getting into a twitter war with Hamilton cast.<br /><br />No, not concerned that Trump doesn't like Hamilton. <br /><br />I'm concerned about the potential weakening of NATO and the possibility of a nuclear or geopolitical crisis. I don't think he would purposefully cause a crisis. But Trump seems unaware of the power of POTUS to shape world events. <br /><br />Meeting with Indian business men is problematic when Pakistan and India both have nukes. Trump doesn't seem to understand the potential geopolitical implications. <br /><br />In an alternative universe somewhere, Kasich & Biden ran against each other. Wish I lived in that universe. <br /><br />I don't care about Hamilton. I'm not worried about domestic policy or the supreme court or a trade war with China. <br /><br />I want to get through the next 4 or 8 years without upending the post-WWII American world order. Hopefully we get through the Trump presidency with the NATO alliance intact, and w/ out a major nuclear or geopolitical crisis. <br /><br />& yes, on some level it's funny and absurd. Here we are now, entertain us. wwwwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12496803959998366843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-2972847327098641992016-11-21T08:25:37.392-06:002016-11-21T08:25:37.392-06:00Althouse November 20, 2013...
Whatever happened t...Althouse November 20, 2013...<br /><br /><b><a href="http://althouse.blogspot.com/2013/11/whatever-happened-to-republicans-are.html" rel="nofollow">Whatever happened to the "Republicans are committing suicide" meme?</a></b><br /><br />It was all the rage back in September. <br /><br />There was also "The death of the Republican Party."<br /><br /><br />EDH said...<br /><i>Wouldn't it be interesting if the Republicans indeed cleaved into two parties -- the two major parties -- and the Democrats imploded into a fringe party, the MSNBC of political parties.<br /><br />11/20/13, 4:49 PM </i> <br /><br />EDH said...<br /><i>Rather than a doomsday scenario, that cleave yet conquer outcome might be an attractive strategy for all right-of-center Republicans.<br /><br />11/20/13, 4:55 PM </i> <br /> Wincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15002449963597087316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-67380096358986552362016-11-21T08:23:17.195-06:002016-11-21T08:23:17.195-06:00Paco Wové said...
"the people who got it wro...<i>Paco Wové said...<br /><br />"the people who got it wrong - media and Democrats- aren't asking themselves to do self-reflection"<br /><br />When Republicans lose, it's because the Republicans are wrong.<br /><br />When Democrats lose, it's because the electorate is wrong.<br /><br />11/21/16, 7:28 AM</i><br /><br />This.<br /><br />Not only are vast numbers of us too stupid to vote our self interests [according to all "knowing" liberals] but the same country that elected Obama twice is just too racist to elect a old, white grandma as POTUS.<br /><br />The right is racists while the left ostracizes anyone that does not toe the liberal line.<br /><br />The right is racists while the left has set back black progress and destroyed black families and culture.<br /><br />The media labels the tea party groups as racist but ignore BLM beating up white people.<br /><br />Lena Dunham [a white child abusing woman] wants all white men exterminated.<br /><br />Madonna promises free blow-jobs to any men that vote Hillary.<br /><br />Team Hillary and the press attack Trump as a misogynist while rappers that rap about raping ho(s) stump for Hillary, the defender of a rapist (her husband) who is on tape laughing about getting a child abuser off.<br /><br />trigglypuff and her ilk heckle speakers about tolerance and free-speech while shutting down their free-speech.<br /><br />Watching all of the boo boo feelz and sad faces and tears does not upset me nearly as much as many had hoped.<br /><br />The up-side to all of these crybullies wearing diaper pins is that it makes them that much easier to identify so as to avoid...Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12837407567105543162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-54030126884324929582016-11-21T08:12:29.302-06:002016-11-21T08:12:29.302-06:00"Schadenfreude..."
It's not that I&..."Schadenfreude..."<br /><br />It's not that I'm happy that other people are sad. It's that I'm laughing at people who are expressing their sadness in an excessive, ridiculous way. And I find it funny that people were so presumptuous in the first place that they felt entitled to win and sure that they would. The giant splat of their fall was the result of their own grandiosity. I never saw myself as in line to get what I wanted. <br /><br />I also find it funny that someone so unusual is going to be President. What a strange trip! You need some emotional skill to ride out a very strange trip. Laughter is part of it. Leaning into the freakout is not.Ann Althousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-81262046965767950832016-11-21T08:02:04.942-06:002016-11-21T08:02:04.942-06:00"I'm just experiencing a lot of the after..."I'm just experiencing a lot of the aftermath of the election as very funny. Like, why did we just spend the weekend talking about "Hamilton"?" Agreed. Schadenfreude may not be the most honorable sentiment, but is enjoyable in small doses, especially since a Hill win would have triggered an orgy of contempt for the losers. Of course, as long as you haven't fully retired, there is still time to send you to UW reeducation camp if you think the travails of the left and the Dem party are funny. Sebastianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00505631054204611033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-811583372115521112016-11-21T08:01:35.636-06:002016-11-21T08:01:35.636-06:00The Cold War became a way of life. When we "...The Cold War became a way of life. When we "won" instead of looking critically at our Selves and our institutions, we made several more stupid wars, elected three morons in succession who drastically weakened the value of the dollar, helped North Korea to become a nuclear power, shipped our industrial base to China in exchange for cheap umbrellas that last about two days, degraded public education, sending millions to college who cannot really read and write in exchange for a lifetime of debt which they cannot repay. All of this was paid for on credit. Further, Obama armed ISIS by abandoning billions of dollars of hardware in Iraq instead of withdrawing in an intelligent way. NONE of this is reflected in our so-called free press. Millions of people voted for Mr. Trump reluctantly and with fingers crossed because they (we) knew what the Clintons would deliver.jono39https://www.blogger.com/profile/14714249827236701932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-67528269373841930982016-11-21T07:44:24.589-06:002016-11-21T07:44:24.589-06:00"I was thinking more about campaign consultan..."I was thinking more about campaign consultants. Liz Mair and Rick Wilson are two who come to mind."<br /><br />Yeah there are always bad ones or at least obsolete ones. I'm guessing the good ones will have learned from this one, particularly how to get better polling than most of the polling services did this time around.<br /><br />"Actually, I think this election showed the decline in the power of celebrities to influence people. Look at all the celebs who campaigned for Hill - she had everyone from Adele to Cher and Paul Simon. Trump had to settle for a has-been from a 70's TV show, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin's lesser known brother. It didn't matter. Millions showed they really didn't care what Lena Dunham or Lady Gaga thinks. They didn't care about being with the cool kids."<br /><br />As endorsers that's true--I can't imagine anyone (even a far-leftist) thinking "oh, Lena Dunham hates/likes this politician, she makes a good point..." But as candidates, celebrities do have the ability to use free media in a way that even elected politicians can't. Trump got plenty of free coverage from the beginning--if he had been some obscure real estate man (even running on the same issues) do you think he'd have had the same draw? <br /><br />The question for non-celebrities is what they could be doing different campaign wise. The value of paid ads should drop.Brandohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06219319435229314554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-7126268199979151962016-11-21T07:36:20.969-06:002016-11-21T07:36:20.969-06:00"We probably will see more celebrity politici..."We probably will see more celebrity politicians as a result."<br /><br />Actually, I think this election showed the decline in the power of celebrities to influence people. Look at all the celebs who campaigned for Hill - she had everyone from Adele to Cher and Paul Simon. Trump had to settle for a has-been from a 70's TV show, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin's lesser known brother. It didn't matter. Millions showed they really didn't care what Lena Dunham or Lady Gaga thinks. They didn't care about being with the cool kids.<br /><br />Trump's celebrity helped him to get air time certainly, but it was what he said about immigration and trade and the plight of blue collar workers that won him voters. They didn't vote for him because they saw him on "The Apprentice." As Ann Coulter said, it's like there was a $1000 bill on the sidewalk and nobody picked it up except him.exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03996979470278945904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25131056463036268292016-11-21T07:28:57.889-06:002016-11-21T07:28:57.889-06:00"the people who got it wrong - media and Demo...<i>"the people who got it wrong - media and Democrats- aren't asking themselves to do self-reflection"</i><br /><br />When Republicans lose, it's because the Republicans are wrong.<br /><br />When Democrats lose, it's because the electorate is wrong.Paco Wovéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00053886112561036768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-33759249876137794372016-11-21T07:18:04.815-06:002016-11-21T07:18:04.815-06:00400 years ago the Leiden Community of young Englis...400 years ago the Leiden Community of young English separatist believers were discussing some of the group making a voyage to the New World to find a place for them all to worship God. William Bradford was 26 and second in command of the 100 or so that soon left for the Hudson River in the New Amsterdam area. But the ship landed them at Cape Cod. They made the Mayflower Compact, and then went ashore and proceeded to survive in a wilderness with God as provider.<br /><br />And the beat goes on. Sunday at Bedingfield, NJ the new President and Vice President attended services at the Presbyterian Church and proceeded to survive in a Media wilderness with God as provider. traditionalguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05706120413005530014noreply@blogger.com