Well, That Didn’t Work Out

by paradox

Now that the horrifying shock of Donald Trump soon to be reclining in Air Force One has somewhat worn off I feel a compulsion to codify my observations as best I can. If we are to have any chance at all moving forward a tenacious grasp of the truth, as always, will be one of our pillar principles.

If anyone or group flatly states Secretary Clinton lost because of This One Thing you’re being childishly manipulated, lied to or both. The factors behind this cultural and political catastrophe are many and multifaceted.

I am not a life master. Without being a queen about it things have not worked out, I will present what truth I can, perhaps I will be very harsh with some but, you know, it’s not as if I have some vast mystical powers to punish—even if I wanted to—or somehow condemn for a life sentence of You Were Wrong. No, this is a simple horrified grasp at truth, that, if we ever get out of this, perhaps will be useful in the future.

As Dr. Atrios recently pointed out, we have a terrifyingly bad, “horrible” media that performed a stinking, sickening desecration to democracy in 2016. CNN, incredibly, became a serious Trump conduit, endlessly broadcasting his early rallies for cheap ratings. The New York Times endlessly blared an email story that never materialized.

A bewildered Democrat asked Secretary Clinton supporter Tom Watson why the non-story never went away, his answer was that after desperately inflating it for so long in a quest for something/anything they were “invested” in it, endlessly blaring it became the justification for endlessly blaring it, really.

I grossly underestimated the ravenous pack media obsession of Getting The Clintons. Email and foundation stories of nothing, relentless false equivalency, outright obsession in the email email email evolution, complete denial of Republican regression, god what sickening hunt it was with no regard or quest for truth or policy.

There’s no one to hold our disgusting media cousins accountable, they behave remarkably—almost identically, man—like certain members of my family, catastrophic results and events happen totally on their watch and participation, they look at you with a completely straight face and say “we didn’t do anything!”

What about a lying stupid crank con master racist misogynist asshole scumbag now becoming President of the United States, what’s your responsibility there? “Nothing! We…did…nothing!”

[nods] We all believe you, media email-obsessed cranks of stupidity and failure, surely the truth guides you.

I completely underestimated the tribal willingness of the Republican Party to totally back their turd candidate who can’t even get an American bank loan. I was giddy at a 6% loss prediction, which would have crushed Trump, but of my god they all came out 100%, if Satan himself were their candidate the Republican Party would 100% come out.

I live in California, we’re pretty well insulated from the racial loathing of Obama here, as John Cole noted it’s blatant and omnipresent in Red America and a huge factor in supporting Trump. The Republican Party absolutely hates liberalism, they voted 100% for a lying crank who doesn’t even pay taxes. Oh my god I was counting on Girl Power to obliterate Trump but it didn’t come through, sexism and misogyny were vastly powerful forces to motivate Trump voters too.

[sigh] Our industrious, meticulous, darling polling masters. I stand before in tanned arms of labor, lift you by the lapels and roar in demand for the love of farking Jesus what have you done!!!!!

The damage to Secretary Clinton from polling that she totally had it locked away with a 90% chance of winning is vastly incalculable. Liberal and moderate voices that should have been restrained endlessly blasted her and crushed liberal participation rate, if she had it so locked in why bother to help?

I explicitly warned Markos many cycles ago not to become so poll-obsessed, it obscured policy far too much and distorted results in not-good ways. Holy starbursts of eternity this time they were even freaking wrong! Wrong with Donald Trump as the result, I wish you the best in an attempt at peace in this life, my meticulous polling brothers, may fate and the truth guide you well.

Oh my god the Democratic Party primary. I have no problem with Bernie Sanders at all, the process was simply excruciatingly too long. Again, incalculable damage of vast scope was inflicted upon the Party candidate by the endless length of it, we have to seriously shorten this into four regional primaries of 12 weeks, no more.

On a personal note the primary ripped me, I am a decent social and political scientist, media and political junkie, observer of 12 cycles and fierce little people proponent, I know very well what’s it like to be persecuted with vicious, endless violence from a sick bully. Yet just for my choice of a good Democrat I was shunned and ignored.

I have been here from the very beginning and have seriously helped Markos and his stellar writers in a place of hope and work that has been a rare wondrous addition in a sad, lousy life. Thanks for shunning me, it hurt like unholy freaking hell and doused a corner of solace in lonely life journey of hurt and anger.

Guys who were once heroes and gods of intellect to me continued to bash our candidate even after it as totally obvious Sanders could not get the nomination. Another evolution of incalculable vast political damage, another sad life evolution of heroes being obliterated.

Our participation rate dropped again, this one falls squarely on Secretary Clinton. The sell, as far as I could discern, was Experience and More of the Obama Same. It was a fail that inspired no one, it’s very difficult for a Party to get three terms in a row, hugely because people want change or something different.

For liberals like me I will be eternally bewildered how anyone could choose that liar idiot Trump over it, but obviously huge swathes of our people did.

[wan smile] Well, I have gone way over my usual 750 word limit, the circumstances seemed to warrant it. Moving forward in this horrifying catastrophe I can only offer one observation and hope here.

As Harry Reid so bravely and astutely noted, the fear is upon us. That sick authoritarian Trump and the vicious clowns he’ll gather around himself are stupid and obtuse, yes, but of course inflicting fear never required good intelligence.

Believe what the sick bastard authoritarian says and tells you. He promised to prosecute Secretary Clinton after the election, a horrifyingly gross banana republic move of squelching political opponents. In however this idiot authoritarian decides to implement his “policy,” fear will always be a ready and oft-used weapon.

Know the tactic and resist the fear as best you can, don’t let the bully be encouraged with any acquiescence to fear. He’s stupid and insecure, happily let him know whatever stupidity he comes up you can endure.

Should Secretary Clinton somehow be local and the news of her arrest imminent I will physically shield her to the point of calm death. This earth has been a violent, sick lying place of horribly painful futility for me, I’d be glad to leave in such an honorable way.

Should any evolution turning my Democracy into a gulag happen locally it’s highly likely I’ll die in the streets defending what’s left of it. After what I’ve been through I am not afraid, and only one immutable crucial duty keeps me here. To leave with honor fighting gulag thugs would be a very good thing.

Go ahead, Herr Trump, incite your fear and watch Americans fight back to the death. How many of us are here I do not know. I do know that if you try to arrest Secretary Clinton American patriots will die at her feet to stop you, that is an implacable fact of reality.