Right. Turns out the primaries WERE instructive. More of these first-time, low-information voters (some of whom registered on Election Day, where that’s allowed) should have been considered “likely voters” by the pollsters.
But that stil doesn’t explain why fewer women – including educated ones – voted for Hillary than expected.
Silver lining: Trump has indicated he might stop this ridiculous practice of the US taxing US citizens who aren’t resident in the US on income not earned in the US. It’s a major pain in the ass.
Also, if the dollar plummets it’ll help make up for the pound plummeting after the similarly-stupid Brexit vote result.
That’s all I got.
Another Sam Wang assumption that went down in flames was that the election was stable – it really and truly was not. There was a story behind the numbers, and as it turns out, the third party wildcard made the race difficult to predict. The undecideds and the third party defectors didn’t all break evenly as Wang suggested they might.
I’m thinking I should have called in sick. I’m angry at everyone today, even though I’m in a blue county and I know most of these folks are grieving too.
Democrats should start preparing their own populist. Someone respectable with no political experience. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Elon Musk. I don’t know. I’m sure there is someone.
Musk wasn’t born in the US was he?
Some silver linings:
*After eight years of acting like petulant children and blocking all attempts at governing, Republicans actually own the government. It’s lot easier to be a back seat driver than to be behind the wheel. Democrats will now have the luxury of second guessing everything and masturbating like motherfuckers every time things go bad.
The ACA will be repealed. This will leave Republicans two choices: actually come up with something to replace it with or face the wrath of voters who suddenly lose their insurance.
They’re going to cut taxes on the wealthy and when it fails to create jobs and balloons the deficit, they have to answer for it.
They have to be the ones to raise the debt ceiling and Democrats get to whine about Trump putting us in debt.
Now let’s look long term: As the opposition party, Democrats will gain seats in 2018 and make what was a terrible Senate map a bit more palatable. Then in 2020, a candidate not named Hillary will be in prime position to unseat an aging and unpopular Trump, the 2020 Senate map is a minefield for Republicans, and the Democratic wave will come at the right time to undo the gerrymandering that keeps the House in GOP hands.
And they won’t be able to blame Obama. All major economic indicators are heading in the right direction, so if we see an inflection, we know who to blame.
I think what you wrote above is maybe the best silver lining here. Maybe we have to suffer through this to get some real change, but change in the right direction.
On the other hand, all Trump has to do is nothing and he’ll inherit a great economy. That’s effectively how it worked out for Bill Clinton coming in from Bush I.
For all her strengths and flaws, Hillary Clinton would have been at least four years of business as usual, and business as usual is what has put the US in the position its in right now.
Nothing went wrong with Hillary, just nothing went right either. I could see if it was an 80/20 Trump blow out, but it wasn’t. It was a first past the goal post 50 + 3 or 4. The way I seen it was that marginalized people that rarely vote, came out in force and had their voice heard around the world.
As well, Trump’s only opponent was Hillary, but Hillary was facing Trump,Stein,Bernie and people that for what ever reason were sitting this election out. Trump was an unconventional opponent for a conventional politician to run up against. The only thing that I think that she could have done differently was to recognize the working anger and steal it, by co-opting part of Trump’s isolationist policies.