From Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger:
Donald Trump is now the president-elect of the United States, and next January he will be sworn in as the 45th president.
I’ll be honest. He scares the hell out of me. I think he will divide the country, appoint a reactionary to the Supreme Court, and aid the Republican Congress in their effort to give more to the rich and trash our economy. In short, we are in for a terrible few years.
Democratic leaders are saying we now owe Trump the opportunity to have a successful presidency. I can’t agree. I think we owe him no more of an opportunity than he gave to President Obama (with his incessant and disingenuous birtherism).
Today, I am left wondering how this dangerous liar, xenophobe, misogynist, racist, bigot got elected. We can’t blame minorities. They saw him for the person that he is, and they voted overwhelmingly against him. No, the blame rests entirely on whites, who voted for him in a large majority.
Trump won fewer votes than Romney did in 2012, though only by under 1 million. He received more votes than McCain did in 2008, but barely. Clinton, on the other hand, received over 5 million fewer votes than Obama did in 2012 and 9 million fewer than Obama did in 2008. We can argue about how a candidate like Trump could still pull numbers like traditional Republicans, but the problem here is that Clinton didn’t get the turnout she needed. This was a Clinton loss, not a Trump surge.
Whether or not we should agree to work with Trump and Republicans is a tough question. On one hand, they obstructed when we had more power; on the other, we declared that this was wrong. On one hand, Trump won the election; on the other, Clinton won the popular vote. On one hand, we want our government to continue to function; on the other, we fear what will become of the government if Republicans have their way.
I say it comes down to how much they are willing to work with us/seek our input in our weakened position, in the recognition that Trump did not win in the same way that Obama won in 2008 and 2012 and that they could face massive backlash and payback in 2-4 years if they overreach. If they do miraculously try to work with us, we need to decide which issues matter the most to us so that we know where to compromise and where to hold fast, e.g. tax cuts vs. civil rights. If they do not, then we owe them nothing. In that case, the best we can do is remind everyone of their promises and be clear, but not hyperbolic as Republicans have been toward us, about what will happen under their policies. When it does happen, we must hit hard and we must have plans of our own to offer as alternatives. We must oppose but we must not be like the 2010-2016 GOP.
We must also have a better strategy and candidate going into the next election. Right now, with the exceptions of the already well-aged Sanders and the lesser-known Warren, we don’t have much in the way of leadership or even recognizable names. We bet it all on Clinton and everything fell apart. I hope that some new but experienced voices will emerge with a better message for the country than Clinton’s vague and uninspiring “unity” and that we can do a better job of respecting Middle America and addressing its concerns without moving so far to the left that we won’t be able to get its votes anyway. I hope that we learn some lessons here.