Postmortem

“Congratulations are not in order. Donald Trump's bigotry, his heinous treatment of women, his authoritarian posturing, his hatred of free speech, and his stupendous ignorance are more than sufficient to make him a figure worthy of unqualified contempt — and now he is president of the United States.” Jake Johnson

Trump won. The postmortems are still going on. How did it happen, why? The DNC will never admit that they got it all wrong; the Clinton gang will also never admit their culpability in one of the greatest debacles in US history.

The only objective for the Clinton gang now is to erase this defeat from memory.

How ironic that Donald Trump, no friend of labor, is now the beacon of hope for America’s working class – at least those with pale skins.

In a year of change, the Democrats backed the Paragon of the Status Quo.

For the record: Clinton did narrowly win the popular vote.

For the record: Trump won more states, all of the south, and more electoral votes, but he doesn’t have a mandate.

Watch who Trump selects for his Cabinet and key advisory positions because it’s likely to be a horror show.

Need to do something? Donate what money you can spare  to independent media outlets like Democracy Now, Truthdig and Truthout, CounterPunch, or Common Dreams. We need honest, curious, fierce journalism now more than ever.

I got it as wrong as many of the professional pundits and pollsters. I thought that, come Election Day, people would hold their noses and vote for Clinton. I didn’t give Trump a chance because in my mind his election was unthinkable. I forgot that elections are driven by emotion, not intellect or reason; Trump’s message appealed on an emotional level to people who have been hammered by neoliberal economic policies, and that Hillary Clinton, more than any other person except her husband, is the living embodiment of those policies.

Stock prices of defense contractors and private prison operators are up. What does this imply? That our wars will continue under Trump, and that Trump’s authoritarian bent might be a boon for the prison industry? Maybe we can start locking up dissenters, anyone that Newt Gingrich considers a threat to America.

It feels as if a pall has descended over much of the nation. After running a divisive campaign, Trump now claims to be a uniter, the man who will heal our wounds and bring us together. Isn’t this akin to a man who beats his wife offering her an ice pack after he beats her?

Although dark clouds mass on the horizon, this might be the moment when social justice movements like Black Lives Matter, the Fight-for-$15, sensible immigration reform, and economic and climate justice join forces in a united front. Most people active in these movements know that waiting, or hoping, for the Democratic Party to do something is utterly hopeless. The party of liberal elites needs a complete overhaul -- and very soon.

The Clinton campaign braintrust made so many errors, so many incorrect assumptions, and one of the most glaring was the selection of Tim Kaine, one of the blandest corporate Democrats around; he was a big help, wasn’t he?