Yes, the Trump administration could be a disaster. But, for now at least, some people are feeling heard. Peggy Noonan talks about this in What Trump Got That Romney Didn’t. Here are some excerpts:
Life has been famously cruel to some good people the past few decades. The past few years it seemed the progressive left and the Democratic Party, confident in what they called the coalition of the ascendant, were looking at the old American working class, especially the white working class, and saying: “Here’s your disability check, now go take your opioids and get lost while we transform our country. By the way, we have friends on Wall Street.” From the right and Republicans it was: “Take your piece of the dole, we are importing an entire new people from other countries to take your place, could you please sort of pass away? We’re replacing you! Why can’t you get the message? By the way, we have friends on Wall Street.”
People don’t want to be shunted aside or told they’re expendable, that they’re yesterday and no longer count. Especially people whose country this is too, who’ve been here a long time and paid its taxes, whose sons died in its wars.
….
I see conservatives debating the Carrier decision — the implications of an incoming president persuading, inducing, perhaps to a degree pressuring a company not to leave Indiana. A factory will stay, and perhaps a thousand jobs. It’s not something that can work every day or be done every day, but it’s the right sympathetic symbolism. It’s not bad if people see a shift in decision making from abstract dogma to literal, concrete reality. It’s not bad if someone thinks the federal government is on their side for a change.
As usual, we will just have to see. But according to these articles in the Washington Post and New York Times, some Democrats may also be listening.
and the Democrats didn’t even seem to pursue votes in the middle of the country.
For various reasons, I never was going to vote for Hillary. Unfortunately, Donald made voting for him a difficult choice. Knowing that Arkansas was going to go to him, I almost decided not to vote at all.
While some Democrats may be listening, many in the Democrat Party and the mainstream media are still in denial when it comes to acknowledging their role in the loss of the Presidency.
Hillary and her staff decided against it. The local Democrats warned her she should campaign there, and after the election Obama said one reason he won more states in 2012 than she did in 2016 was because he campaigned in those states.
I’m not quite sure what you mean about the mainstream media. Does that not include the Washington Post and the New York Times? I’ve read articles where the press took the blame for giving Trump so much free publicity. They never expected him to win and it brought in readers/viewers. His stories sold.
has it ever truly been a representative government?
very educated elites started it all. and they put in their checks and balances for power… which were rather brilliant. and yet… it still smacks of …
“we know what’s best for them” mentality and now with all the greed and avarice thrown into the mix… things like the carrier example are kind of too little too late perhaps.
I’m curious to know that since he’s gotten such a huge percentage riled up…
with their mob mentality now… how patient they will all be when he can’t deliver on the things he has promised. do you think it could turn into a revolution? if it does… things will as you say … then get VERY interesting!
When we were at Cornell in the late 60’s I knew students who believed that blowing up banks was a noble thing to do. I don’t think the current situation is any worse than that. As usual, we will just have to see.
I find that if I think about this too long, that I feel totally helpless.
No matter what anyone says, I have no power to change anything
or make a difference.
I’m just one of those people who have to just keep going to work and treading water while politicians pretend to care and play their games.
I don’t have a job that includes healthcare and yet I’m not poor enough to really benefit from the healthcare program. Sure, my exams and pre-screenings are paid for, but what my monthly premiums add up to, I could pay for the exams/prescreenings myself and save in the long run by not paying the monthly healthcare premiums.
But wait, then I get hit with a big penalty.
And if they do find something wrong with me, I have a 6500. deductible to pay first and then I still have to pay a big percentage of cost afterwards.
And then there’s Social Security and Medicare on the horizon.
It’s better for me not to think about that either, about whether Social Security will be there or not.
The thought that something could happen to it and I would have to work forever makes me…. very depressed.
For me it’s better not to put too much focus on politics and cause myself unnecessary worry.
It’s not like worrying will help but rather it will hurt me and makes me feel small and powerless.
I’m going to try to have tunnel vision and tune it all out.
Just focus on small little things, that make me happy.
dearest cindi … most of what you say is true. for me as well.
although I thank heaven I finally got old enough for medicare.
but…
if social security tanks … you won’t be the only one in a bad way!
i’m one check away from living in a box under a bridge!!!
but they have been threatening to shut ss down for as long as I can remember. I heard those rumours when I was in my TWENTIES even!
and yet it’s still here. they use scare tactics constantly on us. it’s a matter of control.
we just have to live today.
but I’m with you.
it’s truly just too much to worry about anymore. and I don’t want to anymore.
it affects my quality of life. I’m so tired of it. XOXO?
I agree with you both, if it distresses you tune it out. “The quality of our lives depends on how we focus our energy and our attention.” Most of my posts won’t be about politics, but I’ve always been interested in history and I’m curious to see what will happen. So occasionally I will blog about it.
LOL! the question mark is a little heart. 😀 ya gotta love emoticons?
is that the right word! or maybe emoticon is a smiley faced robot? LOL
I just looked it up. ♥
It worked! Ignore the spaces and try “& hearts ;” The & and ; are the beginning and end of every HTML symbol. ♥
& #10084 ; gives ❤
That’s even better! Just leave out the spaces after the & and before the ;
THANKS! ❤
and…
a thought came to me in re reading the post and all of our comments…
I am going to try to learn from your attitude monk. and start viewing all of this that’s happening as simply ‘living history’ … and find the interest in it from that standpoint. a more intellectually detached attitude that is probably closer to being able to tolerate what I’m seeing and hearing at a more healthy level.
don’t even know if you see these comments after the fact! but …
I love your blog. it always makes me … or rather HELPS me… to THINK!
♥
Thank you! Commitment and practice. Take it in small pieces and not because one “should” pay attention to what’s happening politically, but as an exercise in stress/mood management. Anyway, that’s what I did and it worked for me, but we all have to figure out what works for us.
somehow – we get buoyed up with election promises or even no promises that we really want – and then when the results are in, we either can’t remember what we wanted or as you say CM “we shall wait and see”
we just appointed (oops, no the National MPs appointed) our new Prime Minister of which I have only vaguely listened to about his ideals and so forth…I guess time will tell as well…
The great truth is you can’t believe all the campaign promises. I like Peggy Noon’s quote, “Politicians disappoint. They can’t help it, that just the way they are.” No sense wasting much time on it, unless you find it interesting. I do find the Trump phenomenon interesting because of my own reading and thinking when I was younger. Won’t go into that now.
There is so much noise there pre swearing in. Here it is total chaos after the demonetisation and the establishment is blissfully floating through it much to the chagrin of the left out who cannot figure out why the public is not revolting!