Some personal takeaways you have as the dust settles on the 2016 election

In My Humble Opinion
1

Here are mine, strictly IMO only - Go ahead and list yours

Assuming Trump does not start a nuclear war or crash the economy at this point the most important real world, near term impact on my day to day life will be what happens with Obamacare. Other than that the election will have little immediate impact on my life.

The appointments he’s making aren’t just conservative versions of the people in place they (if media reputation is to taken seriously anymore) are some scary people. Some of these people are practically comic book villains.

Purely from an entertainment perspective I’m actually quite interested in seeing how these outsiders do in handling the reins of government.

No evangelical in my living memory will ever again be able to give a lecture to a another person about moral choices given their choice of candidate. “Your choice for President, Donald Trump” need be the only reply to any of their moral arguments. Whatever imagined purchase they had on the moral and ethical high ground is gone forever.

In listening to some of the interviews and podcasts about the loss by the liberal media and opinion makers the left (David Remnick in this case - His seething disdain for the Trump voter class is just palpable) can really be some pissy little mean girls when they want to.

And lastly the realization that Hillary Clinton all things considered, was an awful, terrible not so good candidate if you actually wanted someone elected to POTUS. That she got as far as she did is a huge credit to the power of her campaign organization and how they worked the system. That she was the best the Democrats could do is some seriously scary shit. Not as scary as Trump but still scary.

2

My #1 biggest takeaway: It is a mistake to engage racist attitudes in all-or-nothing terms. There is a world of difference between someone who assaults and terrorizes others, and someone who is just kind of stuck in the 80’s. Treating the latter like the former is a really good way to foster more extreme attitudes.

It may not be the most important takeaway, but hopefully it will get me through Thanksgiving dinner without strangling others or myself.

3

Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people. Oh wait, I already knew that one.

4

There are a lot of people in the USA who are comfortable seeing people who are not like them suffer.

5

Stop betting money on Presidential elections; my track record has sucked since Bush I.

(Although I did get right that Clinton would be the DNC’s candidate and called that one 8 years ago. But still ----- basically a push across the board.)

6

I’m glad the republicans actually have to govern for the first time in a long time. Let them carry the slack for everything that goes wrong for a while.
However I’m scared of so many things that can go wrong.

Repeal of ACA
turning medicare into a voucher program (can it be turned back afterwards? I don’t know)
Trump causing an international incident
Trump causing an economic recession or worse

Its a very stressful time.

My takeaway? People in this country really don’t understand or care about what is really happening. Their views are based on identity politics and when they can’t afford to retire because social security and medicare have been changed and income inequality is worse, they will not take any responsibility for it.

Are we just going to have radical elections going back and forth? Dems win in 2006 and 2008, then republicans win in 2010, then dems win in 2012, then GOP in 2014 and 2016, etc. then possibly dems in 2020 just so republicans can win again in 2022?

This is idiotic.

7

I gotta get out of the echo chamber I was obviously living in leading up to the election.

8

People love assholes.

Seriously, I once complained to a co-worker I eat lunch with that I hate assholes, and he looked at me askance and said “everyone does”.

I’m not so sure. Actually, people’s love of assholes would explain a lot of things e.g., traffic around here.

9

This. It’s probably true on both sides, as well. They think they’re voting for the winner of American Idol, not understanding the implications, unaware of what can go wrong, unaware that it can’t be undone in 4 years when it does go wrong.

10

People and organizations can be extremely short-sighted.

Groupthink wins.

I find it tremendously disconcerting and irritating when a leader doesn’t even know what he/she wants.

We live in a world where the fate of millions or billions can depend entirely on what happens inside one person’s skull.

Twelve years ago I would never have thought someone named Barack Hussein Obama would be the next president after Bush, and three years ago I’d never have thought Donald Trump would be our next president.

11

[QUOTE
Are we just going to have radical elections going back and forth? Dems win in 2006 and 2008, then republicans win in 2010, then dems win in 2012, then GOP in 2014 and 2016, etc. then possibly dems in 2020 just so republicans can win again in 2022?

This is idiotic.[/QUOTE]

I believe that is the desire of the Dems and Pubs. To share the pie.

Which is why they keep out the other parties. The pie pieces are smaller.

12

At this point, I have no idea what Trump will really do as president. The knock against him (one of many) before the election was that once he had what he wanted he failed to deliver his end of a bargain (contractors he failed to pay, etc.). Maybe now that he’s got their votes, he’ll do the same to his supporters and raise taxes on the wealthy, promote sustainable environmental and energy policies, and a host of other things that no one else could get done. Or maybe he’ll be worse than his rhetoric. I don’t know, and I wish I didn’t have to find out.

That said, the hateful things he said during his campaign are not something I can ignore. He starts off with a negative score even before he’s inaugurated. He’d have to do a lot of good through his actions to make up for the damage his words have already caused.

A lot of the post-election analysis I’ve read has been about how Trump appealed to people who felt they’d been ignored and not understood by the elite, establishment, big-city liberals. While there may be some truth to that, I find it very one-sided. Yes, Democrats should try to understand the ideas and concerns of the whole country, including the small-town, flyover, farming and rust-belt parts. But I don’t see the middle-America folks doing much to understand the concerns of urban dwellers. They don’t like being called “flyover country”? I’d have a lot more sympathy if I hadn’t heard them saying “ivory tower”, “liberal elites” and “lamestream media” for the last eight years. I live in Boston now, but I think I’ve spent more time in small towns than my dad has in big cities.

I wish you were right, astro. My only real hope for the next four years is just that people pay attention, learn, and act on it. If Trump gets his way and lowers taxes, and the deficit goes up, learn from it. If the coal jobs don’t come back, if we don’t become a manufacturing powerhouse, if a trade war causes a recession, if there’s a major terrorist attack, if Trump’s “blind trust” invests in a company a week before it gets a government contract, whatever it is, pay attention. It just seems like we’ve got so much invested in our side (and I do see this more among conservatives) that we’ll cling to any sort of spin to avoid having to admit we’re wrong. Republicans have the presidency, and congress; what happens in the next 2 and 4 years is on them. All I ask is that we judge them on what actually happens because of it.

That’s one thing that always bothers me, when people are justified, even pleased, in their actions for no more reason than that is upsets the people they disagree with. It’s usually expressed as “sweet, sweet, <insert name here> tears.” Sorry, but when you’re getting your talking points from Eric Cartman something is very, very wrong with you.

13

I think I’ve said it in four or five other threads but with this and Brexit, it really feels like we’re post-facts now.

The reasons many people voted trump were based on false information about the world and the US economy, and conspiracy theories about clinton.
Trump could apparently convince people of anything, even when it contradicted things he had said previously. And the thing ironically he managed to sell most effectively was that everyone else is a liar: “Crooked Hillary”, “Lyin’ Ted”, the entire media except his BFF Hannity.

14

I agree with this. Everyone is now officially entitled to his own facts, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

How can this mean anything less than the end of dialogue? If no two people can be assumed to be living in the same factual universe, there’s no reason to discuss anything anymore, is there? Where does that leave the Straight Dope Message Board?

15

I was right all along in my contempt for both America and the Republicans.

This is the last meaningful election; in my lifetime at least, and probably permanently.

Hope for a better future or even one as good as the present is futile. From now on it only gets worse and worse.

I’m glad I don’t have children.

I’ll probably die from this, one way or another. If nothing else the gutting of Medicare will kill me.

16

  1. The ACA is done.

  2. Banking deregulation is inevitable.

  3. The American electorate is entirely pursuing ‘change’. Chance is ill-defined but largely means ‘not business as usual’. Obama’s election was seen as voting for change. Trump’s election is seen as voting for change. But without a true target the electorate will continue voting for whichever candidate can successfully make the pitch that they represent the outside Washington point-of-view.

17

The SDMB sucks at predictions as much as I do.

Regards,
Shodan

18

I hate the term ‘bubble’, but it’s clear that more-or-less well-off people have seriously missed noticing the growing resentment of less well-off people.

The most recent election may have been the last nail in the coffin for anything resembling responsible journalism in the US.

As Mr. Trump seems to be quickly discovering, you can go ahead and try to staff up solely with ‘outsiders’ but you then run the risk of having an entire cabinet that has no clue how to administer. So inevitably, the insiders are let back in.

"In Soviet DC, swamp drains you!’

19

Where “stupid” = “People who don’t think the way I do?”

I think what has amazed me most about this election is the prevailing attitude of “I’m right and you’re wrong.” What happened to trying to see things from the other person’s point of view? As an example I have family and friends who own their own businesses and are really being hurt by the ACA. It’s costing them too much; and their situation is definitely worse than life before ACA. On the other hand I have friends who are worried about Trumps attitudes towards women and the environment, and about a million other things he’s said/done.

So, to answer the OP… My takeaway is that I see both viewpoints and decisions were based on their individual situation. Sometimes you vote for (or against) a person, and sometimes you vote for an ideology. I’ve never heard it said more, that this election produced two of the most unlikable candidates possible. At the end of the day, I’m most thankful that Ted Cruz or Bernie Sanders neither one got elected. Beyond that I’m hopeful that our system of Checks and Balances will keep Trump from doing anything too crazy, as I would have hoped the same for Clinton.

20

When presented with a choice of two bad options, people will pick the one that’s worked hardest to be the worst. Because America loves a winner at any price.