You’re terrified. I’m terrified too.
It’s not hyperbole to say the United States, and in fact the world, will need some luck to get out of this one alive. So let’s concentrate on making our own luck.
The people who run America have constructed a political system that’s like a glitchy killer robot, one even they can’t control anymore.
Working as designed it murders African Americans and pregnant women and opioid addicts. The Iraq War was a minor hiccup that caused it to obliterate a country, several thousand Americans, and hundreds of thousands of people all around the world. The housing bubble was a more serious bug that liquidated hundreds of thousands more from the poorer half of the rich world.
But with Donald Trump, for perhaps the first time, the robot totally ignored the commands of its creators and now has everyone in its crosshairs.
If there’s anything to learn from history, it’s that elites don’t dismantle their beloved killer robots on their own. Either regular people — including you reading this right now — will deactivate this one, or it will never happen at all. Not a single person knows exactly how to pull this off. But one thing’s for sure: Trump’s rise proves that whatever it is we’ve been doing isn’t working.
So let’s exhale and let go of our fear, so we can think as clearly as we can about who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish. We can start by sharing whatever educated guesses we have about what we should do for the next few decades. Here are mine.
Politics is absolutely a matter of life and death. Treat it like it is.
Twenty years ago U.S. elites had so successfully depoliticized America that simply caring about politics was like having a super-weird hobby. It wasn’t even like being a Civil War re-enactor; it was like being a War of 1812 re-enactor. The social opprobrium meant that many of the people in grassroots politics were troubled kooks.
Today, mostly thanks to the internet, tons of normal human beings have been drawn into the offline political maelstrom, which is far less awful than the online one. Join it yourself and bring as many family and friends as you can.
Obviously this is easier said than done unless you have a fair amount of privilege. Part of what people with privilege need to do is make it easier for those who don’t.
If there’s going to be any political force that can resist Trump and build a livable future, it will be led by African Americans, Latinos, and young people from all backgrounds.
The role for older, richer white liberals will be important but painfully different from what they’re used to. They’ll have to support other people’s priorities, put up money for things they don’t control, and use all of their social power to protect Muslims, immigrants, and every threatened minority.
What white progressives can and must pursue is outreach to Trump’s white base. One of the killer robot’s main fuels is white supremacy. But human beings are complex and inscrutable and sometimes change. If just 20 percent of the white supremacy could be neutralized, the robot might be much less powerful.
White liberals will be more effective doing this if they first spend time considering how they may be as equally complicit in white supremacy as Trump voters.
The core belief of the technocrats who run the Democratic Party is that people rationally evaluate facts and then make decisions.
In reality, humans all have an emotional, internally consistent story running inside them all the time about the world and their place in it – and if they encounter any “facts” that contradict this story, the facts just bounce right off. Ironically, this is demonstrated by how Democratic technocrats emotionally reject all the evidence for this.
Trump succeeds at telling a story – and while it’s hateful and bogus, any story always beats no story. Clinton never tried to tell a competing story, making her blizzard of facts meaningless to non-technocrats.
Part of Trump’s story was “Muslims are lunatics who want to slaughter your children, we can’t let them in!” Clinton would respond, “An intriguing Harvard School of Government study found our circa-2014 immigration vetting procedures were able to measure radicalization by five benchmarks that [audience loses consciousness].”
By contrast, a progressive story would say: “We’ve been bombing the Middle East for 60 years. People there are mad about it just like we were mad about 9/11. Until we stop bombing them a small number of Muslims will always want to retaliate, and some will pull it off no matter what we do to prevent it.”
That’s more complex than Trump’s story, but it’s superior because it’s true. If people internalize it, they can also understand facts about the world that would otherwise seem incomprehensible.
Here’s another possible progressive story:
“Capitalism was so cruel and brutal 100 years ago that people came up with an even worse solution, communism. Rather than make compromises that would take the wind out of communism’s sails, the 1 percent of the day decided to back fascism. This caused a war so catastrophic that the 1 percent understood they had no choice but to accept reforms that would make life bearable for regular people.
“Then communism collapsed, taking the daily threat of nuclear war with it. Today’s 1 percent should be thanking God they got out of the 20th century alive and vowing never to make those mistakes again. Instead they’ve decided to make every mistake again and turn capitalism back into something that human beings cannot live with. Here’s our plan to stop them.”
Again, that’s a lot more complicated than “build a wall.” But that’s reality for you.
Any successful progressive movement will have to come up with its own broad, true story of who we are and where we’re going.
When and where are the next Democratic and Republican Party meetings in your neighborhood? You don’t know, because neither the Democrats nor Republicans are political parties in the historical sense. Mostly they just demand we send them money and then yell at us about voting every few years.
While it has almost passed out of Americans’ living memory, parties used to have regular, local meetings where everyone got together, yammered about politics for a while, and then drank beer. Elections were the culmination of what parties did, not the starting point.
A healthy political party would foster community and provide people with concrete things to do between elections. Mike McCurry, one of Bill Clinton’s press secretaries, once suggested that Democrats should turn themselves into a pool of neighborhood volunteers “so that when people are trying to accomplish something, they would say: Call the Democrats, they always have people.”
Or they could get members involved in a local fight for a $15 minimum wage. Or helping women get a safe abortion. Or restoring funding cuts to local colleges. Or whatever members decide. That’s politics.
In return, political parties need to provide concrete benefits to members. If the Republicans are going to murder the Affordable Care Act, the Democrats should be figuring out if they’re a big enough risk pool to provide health insurance.
I realize this is so far out of Americans’ experience that it sounds bizarre. It’s also the case that both party hierarchies would try to block any worthwhile experiments. But if the new organization based on Bernie Sanders’s campaign succeeds, it will probably look something like this.
Corporation television funded by corporate ads will never, ever hold political charlatans accountable. That’s not part of their business model.
The core problem is that accurate news isn’t profitable. It never has been and it never will be. Newspapers made it seem like it could be for about 30 years after World War II, but that was an illusion: The news just piggybacked on what people cared about more, like sports and classified ads. As soon as technology made it possible to deliver it all separately, the news business collapsed.
Fortunately, there’s a patriotic solution: public funding.
It’s totally forgotten now, but for the 100 years after the American Revolution, the U.S. government made it free or almost free to send newspapers anywhere by mail. It was available to papers of all political perspectives, with no government censorship. The rationale was straightforward: This was necessary for people to participate in governing themselves.
The cost was significant, the equivalent of about $30 billion today. One intriguing idea that would support the media on a comparable scale with a comparable lack of government influence would be $200 vouchers for every adult, who could then give them to any nonprofit outlet of his or her choice. To work, such outlets would have to take seriously the realities of human cognition, described above.
We’re not going to make something like this happen anytime soon. But since our lives depend on it, let’s start working on it now.
Don’t give up. As bone-chilling as this moment is, it also proves that no one’s in charge and just about everything in America’s up for grabs. After all, Bernie Sanders looks like he’s appearing in a role where the casting notice read: “Male, 70s, white, must look exactly like the caricature of a socialist from 1980s right-wing agitprop.” Yet from a standing start he almost beat Hillary Clinton.
Young Americans are extremely progressive, so much so that Frank Luntz, the GOP’s top pollster, says it should “frighten every business and political leader.” To some degree we just need to engage in a holding action until they’re running things.
Despite having no resources other than lots of cellphones with the Twitter app, Black Lives Matter has done more to blunt police brutality than anyone in the past 40 years. There should be classes taught around the world about how they’re doing it.
Years of effort forced the top of the Democratic Party to change its position on the trillion-dollar river that is Social Security. Bill Clinton yearned to divert a healthy flow of the cash to Wall Street, and was only thwarted at the last moment by Monica Lewinsky. Obama’s greatest dream was to cut benefits so that David Brooks would write a complimentary column about him. Even Trump will be hard pressed to slash it.
Lastly, if you squint even Trump’s triumph has a teeny-tiny silver lining: The GOP’s grassroots don’t care at all about the party’s dogma and will discard it at a moment’s notice.
As Bernie Sanders put it this spring, Obama’s “biggest mistake” was organizing a huge grassroots army and then telling all those loyal followers, “Thank you very much for electing me, I’ll take it from here.”
Obama had one of the most powerful political organizations ever assembled in U.S. history, and he just disbanded it. According to one of Obama’s top organizers, he saw it “as a tiger you can’t control.” This unquestionably contributed to the current Republican dominance of Congress, and now most of his presidency may be washed away like a sandcastle.
If he ran for president for some reason other than just to live in the White House for a while, he can’t now start jetting around the world and giving speeches for $1 million. He’s going to have to stay right here and try to muster his troops again. They would be a force to be reckoned with, especially if he and Sanders could collaborate effectively.
Like you, I have absolutely no idea if he’d do this. Maybe we should ask.
Liberals, leftists and sundry have real and profound differences. But for the foreseeable future we must hang together or we will surely hang separately, metaphorically or otherwise.
Since we’re stuck with each other, let’s be kind. In a country engineered to treat everyone horrendously every day, demonstrating that we extend real respect to one another might even be a winning recruitment strategy.
Interesting take. I would suggest that your understanding of the current political parties is mistaken. The Republicans and Democrats are both wholly-owned subsidiaries of CorporateUSA and are irredeemable. The Republican establishment dreams of a return to 1870s winner-take-all economics and the Democrats are enabling transnational corporate empire. Politics as usual is corrupt through and through. We need a new political structure to work with and through, be it the Greens or a Peoples’ party, we need something outside of the system that works to maintain the status quo.
I hate to say I told you so, but I did. Sure, my little snippet of unhelpful wisdom is buried somewhere in a useless Facebook or Twitter feed from a year and a half ago, but the NSA probably has a record of it and you can probably dig it up if you know the right people. What I said was: “I wouldn’t bet against Donald Trump. I think he’s just the asshole our reality-drunk nation has been waiting for.”
But then again, who really gives a shit?
This brutal, intentionally divisive election cycle, including the “inconceivable” specter of a megalomanaical cartoon supervillain reality TV star being handed the keys to the Oval Office and the little black box with nation’s nuclear launch codes, was inevitable. If it hadn’t happened in 2016 it would have happened in 2020 0r 2024. Our sputtering “democracy” has been ripe for the picking at least since the dawn of the television era. It’s actually a miracle that it’s taken this long … that miracle being a couple of dogged reporters figuring out that Richard Nixon was running a black ops domestic spying operation from the White House basement, which kicked the executive power grab down a few pegs for a half generation or so.
Now that the imperial presidency, thanks to G.W. Bush (actually Dick Cheney) and his stealth understudy, Barack Obama, has been cranked up to full stream again, it’s time to shuck the pretense and bring back the Leni Reifenstahl stagecraft, the off-the-reservation private SS brigade and the unbridled surveillance state, just in time for a real gold-headed sociopath to be in place to appreciate it all.
But Donald Trump, as blowhardy and narcissistic as he is, is no Adolf Hitler. He’s really more akin to what would have happened had Agent 007 failed his mission and Auric Goldfinger had cornered the gold market by vaporizing Fort Knox. Who knows what sort of administration Herr Goldfinger might have installed, once he calmed down and got to the business of actually ruling the world? There would have been no precedent, just like now. Trump’s few real policy statements, shoehorned off the cuff into speeches that were 99 percent about how he was kicking ass attracting bigger crowds of lumpen proles than the hapless “losers” in his gold-plated path, were all over the ideological map, even when he wasn’t backtracking on them every five minutes. Among the few more reasonable ideas I thought I heard were that he wants to spend money on infrastructure, put a stop to the idea that we have to police the world by ourselves, and that he said NAFTA and the TPP are pieces of shit that give away the store, which they are. He spouted a lot of harebrained, often scary ideas as well, which is why he is ten times the enigma Barack Obama ever dreamed of being, and why he seems to be just as popular with people who are sick of the status quo. Trump will either turn out to be a complete con man and liar who duped the red meat American proletariat into electing him because he knew how easy it would be to hornswoggle them, or he’ll be exactly what he’s looked like over the past two years: a small-minded, vindictive, infantile, possibly criminally insane mass of out-of-control ego, incapable of governing his way out of a paper bag and leading our poor nation straight into the toilet. Me, I’m preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
Which brings me to this: What better opportunity than now to foist a few new ideas into the mix, and to crack the ideological stranglehold certain political notions have on the knee-jerk conservative/liberal majority? I’ve been sitting on a pretty mixed-up bag of suggestions for years now, and am thinking it’s high time to toss them out there to our new president-elect, with whom there actually seems to be a chance for seat-of-the-pants rearranging of priorities for a few minutes before things coagulate and the swamp fills back in around his golden throne.
For instance, I have some things in common with the tea partiers he courted so successfully. As an American growing up in the most violent country on the planet, I think ordinary innocent people should be able to have guns in the house, and in their pockets and purses, to wave at attackers and, if necessary, to shoot them in the extremities without being dragged downtown on a gun or assault charge. I think there’s too much arbitrary, redundant and needlessly complex regulation, especially in state government. I think property taxes are way too high, that public school districts should be consolidated and a lot of unnecessary deadwood should be removed, especially at the administrative level. That doesn’t mean destroying the salaries and benefits of good teachers, who are more valuable to society than just about anyone else. I think other taxes are way too high as well, and that there’s a lot of waste and flat-out corruption in government. It’ll probably always be so, no matter who’s in charge or how big or small government gets. It’s human nature.
But I part ways with the neo-libertarian movement on many fronts. I think America’s burgeoning rich should dispense with the Scrooge act, suck it up and pull their financial weight, tax-wise. Are you listening, Donald? I suspect there’s a closet Roosevelt lurking somewhere inside that puffed-up chest. Call me a pinko commie socialist, but I think cradle-to-grave, single-payer health coverage (including dental and eye care) is the way to go, for everyone in the U.S., not to mention the world. I agree with you that Obamacare is a Frankenstein monster, but my main objection is that it kowtows to the rapacious insurance industry, which should butt out of health care altogether and stick to covering stuff that’s not going to happen to virtually everyone: things like accidents, fires, floods, earthquakes and personal injuries. If you want to get real universal health care done state by state, fine. Just do it.
Yes, single-payer health care will be costly, but there’s an enormous benefit side as well, in quicker and surer response to medical need, increased productivity, elevating of the general standard of living by a significant degree, and a sharp rise in disposable income among those who actually spend money in the economy.
To support it, tax the very rich, and close all potential loopholes. If you don’t like that part, you could probably get down with this, though: Legalize marijuana production, sale, distribution and purchase, and tax it unmercifully. The same with sports betting, gambling and in-house prostitution, all of which currently are untaxed, multibillion-dollar industries. These activities, which despite (in fact, because of) being banned are all happening pervasively, dangerously and expensively under the outnumbered, often corrupted noses of law enforcement, could easily be regulated into semi-respectable industries, rendered much safer and less influential on society by eliminating their underground status and bringing them into the light.
As a former front-line soldier in the long and vicious War on Poverty, I like the idea of welfare and Social Security, if not the shoddy implementation. I think when Clinton succeeded in chopping the federal welfare rolls beyond Ronald Reagan’s wildest dreams, he cut off the government’s nose to spite its face, and the result is a lot of the expensive drain on state and local coffers that’s been bankrupting us ever since. The really down-and-out people who used to get welfare have not lifted themselves up, gotten McJobs and become contributing members of couch-potato consumer society. They’re either dead, subsisting in an unpaid hospital bed, nonprofit group home or shelter, living in boxes, sewers and train tunnels, or sending their children out to sell drugs to your children to make their ragged ends meet.
I still think poor people in America should be treated better than poor people in other countries, because this is America and we ought to take care of our own and show how it’s done. Nobody should be hungry or homeless, anywhere. If you insist on being religious about it, it’s a sin, and a far greater one than allowing some poor schlub to pay a fee for a little physical relief, smoke a little reefer before bed, or bet on the Giants once in a while without risking a stay in one of our overcrowded, insanely expensive jails.
For better or worse, most of these poor people, as well as a lot of rich and middle-class ones, live in cities. Cities cost a lot of public money to operate and maintain. Their streets should be clean, safe, well lit and pothole-free. Their schools should be the equal of those in the suburbs. They should have good, clean public transportation. Garbage should be collected. It’s a group effort to keep things up to snuff. If that sort of “socialism” costs money, it’s damn sure a lot less than the money being spent cleaning up after the mess we’ve let fester in our midst. Leaving even one city out there twisting in the wind is, to my mind, un-American.
By the way, America’s red/blue divide — the one Trump manipulated so easily — is really, more or less, an urban/rural divide. Letting people like Rupert Murdoch — who could give a crap about us as anything but a property to be used in a giant Monopoly game — turn our rural and urban populations against each other by fomenting distrust and fear is weakening us and hastening our collapse into a bargain ripe for plucking by his pals, the Chinese (who happen to be actual pinko commie socialists!). Americans need to embrace each other, find common ground, and build ourselves up. White, rural people need to stop acting like xenophobic, racist homophobes, and snotty, self-centered urban dwellers need to realize that, without a flinty rural backbone, this reasonably well-defended fortress of a nation wouldn’t exist as a host for their interesting experiments in testing the limits of personal freedom.
Related to this, I think the tea partiers, in their half-thought-out zeal to strip government of its ability to govern, have entered into an unwitting and unholy alliance with an entrenched corporate oligarchy (I like to call it an oiligarchy) that is relentlessly conspiring to keep us all sucking on the fossil fuel tit, to our own detriment. There’s nothing “conservative” about the behavior of the world’s oil, gas, coal, energy, plastics, pharmaceutical, electronics and chemical companies, which are fast obliterating the livability of the planet and turning it into an earthly hell, no matter what you think about “global warming.” As a power bloc, these companies through their paid political enablers are trying desperately to maintain dominance in a world that’s getting ready to replace them and render them to history’s dustbin. The closer to extinction they get, the faster they connive to foist upon us a blizzard of dirty, money-saving processes that end up poisoning our air and water, laying waste to our lands, and shortening our ever filthier, asthma-and-cancer-afflicted lives. Neither Hillary nor Trump bothered talking about this, because they were both obviously in the oiligarchy’s pocket, which is really why we got to choose between the two of them.
I would urge those of a libertarian bent to wake up and see that they’re being seriously manipulated. As a litmus test in this particular region, I use the stances of tea party candidates on environmental issues, like gas drilling using chemical-dependent hydraulic fracturing methods. If a conservative candidate utters the mantra “drill baby, drill,” parrots Koch brothers-influenced dreck like “global warming is the greatest hoax of the last 100 years,” or characterizes and environmental agenda as “not just evil, but…contrary to the free-market system that made this country great,” then you know he or she is merely a shill for the scorched-earth campaign being waged by these two fossil fuel industry billionaires and their friends. Problem is, the gas industry has routinely gotten to virtually all the winnable candidates, making the point moot, for now at least.
Then there’s the viper’s nest of social issues everyone on all sides seem to think are most important, but which we should be putting on the back burner for a day (or decade) or two to better concentrate on the survival of our species. Still, they’ve got to be dealt with, so here goes. While I’m a card-carrying nonbeliever, I share a lot of basic values and morals with my Judeo-Christian and (mainstream) Muslim friends. For instance, I agree that one shouldn’t kill, steal, covet or commit adultery. While I think males don’t have the right to tell women how to deal with the issue and should back off, I also believe aborting a fetus is, under all but the most compelling contingencies, an extraordinarily unsettling and life-denying choice to make, and should be strongly counseled against — by health professionals, not by religious organizations. It’s not a religious question, but a question of humane values.
I apparently take “Thou shalt not kill” more seriously than most of my brethren on the religious right. Not only do I not condone killing unborn babies, I don’t condone killing anybody, for any reason. So obviously, I’m against the death penalty, period. I’m also personally antiwar in nature, although I don’t know what to do about that. I suppose if some fool came running at my family wearing a vest lined with C4 explosives, I’d want him dead, and would try to figure out a way to kill him, fast. I know we’ve painted ourselves into a corner as a nation, making this sort of thing a likelihood at some point or another. It would be better in the end if we could all try to get along, but since that’s not going to happen any time soon, I’m forced into accepting protection from the largest, most powerful armed forces on earth, as well as my nation’s decisions as to how to use them. If, like Obama, after getting “the talk” from his military advisers, Trump still wants to keep our people in Afghanistan, there’s probably a good reason for it, and you and I are stuck with it. I may be nonviolent, but I’m not suicidal.
I have absolutely nothing to add to the questions of gay and lesbian issues, women’s rights issues, immigration issues, or anything else in the human rights arena, except that every human being should be treated exactly the same under the law of the United States, with no consideration as to any arbitrary distinction. If you are a consenting adult, having a certain configuration of procreative apparatus in your abdomen or between your legs should make no difference, either in what you choose to do with it, or in what rights you and the consenting adult you choose to hook up with in life are granted as a couple.
The tea partiers have a historical point. Marriage, as originally envisioned, is a vestigial societal construct that was created to favor men, help them control their women and give them a status boost. Its role as a tool of social dominance has been dying out since women got the right to vote and divorce laws changed. Indeed, its only real role these days is as an official status by which married couples rate better tax rates, health insurance and death benefits. Either extend its benefits to everybody who wants them, or abolish it as a legal status altogether; I don’t really care.
There’s probably more, but I’m tired. Do me a favor, Mr. Trump, and chew on these ideas for a minute or two, before going off half-cocked. You won, and you don’t have to suck up to these meth-heads and rednecks for three more years. I believe if you were able to get through even one or two of these ideas you might actually even give America a fighting chance to become great again. But no matter what you do, try not to send us back to the Dark Ages. And try not to croak, because your running mate seems to me to be the real nightmare. What the fuck were you thinking? Anyway, congratulations, and good night.
As a Democrat, I didn’t agree with a single thing this article covered. What the heck? Is this a piece to knock us off our intentions for taking back our government? I’m suspicious…
We already have a non corporate, publicly funded media! Please remember to support your local NPR & PBS stations!
PBS and NPR receive funding from the public but it’s more about (to me) about who those families/individuals are (the ones that flash in front of the screen before a program begins). I’m fine with folks who are progressive but you could (and we’ve seen it before) have folks who are science-deniers funding programs or people against pensions funding programs on PBS.
See the so-called ‘public’ media for what they are, not what we are told they are. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting/NPR/PBS are public media in name only, it is helpful to think of it more as a brand and not an actual description. The Clinton administration gutted the CPB leadership in the late 90s. Because of the funding structure, CPB organizations are little more than echo chambers for whatever administration is in power: see coverage during George W Bush’s run up to the war in Iraq and Barak Obama’s war in Afghanistan.
What a great article, thank you. I lived in the years of the lead in Italy, so the current atmosphere feels like an horrendous de ja vu . At the time we organized in different groups like you mentioned in here. The police and the fascist were always after us. I am from Rome. A group kidnapped a politician, so the rest of us quite distanced from supporting them but – hey- After that we started to have multiple political parties, instead of the same party for decades. Btw, I agree that third parties do not necessarily work: quality over quantity is more effective in achieving substantial political changes at national level .
This article fundamentally misses the point. Trump won because of disaffection as did Obama. This isn’t about racism or sexism or a story. It’s about a political system that is clearly broken by campaign finance conflict of interest, and regulatory bodies with revolving doors to the bank’s, and a dual legal system that excuses CEOs of massive fraud but sends a petty theft who may be just trying to put food on the table to jail for life after 3 strikes. The American political system is broken, the fact that Clinton as well as Trump was even a candidate is testament to that fact.
No it’s clearly about Racism, xenophobia, bigotry, islamaphobia, and no education. But hey keep thinking it’s about or painting the picture that it’s about money and only that…
If there’s going to be any political force that can resist Trump and build a livable future, it will be led by African Americans, Latinos, and young people from all backgrounds AND include all idiots that would prefer to have some ‘elite’ or ‘government bureaucrat’ control their lives instead of the INDIVUDUAL….
10-4 on that, I concur !
I am fed up to my eyebrows with white males – liberal and conservative – telling everybody what to do and how to do it. It’s fucking condescending, rude, leaves out any comprehension of women, POC, LGBT, and others. What I’d really like is for the male species of humans to STFU for, oh, the next 4-100 years. I begin to think you are just full of yourselves and hot air. People around the world have left it to the male geniuses and wtf have any of you ever done for us, except screw us one way or another. It doesn’t matter: capitalism, socialism, fascism, fundamentalism. How about stfu, asking questions, listening instead of blabbering on like god or the universe gave you some goddamned crown to lead. My suggestion for surviving Trump? Get over your white male egos and step into another person’s life for a second.
Well stated.
The difference between an ineffective fringe party and a governing one is that a governing party has room for many different voices and points of view, even among people who vehemently disagree.
The main thing leftists should do right now is stop being the radicals themselves.
They have for years now kept calling their fellow whites racists, and they keep thinking that this was a race vote, when in fact it has nothing to do with it.
I don’t understad how they expect to achieve something while accusing people of terrible things like racism and sexism. That is an extreme behaviour that shuts any conversation… this is why the polls didn’t reflect Trump real numbers, people didn’t even dare to say they were voting for him out of fear of being accused.
I am not getting why the intercept is showing President-elect Trump so little love and constantly talking about him as if he is going to blow up the world the next minute.
The intercept misread the phenomenon Trump and lined up with mainstream media in denouncing his chances to be president. This publication, to my mind, threw its support behind Hillary Clinton, treating her as the lesser of two evils.
There is a lot of rants in your articles about a dysfunctional system, but you fail to recognize the huge rising awareness of this in the American public that propelled Donald J Trump to victory. I think you should acknowledge this and that you were pretty smug about it in the process.
He may be co-opted by the old elite, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. For all his talk about “bombing the hell out of Isis”, he has, by far, talked more sensibly about the war in Syria and the relationship with Russia than any other candidate from the republicand or the democratic party.
Do you by any chance have any ties to Soros like Democracy Now repertedly has?
Good post.
>I am not getting why the intercept is showing President-elect Trump so little love and constantly talking about him as if he is going to blow up the world the next minute.
Why the hell should he deserve love? For fucks sakes. Grow up, stop excusing Trump’s behavior. And stop lying to our faces. You know what’s up here, don’t play dumb.
Dear Jon,
Thank you so very much for your astute and thorough break-down of where we are as progressives in this post election Nation. On the precipice of a Trump presidency, your words give me pause and direction. And I feel HEARD. Heather Olivier in California
The Democratic Party abandoned me long ago….and I suspect many Republicans feel the same about their party. They both sold out to Wall Street, Big Pharma, the AMA, the AHA, Halliburton, and every other special interest group that hired high-priced lawyer-lobbyists to give those hoes in Congress enough cash to keep getting re-elected. “He who pays the piper, calls the tune..”
“4. We don’t need a third party, we just need a party.”
The problem isn’t the representatives we elect but the fact that we’re still electing representatives.
As soon as you centralise power onto a handful of individuals, that power will eventually corrupt the elected.
What we need is to reform the electoral system so that everything our elect representatives vote on is open for a public vote.
Direct democracy is the only true democracy.
What happened to pushing for political & electoral reform?
To create a much much more efficient and representative democratic system with high levels of accountability and transparency built in.
If you acknowledge that the existing American system only benefits a small percentage of ‘elites’ and is increasingly driven by vested interests of all kinds, particularly corporate, then you might concede that democracy has failed to provide a fair system for all citizens.
Why is it that so few people realise that the basic system of so-called democracy is as much to blame as the corruption of the elites who manipulate its flaws for their own benefit at a high cost to everyone else? It is these flaws that allow much of the corruption to occur, and persistently disappoint millions of voters every time.
The flawed system allows polarised candidates to be elected, either to maintain the status quo and add to the problem (Clinton), and to potentially run amok and destroy parts of the economy (Trump). One thing seems certain, neither one would have tackled this problem and introduce the major reforms needed to address even a few of the worst systemic problems.
Hellbound Train I’m on it’s track
Too late now to turn my back
Conductor coming ticket in his hand
Come to claim my soul
Take me to his land
Hellbound Train I been so wrong
Too late now I’m moving on
Conductor standing watch in his hand
Got to get aboard take you to his land
I’m going down the road on the Hellbound Train
Take a long look lady ’cause you won’t see me again
Take a last look lady, yes hard and long
‘Cause I’m going down the road on the Hellbound Train
Hellbound Train driving slow
Move on down to the Hell below
Conductor please won’t you lend a hand?
Got to get on board take me to your land
Yes I know I’ve been so wrong
Too late now I’m moving on
Hellbound Train I’m on it’s track
Moving down I can’t look back
I’m going down the road on the Hellbound Train
Take a long look lady ’cause you won’t see me again
Take a last look lady, yes hard and long
‘Cause I’m going down the road on the Hellbound Train
I’m going down the road on the Hellbound Train
Take a long look lady ’cause you won’t see me again
Take a last look lady, yes hard and long
‘Cause I’m going down the road on the Hellbound Train
Lost and flying down the road on the Hellbound Train
Lost and flying down the road on the Hellbound Train
Hand and hand with the devil
Written by David Francis Baerwald, Will Sexton
You mention the killer machine built by “elites.” Well guess what – the definition of “elites” has changed. You need not be rich or influential at all – all you need be is liberal, a little bit educated, and ask a few too many questions.
This is the enemy as far as Trump’s voting base is concerned – the folks just a little ways up the ladder, with the taint of association with the Wrong People and the Wrong Party.
A little bit educated is exactly what you are if you believe your own post!
Trump supporters are people that were done with politicians getting elected
and ignoring the people that put them there!
This wasn’t about defeating liberals This was about kicking them all out! Republicans and democrats alike! This was say no to Bush’s, Clinton’s and all of the other crooked ass politicians! You are too busy lumping people into groups and name calling like a liberal news lapdog to see what reall went down!
To build a grassroots, viable democracy again, we need to not only take money out of politics, but divest from the monetary economy in general. We can choose to use time-as-currency instead.
Hello, I read this article and in all honesty feel you are completely out of touch. First, the notion that all of those who voted for Trump is racist is a bunch of b.s. put out by the media in Hillaryls corner. I am an independant voter, I have voted Democrat and Republican. I look at the message and ideas and weigh what I think will work and is attainable. Second liberal/socialist ideals have never and will never work for a country our size. Venezuela is proof of this. Over taxation of companies, industries, and small buisness chokes off jobs and money until the entire economy collapses. In short socialism makes the majority equally miserable, not equally rich. At no point in human history has there been a society that did not have rich and poor. Your proposal is to make all poor. Third, Mr Trump did not say anything anti-immigration, he was talking about illeagal immigration. If you did not follow the law coming here you broke it. I agree that reform does need to happen and unfortunatly both sides have been making money off of greedy companies wanting cheap labor and drug cartels throught South America. That said we do not pick and chose what laws we want to obey.
“The role for older, richer white liberals will be important but painfully different from what they’re used to. They’ll have to support other people’s priorities, put up money for things they don’t control, and use all of their social power to protect Muslims, immigrants, and every threatened minority.
What white progressives can and must pursue is outreach to Trump’s white base. One of the killer robot’s main fuels is white supremacy. But human beings are complex and inscrutable and sometimes change. If just 20 percent of the white supremacy could be neutralized, the robot might be much less powerful.”
And in two paragraphs you demonstrate the fallacy of the liberalist agenda. You still haven’t learnt a thing. Not one single thing.
Article completely fails to mention the legitamate fear that fuels the anti-Trumpers is based on media that consistently and in collusion with almost all media , lied and twisted and took out of context what Trump said. For quick example he never said all Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals. Yet the media continues to repeat this lie. He was pointing out the problem of illegal aliens entering across our borders. Amongst them are rapists , murderers that commit crime. That statement did not in anyway brand legal law abiding immigrants or even good hard working illegal immigrants As horrible people.
Your not very educated.
It’s “you’re” with an apostrophe. It’s a contraction of “you are.” Speaking of education, that is.
In fact, it’s – there’s that apostrophe, again – an excellent, well-written article that I, for one, will share broadly.
You’re
It’s you’re, the contraction for you are. So who isn’t educated now?
Says the guy who doesn’t know the difference between “you’re” and “your”.
Or that “educated” cannot be very or not very, it simply is or isn’t. “Well-educated” can accommodate the “very” modifier, dopey!
The main issue, which is not going away if Trump works out, is that we have set the table for a fascist dictator. Am I wrong about ordinary police being able to take your money on the side of the road? It’s not only the 5th Amendment to the Constitution that is in jeopardy, the 4th and the 6th also. Habeas too, people spend decades in pretrial detention at state level. High profile federal cases take years, Pvt. Manning spent 1000 days before trial; mostly Naked. We all know Hillary would have kicked it down the road while the parade of terror legislation continued. It is reasonable to call the US a failed constitutional state. We are a democracy still, but the sad thing about a democracy is you usually get the government you deserve. So if a dictator takes his seat at the table there will be nothing to keep him in check.
Unfortunately Ronald, we are no longer a democracy. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy
“It’s not hyperbole to say the United States, and in fact the world, will need some luck to get out of this one alive.”
That’s the definition of hyperbole, friendo.
It probably wouldn’t hurt you to look up the definition of hyperbole.
If you want to reach out to white Trump voters, you might try not assuming every single last one of them is a deplorable racist fuck. A very significant number of those people voted on strictly economic grounds. Continuing to condescend to them will get you nowhere at all, and possibly do even more harm.
Wasn’t his economic plan entirely kicking people broadly defined as “criminal illegals” out of the country?
Paula, I do hear you. If we assume a major reason for people electing Trump was economic grounds – then they ignored all the reality that is Trump. The man who uses bankruptcy to avoid paying up when his deals don’t give him the return he wants. The man who stints the contractors and workers he hires. The guy who would employ women based upon his judgement of their “number – 1 to 10″. The guy who created a non-profit “university” – or at least lent his name to it – that defrauded thousands of hard working folks.
This is the guy who will fix their economic woes? (and I’m not saying the Dem party will either without a clear and thorough house cleaning. Which may be the best result of electing Trump.)
Awesome
Stop trying to incite criticism of Trump, he will get enough without your help and no I did not vote for him! Perhaps you would rather $hillary was elected and we could watch her create wars with Russia and China, then you could send your sons and daughter to war to die for her. It’s only for 4 years! He’ president, get the hell over it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You must be white
“white liberals need to step up”
No.
No, that’s wrong. You missed the point. You see, liberals lost the election for a reason. Liberals are right of center laissez faire capitalists. Liberals rigged the DNC primary.
No, you see, what needs to happen is for there to be no more liberals. All the people that call themselves “liberal” should stop being capitalist. Focusing on identity politics is not solving anything, in fact it’s making things worse. It’s the economy, stupid. If only Karl Marx was here to slap them in the face.
There are no liberals in the US. They died with FDR. At best, we have a bunch of conservatives pretending to be liberal.
‘A healthy political party would foster community and provide people with concrete things to do between elections. Mike McCurry, one of Bill Clinton’s press secretaries, once suggested that Democrats should turn themselves into a pool of neighborhood volunteers “so that when people are trying to accomplish something, they would say: Call the Democrats, they always have people.”
Or they could get members involved in a local fight for a $15 minimum wage. Or helping women get a safe abortion. Or restoring funding cuts to local colleges. Or whatever members decide. That’s politics.’
I’m not a Democrat, and I have no idea whether they ever did this. But I can tell you that the Greens have been doing this for a long time, working alongside all sorts of groups and people. Of course the media never shares these things. Check out this event coming soon,for example: https://www.facebook.com/events/100108693796957/
And that is the reason the Democrats no longer do this. The Greens are a non-factor politically. The quick-and-dirty wisdom of political power brokers will either say, “It must be because of their kooky hippie local volunteerism,” or pay the question no mind whatever.
Love this article, but you can do better than making the grammar of the sentence “Bill Clinton yearned to divert a healthy flow of the cash to Wall Street, and was only thwarted at the last moment by Monica Lewinsky,” sound like Lewinsky herself caused it.
Sounds minor, but you’re smart enough to know that minor things perpetuate major things. (Doesn’t help that it linked to an article with a big ole picture of the victim herself.)
Well here it comes. The progress made comes crashing to an end. The Paris Climate agreement is torn apart. Relaxation of burning of dirty coal. The rubbing of shoulders with an authoritarian government of Putin and the combining of ideas to keep their control.
The discarding of 20 million Americans who have health insurance because of the Affordable Health Care Act. The dissolution of critical military alliances that have created peace and have solved issues throughout the world.
I heard Newt Gingrich say in an interview that the proposed Wall was just a vehicle to get elected. Sad sad day.
The Nativist thread that has grown stronger in Europe has now been given a shot in the arm and create even more separation within the E.U.
The division created by the creation of Fox News has come into reality. Heaven help us.
Even now as Trump negotiates his new Government the Jackals have come to get their share. The most extreme, Newt Gingrich a man who was forced out as Speaker due to ethics violations. Secretary of State. Washington is rolling over in his grave.
And yet our new “President” still has to face trial in a civil case against Trump University. But wait he will reveal his 500 or so business connections to divest himself from any amount of corruption. Blind trust?
Plato’s Republic had as its ruler someone schooled in philosophy and arm with knowledge and truths. We have now gone to the next step beyond and elected the Tyrant. Eventually we will evolve back to that better place that we had started with Obama but for now we must endure the madness hopefully to emerge stronger.
If President Trump refuses to pay government contractors, including military contractors, who are over budget and late and deliver poor quality, I say good — even excellent.. Same applies to civil servants. America will save hundreds of billions of dollars and prevent taxes from rising — and all will be forgiven by those who dislike him, including young people who hate paying taxes as much as any age group.
Why are minorities worried about Trumps Presidency?
-Is it because they will lose their “Preferential” status?
-Will Trump’s administration eliminate the leverage minorities and their lawyers have to file discrimination lawsuits?
-Does it mean that minorities with the most to lose are legally NOT allowed here and face removal?
-Does it mean the public assistance rolls will be reduced?
Why is self determination worrisome for minorities?
Minorities, and people who don’t have their heads wedged firmly up their ass + have empathy for others, are “worried” that an unhinged, deeply disturbed, pandering bigot with a psychiatric disorder, along with millions of white supremacist followers, is about to increase lawless police brutality against minorities, including the targeting & murdering of innocent, unarmed blacks & Hispanic men, women, and children.
They’re worried that the post 9.11 pants-shitters still cannot get their block-heads around the fact that less than 6% of US terrorism is committed by Muslims, while the good-guy, white Judeo-Christians commit over 94% of US terrorism, yet the knuckle-draggers still want increased vengeance against Muslims because reality never enters into the equation for white supremacists.
As we witnessed just this week with 6 cops being shot & 2 killed – ALL by white men (as is the case 3 out of 4 times) – that the silence of the “Blue Lives Matter” crowd has exposed them to be full of shit. That “Blue Lives Matter” has now been proven beyond all doubt to mean nothing more than “Cops Murdering Innocent Blacks Is OK”.
That rightwingers who view all Hispanics as either illegal or “nearly” illegal, certainly not “Real Merkans”, are going to be the target of more thimble-dick losers looking for revenge.
Thanks for at least putting “Preferential” status in quotes when trying to play the white victim-hood card. The absurdity, in the land of white privilege and stop-and-frisk racism, to even pretend to say minorities have “preferential” status is something even white supremacists like yourself cannot say with a straight face.
I normally flush shit and your verbal diarrhea is no exception. In honoring the Veterans within my family and their sacrifice I will sacrifice my better judgement and delay flushing to respond. Will more shit come from you? Hopefully not…..
I know of no such thing as “white privilege.” Maybe that is an indicator of your own insecurity/stupidity/racism?
My family were designated “Enemy Aliens” and treated as such during WWII. Italians, a WHITE MINORITY, were treated just like the Japanese. The Japanese were compensated but were the Italians, NO. Did we complain? No, we busted our asses. If I were to join the military and qualify, by testing, for placement in very sensitive positions I would not get that position because my family was considered the enemy during WWII. Im good enough to stop bullets on the front lines but nothing more. Of the, Filipino, the black, the Mexican, the Cherokee and the so-called white people in my family, the white family members are the only ones who have been suffering from discrimination over the last 30-40 years… letters from the State of California sent home to explain the state job was being filled by a minority even though that person tested the highest for that position. Another family member tested for a union job in the trades and was placed in the “Caucasian” list. Those businesses doing state contracts have to have minimum minority employee numbers. I could go on and on but dont want to waist too much time on an idiot who is spoon fed what to think and say.
Would people like you ever push for simple equality? No you wouldn’t because then people like you would actually have to have something of value to offer. Everyone I know has invested alot of time and energy into their economic status, except the white people. Unbelievably, they have been denied the opportunity to work just because they are WHITE…….
Any immigrant that finds it hard to live in this country and doesn’t work harder and instead complains doesn’t deserve to be here.
All lives matter.
I think they’re mainly worried about being murdered, tortured, imprisoned or dissapeared, as Trump has promised to do to them and his followers are already doing for him.
I haven’t heard Trump say anything other than he will build a wall to stop the flow of criminals from entering our country. We don’t know who is entering. Almost all will get public assistance. That’s paid with our money. That money could be better spent.
I don’t think the KKK fosters self-determination.
I’m getting sick of people rationalizing Clinton’s defeat as a problem with the constituency, rather than the candidate. “Clinton never tried to tell a competing story, making her blizzard of facts meaningless to non-technocrats”, as if the reason her campaign failed was because the people who didn’t vote for her were too lowly and too stupid to understand what she meant. What she meant was irrelevant, when she was being paid millions of dollars by private interests, to whom she gave private speeches and with whom she held private meetings.
It wasn’t that people didn’t understand her. People understood her, they just didn’t believe she meant what she was saying.
Unless you’re one of those fools who wants to continue to perpetuate the myth that handing political candidates and their associated PAC’s millions of dollars doesn’t have any impact whatsoever on their decision making process once they make it to office.
Exactly right. Her long term toxicity and corruption, and inflexibility near the end, drove people away by the millions.
Fluffy bullshit that Greenwald specifically warned against; where was the mention of the abandoned working class by globalists getting fat the past 8 years? Wake up Democrats.
Some good things about Trump getting in office:
1) Oceanfront property is due to get a whole lot cheaper.
2) Louisiana, the number one jailer state, and Florida, the number one censor state, are not going to be there any more. (At least, not unless the U.S. catches up to the Dutch technology of 1000-1500 AD, which so far hasn’t happened)
3) Asthma is going to get purged from the gene pool.
4) Internet publishing will get a whole lot cheaper when there are no remaining ideological reasons to avoid Chinese web hosting and support.
5) Somebody will stop radicals from making people feel sad about themselves.
6) The Beast will put an end to religious differences.
7) You’ll have trillionaires to look up to and admire.
8) On a tough day you might find a use for that right to bear arms people keep talking about.
Wanna know about Trump; you could read his original book and you could read David Cay Johnston’s latest book (Trump, what’s the deal). DCJ is one of the best investigative journalists in the USA; his (Free Lunch and Perfectly Legal) should be taught in public school so people could see how the system really works. Wanna know about Obama; you could read (The Bridge) a biography and you could read Bill presses (Buyers Remorse) to see what he has really done, a true failed person who is still liked by his followers/suckers as women still like Bill Clinton; people are not rational. I said from day one when Trump ran; this is just showmanship, this is not the man and he is starting to prove me right. Clinton has a record as a Lady Macbeth, Wall St. War monger. They are both sociopaths but on balance, I believe Trump will be better; hope I’m not proven wrong.
I hope you are right but we must be ears up and eyes open. If Trump takes a dangerous path he has no in-depth political support to allow the kind of sedition of the Constitution carried out by both neocons and neoliberals in both parties that allow rule of and favors for the elites. Why I voted for him, not a supporter.
Please, everyone take a knee, there is opportunity here for a new collection of moderate progressive policy. If not now, the stage will be set for 2020. If the “good” Trump shows up looking for common ground help US find it, if the bad Trump appears we can all pull together to stop bad policy.
Somewhere out there is a moderate progressive, a unifier not divider that can see the needs of the urban and rural disenfranchised have many common fears and needs. The party that exploits this unity will be rewarded with a powerful populist base. Trump is probably not the “one” but the One is out there to unify Constitutional rule and balanced progressive views the extremes of either party can never form this coalition. Trump has a shot but will likely not take it or lose out due to too much baggage. Hillary’s baggage cost her the election. Trump must reinvent himself or sink his presidency.
Excellent summation of my thoughts. We must, however, realize the globalist elites who own so many in our government, and control the propaganda that spews from almost all mrdia, will not stop. They will continue to attack Trump and make it almost impossible to filter out facts.
Everyone should pick up a copy of Deepa Kumar’s book, “Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire” today.
The popular vote narrowly went to Hillary, as insatiable as she was and is. The nation is deeply divided.
Trump is a mountebank and will fail, just like Obama did.
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump, who campaigned against the corrupt power of special interests, is filling his transition team with some of the very sort of people who he has complained have too much clout in Washington: corporate consultants and lobbyists.
Jeffrey Eisenach, a consultant who has worked for years on behalf of Verizon and other telecommunications clients, is the head of the team that is helping to pick staff members at the Federal Communications Commission.
Michael Catanzaro, a lobbyist whose clients include Devon Energy and Encana Oil and Gas, holds the “energy independence” portfolio.
Michael Torrey, a lobbyist who runs a firm that has earned millions of dollars helping food industry players such as the American Beverage Association and the dairy giant Dean Foods, is helping set up the new team at the Department of Agriculture.
Mr. Trump was swept to power in large part by white working-class voters who responded to his vow to restore the voices of forgotten people, ones drowned out by big business and Wall Street. But in his transition to power, some of the most prominent voices will be those of advisers who come from the same industries for which they are being asked to help set the regulatory groundwork.
The president-elect’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined a request for comment, as did nearly a dozen corporate executives, consultants and lobbyists serving on his transition team, which was outlined in a list distributed widely in Washington on Thursday.
The list:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3217279-2016-11-10-Transition-Team-List.html
You are going to have the same experience many of us on the left had when Obama’s “”hopey-changey” thing started with him appointing the same cockroaches who deregulated the banks, caused the crash (the idiot Bush was a confused bystander) and then saving the criminals, making the US taxpayers pay the bill.
Here’s what they did in little Iceland, and it worked:
http://www.blacklistednews.com/First_They_Jailed_the_Bankers%2C_Now_Every_Icelander_to_Get_Paid_in_Bank_Sale/47002/0/38/38/Y/M.html
http://theantimedia.org/icelands-bankers-face-74-years-in-prison-while-us-banks-profit-after-your-bailout/
Trump and Obama have just had a touching bromantic session because they are both part of the same con game.
Except for the die-hard racists (and that should be their fate) we all belong on the same side.
The list:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3217279-2016-11-10-Transition-Team-List.html
You are going to have the same experience many of us on the left had when Obama’s “”hopey-changey” thing started with him appointing the same cockroaches who deregulated the banks, caused the crash (the idijt Bush was a confused bystander) and then saving the criminals, making the US taxpayers pay the bill.
Here’s what they did in little Iceland, and it worked:
http://www.blacklistednews.com/First_They_Jailed_the_Bankers%2C_Now_Every_Icelander_to_Get_Paid_in_Bank_Sale/47002/0/38/38/Y/M.html
http://theantimedia.org/icelands-bankers-face-74-years-in-prison-while-us-banks-profit-after-your-bailout/
Trump and Obama have just had a touching bromantic session because they are both part of the same con game.
Except for the die-hard racists (and that should be their fate) we all belong on the same side.
Young people have no future in America, Go to college, graduate with crushing debt, or attend a loser high school and graduate to your fate flipping burgers.
Here’s the REAL reality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dBZDSSky0
To repeat a phrase — what do they have to lose?
Both The Atlantic and Bloomberg are censoring this off their pages as “spam.”
Someone needs to look in to Disqus from the dark web and see what they’re doing to enable censorship.
Here’s what I wrote.
The popular vote narrowly went to Hillary, as insatiable as she was and is. The nation is deeply divided.
Trump is a mountebank and will fail, just like Obama did.
From the NY Times:
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump, who campaigned against the corrupt power of special interests, is filling his transition team with some of the very sort of people who he has complained have too much clout in Washington: corporate consultants and lobbyists.
Jeffrey Eisenach, a consultant who has worked for years on behalf of Verizon and other telecommunications clients, is the head of the team that is helping to pick staff members at the Federal Communications Commission.
Michael Catanzaro, a lobbyist whose clients include Devon Energy and Encana Oil and Gas, holds the “energy independence” portfolio.
Michael Torrey, a lobbyist who runs a firm that has earned millions of dollars helping food industry players such as the American Beverage Association and the dairy giant Dean Foods, is helping set up the new team at the Department of Agriculture.
Mr. Trump was swept to power in large part by white working-class voters who responded to his vow to restore the voices of forgotten people, ones drowned out by big business and Wall Street. But in his transition to power, some of the most prominent voices will be those of advisers who come from the same industries for which they are being asked to help set the regulatory groundwork.
The president-elect’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined a request for comment, as did nearly a dozen corporate executives, consultants and lobbyists serving on his transition team, which was outlined in a list distributed widely in Washington on Thursday.
The list:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3217279-2016-11-10-Transition-Team-List.html
You are going to have the same experience many of us on the left had when Obama’s “”hopey-changey” thing started with him appointing the same cockroaches who deregulated the banks, caused the crash (the idiot Bush was a confused bystander) and then saving the criminals, making the US taxpayers pay the bill.
Here’s what they did in little Iceland, and it worked:
http://www.blacklistednews.com/First_They_Jailed_the_Bankers%2C_Now_Every_Icelander_to_Get_Paid_in_Bank_Sale/47002/0/38/38/Y/M.html
http://theantimedia.org/icelands-bankers-face-74-years-in-prison-while-us-banks-profit-after-your-bailout/
Trump and Obama have just had a touching bromantic session because they are both part of the same con game.
Except for the die-hard racists (and that should be their fate) we all belong on the same side.
The list:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3217279-2016-11-10-Transition-Team-List.html
You are going to have the same experience many of us on the left had when Obama’s “”hopey-changey” thing started with him appointing the same cockroaches who deregulated the banks, caused the crash (the idijt Bush was a confused bystander) and then saving the criminals, making the US taxpayers pay the bill.
Here’s what they did in little Iceland, and it worked:
http://www.blacklistednews.com/First_They_Jailed_the_Bankers%2C_Now_Every_Icelander_to_Get_Paid_in_Bank_Sale/47002/0/38/38/Y/M.html
http://theantimedia.org/icelands-bankers-face-74-years-in-prison-while-us-banks-profit-after-your-bailout/
Trump and Obama have just had a touching bromantic session because they are both part of the same con game.
Except for the die-hard racists (and that should be their fate) we all belong on the same side.
Young people have no future in America, Go to college, graduate with crushing debt, or attend a loser high school and graduate to your fate flipping burgers.
Here’s the REAL reality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dBZDSSky0
To repeat a phrase — what do they have to lose?
Just a quick mention, the $15/hour minimum wage hike in Seattle was spearheaded by a SOCIALIST councilwoman, Kshama Sawant. Not a Democrat, not a Republican. There is work being done in third parties. While the other two fight for the whole wheel of cheese, perpetually campaigning and grabbing as much $$$ as they can hold, there are real public servants affecting significant change.
Good article. One huge quibble, though:
“If he [Obama] ran for president for some reason other than just to live in the White House for a while, he can’t now start jetting around the world and giving speeches for $1 million.”
Ummm… Why not? I mean, what on earth or in his behavior makes you think he ever really wanted to do much more than occupy the White House and live large afterwards? In the preceding paragraph you explicitly describe how he nonchalantly SET US ALL UP for this week’s Republican sweep by deliberately letting HIS OWN coalition wither away. The world would look a lot different if Republicans hadn’t been able to lock in their coalition for a decade through redistricting. Presumably our “constitutional scholar” president is vaguely aware of decennial redistricting, right?
I voted for him in 2008 — McCain was plainly unhinged — but I’ve never had a sense that there’s anything like an “Obama philosophy”. I could never really figure out what specific things he hoped to accomplish, other than showing up in the history books. And consider how he’s left essentially ZERO imprint on his own party. Quick, name a single “Obama Democrat” who’s known to anybody who doesn’t frequent weird politics blogs. I mean, think of Slick Willy and you can at least dredge up memories of, say, Albright (I’m not saying they have to be **good** memories).
By the 2018 elections, for Dems it’ll almost be as though Obama was never there to begin with — and he will indeed have collected **many** million-dollar “appearance fees”. I don’t see much evidence that he has any problem with that at all.
The Democrats gutted their own party and shot themselves in each foot… twice. If they even survive this, they still won’t take responsibility for it.
Anyone or anything that labels themselves by putting a “D” after their name is dead to me. I have no space, patience, energy or time in my life for any of it anymore.
They either need to entirely dissolve the party, or point the blame back on themselves, taking full responsibility for corrupting democracy to the catastrophic levels they have, before I will even consider looking their way again.
And I’m far from alone on this stance.
communism a worst system than capitalism? argh, that certainly doesn’t fit in my own story. most of the article does though, but if we admit that we are deeply biased creatures lets be very carefull about claiming that our own story is “the Truth”
thanks for the article. However, I feel this is not accurate: ““Then communism collapsed, taking the daily threat of nuclear war with it.”
from India/Pakistan to N/S Korea to the current arm wrestling going on in Russia, nuclear annihilation is very much on the menu. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists states it is 3 minutes to midnight on the Doomsday Clock, a time that is pretty much as bad as it has ever been, save for the year 1953, the year the US decided to pursue the H bomb and we were at the height of the cold war & we were at 2 minutes to midnite.
http://thebulletin.org/timeline
So, looking on the bright side, in 2016 The U.S., through democratic process, destroyed the decades-long stranglehold of our two royal families- the Clintons and the Bushes. Voters should be lauded, not denigrated. It will be interesting to watch the money laundering pay-to-play Clinton foundation crumble. Who will give them money now?
Yes, take action, keep hope, act in love. Much has been accomplished. Much remains to be done.
What a sham article.
“The United States is extremely lucky that no honest, charismatic figure has arisen,” Chomsky said. “Every charismatic figure is such an obvious crook that he destroys himself, like McCarthy or Nixon or the evangelist preachers. If somebody comes along who is charismatic and honest this country is in real trouble because of the frustration, disillusionment, the justified anger and the absence of any coherent response. What are people supposed to think if someone says ‘I have got an answer, we have an enemy’? There it was the Jews. Here it will be the illegal immigrants and the blacks. We will be told that white males are a persecuted minority. We will be told we have to defend ourselves and the honor of the nation. Military force will be exalted. People will be beaten up. This could become an overwhelming force. And if it happens it will be more dangerous than Germany. The United States is the world power. Germany was powerful but had more powerful antagonists. I don’t think all this is very far away. If the polls are accurate it is not the Republicans but the right-wing Republicans, the crazed Republicans, who will sweep the next election.”
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/noam_chomsky_has_never_seen_anything_like_this_20100419/P500
Day 1 in Trump’s America
https://twitter.com/i/moments/796417517157830656
Sign to stop SUPERDELEGATES:
https://www.change.org/p/democratic-national-committee-end-the-democratic-party-s-use-of-superdelegates
You are understating things in an important way when you say “Trump’s story was ‘Muslims are lunatics who want to slaughter your children, we can’t let them in!”
This is not Trump’s story. It’s critical to understand that there’s a whole industry of people behind this story – Limbaugh, Breitbart, Ingraham, Hannity, Coulter, the Center for Security Policy, ACT for America, and many others – and they have been amazingly effective. Through them, the social and political priorities of the white nationalist fringe have gained traction among mainstream white America. By failing to even acknowledge these, you are showing yourself to be sheltered within the liberal media bubble that we progressives need to break out of.
Trump expertly tapped into this story, but he didn’t create it.
Woven into your eight-point plan but deserving of its own section is that we need to engage with conservative white America. Xenophobia and racism are fueled by emotions – primarily fear – and as such they are impervious to facts. One tactic that immigration hard-liners have used, for example, is organizing town hall style talks where they present misleading and outright false data and persuade audience by tapping into their fears. We need to start showing up to those same talks and injecting other points of view into the discussion so that it’s not so one-sided, but more importantly to understand these people and help them understand us.
It’s a noble ambition. But if you intend on “showing up to those same talks and injecting other points of view into the discussion,” I hope you have major medical and dental coverage.
Here’s a story for Jon, in honor of the excellent comment by rrheard below.
A very large old man with white hair and the kind of dark wraparound sunglasses you need to wear after eye surgery was leaving the hall where we vote while I was depositing my ballot.
As I was being handed my “I voted” sticker about to follow him out the door, he suddenly turned around and jokingly said to the poll volunteer at the door who he obviously knew “Trump told me to vote twice, so I’m coming back in”.
All three of us laughed, and the old man suddenly became aware of my presence and realized he was blocking me from leaving, so he turned around again and walked out ahead of me.
The hall has a sidewalk in front with a railing separating it from the parking lot.
The man went left out the door, the same direction I was heading, lightly using the railing for support. About ten feet from the door, there are two short steps down to the level of the parking lot. The old man with restricted vision didn’t see the steps, and nearly fell after taking both steps at once. I jumped forward to grab his arm, but he had caught himself at the last minute. He stood there for a moment holding the railing, and I asked if he was OK because it looked like his ankle had twisted.
He gave me a slight nod, then took the few steps to the passenger door of a truck.
“Nah. My ankle’s fine, but my back might feel that tomorrow.”
Nice sweet column but once again no mention of what ruined our country and the whole world. Neoliberalism. Stop ignoring it. It is the main problem and although described some of it you never said what caused this mess. If people don’t know about it and most don’t we can’t fight it. Right now it is monster that has taken over our country and we can blame the Democrats for adopting this horrible ideology. All our presidents even Jimmy Carter liked it. It makes some of the people very very rich and makes the already rich even richer. BUT it is destroying the middle class, killing the poor and the newly poor. It destroys compassion (Obama is good example) caring and makes our country so much worse than we thought possible. If writers avoid the word they help the elite keep the people in the dark. So shout out DOWN WITH NEOLIBERALISM and watch our politicians under a microscope they don’t sneak any bad policies in again. Carry signs, march with signs. Make everyone know what brought this misstep on us. But remember Hillary was simply not the answer. She was a big party of the problem, a rampant neoliberal who might have taken us over the edge. We can all be thankful that is election showed us that our democracy still works. you may be angry at the out come but it might makes us think again when a party decides to simply ignore the blight of Americans and the world.
And I don’t agree that we only need two parties. The last 30 years we were stuck with two very bad parties so what was one supposed to do. No we need other parties and most people forgot we already have 4 parties. We need to use the method that most other democratic countries use. We have not been so good at democracy the last 30 years or so.
i don’t for a second think that the intercept ignores neoliberalism – if anything, they are one of the main outlets to expose it for what it really is.
Thank you, Barbara. Have been explaining the concept to my liberal friends for the last year, to no avail. And they are still in denial.
“It’s not hyperbole to say the United States, and in fact the world, will need some luck to get out of this one alive. ”
Yes. Yes, it is hyperbole to say that.
#2: “White people need to convince other white people to self-disenfranchise, because if we convince only 20% to ignore their own interests we’ll mathematically win every time!”
This is the main reason the election was lost! Clinton was the best candidate by far for all working people, including whites, but the professional activist class could not bring themselves to say this out-loud. The truth is that class conflict is real, and when there are growing numbers of upwardly mobile women and non-whites there is a fear to admit that the largest bloc of people who would be helped by liberal policies like Clinton’s are straight, white cis-men.
You told white men that they aren’t going to lead the movement to improve their own lives, so 10 million of them stayed home on Tuesday and Trump was elected. I doubt you think it was worth it.
Consider for one moment that Donald J. Trump won the election in SPITE of most of his own party hating him, about 95% of the media was against him. About 95% of all the national newspapers refused to endorse him. Gloria Allred trotting out 20? various women against Trump…a major bimbo eruption. And on and on.
Most of the media refused to cover any of the Wikileaks emails!
And in spite of all the polling against him too….he freakin’ won!!!!
I actually did vote for him here in SoCal, more as a protest vote against Clinton who I believe is an un-indicted criminal and pathological liar. Plus I voted for Trump’s willingness to work with Russia against Islamic terrorism and to stop all the “New World Order” regime changes Hillary and her Neocon backers are pushing for which Trump is wise enough to know could lead to WW III with Russia.
I hope Trump is smart enough not to allow the Neocons to foul his foreign policy nest, because I promise all of you they are busy plotting right now how to weasel their way into The Oval Office.
Don’t let them in Donald. Please. Don’t let them in.
“believe is an un-indicted criminal and pathological liar”
Your beliefs don’t matter. Provide some facts; they actually do matter. And, they tend to have a liberal bias.
This is why victims of sexual assault are afraid to talk.
I’m sorry. But that’s really wretched.
Helping to elect Trump and not opposing him wholeheartedly has unleashed terror on millions of children who are being taunted by yells of “we’re going to build a wall!” and who now are justifiably afraid of someone they know being deported. Vigilante incidents against black people as well as Asian Americans and Muslim Americans are up.
I hope you can learn to take responsibility for this.
Hillary Clinton is neither an un-idicted criminal nor a pathological liar, nor are victims of sexual abuse, a bimbo eruption. The tone and logic of your email suggest to this reader that your protest vote reads more like an endorsement of Trump and his policies. Your vote will see John Bolton as Secretary of State. Finally Trump is incapable of being wise for a myriad of reasons stemming from his short attention span personality and his inability to concentrate and read. Hoping otherwise is magical thinking – cunning – yes, sly -yes, but wise never.
SHUT UP the Senate and Congress make the rules and the laws has nothing to do with the sitting president. fear mongers and haters. YOU lost go back to work.
Forget Trump. Someone somewhere is very afraid of my comments. Once more, more than 18 hrs have elapsed since posting my first comment on this article. And it has yet to show…
Great ideas, and yet polarization too. Please consider Breakthroughpower.org from Nadar.org? Let us agree on certain points left, or right or whatever group so that we can build consenses ? Great idea on our own media, but no mention of Health Ranger’s search engine or media website. In order for us all to be help change the world for the better we have not look at what is that we are personally going to get out of it. I have more knowledge of the system if you would like to share? Enjoy…..
I’m not actually a sordid post in real life but I play one on tv.
Candace here. I don’t have an internet connection anymore and I’m not sure what the rules here are for usernames and ip addresses meaning I wasn’t sure if this would post if I used my name
Anyway hello John Schwartz!
Just a few things I thought I would add: Good to remember that any sentiment criticism or movement that moves against Trump will be stolen and re branded as criticism about his political opponents as republicans always do. Don’t waste your time arguing about it.
Anything you or movements are for will be tweeked a bit and then what he/the right was always for. And you the one who wants change will be labeled as a threat to US peace a terrorist, incarcerated or dead.
We are a conquered people, I could be wrong about this I am old but direct confrontation is not advisable.
This is kind of an answer to #3 -#5
Not so much a story but Trump won by putting on a show, a crude show but show it was. Would you pay for that? Progressives should be able to put on a show that you would actually want to pay for.
The country is missing art.
If accurate news isn’t profitable then make it profitable like having aliens read the news with a completely separate side story.
(maybe not but I have found the sci fi is the antidote for US politics, you know problem solving etc – especially Star Trek.)
I’d like to see the week before elections be named the Art of Democracy week. Public school involvement, area theaters, small businesses, block parties
Also I think local meetups “can we agree on this..” could include conversations about how we define strength, family values, the first amendment and I am forgetting something.
Reach out to conservatives, anyway.
Above all if Trump and his people are on to your nefarious intentions complement him. He is turns into a puppy when he’s complemented.
Right on
In this entire murky world that Glenn Greenwald presides over, only one person has consistently predicted correctly from the very start that Donald Trump will be elected. There can’t be sweeter news than this for the valiant Julian Assange who is a great friend and partner of Greenwald.
In the most recent interview with Assange, he told John Pilger that even if Trump were to be “elected” that he will never be allowed to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office and have the power of the pen.
With all the death threats that are erupting on-line and the new “No Fly Zone” over Trump tower, I am thinking Trump’s inauguration should be moved inside and no walking with Melania and Barron down Pennsylvania Avenue.
The “Crooked Hillary” crazies are out and dangerous. Somebody needs to keep an eye on Rachel “you did not die and you are not in hell” Maddow.
Give the cry-baby Mellennials some hot chocolate and play dough and crayons and soon they will “feel better” cause learning the hard
lesson that everybody can NOT win the election is tough medicine for them to swallow.
Enjoy your Martini, make it yourself.
i suspect you are correct and have read the same concerns about the net.
i would imagine that the banksters who had JFK murdered might be looking for some sort of setup. I also believe the friends of the bankers are going to try to swarm him and tie him up – so to speak – in the white house so that he cannot make a move without discussion and approval. He, being more dictatorial, will see this and order them away. And that is when the crazy wallstreet thieves will attempt to make rebuilding America a proposal to pawn all public properties.
i sure hope he catches on and also AUDITS THE FED.
The collateral damage here may be the expulsion of Snowden by Putin into the waiting arms of Trump and co.
I just had an image in my mind of a vast crowd of protesters singing Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”, with its peculiar haunting lyrics: Old pirates, yes, they rob I / Sold I to the merchant ships / Minutes after they took I / From the bottomless pit / But my hand was made strong / By the hand of the Almighty / We forward in this generation / Triumphantly… It reminds me that yes, what has happened to America this week may be bad, but it is not nearly so bad as what good people have endured, survived, and even managed to keep a society and a faith and a dignity of their own throughout. And it also reminds me that Marley himself, to the regret and consternation of all, rejecting an amputation citing his religious beliefs. As we face a reduction in wealth, as we face denial of medical care, we might look to him to remind us that neither wealth nor even survival are our true purpose, and there is dignity to be found even in the darkness.
About 2 weeks ago The Intercept started posting this Huffington Post shit. Please stop regurgitating tired narratives and go back to providing actual insight.
If the damned Elites can’t even rig a simple, national election, what the Hell are any of them good for?
Flush them all down the toilet . . .
(Unless . . . was Donald actually supposed to have won???)
The way the media was glad-handing us I sure felt like it.
They allegedly tried ( leaked email ) to manipulate but it backfired royally!!
http://www.salon.com/2016/11/09/the-hillary-clinton-campaign-intentionally-created-donald-trump-with-its-pied-piper-strategy/
“One of the killer robot’s main fuels is white supremacy. ”
Total bullshit. There’s this guy named Glenn Greenwald who publishes articles on a website called “The Intercept”. You ought to check out his post election day article. He had an insightful take on the 2016 U.S. presidential election as it paralleled the Brexit vote. It’s convenient for smug, self-righteous liberal elites such as yourself to dismiss white working class people as ignorant, racist, sexist, xenophobes. But, as Glenn pointed out, the Upper Mid-West white working class people who propelled Trump to the presidency are the same people who voted for Obama in 2008. Yeah, “white supremacy”. White people who have seen their jobs disappear, witnessed their cities and towns decaying, experienced skyrocketing education and healthcare costs, etc. etc. don’t want to hear about how “privileged” they are. Maybe it’s true, relatively speaking, but for most folks the only “relative” they’re interested in is how they’re doing now vs. how they were doing in the past. You don’t tell people who are losing ground economically that they’re just a bunch of stupid racists and ignore their grievances because they’re “deplorable”.
You actually think Clinton’s belief was that we should cease the U.S. government policy of foreign militarism and that her problem was crafting that position into a STORY? LOL She was the primary architect of “regime change” in Libya and Syria and openly advocated provoking war with Russia! Trump was the dove in this election. If Clinton’s “story” was one of peace and non-intervention, I might have voted for her!
White people voted for Trump. People of color and Muslim Americans voted for Clinton. If the issue was merely economic, that wouldn’t be the case.
The problem is that many white people (you?) have been putting out their eyes so that they can’t see racism (many are deeply committed to “colorblindness”) or white supremacy. I don’t think they could see it unless the Klan was actively burning a cross on their lawn. The majority of white people are of no help in the fight against white supremacy because of this problem.
Exactly, I balked at the same line. There are white supremacists, but it is possible to oppose immigration without being one of them; and especially to oppose porous borders when our government has been waging lethal war in several countries, both overtly and covertly, for going on two decades.
It should be pretty obvious to people that if drug lords can routinely smuggle truck loads of drugs into this country then *anything* can be smuggled in, and if we have 11 million illegal aliens in this country, then *anyone* get in.
Why can’t I be opposed to that without being labeled a racist?
1) Quit talking like it’s about Trump.
Trump is big, loud, flashy, obnoxious, and he has something different to say every minute. It’s easy to be distracted by him. But Trump is irrelevant. What he thinks doesn’t matter a whole hell of a lot more than what I think. Despite the big pro wrestling style display, Trump is simply an actor fronting for the Republicans. He’ll read his teleprompter, give some outrageous off the cuff opinions, but just like Ronald Reagan, he won’t really need to understand any of it. He just signs stuff and plays the part. So what we’re up against is the usual line up of crooks with various agendas but mostly looking for ways to siphon trillions of dollars into big banks. In five or seven or nine years, ay caramba, the banks will suddenly admit they have no real money and we’re all back in Great Recession II. I don’t think the big crash is anytime soon – that’s the silver lining, if there is one. It takes time to move a trillion dollars out of a bank while nobody notices.
2) Be ready for the crash when it happens, which isn’t now.
Some heroes can try to expose the robbery while it’s going on; we’ll see how that works for them. But the people ought to be ready when the Dow is down 3000 and all eyes are on Congress for an emergency response. I don’t know enough to have a real theory here, but I’m thinking the people of America could shut that shit down, paralyze the city, do what it takes to keep Congress from making those all-important pen strokes that are absolutely, vitally necessary to make in the next 48 hours to save the Western world from disaster. Maybe they could even have a few iconoclasts clever enough to cook up an Icelandic alternative, but more likely, it’s just a matter of letting all those pieces of paper be just paper again, all across the world. And having a bold alternative economic system among the radicals ready to reorganize small groups of people in the aftermath.
3) Expect gang expansion.
In lieu of expanding health benefits, the growth of the lower class implies the growth of its traditional coping mechanisms, which is to say, the growth of organized crime. The rich have all the money, but to have all the money they need to own stuff. That means that the various factories, distribution centers, pipelines, and skyscrapers they hold are prone to accident. It seems likely that a widely expanded lower class is going to help those accidents occur. We feel a conditioned squeamishness toward recognizing that reality, yet the original unions were not born as high-minded civic enterprise; they were organized crime, or at least, treated as such. With far less need for actual workers, the modern counterpart is likely to focus much less on striking or harming strikebreakers, more on harming capital property. How people prepare for this trend is, of course, a personal ethical decision, but there are already parts of America where strongly opposing gangs is not a smart personal decision to make, and there will be many more. Maybe innovators will think over the entire concept in the abstract though, and find ways to reinvent the mob union in an entirely new and perhaps less-cruel entity.
4) Jihad is likely to be inducted into Western culture
Perhaps in preparation for the way things are going, the government has long been preparing antiterrorist responses. However, these responses have a counter-move, which is for radicals to make suicide attacks. So looking forward, it seems predictable that at some point there will be a Daddy named Miguel who has watched his child succumb to a treatable disease, who blows up a truck bomb beside the local hospital, and six years later there is a black or a white kid in nearly every first-grade class named Miguel. Though I doubt the baggage of Islam will accompany the concept, I imagine some outlandish claim of spiritual reward might.
5) Terrorism is the new democracy, but the true terrorism is understanding.
If we want to wean our new culture off its incipient violent tendencies, I’m thinking that people need to consider very carefully what makes terrorism terrorism. I mean, Ted Kaczinsky was a brilliant bomb-maker but he was lousy as a terrorist. What matters isn’t how big the boom but what its effect is on the target audience (in Kaczinsky’s case, it would have been prudent for him to have a target audience in the first place, i.e. people who were supposed to do something specific at all). Radical leaders have much to gain by replacing violent actions that lead to losses among their followers with inspired, newsworthy actions that lay waste to their foes with less effort. Abbie Hoffman could inspire more fear by calling for a simultaneous toilet flush than the average group of his day could manage with a bomb. We’ve seen that – IF people get an audience – cyberbulling CEOs like Brendan Eich can be devastatingly effective. Enough so that the corporate power that tells the Republicans what to do could be forced to tell them to do something else.
6) A new order of chivalry may emerge.
There have been terrorists-errant who shot an Israeli prime minister to change the country’s politics for two decades, who had airplanes flown into towers in order to get U.S. troops permanently out of Saudi Arabia, who hacked into the DNC to lead to the party’s downfall. People almost always do what they want, but often the people hate them for that. Perhaps the world can invent a new chivalrous order by which some of its terrorists agree to use fair means rather than foul, or at least, to use foul means only on those truly deserving, and to be honest and defend the weak.
Wow! What race baiting vitriolic hyperbole!
I’m impressed Schwarz….
Do yourself a favor, do a deep dive on wikileaks, godlike production s , reddit and even BREITBART and get a clue – both about the supporters of Trump, The Clinton Machine and the criminal enterprise running the country.
You might learn something.
Thank you for this article. I appreciate it, as an older white liberal whose far to the left. It offers options that I will gladly take up. And my two millennial children will take it from there.
First what makes you think these politicians are doing anything for you?? Smoke & Mirrors…
with all of Trump’s money what has he done for the people? If it doesn’t pay – you don’t do it…
that’s right isn’t it? High-rises built with abatement money….owned by the developer – affordable housing has been redefined to be half of the market value rent / not based on how you are paid..
Do you realize what it cost? the taxes? Oh yes abatement…. The mayor pushed for the progress of the high-rises …. he bought a single family home…..he moved here of New York City..
Everyday your rights go down – no longer the age of enlightenment….healthcare…..abortion rights…you name it today and tomorrow it is gone… A republican actually wanted to do away with the minimum wage laws Welcome to the third world – work at whatever you can get and starve – get sick and die…..no death squads – but they aren’t needed either.. The creation of the elite
We need to lose the identity politics and get back to class politics.
What do we need? A social safety net, single player health care, and eventually a universal basic income.
>>> What do we need? A social safety net, single player health care, and eventually a universal basic income.<<<
Would you like to come to work for me?
I offer everything you need to survive.
I pay all the bills.
I give you food and shelter.
I give you clothing.
I give you a bed.
I even let you breed and I take care of your kids.
I own a plantation.
I am a single-source payer.
Interested?
i already work on a plantation
it’s called 3rd World USA
“We need a story”
You already have a story Jon — you shilled for a corporate war criminal Hillary Clinton. Your story is very rich. For the past eight years and today, we have a sitting liberal president. The story for you liberals is that you did nothing in eight years to combat his policies that favored Wall Street, reignited the cold war, accomplished the deportation of millions, and unleashed Jihadist and air-power to destroy nation-states in the middle east.
We already have a story for liberals. They sat on their hands as the Obama Administration assisted in the far-right wing coup in Ukraine. The real story for liberals is that Obama fought congress on restrictions to train and arm these Nazi groups in the Ukraine; yet liberals ignored this material fascist reality and instead imagined fascism in a buffoonish reality-TV host.
We already have a story for liberals like Jon. Liberals who ignore that Obama has deported more people than any president in history. Liberals completely ignored this, while now acting concerned about Trump’s theoretical deportations. I’ll bet anything he will never reach 3 million deportations like Obama has — that is the liberal story, one of betrayal to the Hispanic community.
We already have a story for liberals like John. They fretted that Trump’s supporters were such sub-humans that they might not accept the results of the election. Yet now when Democrats and their useful idiots loot, assault and through tantrums — it’s all Trump’s fault. Forget 48 hours ago when it was the Trump supporters that were too fascist to accept an election result.
We already have a story for liberals. Their president has sold twice the number of weapons to the world than Bush sold and he is undertaking the modernization of our nuclear weapons program. — He has opened vast lands to fracking, bomb trains, offshore drilling. His EPA has declared that fracking has no effect on drinking water, not surprising for a cabinet populated with billionaires.
John, liberals don’t need a story. Their story is a disgrace. What they really need is psychiatric help or maybe just the arrival of adulthood.
>>> John, liberals don’t need a story. Their story is a disgrace. What they really need is psychiatric help or maybe just the arrival of adulthood.<<<
They need a job on cotton plantation in Mississippi.
easy to punch someone from Cyber space as you face no consequences, your comments are clearly Racist . talk with someone about your bitterness and hopefully heal .
>>> your comments are clearly Racist <<>> talk with someone about your bitterness and hopefully heal . <<<
Try a mirror.
——
My comments are spot on. If you want all those things … I'll give them to you. Those are my terms. I don't care what color you are. Black white green red or yellow doesn't matter.
People don't even know what slavery is… but they bitch all the time wanting the same things that a slave had.
I agree but you know nothing about Ukraine, mate. US just took opportunity to jump on bandwagon, so that the people revolution somehow rubs off on them — in the process, of course, hurting Ukraine more than actually helping it. It saddens me that in order to maintain their narrative, opposition journalists like Pilger or Chomsky are spouting this bullshit.
“[Obama’s] going to have to stay right here and try to muster his troops again. They would be a force to be reckoned with, especially if he and Sanders could collaborate effectively.”
Good luck with that, he sold his base down the river just like Hillary would have (or has, whichever way you look at it). Don’t you read the site you post stuff on every once in a while?
>>> If there’s anything to learn from history, it’s that elites don’t dismantle their beloved killer robots on their own. Either regular people — including you reading this right now — will deactivate this one, or it will never happen at all. Not a single person knows exactly how to pull this off. But one thing’s for sure: Trump’s rise proves that whatever it is we’ve been doing isn’t working.<<<
The author of this article is another clueless, naive, brainwashed twit.
DID YOU KNOW THE RNC DID NOT SPEND 1 DIME ON TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN????
Did you look at the election results by COUNTY??? What counties voted for Hillary???? INNER CITY SLUMS FULL OF EMOTIONAL UNEDUCATED — including DRUG DEALERS, USERS, AND PROSTITUTES.
Hell of a demographic, isn't it???? The map tells a story.
My family had been farmers and ranchers — not "elitists." "ELITISTS" ARE POLITICIANS.
Trump, though wealthy, IS NOT a politician. He did not go to the Alinsky school of Terrorism. Hillary did.
Hillary's campaign manager and friends are pedophiles. Period. I've seen some of the evidence.
This country has been ruled by true-blue psychopaths for almost 35 years straight with NO interruption. Whether it be Dick Cheney, a Bush, or a Clinton.
That's TWO generations of psychopaths from BOTH PARTIES.
Somehow, Trump (who is much more Libertarian/Reform Party) managed to get the Republican ticket… in a manner not unlike like the Revolutionary Commies have taken over the DNC.
Trumps problem is going to be staying alive in the face of pedophile elites of both parties.
Take that into consideration before you chastise Trump and the electorate behind him… the likes of farmers and ranchers … who got him elected. If you kill him or that body electorate — YOU WILL STARVE TO DEATH…. or you will become an absolute, old-fashioned slave on a State-owned Farm.
PS… Do not forget this most important point:
Hillary (and Obama) uses inhabitants of inner city slums to fight and die in their wars for power.
PROOF: Hillary didn’t even come out to dismiss her Kamikaze Army on the night of her election. Instead, she sent her pedophile campaign manager.
What kind of horseshit this is? Is this intercept or motherjones+huffingtonpost with some additional reporting from salon? I hope more people like you living in the bubble and cocoon of Starbucks cafe continue to believe in this kind of drivel. More elections you’ll lose, more lunatic you’ll get and more I’ll enjoy.
The people who run AMERICA are AMERICANS, it being a DEMOCRACY. YOU CREATED THIS MONSTER. STOP BLAMING OTHER PEOPLE. IT IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR HIDEOUS SELVES. You want money, you want drugs, you want cheap labour, you want cheap goods, you want cheap whores, you want cheap places to go holiday, you want fat profits, you want the best technology, you want the least effort, you want the biggest car, you want the greasiest food, you want all the pollution and waste to be someone else’s problem, you want no one else to get ahead of you, you want no one else to challenge you, you want no one else to even dare think of threatening you, you want others to practice what you preach whilst you run riot doing whatever you please, you want minorities to know their place, you want foreigners to shut their mouths, and you want to do it all digitally at the click of a button from the comfort and security of your fat arse-supporting armchair.
You fund it all with your taxes and your purchases and you do nothing to bring about change except whine occasionally and offload the problems onto someone weaker and worse off with you, at home or overseas.
All these things have consequences. And now they are coming home to roost.
Some call it karma, some call it fate. Whatever, it is the hangover from the night before, the loan shark demanding his interest on the loan, the puta’s fever after the sordid knee-tremble. It is the deal with the Devil.
And now it is time to pay!
It was called supporting Bernie Sanders and protesting and doing something when the time was right, for him to be the movement against Trump. Blew it. Wow truly unreal article.
What’s this ‘we’ stuff, paleface…
What’s this we stuff, pale face…
Jon – The Intercept and its readers deserve better than having to read dribble from your failed leftist ideology. Go back to Mother Jones you twat!
So this will better explain things to the angry & confused:
Here’s a short clip of what you will be watching: https://streamable.com/qcg2
And here’s the full documentary that aired election night on BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fny99f8amM
They’d have found something else about Bernie or whomever. Emails, Pay-to-Play, none of that matters. Just think of all the outright lies Trump told. There are 2 political forces: Turnout, which is based on outward leadership qualities (not facts or capability) and the feeling of the American people looking for “more like this” or “something different” because they are unhappy with the progress.
That’s it. Half the people were ready for something different and nothing trump said or did was going to change that. Trump was more entertaining.
The republican solution to gaining power is to make people want change by ensuring Americans were unhappy with Obama. They spent 8 years knee-capping every single policy that would have helped their own people. 8 years making their own people unhappy. Intentionally.
So, what do you do? Do we work to make Americans unhappy? Do we strive to increase crime rates, to increase government inefficiency, to increase unemployment?
Is there an alternative? Is this the only way to get middle-america to vote?
I won’t be part of that.
Outside my own city is another country. It isn’t my responsibility any more than rescuing starving children in Ethiopia. I’m going to exercise my own “non-interference”, my own, “nationalism”, and I am going to make SURE that I pay as little federal taxes as absolutely possible. and I’m going to make SURE California stops paying millions upon millions of dollars to subsidize the “red-states”. We’ve got enough problems to keep me occupied for the next 20-30 years.
I’m having my own Brexit. A “Cal”-exit.
Right, do you truly believe your quality of life would be sustainable without exploiting resources of the whole world, in particular developing countries?
Schwarz, sorry but I can’t take you seriously at “We don’t need a 3rd party”.
I guess you probably don’t care for:
1)Instant runoff voting
2)Better models at representation in politics
I’d argue third parties require a final change in effort to dismantle gerrymandering and first-past-the-post; All of which are forms of minipulation and mob rule. And it’s no more evident than in elections where someone wins 60% to 40% and the 40% population is practically erased and assumed constituents with absolutely no representation….
If you want a real solution you gotta be strong for radical change NOW. But liberals in America aren’t that fiery, Americans are typically retarded narcissist of some shape in form on average regardless of background.
I think we are doomed into Peter Turchins violent cyclic cliodynamic fate.
Love it! Never been so entertained by politics in my life.
Jon, It’s clear that you view this election as a giant fuck you to you and your ilk. At least you got that part right. Another tissue?
Well, I will leave it to “rich white liberals” to wallow in guilt while they simultaneously “pursue outreach to Trump’s white base.” I will be looking for the people, including those in existing organizations that defend human rights and civil liberties, who are ready to resist Trump’s administration. I will also be looking for people who are ready to put a priority on women’s rights, especially abortion rights.
And this is precisely the problem. Too many liberals see the two as mutually exclusive.
I’m an urban liberal who most Americans would consider pretty well off, but I grew up in red working class America and I know a lot of Trump supporters. Glenn Greenwald’s take on them is spot-on: they feel ignored, they feel like life is getting worse rather than better, and they blame BOTH parties’ establishment wings. Some of them are at least casually racist, to be sure, but most live in overwhelmingly-white areas and just fail (tragically) to see how much their vote for Trump may devastate minorities.
The way out of this situation, if you are progressive–the ONLY way–is to help people economically FIRST. When you do that, it will be easier for them to ensure their children receive a good education. And when your populace is educated they will be more likely to support the things you mention and more: women’s rights, fighting climate change, and a whole range of other sensible policies. The good news? Trump really isn’t going to do this on any meaningful level. We’ll have another shot at this.
Look to The Young Turks for a good media source. They are member-funded and filled with talented, passionate reporters.
Thank you for this much needed article. It was salve to my deep wounds. When I am able to shake this awful stress reaction, I am going to take steps to join the Resistance.
Will there be uniforms?
It baffles me that there is so much confusion as to how Trump won. The fact that Hillary didn’t win had nothing to do with more people wanting Trump. Nobody really wanted Hillary. She sparked no passion and stuck her middle fingers (and toes) at her base. We knew she didn’t deserve to win. I see this as a warning to all other parties that are supposed to represent the 99%: if you ignore us we will ignore you. Trump’s win was not about Trump being good, but Hillary being absolutely horrible and a traitor to her base. We are no longer willing to accept the wink and nod just because the filthy rich has them by the balls. Our situation is far too important to not have real and serious attention paid to it. Or we’ll burn it down. Let us proceed.
Thanks JON????
These are the right signals! And this is the right moment to change from “standby”-modus to “go”. Thx a lot for this article and all good wishes for the USofA from old Germany/Europe, where we have similar problems. Your struggle is ours … and vice versa!
HRC and DJT are both blah. Arguably there’s enough inof here on TI & wiki to make the case for HRC as equally if not more terrifying….
…but but, recognizing that HRC is BHO is GWB is WJC.. then the US pres really isn’t all that terrifying now is he/she
Interesting note made by Dana Perino (so cute so cute) that when trying to deal w/ the US EPA … well they couldn’t. They’d duck dive dodge, etc.. have meetings to schedule the next meeting on this or that..
It’s quite possible the U.S. bureaucratic machine is too big to stop, too big to fail except on its own.
Innovation in U.S. gov means more Acts more co sponsers more sending the Act to some sub committee where it can sit and rot in hell…
I’ll be really surprised if DJT can get anything done. HRC may have had a brilliant idea WWIII w/ Russia.. priming them w/ uranium, ..just gonna have to nuke this shit and count it as an accomplishment. Perhaps DJT will coopt her idea when he brings her into the fold? No?
Force Trump and the Senate, through protests, to force the vote for the candidate chosen by president Obama for the Supreme Court. That’s the way he can prove his conciliatory intentions!
“Trump succeeds at telling a story – and while it’s hateful and bogus, any story always beats no story. Clinton never tried to tell a competing story, making her blizzard of facts meaningless to non-technocrats.”
Odd. There were no examples of “hateful” and “bogus” concerning Trump and at the mention of Hillary’s “blizzard” of “facts” I had to laugh.
What does Mr. Schwarze consider “hateful” or “bogus”? Or under what conditions does a “fact” become one?
Secondly, “telling a story” is totally insufficient to have a rational argument about empirical facts. And none of the statements Schwarze makes here ever does this. Like any historian writing about current times, it has nothing to do with telling a story but with problem solving. Both Trump and Hillary both struck out on this and proceeded to sling mud to get votes, and I see even now mud slinging hasn’t stopped.
I live in an Asian country and my friends, associates and family are from a mixture of backgrounds – some very high up in business and politics and some not. Most of my circle are either women or gay, and ALL of them wanted a Trump victory as we feel it is the safer for our country and the world.
Americans are far too polarised over an issue that is black and black, not black and white. And this is because Americans are too opinionated and controlling by nature to accept defeat or to see the bigger picture of what us outside of America see as two completely unacceptable and hideous candidates.
You are just dogs fighting over the Grand Prize, not for a better world.
Black, white, rich, poor, whatever, you see yourselvles as better than the other 6.7billion people of the Earth and are driven by greed and “exceptionalism”, having drunk the Kool Aid about your nation’s glory and importance.
Trump for his part is an unknown who has spouted a populist rhetoric and just mirrors a seething and hateful mass of anger over Obama’s failings. Clinton is far more of a known and most of us in my circle truly believe she intends to start a war to further your insane trading agreements.
Obama gave us the TTP and the TTIP – these are unacceptable trade deals done in secret and in a way that undermines the integrity of our democratic processes in both Europe and the Pacific regions – the very democratic processes America seems so keen to champion when it suits you.
Clinton has been the negotiator and instigator of these deals, whilst Trump it seems has had his hand in Brexit; Nigel Farage running to his master the moment his job was completed. We have no delusions that Trump will very likely be trouble. But Clinton already IS trouble.
Trump is such a divisive figure that I think it will be hard for him to wield the full power he craves, both from within the halls of power and also from the public at large as this is a good thing, because too many Americans are in denial over the Democrats record on atrocities and breaches of the law and too many would turn their eyes from all the terrible trouble Hillary Clinton most definitely would have caused.
Trump will not have this luxury and that is a good thing for the world. Both of your candidates are hideous monsters spawn from a nation that just does not care about the welfare of the wider world, so we must sadly back the weaker and more vulnerable of the two.
But remember: You ALL disgust us. The politicians, the media, the celbrity endorsements, the electorate – YOU ALL FAILED HIDEOUSLY.
What America has become is shameful and repellent but we have nowhere to run from you, so take that stupid banner image down and turn and fight for a better world.
And you are an idiot to think Obama can help make change – he IS the problem. He’s had 8 years disproving the very thing you now suggest, Jon.
And Bernie Sanders willingly stepped aside for the hideous Clinton, who indeed only wants to reside in the White House as she has no policies and no respect for anyone other than the elite that empower her. She is a broken woman and Obama is a lying murderer.
You have lost your mind, Jon Schwarz. This is pathetic, and we will fix our own problems and leave you to suffer yours. Shine a light on your world and see what monsters lurk there in DC and Riyadh and Tel Aviv and Brussels and stop playing at pretend journalists with your eBay backer, you are fooling no one.
Obama is the ultimate elite Uncle Tom…
Your comment is Vile .
It is most DEFINITLY hyperbolic to say the world will need some luck to make it through this alive.
True.
The author should ask himself – How many people in the middle east did not make it alive through Obama’s 8 years and his, Hillary’s and the CIA’s wars?
To give ‘the establishment’ a kick, the ‘little guy’ in America voted in a racist clown who was born a wealthy and fully-paid member of… the establishment. Voters are deluded to think ‘the little man’ will be served by a draft/tax-dodger who lives, literally, in a skyscraper with his own name written on it in gold.
It’s very simple. Obama was the great hope. He was going to change everything for the ‘ordinary’ man/ woman. We all remember “Yes we can”. In 8 years he did nothing domestically and withdrew from the world stage. Clinton was a poor candidate but suffered from failure of the Obama stewardship.
The presumption that the 2-Party System – totally controlled & manipulated by the Predator Class – is the only option available to us is totally misleading & utterly false. Once again, so-called Progressives will be played like a fiddle within a System designed to ensure they never gain any meaningful power. The only way to break out of their centuries-long control of the 99% is to ignore their System & totally dedicate ourselves to developing an effective Third Party owned and operated by the 99%. And we have the Green Party. No need to look any further. Unite or die divided. We also need to throw out every voting machine & use paper ballots counted by humans. Finally, it is sad to see this misleading trickery as a lead article in this prestigious website.
I think there is a danger here of the media freezing into their positions and of anti-Trumpism becoming an ideology, an end in itself. In other words, they risk defining themselves as being against Trump rather than “for something.” (Like professional journalism for example.)
Trump won. He took a media beating that would have turned most people into jelly and still won. Whether you like him or not, Trump has won the right to lead the country.
Also, the media seems remarkably incurious and oblivious to reality. They should be asking What are some of the positive changes a Trump presidency could enact? Will Trump open up his presidency with a 100 day blitz, a Supreme Court nomination and tax cuts to create Republican solidarity or will he begin with some horse-trading?
A public option In healthcare?
Banking reform?
Glass-Steagall?
What the media should do is, get curious or as they say on RT, Question More.
Seriously? A man who gets elected by appealing to the worst in his supporters deserves a breaK? Furthermore, he did not take anything like the beating from the press that he should have. And he had one major element of the press covering his ass by continuous lying. The rest of the press seemed afraid to actually say what they were thinking.
Trump has not won the right to lead the country. He has won the right to try. But why would anyone expect him to do anything but give the powerful what they want? It is the easy thing to do.
It is stupid optimism to believe that someone who has always screwed everybody around him less powerful than he is going to actually change now.
Sure they are. Stupid statements such as that invalidate anything useful you might have said. The most helpful thing you could do would be to seek another occupation.
Obama has been a president in the hands of the hawks, his weakness came from the color of his skin, never dared to contradict them. More black people have died at the hands of the police in their mandate than in the Republican administrations of the last forty years.
Hillary Clinton? A hypocrite and false progressive with an imperialist and ultraliberal program.
You mean a corporate program, don’t you?
La sociedad norteamericana se ha dividido en dos. Y la amalgama que ha aglutinado Trump va desde los reaccionarios del Tea Party, la Asociación Nacional del Rifle y hasta el Ku-Klux-Klan a las clases medias desencantadas, parte de los damnificados por la crisis y la deslocalización, el triunfo de la desigualdad y los bajos salarios, o las zonas rurales que temen a la inmigración –fenómeno que se dio igualmente en el Reino Unido–.
De poco vale decir ahora que si otro hubiera sido el candidato –Bernie Sanders– la situación sería otra. Los futuribles en la política y en la vida llevan a la melancolía. Al final, ha ganado Clint Eastwood a Beyoncé y Bruce Springsteen. Ha perdido el mundo.
La campaña electoral ha sido deplorable. Ha comenzado Trump con el muro que iba a construir en la frontera mejicana y que debía pagar Mexico y ha continuado con los desplantes a inmigrantes, mujeres, bajada de impuestos a mansalva y retraimiento y proteccionismo como bandera de su política, al tiempo que proclamaba el uso de la fuerza para “hacer America grande de nuevo”.
Hay que leer La Democracia En América, de Alexis de Tocqueville, un aristócrata francés que viajó a América en 1831: “No volvamos la mirada a América para copiar servilmente las instituciones que se han dado a sí misma, sino para juzgar mejor sobre las que nos convienen…”.
Gran presagio porque Hillary Clinton ha ganado en votos del pueblo –unos
140.000– pero ha perdido en delegados para elegir presidente. El pueblo ha sido sabio –aunque desde luego por muy poco– pero el sistema electoral le ha dado la victoria a un candidato que asusta a todos menos a Putin.
La oligarquía huye de la democracia directa –un hombre un voto– y nos impone la democracia representativa –fácil de manipular– que favorece el control por las élites de los partidos en favor del sistema financiero al que sirven.
Obama has already said he’s going after the big money, to work for Silicon Valley venture capitalists. He was never real.
Trump’s conciliatory tone on Hillary in his victory speech is being perceived as a weakening by the insider elite.
Trump should absolutely appoint a special prosecutor to investigation Hillary email and the Clinton foundation.
And he should sack both Comey and Loretta Lynch.
That’s not the president’s job and to imply it’s such is to be ignorant of our political system. You should be embarrassed.
Lynch is likely leaving. Comey I’m not sure about- Comey might have secured Trump’s victory. Of course, going after Comey might be like Clinton not helping Lawrence Walsh.
I’d settle for a regular prosecutor. (Bring back Patrick Fitzgerald!) Of course, I’d also love an investigation into the deleted Bush emails- which also involve dirty campaign shenanigans.
Donald Trump’s
It will be interesting to see in the coming period if Donald lives up to his election promises and wasn’t blowing-up smoke everyone’s behind.
If he really stands for the man in the street than he will have a though nut to crack among his republican fellows.
Hillary and the DNC got their “well deserved reward”.
If they’ve went with Bernie Donald wouldn’t been elected !
This is like the IKEA Playland version of political analysis. “OK White Liberals! I hope you’re potty-trained and you have your release waiver. You can play in the ball pit or tree house, or pretend to act politically until your parents pick you up in an hour. Be sure not to fight; use kind words; and report incidents promptly to the IKEA Team Member in the yellow shirt.”
never give up never surrender ….trumpf is not our president …and his supporters need to get what they have given us…
This is not helping promote any message of tolerance that you think you’re reaching (i.e., your last paragraph). Different opinions and walks of life are what make us great (compare it to so many other countries that have one way they are expected to live, less they be austricuzed or killed). We have a republican executive branch, legislative branch and (soon to be) judiciary branch which means real change can happen without years of red tape and diplomatic proceedings getting in the way. The lame duck is dead (for now). Trump has said that he wants to be the president of all of us, so let’s hold him to it. Which means listening. Which means understanding a pint of view and walk of life beyond our own. Which means putting common law in place that gives a little to both sides so that no side is oppressed or forgotten. Isn’t that what we would what for our LGBT community and pregnant women that want a way out?
I have to laugh at the people who still use all the outdated lies and cliches that have been proven to be false thanks to Wikileaks. Jon Schwarz is exactly one of those people. His post-election propaganda, ahem, uninformed opinion piece, ahem, garbage will forever haunt him from the depths on a hard drive on an internet history website.
“It’s not hyperbole to say the United States, and in fact the world, will need some luck to get out of this one alive. So let’s concentrate on making our own luck.”
Right…
In actual fact, it’s no hyperbole to say that the nation of Syria are the ones who dodged a bullet and barely got out alive. Is it so easy to ignore that Hillary Clinton is a major proponent of military involvement against the Syrian government including enforcing a no-fly zone?
And if the Iraq War was a minor hiccup, what should we call Libya? Because the military intervention there, a “no fly-zone” for everything but NATO drones, ended in the brutal bayonet sodomy of Qaddafi by Western-backed, “moderate, secular, democratic” rebels who filmed the whole multi-hour ordeal on mobile phones while shouting religious slogans. And let me remind you of the result: the failure of the state that once had the highest HDI on the African continent, whose territory is now governed by a mosaic of rebel groups, including ISIS. And who was not only secretary of state, but majorly responsible for that crime? Non other than Hillary Rodham Clinton.
So frankly, Jon Schwarz, as much as you like to feel a heroic victim fighting a fascist, many of us are relieved.
Sounds like a a Doctor Seuss version of Saul Alinsky. Want to stop Trump?
1. First become a billionaire.
2. Give (Influential_asshole) obscene amounts of money in whatever legal ways.
3. Once you got his attention, tell him what you want to happen. Works all the time.
Right now the only person that can stop is Sen. Schumer with filibusters. Write him a letter with little huggies.
All the other stuff will not stop Trump. Any massive resistance will happen by chance, and when it does, Trump will smash it like Obama smashed OWS.
The important thing is that the DNC achieved their goal, they stopped Bernie Sanders from being the nominee. ‘ Can’t blame this on independent thinking third parties.
I wrote more originally, but got to tired to retype it after it got erased. So pretend I wrote more and that I was madder. Bonk hillary, peace out.
This is a really good, positive article. Thank you for summing up what so many of us are feeling today. We had a similar time in the UK earlier in the year with Brexit and this list has lots of great areas to focus on for being pro-active moving forward from 2016. There are a lot of things we can do it’s true.
I’m sure you’ll have seen Michael Moore’s to do list which also has a few good tips: http://www.facebook.com/mmflint/posts/10153913074756857
I do prefer yours though. Especially as the racist/xenophobic element to this result is acknowledged. His point 4 could have used a bit more of what Maya Goodfellow wrote in her article for the UK newspaper New Statesman today: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/11/make-no-mistake-donald-trumps-victory-represents-racist-whitelash
“To ignore racism as a motivation for many people voting for Trump is to overlook, for example, his calls to ban Muslims from entering the country, to deport 11 million migrants and build a wall between Mexico and the US.”
He did say all of these things so either the 47.5% of Americans that voted for him either agree enough to vote with those statements or they think he was bluffing/lying (which would be ironic as that was a main problem for many people with Clinton, fair or not). Surely people who are pro-trump can appreciate why this element of his campaign and election is seen by many as dangerous. Criticizing this is not anti-white, it’s anti-racism.
I’m now following you on twitter and looking forward to more articles in future, thanks!
This was great, apart from all the red baiting. You know who organizes? Socialists and communists. You know who rolls over and goes back to bed the moment that someone on their team is in the white house? Liberals.
We need to reach out to liberals and get them to come back to the left. These center right stooges that keep getting propped up aren’t helping anyone.
Trump’s election is a kick-down for the MSM whose agenda it was to elect Clinton and serve the Bankers and Generals. Sites like The Intercept, TRNN, Counterpunch, etc., should be beneficiaries.
Warmongering will become less popular when Trump requires Europe and the others to pay their share. Europe has never paid its share and I suspect the EU would rather make peace with Russia than do so, so that could be good news for humanity if not for Rasmussen, Stoltenberg, the Baltic States and the arms industry.
The chances of TPP and the other trade restrictive agreements continuing must be lessened now we can say they only promote monopolists.
So there are three reasons to be cheerful.
Thats a good way to make Amerika great again and to steer peacefull trade all over the world! Yes, you can do!
How would Intercept benefit from a HRC presidency? Your aluminium hat is in too tight, me thinks. You think trump won’t get with the Money Men and push through TPP? Get ready for a real upset.
I’m just thinking of all those sleazy Hillary Clinton supporters salivating over the tears of Bernie Sanders supporters after the media and the DNC rigged the primary in favor of Hillary Clinton despite the much larger popular support for Bernie Sanders. You dirty monkeys, you’ve done it now. Any regrets? Bernie would have won every swing state, you sorry corporate slobs.
https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/16819288
The biggest beneficiary of this election is Julian Assange. He should be able to walk out of the embassy any day after Jan 20.
The biggest loser is George Soros. All his potential for mischief has suddenly evaporated, though he will still spend his ill-gotten wealth to continue his agenda.
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. This is a disastrous strategy. Mitch McConnell, Giuliani, Pence, Christie, Ryan? hold hands with these assholes and sing ‘Kumbaya’? Are you kidding me?
No fucking way
Neville Chamberlain, help us put on our blindfolds!
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).
–Michael Moore
Word.
Stop your crying. GO TRUMP!!!
Bullcrap.
This need to believe that the demon-crats are the answer
is based upon willfully ignoring the fact that the demon-crats
support the same agenda and worship the same money-grabbing
warmongering as their colleagues who call themselves republican.
Moore (like Schwarz) is a typical scam liberal who is preventing people
from seeing what really needs to happen.
The demon-crats and the republic-cons are both invested in the same
corporate domination – fascism.
Clark… you support the election of Trump. You get to own the shitstorm he brings.
Fuck you.
Another stupid assumption on your part.
In the primary I voted for Sanders.
NOT because I believed he would be allowed by the democrats, but
to support his supposed message AND as a way of telling the
dumb-ass democrats what they should be supporting.
After the dumb-asses (including Sanders) screwed That up,
I voted for Stein (as I did 4 years ago) because she is the only one
who HONESTLY stated what needs to be done.
You dumb-asses who identify as “democrat” need to get your
heads out of your republican-in-all-but-name asses and accept the fact
that your smug willful blindness is what elected Trump.
The democrats refused to recognize the problems they help create
and they barely tolerated those who spoke the truth from within.
Well, obviously people DIDN’T want Clinton or else she would have won the “archaic” electoral college, which by the way is the ONLY way states with small populations can have any say in anything. Enough whining about the electoral college. That’s not the problem.
The problem is stubbornly clinging to the delusion that the left can somehow take over the Democrat Party with it firmly and irrevocably in the hands of the Clintons. It’s never going to happen. Forget about the Democrats. They decided a long time ago they’d rather lose trying to be more Republican than the Republicans than let liberals take over the party. Screw them. They’re useless. What we need to be doing is building up an alternative political party. Fortunately, we already have one: the Green Party. Their problem is poor organization and a lack of effective campaign skills. But many of us former Democrats have held minor offices like precinct committee member (I have), or city council, or school board member. We can use the knowledge we gained to whip Greens into shape.
Perhaps the Greens can use some Democrats who were forced out by their (former) party- Kucinich and Grayson come to mind, and McKinney is already a Green.
Clinton was subverted by the FBI’s deliberate smear 11 days prior to the election. She enjoyed double digit lead… and still won the popular vote.
I am not eager to set fire to my home to get rid of mice.
I cannot reconcile your rant with the rise of Trump as curative of anything.
Hillary Clinton was the wrong candidate . If she won the popular vote it is because Trumpy was the worst candidate. Bernie would have been the right candidate. No guarantee he would have won with the political climate and the wheels in Washington which makes this country run in the wrong direction with the collaboration of the media which enable the people to be programmed and brainwashed. A sad moment in history since we are suppose to be the world.
at the time of writing this they are still counting and there is no evidence yet that Hillary won the Popular vote.
if it turns out that she does it’s expected to be a very, very thin margin.
Expected by whom? DJT supporters, I am guessing. Isn’t a lot of what is uncounted millions of votes in California? Are you expecting DJT to be the main beneficiary of those votes? Wishful thinking.
I guess Jon Schwarz gets off on writing crap like this.
He says we’re all “terrified” and this news is “bone chilling”
while he tells us what “we” “should” be doing.
The main reason the pervert Trump won is because
the liberals in the democrat arm of the robot of destruction
arrogantly
put forward a lying corporate warmonger “Queen of Chaos”
to continue her predatory status quo corruptions.
There is absolutely no reason to believe things would have
been less predatory and destructive under Hillary Clinton.
The democrats who made Hillary Clinton their candidate
are the people who elected Donald Trump.
Congratulations, hypocrites.
Spot on!! If the shoes fits……
Agree!
Saying Trump is bad doesn’t mean Clinton is good. The Intercept would be tearing into her destructive policies for years had she won.
Schwarz and Mackey are two of the writers here who have most
consistently been lop-sided in their criticisms and deliberately
avoid criticizing the democrats as the democrats deserve.
Even the heavily slanted “Nation” seems more balanced by
comparison (and I have little respect for “the Nation,” other than
as a devious manipulating demon-crat hack rag).
Sanders and Obama are gonna “collaborate?” Not likely. I think the word you’re looking for is “partnership,” like when schools, strapped for cash, “partner” with corporations. Partner, co-op, capitulate, destroy. Those are the words for today.
Certainly a great deal of unacknowledged hyperbole. “It goes without saying that Trump is a sociopathic con artist obsessed with personal enrichment: the opposite of a genuine warrior for the downtrodden. That’s too obvious to debate. But, just as Obama did so powerfully in 2008, he could credibly run as an enemy of the D.C. and Wall Street system that has steamrolled over so many people, while Hillary Clinton is its loyal guardian, its consummate beneficiary.” Glenn Greenwald
Writing things like the above places the person in the category of people whose judgement is either impaired or who are being paid to say silly things they can not substantiate. When did Greenwald make his great study of sociopathy?
Trump will do okay. You can count on it.
Thank you for your article. I am terrified, and you’re absolutely right. Government “by the people” only works when the people participate. I’m starting now to do beyond voting and start actively participating.
Have you perhaps thought that Trump for potus and all that it entails is exactly what most Americans want? A little bit of nihilism is good for us all.
“Obama’s greatest dream was to cut benefits so that David Brooks would write a complimentary column about him.”
literally LOLed at this, good one!
Wait, so identity politics just brought out the most tribal response in white people in the last 50 years, and you want MORE of it? The nation just rejected the left, and you think Bernie Sanders is the solution? The guy who everyone pegged as having a LESSER chance of winning the general election?
What madness is this. I just watched my party self destruct and blow up and now from the rubble comes calls for the Democrats to become “Labour in America?” Oh my god.
What a load of horseshit. Liberals labeling white Republicans “racist” is one of the primary reasons for Trump’s rise to power, and you want to pile on? Good luck with that…
Couldn’t be the racist things Trump said over and over?
Derp.
Hey Mark, haven’t you heard… white male christian heterosexuals are responsible for every evil since the inception of Western civilization.
The post modern vilification of:
1. Whites,
2. Heterosexual males, and
3. All forms of patriarchal power structures (no matter how benign or life affirming)
are to be reflexively equated with evil by order of the UN Ministry of Multiculturalism and Gender Mutability.
They are racist. You’re either racist yourself or under a spell to think otherwise.
If you voted for Trump, congratulations. Most sincerely. If you believe that he will implement any of the things that he promised you, my sympathies. Most genuinely.
Mr Trump will be President soon. Congress will all be GOP. The Supreme Court will also be GOP. So, my logic must be seriously flawed?
1)
Well… Congress is still very much ESTABLISHMENT. And within a week, he will find out the hard way that congress’ allegiances continue to be safely in the hands of the corporations that fund its campaigns; corporations that have worked so hard designing and writing the text to establish the international trade order that he has vowed to dismantle. So the TPP stays; they will see to it that that happens. To save face, a cosmetic change in one clause or two, will probably the best he can deliver. NAFTA, the same too.
2)
Scraping Obamacare means 20 million will go without health care. If you are one of the people currently benefiting from Obamacare, you may be without insurance soon. But I know that won’t bother you.
3)
Wars are waged to support the trillion dollar weapons sales industry. That will never change. Not with Mr Trump. Not with God. Maybe he did not like invading Iraq, but they will quickly remind him of how much he hates terrible Iran, and how an invasion might be needed there. And it will be said all in the name of national security. And who is anyone to question national security prerogatives…
4)
As someone with no political experience, he is a perfect tabula rasa on whose brain competing forces on all fronts will be seeking to stake their piece of real state of ideas and agendas. With no experience on how to handle the pressures; with no cloak of ego because it will all be done in the “national interest”; with no benefit of his family’s advice, he will likely undergo a transformation so fundamental that no one can even begin to imagine.
5).
What is true, is that he is a successful businessman. This is not in dispute. Now, with this accomplishment, his real estate empire has just grown to include the entire United States of America.
For the sake of the United States, I wish Mr. Trump success. Most genuinely.
we dont need a 3rd party? i quit reading this b.s. as soon as i saw that.
Why post then.
You forgot #6…..
Schwarz is “terrified”? At least he admits that he is nothing but a coward that can’t stomach democracy.
Hysterical is closer to the mark
changing the way we do business in America….
1. If you can, make politics one of the centers of your life.
Understand that power is not just a vote. POWER IS OWNERSHIP OF LIFE SUPPORT, SELF DESTINY, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION & MONEY.
2. White liberals must step up right now in the right way.
By understanding how the US currency system is the foundation of power established by bribes to the corrupt US congress in 1913
3. We need a story.
A vision of a future you OWN to obtain what God would have for you Free and Clear of perpetual indebtness and price hiking to force illegitmate labor.
4. We don’t need a third party, we just need a party.
ACTUALLY, We do need a 3rd party. Any and all 3rd party candidates who are independent will represent an amplification of power for the community they represent.
5. We need non-corporate media.
6.?
7. Be not downhearted.
Be inspired because the future belongs to you to OWN by participation and demand. Occupy your future.
8. Barack Obama gets one day off.
And DO NOT let him pass the TPP!
9. Be good to yourself and everyone else.
Always remember, everybody counts. It is the operating environment that you need to concern yourself with because us humans are the product that soil.
Historically all civilizations have had what turned out to be good and/or bad leaders. Why would one expect any different now.
As for Mr. Trump it is too early to judge, however one of the things we have learned from history is the sometimes – sometimes – the most unlikely individual can rise to the occasion and turn out to be a very good leader.
For example several very unlikely Eastern Roman Emperors, managed save the empire from collapse time and again thru commitment, skill and some luck……………………………..hopefully Mr. Trump will RISE to his occasion.
#4 — nope.
Washington warned of political parties in his Farewell Address. Our political problems — every last one of them — can be traced to the idiotic two-party system which promotes Us vs Them, false binary thinking instead of coalescing around needs of the citizenry.
Fuck political parties — unless there are multitudes of them, not a duopoly controlled by the Elites and their willing tools. (DNC, I’m looking at YOU!).
Excellent read. I am organizing a group to make trump a one term president.He and his whole organization are a proto-fascist white nationalist clear and present danger to our Democracy. All Democrats in the House and Senate must refuse to vote for anything put forward by trump and the republicans including all Federal judges. They set the rules. Now lets show them how to really do it. We have today sent a letter letting our Democratic Senator Bill Nelson clearly stating that should he do anything to support the trump/republican agenda we will do everything in order help him to become a former senator.
This article is the problem with America.
Interstate Voter Crosschecking, funded by the Koch Bros. , is what got Trump elected plain and simple. Key state margins were that small.
Trump’s demagogue blather was calculated to ‘take what’s left’ – period. He knew he could get away with all the vile because of assurances by the Koch Brother’s machine that millions of Latino, Black, and many Female votes would be electronically ‘scrubbed’ via their software program. This was about winning, not ‘how’ you win.
Very few people think that much of Trump on either side – he has factually been drummed into our heads as a ‘buffoon’ justly for too many years in media of every type. He will not, and those who actually have their hands on the levers of power will not let him do, a quarter of the things he said/says.
Bernie was a rare occurrence America and had real grass roots momentum. Hillary derailed this once in a lifetime opportunity for change for her own ambitions. That was not forgotten by many Democratic supporters. Surveys, that everyone conveniently forgot about, showed a whopping 15% saying they would have no trouble voting Trump after what she did to Bernie and their chances for desperately needed change.
This was not a vote for Trump, this was a repudiation of entrenched corruption by a disenfranchised public with little options or opportunity for influence. Nobody is dumb enough to think that Trump is going to be any different than any other politician. BUT, we got to pay back the Democrats and show their equal corruption for what it is, we also got to damage the brand of the Republicans and we have opened the door to a multi-party system. The later which wouldn’t have happened if Hillary (business as usual) had won.
We most certainly do need a multi-party platform and not just ‘a’ party as article suggests.
The only people who are scared are those Hillary supports with the deer in headlights looks on their faces who are trying to figure out what happened, clinging to a fantasy. That ‘fantasy’ was fostered by big media, pacifying viewers that Hillary had it all locked up, while the independent faction of the internet journalism showed the opposite. So as another benefit another benefit Network Media (1% owned) was exposed. Throwing poll numbers at their pacified audience lulling them into thinking Hillary was a lock, while never reporting on Interstate Voter Crosschecking or informing viewers that all they had to do was re-register to vote and their vote would have been removed from the Crosscheck nullification list – and would have then counted.
Anyways we now have shortened the time in office between two absurd candidates – because Hillary would have been run again by her machine for a 2nd term. Eight long years we could not afford. While Trump is a one trick pony, one term max. They can’t run him again because it will be too easy to find someone to defeat him. This saves us time.
The country will soon galvanize against the Buffoon when political reality sets in. And this time, now thank God that Hillary and her war hawks have been sidelined, we will choose very carefully.
Of the options, sans Bernie, and what their ‘Long – Term’ implications mean, Trump is definitely a better strategic vote if only stirring the pot while everyone wakes up.
Add it all up and you can see why Trump was not a surprise win.
We will chuck you also over the Wall.
Don Dent offers a thoughtful essay and you spout an eight word fascist threat. This discrepancy in substance mirrors the empty narratives that grip electoral politics versus political science. The wall is Trump’s Guantanamo. The electorate is placated for another four years of financial theocracy by this pathetically vain marketing.
what you wrote is the equivalent of:
“oooohwwee. Obama gonna buy me a House!”
similarly then you will also be in for some surprises to come.
… follow up …
As well as watching Greg Palast’s apocryphal documentary “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy” which predicted a Trump win and how the Koch Brothers assured it …
I also highly recommend Adam Curtis’s ‘Hypernormalisation’ (2016) which played on BBC the night of the election. Here’s a very tantalizing clip: https://streamable.com/qcg2
Together they both go a long way towards understanding how the public was ‘played’ and what is to come.
Give Trump a chance. Obama got a chance.
First order of business is to drain the swamp.
Starting with an indictment of Hellary on Clinton Foundation crimes, followed by Wall st banksters.
When he’s done, there’ll be whole new swamp. A swamp unlike any swamp you’ve seen before. Tremendous swamp.
Jinx!
You forgot to say “believe me.”
Why is he swimming with the other swap creatures?
After I finish celebrating I will go South and build the Wall. Then I will come back and chuck Robert Mackey and Mona over the Wall so that they stop irritating us any further.
Julian Assange has only two months to wait before he can safely walk out of the Ecuador Embassy. If anything, Assange will get a royal welcome in DC.
I approve of this message re: Assange.
Just for the pleasure of watching Hillary Clinton’s head explode.
Funny that older white people with money are needed….you guys did it to yourself, now live with it
I don’t see Citizens United being overturned by a right-leaning supreme court. With that damning verdict still in place there can be no permanent reconstitution of our democracy.
The SCOTUS does not create law. It rules on whether laws passed by Congress are constitutional. That’s it. That’s all.
No SCOTUS ruling prevents Congress from passing legislation which will meet constitutional tests and put abusers in the spotlight. Congress will not, of course, because Congresscritters are themselves are some of the chief abusers and beneficiaries.
While “speech” may be protected, it isn’t entitled to secrecy if it bears on public policy.
Only laws passed by Congress have made it possible for vast sums of money to pass hands without public disclosure.
Only laws not passed by Congress permit Congresscritters to benefit financially by insider information.
In both cases, Congress has failed its duty. If you keep electing the same corrupt trash who are guaranteed to protect interests of the privileged (and who often ARE among the privileged being protected), do not count on the courts to do the tough work of citizenry for you. It’s your job, not theirs.
Non-coporate media? The new alt-right wing, soon-to-be-mainstream now that Trump has taken over, is sponsored by several rich men who have interests in corporations There are non-coroporate websites out there but you might refer to them as “liberal/left leaning sites and this will cause automatic backlash to anyone who doesn’t have a brain and refuses to take responsibility for their own current financial situation or other hardships in life which is mostly whites. If all fails, blame the current leader of the country, who happens to be a black man. In 8 years, if all fails blame the current leader who is a rich, white male and you put another black in the White House. An endless cycle. So, no, I don’t see non-corporate media being embraced as mainstream thing anytime soon whether it be liberal or conserative/alt-conservative/whathaveyou.
When I woke up this morning, Trump had won and there were no riots. I don’t like that he will be the next president, but I am pleased that our democracy still works. The Repos were hijacked by the blue-collar rabble, who voted against their chosen ‘leaders’. Too bad the Dummos didn’t get the message and choose a candidate for change instead of more of the same. Obama can certainly take a large part of the blame for the defeat; if he had spent half the time working for Main Street as he has for Wall Street, Trump would still be just a TV personality.
People wanted change and we got Donald Trump.
Our Exceptional, Indispensable Nation just got what we deserve – a narcissist to match the myth.
so DT spends time in front of a mirror adjusting his hair and Hellary spends her time in the midst of the smoke. Could be.
“When I woke up this morning, Trump had worn the election and there were no riots.” Yes cwradio and neither were they jack-booths and swastikas waived high. Trump may be an execrable “male chauvinist bastard”-an almost inexhaustible font of bombast and histrionics-and still not be, as some claim, a neo-fascist. This extreme right-wing ideologue and his rise to power can be explained simply by reflecting on the current state of American political culture. We have a dysfunctional political system permeated by terrible income inequality, and a rigged and corrupt electoral system. Therefore, Americans are confronted with a highly problematic and paradoxical future.As a result, the unraveling of the Republican party and a feckless, moribund Democratic party establishment unwilling to offer anything to Trump’s alienated and immiserated “white working class” made Trump president.
lmao. i was reading your post and felt myself sliding down down down and at the end, kabloonk, a president appeared as if he had been squeezed out thru the cracks of 3rd World USA.
A Solution
A Millennial-driven Angelina Jolie face-off election against Trump.
Universities would replace congress too, as the 666Congress is rolling over 6 years @ 66%+ disapproval (72+ straight months) , according to Gallup Poll. If Angelina Jolie wins, she brings back Dilma Rousseff from Brazil to head a new Women’s High Council at the United Nations in New York. All the USA Military Bases abroad get transferred into United Nations bases.
Your Welcome
Disregard that solution. I apologize for not keeping my promise to stay out of USA Electoral Politics & maintaining my focus on LatAm Integration. Donald Trump is the next President of the USA. I should just get used to a future wall between Anglo & Latin America as well as a wave of Latin Immigrants coming back home to us. Also, Angelina Jolie is probably best kept in the United Nations and out of national politics.
Change is really, really hard. I remember reading an article that basically said that we would only get change in this country if we were made to see that we needed change. Trump has made us see that more clearly and more swiftly than any democrat would or could have.
no platform people much?
Do we really think the neocons care who win? Were going to keep bouncing from a cacaCorporate Democrat to a cacaCorporate Republican and back again. Now it’s the Republicans’ turn to piss off America with neoliberalism and whatever. The liberal hate will rise again and become even more ferocious. Welcome to fascism, folks. The neocon tool of choice.
Come on everyone; feed your fears and choose a wedge-issue side. You don’t want to miss cacaCorporate Hollywood’s next big Tuesday night elections…fights…wars.
You are correct, David. Both parties are corporate parties. The elected within each is only doing the bidding of the vampire capitalist that bought them. Corporate America is our real enemy. They are the cause of every problem America (and even the world) faces. Their list of crimes against humanity is long. If we were smart, we would make sure that 2017 is the year that Americans declare war against Corporate America–and the health insurance industry should be the first group eliminated.
I’m a notorious BernieBro™. But I have to say that so far, Trump has been as good as gold.
1. Stopping the Bush Dynasty – Check
2. Stopping the Clinton Mafia – Check
3. Stopping TPP – Check
As for what people should do, they should do their job to the best of their abilities. Hint to reporters, that does not mean groveling or providing fawning coverage to a candidates to win his/her approval.
Trump is not even president yet and he’s already done more than anyone in recent memory.
Go! Go! TrumpZilla!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T65rW_SIzg0
Don’t count your checks before they’re cashed. Trump opposes TPP – he is also receiving legislation from a Republican Congress and has a reputation as a master of the Art of the Deal to preserve. I bet he’ll sign that thing faster than you can say “but wait—“
Be kind to everyone? Are you serious?!? That is what got us here! No. No more asking, no more “would you mind?” “Is ok if I” – no more! Say what you mean and say it mean – like you feel it – no more begging – I will never utter the phrase “When they go low we go high” – No ! By all means necessary I am not going to kindly request they dont destroy equality, diversity, and all our America is founded on! This is a fight for our founding principles – want to se the results of trying to win a fight by being kind? Look at this election!
Clinton was more dangerous than Trump, although Trump is still a deep state puppet.
Say Maisie I thought the machine was rigged for Clinton. Like you said here last week. The whole vote counting thing was going to make Clinton win.
You know, maybe in the future you could like NOT use bullshit for a filter, it really doesn’t help you see or smell anything. Perhaps try something radical like presuming certain things at face value unless you have some kind of, you know, evidence.
Trump as “deep state puppet” is an EVIDENCE FREE STATEMENT.
I explain what I thought happened on the Greenwald article in this comment, if you’re really interested. And if I had ever been impressed by what you have to say, I honestly can’t remember it.
You make up your own facts to support your own theory. Ooh so the establishment just “decided” to make sure Trump won….
Why study the present when you can just make up your own facts to support your own pet narrative?
Fucking no-evidence conspiracy people, I swear. I didn’t think you were one of them until recently.
My observations and theories are sincerely held, and are based on my interpretations of facts. I don’t care what you think of me, but by all means broadcast your inconsequential judgment to your heart’s content.
“Fucking no-evidence conspiracy people,”
I thought it was “motive” the conspiracy people couldn’t produce.
You have no idea how little intelligence you project; how could you?
“a deep state puppet”
Trump is actually a blank page. He’s never held an elected office. He doesn’t or won’t ever need to rely on Wall St. for speech money or lobbyists. He doesn’t need any special interest groups.
Yea, he’s a rich prick. Rude. Most likely racist, etc..etc…etc….
But if this election has proved one thing, it proves he didn’t have to listen to anyone or anything and still got his dumbass elected. He ONLY listened to himself and maybe a handful of people.
He’s no one’s puppet. But that’s his appeal and most likely a big part of why is got elected. He is The Outsider.
I disagree, obviously. He claims not to be part of the elite, but I find that ridiculous. The way the system is set up, one cannot approach the presidency unless one serves the ruling class.
“The way the system is set up, one cannot approach the presidency unless one serves the ruling class.”
-The ENTIRE Republican leadership abandoned him.
-The ENTIRE MSM sneered at him and his Candidacy for months.
-Wall St. hated him
Exactly which Elites are referring to that supported him (that he serves) that allowed him to ‘approach’ or win the election? I’m really curious.
Name them.
You know “the deep state”? Those elites are what I’m referring to. In my view Trump was initially meant as a caricature to whom Clinton might look better in comparison, but evidently the elite got nervous (personally, I think this is due to her doubling-down on antagonizing Russia unnecessarily – and suicidally) and turned to Trump just recently instead of her, encouraging him to behave more humanly. In any case, I think Bill Hicks might have said the final truth on this matter of the powers that be:
Bill Hicks • Mr. President, any questions?
Your video presentation only mentions A) the MSM and B) 12 unknown corporate *ssholes…no specifics.
So, my response to you is: MSM was totally against Trump. And, Trump relied on NO contribution or other Corporate backing, especially Wall St. who is implied by your presentation
So, I ask once again, WHO are these DEEP STATE backers that supposedly got Trump into the Whitehouse?
No worries, I won’t hold my breath as you will not be able to identify any. Vic is correct. You are just Fact-Free on your statement regarding Trump’s election.
The duopoly needs to be disrespected. We need to mock it, scorn it, never approve of either “side.”
I agree with your take 100%…no mercy for faulty thinking from either camp.
Great work Mr. Shwarz. This is good advice, and a little light in this terribly dark time.
(Don’t read the comments below – just turn around now.)
This was awesome. Now going to go read the rest of the comments.
I’d earnestly like to know some ways I can “make politics one of the centers of (my) life.” I like what you have to say in your list, but it’s the details and lack of specific instructions (or at least suggestions) on how I can put #1 into action that trip me up.
It fear that fuels our politics. The Republicans are masters of instilling fear. Trumps only message was fear. Fear is so powerful people will over look what is in their best interest.
Why are people so scared? Crime is down. The cost of living is not increasing fast and the rate of inflation is very low. Unemployment is way down. The economy is not in recession. Wages are not growing much but if inflation is low and the cost of living is not increasing so people aren’t getting poorer.
The budget deficit is still only 3% of GDP.
Why do so many people think the country is going in the wrong direction?
Could it be that Americans other than white males are becoming more and more powerful and fighting to get on equal footing with the white male power structure? Are various groups who have had less power in the past are now vying for equal treatment. Is the white male power structure’s monopoly on power eroding? The republicans are pulling the strings and the working class whites are dancing like puppets as the puppets are told women, minorities
and immigrants are going to displace them in the power structure in the US.
The republicans win when they play this game well and lose when they don’t.
It is disheartening and sad that even now, so called “liberals” do not get it. Reading some material online, I see them moaning and groaning and writing “fear mongering stuff’ worse than “phobias” they are writing about. They do not realise they have been partly responsible for what has happened that they do not like.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/donald-trump-white-house-hillary-clinton-liberals
Instead of leaving ugly rhetoric of election by both sides behind them and trying to understand people who feel and think differently and how to work together for good of all, they are talking about blood and violence!!
WHEN will they understand??
Thanks Jon for pointing out some positive ways of dealing with the results of the elections for BOTH sides!
Good advice here, especially for Greens. Unfortunately, the Democrats are incapable of learning from their mistakes. They’re already talking about doubling down on the very same policy of trying to mimic the GOP in every regard. They’re like the Puritans of the 17th century, who couldn’t admit to themselves that their way wasn’t working because the form of religion they practiced had serious ideological and structural flaws, but instead of recognizing those flaws and correcting them, they doubled down to the point that eventually Puritanism collapsed and disappeared. That’s where the Democrats are heading now.
Thanks for these ideas, and the sentiments behind them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-abramson/clinton-and-the-dnc-are-not-just-colluding—-theyre-changing-the-rules-for-superdelegates_b_9876274.html
The Democratic Party will have to reform its primary process: Get rid of superdelgates, set a fixed minimum number of debates, and allow independents to vote in the primary nationally (or switch their registration at short notice).
Yes that will mean far less control over the primary selection process by party elites and big donors – but as this election shows, the hand-picked elite choice (i.e. Hillary Clinton) is more likely to lose in the general election than the populist voter-picked choice (i.e. Bernie Sanders).
They effectively tied 2/3s of the super delegates to the popular vote for states. The democratic primaries are forever improved and Bernie has already made revolution possible for next election.
I always find your column uplifting and your analysis insightful
Dude, you have a few good points, but I think you went a grade or… 200 too far here. I visit this site to get information that isn’t dripping with conservative or liberal propaganda, don’t ruin it.
“One of the killer robot’s main fuels is white supremacy”. Seriously, WTF does this even mean?!? Don’t try so hard to sound PC that you detach yourself from reality. I get it, we need to check our privilege, but can we stop with the ‘white guilt’ rhetoric that implies that anyone with European ancestry needs to grovel around apologizing to the world for the color of our skin?
I didn’t vote for the DB, but I don’t think its fair to imply that all the good people that I know who did are complicit in racism for doing so.
NASDAQ +52.40
DJI +284.51
NYA +133.28
SPZ +26.97
Now who exactly is Terrified?
Correction:
SPX +26.97
good news for the rich, for the rest of us it means very little.
We survived Richard Nixon and we MAY survive the Donald. If we conduct ourselves as true CONSCIOUS beings, and look upon the world, and our fellow humans with LOVE ( Agape ), the world will naturally fall in line.
This is a great article, Jon, with some excellent prescriptions.
I don’t know whether you read and respond to comments, but if so, I’d like to hear your advice about this:
Looking at The Concourse (the sort-of-successor to Gawker) right now, the consensus, both among the writers and the commenters is that the primary wrongdoers are Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, and the “FUCKS” who voted for them. Running slightly behind in third place are Bernie Sanders’s misogynistic, racist frat-bro supporters, and the man himself is probably in fourth. In fifth place would be “poor uneducated whites,” who are the scum of the earth.
I wasn’t “terrified” until I saw those reactions. There is no way forward without solidarity, and what kind of solidarity is possible with such people?
Do you think they’re overrepresented online — or do you think that mainstream progressives largely believe that Johnson, Stein, young socialists who nevertheless voted for a Democrat, and a socialist who nevertheless ran as a Democrat and then strongly endorsed a Democrat, are their enemies? If so, how do we win that huge group of people over to something more appealing than, say, “Vote for Awful Establishment Candidate because #Awful Establishment Candidate #2743631 is the devil?”
Hope for the system springs eternal, and there’s no rational basis for it. It cannot and will not be tweaked or adjusted in any meaningful way.
And there’s no rational basis for the implied notion that Trump is more dangerous and/or disgusting than Clinton, either. Only the details and, to a certain extent, the identities of the victims, are different.
“And there’s no rational basis for the implied notion that Trump is more dangerous and/or disgusting than Clinton, either. Only the details and, to a certain extent, the identities of the victims, are different.”
I think there is a good chance the number of victims will decline. HRC has a million or more notches on her pistol grip.
Putin seems to have offered full relations with America.
This alone should calm the dears a bit … remember when mona was certain Hillary would nuke the Russians (that was well worth worrying) … a couple of folks at TI are sure the sky will now fall.
Has anyone seen or heard from Steno Bob Mackey?
Perhaps someone should do a welfare-tweet;
If those words are not re-tweeted in the next 30 minutes or so, perhaps a physical check by the medics … think of the liquor he must have consumed yesterday.
It looks like his twit fest is gone …
Jon, you’re partially right with your last point “Liberals, leftists…real and profound differences” The differences are really all that profound: you simply vary in how much you want to steal and who you want to steal it from.
Murray Rothbard (not so famously – he wasn’t part of the Establishment) said that the state is “the organization of robbery systematized and writ large.”
You believe that you know better than I how the money that I work for should be spent. That’s arrogance of the first order.
As for your claim about “capitalism” being so horrid – you’re right, if you modify that to read “crony capitalism” – the use of state power to guarantee your profits and crush or eliminate you competitors. This is a whole different beast from free-market capitalism, which this country experienced for possibly a day or two at the very beginning, before shrewd and corrupt people began co-opting the state for their own profit.
The ONLY way to prevent government power from being abused is to ELIMINATE that power. As long as most people accept that others can have a legitimate veto over their behavior – behavior that CANNOT include initiation of force against others – this will never happen.
That’s why I voted for Gary Johnson in this election, and Ron Paul when he ran. I will NEVER accept your right to take my property to further whatever cause YOU happen to favor. I WILL accept your right to ASK me to donate to your cause, and your OBLIGATION to accept my decision, yes or no. And THIS is the principle purpose of the second amendment to the Constitution
“…whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.”
Well said.
Here here
yeah we’d all be so much freer if only rich people controlled everything instead of the government and rich people controlling everything.
“YOU’RE TERRIFIED. I’M terrified too.”
Well I can see your out of touch with about 70% of the country.
I didn’t vote for Trump or Shillery but I am not Terrified. I got up today and went to work, sun came out this afternoon and weather is great.
Most of the country did not want Trump but even more did not want Shillery. We did not want Trump but he does not terrify us.
Maybe you and MSNBC should go have a pity party.
DNC lost because they promoted and shoved a corrupt criminal down the parties throat. The DNC is corrupt and thanks to wikileaks we now have it in black and white.
This is not an endorsement for the RNC as they are also corrupt.
You want change then stop voting of one of the two corrupt parties.
Didn’t Hillary win the popular vote? I’m confused by the 70% number.
70% of the country is not terrified. I didn’t say they liked him.
Nothing like hearing from someone that drank the Koolaid of the Democratic Party bosses how we can fight Trump by doing the same things they have been doing for 2 and half decades. Its almost pathetic as Bernie Sanders floundering around with OurRevolution. Obama’s biggest mistake was not letting his grassroots shrivel on the vine, it was his sell-out to the corporate establishment, which happened long before he was ever elected. The Democratic Party has outlived its usefulness for creating a just and benevolent world. Let them go.
The only terrified ones are those who capitalized on identity politics for the last decade or so.
Ideas that only minorities can save America are convulsions of the hopefully dead body of identity politics.
I am saddened to see The Intercept fall in line with every other media outlet.
“It’s not hyperbole to say the United States, and in fact the world, will need some luck to get out of this one alive. So let’s concentrate on making our own luck.”
YES, that is hyperbole. The world will not end; in fact, I believe the world will become a more peaceful place as he won’t institute a no-fly zone, won’t engage Russia with BS politicking, and won’t keep the charade of Syria ongoing now that Clinton and her foundation cannot launder money and weapons to/from Saudi Arabia to fund ISIS.
Please stop with the hyperbole, whether you think it is or not, or else you run the risk of alienating a very strong viewer base. People come here to get away from the CNN and Fox News bullshit and what do I stumble upon right away? An article that would fit better on the frontpage of MSN or USA Today.
This piece gave me hope, thank you. I always find your column to be incisive, and on this day in particular it is the first thing I’ve read that has lifted my spirits. Brilliant.
You enunciate a philosophical view of how to make politics better but I just review this particular election to understand its outcome. For instance, Mme Clinton was untrustworthy which was hinted to all of us, relating to her expensive speeches to the 1%, where she said completely opposite things about economic and social policy, then she would to the general public. She was also a noted warmonger and I think people are sick of constant wars. As well the DNC was caught treating democracy with disdain when it gave Bernie Sanders and his supporters short shrift in order to make Clinton the candidate. In no way was that a fair primary. Yes, we all know Trump is a blowhard, but he has no where near the baggage, that the witch had. For goodness sake, her broomstick couldn’t even take off it was so overloaded.
Soooo very wellsaid.
Was reading about a Bronx legislator who managed to get a bookstoreBarnesandNoble in rather bare neighborhood.
In twenty years, he CONSIDERS THIS HIS GREATEST LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENT. The store is now closing due to high rents.
CrookdClinton does not even have a bookstore to her name!
Clintonemail.com to talk to criminals.
“Our most valuable players, Decency and Common Sense are out with serious injuries it’s the final quarter, we’re down 47-0. Go team!! let’s get out there and fight!”
Excellent article. Just what I needed to read today.
Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I’m a sleepy European. Here’s a quick reply.
Both GOP and Democratic party are corrupt, horrible parts of this horrible American political machine that makes the rich get richer and poor ones poorer. As we’ve seen, GOP is worse, so it is understandable to support Dems as the lesser evil. Thus, the suggestion that Obama and Dems should become the guarding angels of Joe and Jane Q. Public just comes across as proposterous.
In between elections, American Left needs to be resurrected from its grave by diverse groups of dedicated and principled visionaries who are able and willing to organize rigorous, but rational grassroots activism and discussion within their communities about not only the most important issues but also about plans to actually solve them. While the answers may not easy, this is not rocket science, it’s politics.
And which party would be the best base for organizing a better future for all of us? Green, for lack of a better party, is good, even with its few (fixable) flaws. To Hell with Republicans and Democrats.
The DNC seems to be stuck between their corporate wing and the Progressive caucus. It is the DNC that was split in half during the primaries, accelerated by the Wasserman-Schultz wikileaks and the FBI’s politics. Because the polls had Hillary winning since the parties had their conventions, no one noticed it was a problem.
Jon cites how liberal millennials are, and we know they make up the biggest proportion of the electorate, and that they charged Bernie to win 22 States despite little positive media coverage.
So where does the DNC go from here, do they make the drastic changes needed to innovate politics on the left, or do they blame the Russians, the FBI, and the pollsters, clearly demonstrating some of the same disconnects mentioned by Jon.
Trump won this election with less votes than Romney or McCain. Progressives will never turn out for negative campaigns. You don’t need a fancy degree to know that Mr. Podesta.
Your column is laughable . Let me skip the melodrama I find and just highlight its basic tenets and comment. I can’t find time to make it through but the first quarter of this train wreck, but I will resume later if you don’t no-platform me.
Mocking tones are offered only where they’re earned.
1. If you can, make politics one of the centers of your life.
As a Podesta-email reading, Trump-voting, Bernie-supporter, I couldn’t agree more. Thinking that the elites have any anything but outright contempt- the same contempt you show in this column- for democracy or the democratically voiced expression of dissatisfaction, is insane.
Globalist Rightthink will be enforced, and if the system leads to an outcome where rightthink is defied, then, by definition, the system is “broken”.
This is their opinion, this is your opinion. You’re both out there. You’re both motivated. Neither of you is going away because I want to stop thinking about politics. I am reengineering my life to make politics and political outcomes its centerpiece.
2. White liberals must step up right now in the right way.
If you change the sentence by not even one letter, but merely the capitalization of one letter – l to L – then we fully agree:
“White Liberals must step up right now in the right way.”
Because if this column shows anything it’s that liberals and progressives have deserted Liberal values- free speech, freedom of association, freedom from persecution, freedom of religion, equality, even democracy itself – in droves.
Just plunk down anywhere on the country of YouTube marked “SJW”, or better yet, visit http://www.fire.org to see the urgent necessity of White Liberals to rally around their creation- the Enlightened Republic- and defend it with everything they’ve got from the universities themselves and the zombies they spawn and the racist identity politics you freely spout here. We need to protect it from the disuniting of the American people by way of Marxist-inspired pseudo-science and rhetoric.
You’re right It’s time for White Liberals to step up, and in just the right way.
3. If there’s going to be any political force that can resist Trump and build a livable future, it will be led by African Americans, Latinos, and young people from all backgrounds….
…The role for older, richer white liberals will be important but painfully different from what they’re used to. They’ll have to support other people’s priorities, put up money for things they don’t control and use all of their social power to protect Muslims, immigrants, and every threatened minority.
This is a joke. He’s not even in office yet, has done exactly nothing and yet we need to “resist” him in order to “build a livable future”. I think in logic that’s called “assuming the consequent”. But there’s something darker and far more sinister at work in those words, in fact, in your entire corpus.
Does it not occur to you that citing your own ethnic group as the “solution” and presuming to assign a proper “role” to another ethnic group, you are simply being a run of the mill racist?
Yes, THAT is what it FEELS like to be a racist! You think things like “this other bad race of people over there are the ones responsible for all the bad in the world but MY race of people is morally superior and it is our moral duty to overwhelm, overcome, control and subjugate that other race so people of my superior race can turn the world into a paradise!\“
See, in that description I didn’t say anything about hatred, about blood-lust, about mass murder. All of THAT just follows on in due course. The run of the mill racist just looks upon the world and quite naturally experiences his own race as morally benign and possessed of virtue and the other race as the epicenter of moral decay and evil.
Then he begins prescribing a cure. Just like you just did.
If there’s one thing I could implore you to take seriously from your critics, it’s this: you are actually right now a racist. You don’t recognize it because you think you know what a racist must feel inside themselves, what a blinkered view, what a dark dungeon it must be, and, of course, that’s not you, when in reality, how you DO feel – right now- OK, that’s racism.
4. The core belief of the technocrats who run the Democratic Party is that people rationally evaluate facts and then make decisions.
Yeah, as it turns out, actually not so much.
If you read the Podesta emails you’d have seen that Democratic voters thought Bernie Sanders was in their best interests and the DNC explicitly sought therefore to stab him in the back (their words) .
Moreover, they chatted merrily about how happy they were to have low information, unengaged voter to rely on every election- for decades.
Also bird-dogging otherwise peaceful Trump supporters (maybe I should have stood outside Hillary campaigns blowing my nose with the Mexican flag and then complained about the melee which would likely result) and busing voters from district to district to illegally vote multiple times doesn’t really describe the likely actions of a party that is naively relying on the voters’ inherent rationality to push them to a win.
I’m rather shocked to see a suggestion that Obama and Sanders join forces. You really think Obama is about to make an about face? I don’t think so. Obama had 8 years to deliver the changes we were hoping for. I gave up hoping. Be nice to republicans who voted for trump to “heal the divisions in our society?” No. Its up to them to reach out to me and prove that they are nice people after all. I caught my trump supporting neighbor trespassing on my property attempting to poach fish from my pond. Talk about white boy exceptionalism; they think they can break any law! My only regret is not actually calling the police on his ass! I’ve been the nice guy; its their turn. Next time I catch him, he gets a gun pointed in his face!
Tim I thought the same thing..Obama and Sanders..Is this guy nuts. That’s like your Wife cheats on you 19 times takes all your money and then you say..Maybe we should get back together. Get it through your head. Obama is a horrible disappointment on almost every level. Example: #9,632 Obama reacts to the recent abuse of indigenous tribes. He said both sides need to work together so everyone is safe or something pathetic and sleepy like that. Go back to Hawaii Obama and leave us all the hell alone. He is a major reason we have stupid Trump.
Wait you have a gun.? Won’t they revoke your liberal card.
Yah, double down on the same grovelling, identity politics garbage that just handed your opponent the election. You are a uniquely clueless man.
The progressive stories you told are false. The US has not been bombing the Middle East for 60 years. The 1% did not create Fascism. Until progressives start talking reality your ideas won’t get traction with most Americans.
I just do not see this happeneing. Comments here — to this column and others, as well as on Twitter — reflect great rancor. There’s the Primary Bernie-people who are furious with the Bernie-people who didn’t go all out for Hillary in the General. Then, there’s the Always Hillary people who still hate all the Bernie People. And frankly, I don’t see what possible grounds there are to work with hardcore, neoliberal Hillary types — they are not progressives and will seek only to find the “right” neoliberal who can pull off what Hillary could not.
And about this:
This beast cannot be slain while whites remain the majority. A lot of Trump’s support really is from racists and xenophobes and they are not amenable to reason. Cops slaughtering lotsa black people? They figure: “So what? Most of them are animals who probably did something sometime, anyway.” Certainly the poor ones who are insufficiently like the Huxtables. And they often fucking worship cops, all cops.
I just think the situation is pretty fucking dire. The only satisfaction I have today is knowing that the overweening hubris and arrogance of the Hillary/DNC shitheads who sandbagged Bernie — and viciously maligned us as sexist “BernieBros” and all manner of losers — have been totally bitch-slapped. But that schadenfreude isn’t enough to make up for the horrors of Trump with a GOP Congress, especially for people with darker skin.
What I really expect to see, Jon, is blood in the streets. Not just over racial matters, but if and when medical care goes completely away for the have nots.
We have four years to pull together to make Trump’s one-termer and elect a Bernie-like candidate. I’m not at all sure the unity can be found — I’m uncertain the Democratic machine will allow it, as it would mean letting go of neo-liberal dominance. The alternative, tho, is going to be very ugly.
Nothing said in the next week matters. Pissed off people are always mouthy. HRC could have won by peeling off 1%-2% of Trump voters in 3 or 4 states. Not every f*cking one of them is a woman-hating racist. We left votes on the table. HRC & surrogates ran a primary of identity politics, refusing to allow any moral reason for questioning her, and carried that through the general, where it didn’t work nearly as well. Maybe they won’t try it again. Sanders proved you could run a democratic campaign without the DNC, so we don’t have to talk them into anything, we just do stuff ourselves.
There will indeed be blood in the streets. I don’t envision any other alternative. The Democrats brought this on themselves and I don’t see them changing course anytime soon. They’re blind and arrogant , still believing that folks will fall in line behind their neo-liberal agenda, even after this humiliating defeat. They just haven’t figured out that the status quo has become unacceptable to the majority of folks. I can only hope that it takes 2 years, until the mid-term elections, not 4 to essentially make Trump a 1-termer.
Do you really think Democrats can do this? I do not.
Probably not, but it’s about the only hope left in sight at this point. If we could actually elect true progressives to Congress, at least maybe Trump can be thwarted.
“I’m uncertain the Democratic machine will allow it, as it would mean letting go of neo-liberal dominance.”
The Democratic machine needs to be purged, pure and simple. It looks like the Clintons are, finally, off to a long overdue exile. But the organization is still stuffed with hacks and hangers-on. For instance, Pelosi and Steny Hoyer and Schumer are all still there, and likely will be as long as they have a weak, thready pulse.
So the institution may be beyond reform. If so, I don’t see that leftists have any choice but to make a complete break with it. Which would leave them with essentially no national organizational affiliation. Sanders’ “Our Revolution” is a hopeful development, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves, we might be in for long years in the wilderness.
“In a country engineered to treat everyone horrendously every day…”
“Working as designed it murders African Americans and pregnant women and opioid addicts.”
Dude, you are a wackjob and I feel sorry for anybody that takes you seriously. How can you be so delusional about this country? Who brainwashed you to believe these nasty lies about the US? You seem to want to take things even further to the left. Why? What in the world is your problem?
The reason this country is so divided is because we have drastically different perspectives on it. You leftists see it as a land of oppression and that the evil white man is to blame. The right sees it as a collection of individuals who all have the potential to succeed, as long as the government stays out of the way. Look at how drastically different those views are. One hails the individual and the other dictates peoples views based upon their race, sex, religion, etc. This country, I assure you, was in now way founded upon your vision. Your vision is so corrupted and perverted from what the American way is supposed to be.
This was inspiring to read in this gloomy and completely unprecedented time journalism like yours is a beaken of hope to me as I too am peursuing a career in journalism in a time where it seemed the entire enterprise was compromised by the cooperate elite. Thank you.
Good and positive article with precious given the circumstances. I really hope things turn out well soon.
For this machine to be brought under control indeed let’s not have the younger generation wait for yet another generation or for the Kryptos solution be FOIA’d sometime in 2033.
Like many others I wholeheartedly donated to Bernie’s movement but the DNC decided otherwise: yes let’s be good to each other, work together and make the best out of it. I too hope Obama & Bernie can become again thriving forces for the movement(s) they started and stand up together.
Let’s stay positive.
I meant ‘precious advice’. Did reach out to 300+ Super Delegates for changing their minds in early July, to no much avail. Again, appreciate the positive tone set forth in your article and look forward to quick recovery!
10. Actually fight within the DNC to return to liberal ideology and stop being GW Bush clones.
Returning to the policy of protecting unions, schools and the working poor is what the Dems used to be. Now, they are warmongers, kill list generators, indefinite detention apologizers and Wall St. cronies.
How about actually returning to those policies and positions of helping the middle class and the working poor?
Surprised this one got left out.
Actually yeah it is “hyperbole” and I never took you for a sniveling coward. If you are so “terrified” of your fellow Americans, even the ones who don’t share you political ideology, then I’d say you need to get out of NY or wherever it is you are based and meet some. Get to know and understand their lives, why they believe what they do, and how we all actually have quite a bit more in common that what separates us.
Or believe everyone is a racist misogynist drooling imbecile just because their values are different than yours.
I’m pretty sure Trump doesn’t have the moxie nor intent (nor do his followers) to round up all the sniveling coward liberals who have been looking down their noses and mocking them and their lives for decades–even thought they talk like that. They are too busy trying to put food on the table working multiple jobs to be able to join in any sort of “neo-brownshirt” bullshit. And if they tried then our problems are bigger than Trump, and more like Civil War Redux.
For sure Americans are far from perfect (like all of us), but they are your neighbors, and co-workers, fellow students, and parents and grandparents and they love their families and friends and those in their communities just like you do.
They aren’t coming to round you up, and when it comes to immigration without documentation, we are going to have to find a national solution to that issue that treats people humanely, provides a legal work status (so as not to depress wages) or provides a path to citizenship, and that’s not a new issue among the vast ideological cross section of America.
But it would be a practical impossibility to start rounding up everybody whiter than a shade of notebook paper and checking for legal immigration status. So save the hyperbole.
The rest of your piece is fine as far as it goes.
I thought there was a lot of good in this article, but you make a point that we all need to consider, because there is no hiding from it now –
‘you need to get out of NY or wherever it is you are based and meet some. Get to know and understand their lives, why they believe what they do, and how we all actually have quite a bit more in common than what separates us.’
You say ‘Get to know them’, we already know them, they are family and ex-school friends’. We didn’t agree with their views, so we left. We went and constructed our comfortable urban bubble that enabled us to ignore the realities of what’s happening across the country.
Well the bubble just burst.
“If there’s anything to learn from history, it’s that elites don’t dismantle their beloved killer robots on their own.”
No, they do not. The people do.
AND THEY JUST DID.
Hillary Clinton is a fucking murdering robot, you clown!
Can you say Libya?
Just keep changing those adult-diapers and use some bag-balm.
Jon Schwarz is a ‘progressive’ clown of the highest order. According to his twisted elitist leftist ideology he says:
9. Be good to yourself and everyone else.
But that excludes Trump supporters of course. Fucking hypocrite.
“and everyone else”. Where is the expressed exclusion of Trump supporters?
Indeed. The cackling vagina celebrating a bayonet up Qaddafi’s rectum is not exactly presidential decorum.
Stop with this identity politics BS. Fragmenting people into White, Black, Latino, etc. is a losing, fragmenting, divisive game. Sanders had the right formula for divisiveness: uniting the 99% of every race, creed and culture against the 1%, the fraudsters, the greedy plutocrats.
Yes, and stop trying to solve every problem from Washington. The campaign for cannabis use is being won at the state level.
Exactly.
May I add that there’s apparently no place for impoverished, “old”, “white” (whatever that means) people in the author’s revolutionary scenario. Maybe they don’t exist in his world.
What about we grow up, skip the boxes, and build a collaboration of DECENT people for a change. Transnational. With a place for everyone.
Agree 100%. I often wonder aloud if BLM would have been a more successful movement if it were called “Citizens for Criminal Justice Reform” or something along those lines. Racism is a symptom of police corruption. Focus on the illness, not on your hurt pride.
Jon, Barak Obama is the current president and he claims the right to kill anyone without judicial oversight. He has deported more people than any president in history. He supported a far-right coup in the Ukraine two months before an election by supporting far-right Nazi battalions. He destroyed the Libyan state and bombed it into oblivion. He funneled arms from Libya to Syria to arm radical jihadists to illegally overthrow the leader of that country.
What are we going to do about it?
What are we going to do about it?
I’m also quite worried that he interfered with the operation of the Justice Department and executive agencies, against their chartered goals, solely for partisan political reasons not shared by all Americans.
Democrats in Congress would do well to ensure that no President can abuse their power without consequence, and hold Obama responsible to answer (in private session if necessary). It’s the right thing to do.
Now that Clinton’s out? Pick new Democratic leaders, assist Comey and others in any probes of illegality (about time someone held the executive branch accountable), and find new guards for our future security.
One of the reasons Bernie Sanders was so successfully (and he was…he went from a 3% nobody to leading in the polls) was because he told stories. The big story that contained the smaller stories was “Why is there injustice in such a rich country?” I hope the DNC hands the keys to the store to him–today. He succeeded in building a movement. They failed.
“White liberals will be more effective doing this if they first spend time considering how they may be as equally complicit in white supremacy as Trump voters.”
Repent your sins, white man! To question is racist! Lean not upon your own understanding!
Uh, no, how about we ALL swallow our racial pride and talk to one another like adults? Politics are just going to grow more and more extreme otherwise.
Certainly Trump’s campaign had many sour notes. But, by playing the full songbook of hateful right-wing melodies, and always moving while changing the tune, Trump was able to build a coalition of sorts: detestable remora clinging to his giant-shark ego.
The author of this article feels the defeated left need to assert their own songs — to not lose sight of their own ideals. That’s certainly true; everyone is deserving of their choice of political identity. However, the new progressive goal should not be to drown out or replace the suddenly-mainstream Trump, but to find a way to uphold progressive ideals while weaving their voices into the song where possible. Save the shouting-down and attempts to assert a replacement narrative for when it’s actually necessary; that day will come soon enough.
Trump’s offered to attempt to continue growing his coalition, and promised his rule will be for all Americans, not just those within his coalition of cooperation. He may not be worthy of trust — and no one should drop their reasonable skepticism — but I feel our political system always deserves efforts towards harmony.
Let’s not let hurt reactions and uncertainty force partisan withdrawal.
It’s clear from this and the earlier Intercept articles that you’ve learned nothing from this election. The liberal left’s continuing failure is that they view democracy as “broken” whenever it doesn’t didn’t deliver the result that it “should have” (= “the result that we know is best for you, regardless of what you think”). This in my opinion is the single biggest contributor to our failure to meet somewhere in the middle.
Lost bc of DISHONEST.
Really that SIMPLE,
Yes.
This has been an increasing trend since PresCrookdClinton 1992, and so far the Dems have 8+ 8 = 16 years, and the Reps only 8.
Th e US did not want to go for 20years of total dishonesty.
Deep breath and be honest!
Try it!
Actually, it’s over 200 years of dishonesty – it is and always has been about concentration of power vs. individual freedom, and that concentration has been increasing since the founders foisted the Constitution on the States, and began centralizing power, Bill of Rights not withstanding (e.g. when the law says “Congress shall make NO law…” about something, the Congress – always self-serving – interprets that as “we’ll make any damn law we want”.
How can you tell if a politician (non-partisan) is lying? It’s lips are moving.
Being an American, I can say American politics is very shallow now. The rest of the world need not worry unless they try to jump into this very shallow pool. Hillary Clinton stole the primary from Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump bought his side of the primary and bought it cheap with cheap words. When you steal primarily (what was done to Mr. Sanders), you lose permanently as Hillary Clinton did. She can enjoy her Bill in retirement! HA! And, she’s 2 Pence none the richer with that man ho romeo she picked. I did not vote for Donald Trump, as I did not vote for Hillary Clinton, but he’s better for U.S. than her any day. I’ve been a registered Democrat for 30 years. Hillary Clinton should have been a Republican anyway. Very very shallow, don’t jump in. Wade in carefully.
I like all of your ideas , most of all I believe we need new young faces in the Democratic party. These old conservatives have to go, They are the people responsible for the degradation of the party and indeed the country. I hope that younger better educated people with new ideas step up and run for office. We will embrace them .