Trump

[ericadawn16]

I think this is one of the best things Michael Moore has ever come up with it:

Morning After To-Do List:

1. Take over the Democratic Party and return it to the people. They have failed us miserably.

2. Fire all pundits, predictors, pollsters and anyone else in the media who had a narrative they wouldn't let go of and refused to listen to or acknowledge what was really going on. Those same bloviators will now tell us we must "heal the divide" and “come together.” They will pull more hooey like that out of their ass in the days to come. Turn them off.

3. Any Democratic member of Congress who didn’t wake up this morning ready to fight, resist and obstruct in the way Republicans did against President Obama every day for eight full years must step out of the way and let those of us who know the score lead the way in stopping the meanness and the madness that's about to begin.

4. Everyone must stop saying they are “stunned” and “shocked.” What you mean to say is that you were in a bubble and weren’t paying attention to your fellow Americans and their despair. YEARS of being neglected by both parties, the anger and the need for revenge against the system only grew. Along came a TV star they liked whose plan was to destroy both parties and tell them all “You're fired!” Trump’s victory is no surprise. He was never a joke. Treating him as one only strengthened him. He is both a creature and a creation of the media and the media will never own that.

5. You must say this sentence to everyone you meet today: “HILLARY CLINTON WON THE POPULAR VOTE!” The MAJORITY of our fellow Americans preferred Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Period. Fact. If you woke up this morning thinking you live in an effed-up country, you don’t. The majority of your fellow Americans wanted Hillary, not Trump. The only reason he’s president is because of an arcane, insane 18th-century idea called the Electoral College. Until we change that, we’ll continue to have presidents we didn’t elect and didn’t want. You live in a country where a majority of its citizens have said they believe there’s climate change, they believe women should be paid the same as men, they want a debt-free college education, they don’t want us invading countries, they want a raise in the minimum wage and they want a single-payer true universal health care system. None of that has changed. We live in a country where the majority agree with the “liberal” position. We just lack the liberal leadership to make that happen (see: #1 above). Let's try to get this all done by noon today.

Now, we need to make this happen!

Comments

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Thank you for posting this. The Electoral College should have been gotten rid of after Gore won the popular vote but Bush won the Electoral College. It's apparent why that didn't happen now.

We keep electing privileged white males who have a vested interest in protecting that privilege. That needs to change.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Yes!

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Most people who didn't vote for former Sec. Clinton didn't do it because she was a woman, they didn't vote for her because they felt she was the wrong PERSON for the job, male or female, and because they didn't like the direction the country was headed in. I'm sure there were some, but let's not make generalizations here.

The Electoral College (sometimes) protects the whole center of the country from being dictated to by the two coasts, and the rural people from being dictated to by the city people.

As for the Gore/Bush election (and I voted for Gore, mind you), there was the issue of the recount in Florida. Florida had been called by the news networks on the basis of exit polls, before the actual polls closed. When the polls closed, it seemed like it went for Bush, and the networks had to recant. Not only that but the vote was close, so an automatic hand count was called for. They began the count, but it became very obvious that there were too many obstacles -- hanging chads, filled in instead of being punched out, votes for opposing candidates, etc, etc. It became a nightmare, and Gore asked that the Supreme Court decide... the Supreme Court stopped the recount and called the election for Bush. I didn't like it, but that was it. There were plenty of times my choice didn't win.

You can rail against the Electoral College now all you want, but this result stands, and what you need to focus on changing the system for next time if that's truly what you want.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

I will agree with number 1. Your party ran away from you. JFK would be appalled at what he would see today. They haven't helped anyone but themselves for a very long time. This is why term limits might help. Politics and service should not be a lifetime career to get rich from, and it might help to have new people in every once in awhile, so the populace has to actually do some research before making a decision, instead of being lazy and just going for the devil you know (and it's both parties I'm talking about).

As for number 2, it's time the media started doing real journalism again, not spinning it to their narrative. This is not the first time they totally got it wrong... PM Netanyahu in Israel, Brexit, now this.

Number 4. Agree, the people have been ignored. People aren't being driven by hate, but by despair. They see hope in Trump and his ideas, hope that they will no longer be dismissed and ignored.

As for number 5, the final count really isn't in, and it looks like Trump will win both Michigan and Arizona. Still, this is the system we have for now. If you want the system changed, become active and do something about it.

Also, just because Hillary seems to have won the popular count (barely) doesn't mean that they are for all of her policies. Some were just voting against Mr. Trump. Many people never wanted "Obamacare" in the first place, nor did they want single payer government. Yet Obamacare was deliberately created to fail so (it was thought) the people would clamor for government care. Odd how, when people all over the world want quality care, they come to the US. Many people who voted for her couldn't even name a single thing she had done over her 30 years (not because she hasn't, but because they never researched) and were voting for her merely because "It's time we had a woman in the White House." So, ironically, they wanted her in on the basis of her gender. Think about that for a moment....they didn't care if she was or wasn't the best person for the job, just that she was a woman.

Lastly, as for number 3. This is why nothing will ever get done. We have spoiled children in office. I watched sessions of Congress back in 2010, when the House won its Republican majority, but the Senate retained (barely) its Democrat majority. The House was doing its job, trying to work on budgets, passing bills.... only to not even have it come up in Senate sessions for discussion. Remember, this was not the news spin I was watching, but actual sessions. This cannot continue, and it's well past time for everyone to grow up! Let the Democrats be the big people in the room, trying to find commonalities that everyone can work with. Change things so they work! We will never get anything done with this revenge system, and if the Democrats actually do this, they might see gains in future.

That is probably what resonated with so many people when they voted for Mr. Trump. He's supposed to be a negotiator and has worked with all kinds. That, and their pocketbooks; increased taxes, increased (by as much as 116%) in health plan premiums, decreased employment (part time jobs should not be part of the figures).

In the end, this is who we have, and we need to hope (or pray, if one is inclined) for the wisdom of the government to do right by all of the American people, and to abide by the Constitution of the United States. The country will survive, its people will survive.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Well, the House sort of did its job. It could have done a lot more if it hadn't spent so much time trying to repeal Obamacare, especially without any idea of what to replace it with.

Then, there are all those times when Donna Edwards wanted to represent the opposing view and they were basically like...shut up. She always tries so hard in the face of so much diversity and I love her for it. Too bad she's out in January.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Yes, and I agree that both parties need to come to heel and work together on finding common ground, get those things done, then move on to the more difficult issues where some major thinking is required. Shutting people down does not work in the long-term!

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

All very true! Thanks for sharing :)

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for sharing this!!!

[thenewbuzwuzz.livejournal.com]

What? Most people voted for Hillary, and because of the way the votes are counted or something, she didn't win? That's just... headdesk.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

I sent a PM explaining the way the system works, and its shortcomings as well as its advantages. PM me back if there's something you don't understand.

[bas_math_girl]

What fine, reassuring words.

[eloriekam.livejournal.com]

He has a day 2 list now, too. I'm still sorting out myself too much to have any significant thoughts on any of the post-election to-do lists I've seen.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

As the days passed and I read over both lists...I still love making the Democratic Party admit their faults and taking action but...I really hate this bipartisan stuff. When it's really important, yes, you can totally obstruct but I don't think a party should just reject anything another party comes up with just because they're the opposing party. It seems very self-defeating.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

I couldn't agree more with No. 3. :o

And it's time for every vote to actually count and get rid of the Electoral College.
Hugs, Jon

[dm12.livejournal.com]

See my comment above on item 3. It's time for people in office to grow up, in both parties! It used to be that they could at least find something to agree on, some concept, no matter how minuscule, and start from there. Learn to work on something agreed on, then learn to disagree without being disagreeable and come to some sort of consensus. Let the Democratic party be the big people in the room and begin by breaking this "do nothing/obstructionist" cycle, and show the Republicans how it's done.

I've seen in the past how some of the old-school Senators worked together, even if they were from opposing parties. That's not happening today, and neither party can escape blame for this.

Many of the American people are extremely angry that nothing is getting done by the legislature, they wanted a change to upend the entire system and see if someone could get it to work, because no one within the entire political system has to be able to for a very long time.

So no, I don't want obstructionist behavior; it doesn't benefit the American people at all. I want a Congress that gets down to work! They are the ones in the Republic that vote on our issues/laws, etc. because we don't do it directly; we "hired" them to do it on our behalf.

Oh, and this country is what is called a Constitutional Republic. There is a big difference between that and a true democracy. A true democracy would have each citizen voting on every single issue that comes before it. A very cumbersome way of functioning, as the Greeks discovered. The Romans refined it into a a Republic. This is where you vote for representatives that vote on the issues of the day. Of course, the Constitutional part comes in because we are governed by the Constitution (and its Amendments), which is the highest law in the land. Any laws passed by the legislature are subject to the Constitution; if they are contradictory, they are declared unconstitutional by the judicial branch and are no longer the law. Hopefully school has taught you all this much, right? I went to school ages ago, so I'm not sure what's taught anymore.... but this is what I learned.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

I would like to say I totally agree, but I am so tired of the Democrat side of the aisle having turn the other cheek and be the bigger Man. Ugh...

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Well, then, things will continue as they were, nothing will get done, and all of us will suffer for it! Sigh.... I guess I have nothing further to add to this conversation, then.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

How about if the Repubs step up and say, You know, we have control of the entire government, we can be magnanimous and actually negotiate things.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

As I've said, this has been with both parties for a very long time, and my hope is that this will happen, too. But what people here seem to be saying is that even if this happens, the Dems should block it, and that was what I was responding to. Both are wrong, and both need to grow up. I absolutely agree on that one!

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

I am still willing to be an autocratic King for awhile. :)

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Hopefully it won't come down to that! We did have a little revolution awhile back to take us out from a monarchy... and taxation without representation, and a few other issues!

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

The offer continues to stand. :p

[dm12.livejournal.com]

OK, then... have a good weekend!

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

LOL...
Thank you.
You too. :)

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Both parties chased away those who were good at working across the aisle.

[dm12.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I remember watching when some of these folks were still in the Senate. They might have disagreed, but they did so with civility and respect, and always looked for ways they could work it through.

The new ones think they were put in to automatically disagree to anything the other party proposes, even if they agree. It's preposterous, and no wonder Congress only has a 17% approval rating. That should tell them something right off!

Maybe having a "negotiator" in charge might push them to work together. Let's hope so.... because this is what we've got.