As a political liberal, a political junkie, a reader of history, and the founder in 1995 of this website, perhaps the oldest political blog in the world, I need to write my perspective on this election of Trump as president of the United States. I have watched and participated in political events my entire life, and even had the honor of shaking hands with John Kennedy at a political event in 1960. Some day, over the next four years, this site may be shut down by Trump, but until then, this will continue as a venue for citizen writers. At age 83, I want to write my perspective on our times.
“Adjust” was the word that came to my mind Tuesday night as reality slowly pushed out all optimistic thoughts. Watching the states falter one by one was chilling. Realizing that a majority of citizens in each of those states preferred Trump to Harris sank in slowly.
The American people knew the facts of their choice - and chose a big white man promising impossible dreams of comfort and a return to a past that never existed. The majority of people voted against their own best interests. The poor will probably suffer the most under his authoritarian rule.
Why? In a word, the Democratic Party turn to Neoliberalism by President Clinton - and sustained by President Obama and even President Biden. NAFTA, the WTO and the TPP impoverished hard working Americans and were signature deals made by Democratic presidents. The Democrats promised to help people but quietly worked with the bankers and mega corporations to water down those promises. The Democratic Party thought it could under-deliver to the American people and get away with it.
The result is that a majority of voters simply did not trust - did not believe - the promises that Kamala Harris made. I personally feel that she made them sincerely and that she would have reversed the Neoliberal practices of the Democrats; thus her promise to make “common sense” decisions. But, as she is vice president, she would not speak against Biden’s policies - and the Democratic Party hoped the American people would, again, buy their promises.
Biden ran and won in 2020 to save America from Trump. Once in office, he continued the Neoliberalism of Clinton and Obama, and ignored the concerns of poor Americans. He governed with outdated ideas and policies of 40 and 50 years ago; he was embedded in the past and could not see the realities of America. And he supported new wars.
Biden ignored the border crisis. Yes, he put Harris “in charge” but then prevented her from doing anything. He made all the decisions - in the old fashioned style of pretending to disperse power, but in reality keeping it all to himself.
Biden got us into the Ukrainian war. Really. He worked for years as vice president to sucker Putin into attacking Ukraine so we could then use Ukraine as a proxy to bleed the Russian military dry. He worked with the American military-industrial complex to get us into another war profitable to them. President Eisenhower’s warning was ignored. Trump has promised to end this war and a majority of voters believe him. The American people do not like foreign wars. Virtually every Trump supporter I have talked with since 2016 has pointed to the foreign wars as one of the main reasons for supporting Trump.
Biden has blindly supported Israel, feeding our military-industrial complex hundreds of billions more dollars. And Israel is systematically destroying all of Gaza and committing genocide. But we Americans cannot cast stones because we did the same to Iraq even though our leaders knew there were no nuclear weapons there and that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. We have become an aggressor nation feeding our weapon-makers and starving our domestic programs. While Biden and the Democrats said they wanted peace, they fed the war machine.
So Trump, who does not like wars, is probably going to stop the aid to these two countries.
If Kamala had been elected, I believe she would have made a serious effort to bring reforms, end the wars, and make decisions for the benefit of rural and poorer Americans. But I also believe the Democratic machine would have stopped her reforms.
I have special criticism for Chuck Shumer, the Senate Democratic Party leader. He refused to end the filibuster, allowed Congress to stall out, and let the minority Republicans control the agenda. As Republicans will now control the Senate, we will see the filibuster end and the Republican majority will rule. Shumer will, of course, be outraged. He is a fool.
Before ending this article of accusations, I want to include our liberal news media as also responsible for the rise and success of Trump. They stoked the embers of division in our country, gaining more viewers and readers and making more money by dividing us. They made news-watching a “must” for more and more people, by inflaming any differences they could find. They ignored important but unexciting issues in favor of “gotcha news casts.” They all did it: the New York Times, CBS, MSNBC, Fox, CNN, and yes, the Washington Post. In reality, we Americans all want pretty much the same things. The only issue that divides us is women’s rights - big as it is. The news media treated Trump as a normal politician and made him a rock star.
As a tree-hugging, bleeding-heart liberal, I am crushed by Trump’s victory. But I do think he may decide some good things—as painful as they might be. If we have another election in four years, we may find a credible liberal leader whom we can elect president and find our way to a better future. For now, adjust to a new reality is the word.
Comments by Readers
Pearl Follett
Nov 08, 2024Thank you for your comments. My view is that many factors caused the defeat of Harris that had nothing to do with the Democtric party. Individuals vote. In the hearts and minds of the Trump voters many factors pushed the hand that marked the ballot.
One is that abused people idenify with the agressor . Fantasies play a part. Some very poor want to protect the rich so that when they themselves become rich everything willbe in place for them,
Obedience is taught in some churches and families. Do what you are told to survive.
The lack of critical thinking was a major factor. Our school system and the lack of righer educaton for the poor can be blamed.
Regardless of the reasons we are where we are with the problem of what to do about it.
For now we can do good where we see and help those who wil be in harms way due to Trump. We can build a comunity to help the disenfranchised. In doing so we can protect our morality and not live in dispair. Together we can build a better world.
Pearl Follett
John Servais
Nov 08, 2024Pearl, I agree with each of your points as to why different individuals probably voted for Trump. I most agree sith the lack of critical thinking and, yes, that goes to our education system. If Trump eliminates the Department of Education then each state will be on its own and we may see an improvement in public education in Washington state.
However, I do not think a majority of voters fit into the four points you make. The ones I know - both close relatives and good friends - do not. They are functioning, successful and level headed in all regards. They voted for Trump.
The turn to Neoliberalism by the Democratic party was a betrayal of the small business owners and the working folks all over America. It has come home to bite them. I think that is the major factor.
There are more reasons than those you and I have noted. No doubt. Trump may have lost if the Democratic Party candidate had been a tall white man, or if inflation had not been so high for so long or if U.S. Attorney General Garland had not sat on his thumbs for two years before beginning to take action against Trump. Just to name a few other factors. All in all, a self inflicted defeat. IMO
Jon Humphrey
Nov 08, 2024The Corporate Democrats, which the Whatcom Democrats are a shining example of, are definitely to blame. As a liberal, Bernie, supporter myself I have had the local Dems. try to cancel me for telling the citizens of Whatcom County the truth about fake progressives here in our fight for economic and social justice in telecom. It was the Democrats, still lead by pathological liar Andrew Redding, that tried to kill the issue and did not care who they hurt along the way. Even working families with children. They have since moved targets to a few people trying to resolve the homelessness issue because they want to line the pockets of their big developer donor friends. They are making up serious lies about them too, as they always do. They are a pitiful joke and they hate workers. However, Harris would have been better than Trump. Still, with good 3rd party candidates like Stein on the ballot, I can’t understand why anyone voted for either major party. They are both awful.
Pearl Follett
Nov 08, 2024I am a Bernie supporter also. I was not excusing the Dems only thinking of why people would vote for Trump.
Pearl
Satpal Sidhu
Nov 08, 2024John, you have outlined the major reasons very well. One more I would like to point that immigrant bashing gave false narrative to average person that their economic decline is solely becasue of asylum seekers. Flaming the rhetoric of crime on this population also tuned people off from democrats leaders. US agriculture, meat industry hospitality services, housing contruction (few I can mention) are run becasue of this cheap labor. The very republican businesses do not favor closing the borders as being portrayed in the political slogans.
Many American are drawn to the dream of white christian dominated America, and this scares almost the other half of Americans, who are inching towards the majotiry count in few years. Lets hope better brains prevail over next four years and some good is done for common citizen’s living conditions.
Randy Petty
Nov 09, 2024Looking down our noses at “low information” voters won’t change things. Many of Trump’s promises will either be stopped/limited by reality ( consumers pay for tariffs), “guardrailed” by those with more brain cells in the new administration or will just fail ( catastrophically in some cases). But the huge numbers that don’t read much or pay attention will either forget about the promises or not see it when they don’t come to fruition. ( or be embarassed to admit it)
So….those on the left should promise the moon. As James Carville said yesterday, “with elections, winning is everything.” Unless you just happen to enjoy falling on your own sword.
Say what the majority of people who swing elections want to hear about Gaza, trans issues, immigration etc., then do the right thing once in office.
Carol Follett
Nov 09, 2024Thank you, John Servais, and the commentators that have contributed their responses to this article. Each of you has made strong and valid points about the disastrous election of a “want to be dictator” in the United Sates of America.
For people of our generation, this is a most shocking and unexpected occurrence, almost beyond our imaginings. We were raised on years of education about our constitution and our democracy. The post-war generation always spoke of Democracy, with a capital “D.” It was used as the fuel for every hot and cold war we lived through. Having given their lives to end autocratic rulers like Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito in World War II, and with the knowledge of the Nuremberg Trials fresh in their minds, people really believed and supported our democratic institution. We were so full of these ideas that when the well indoctrinated, civically minded Boomers became adults, they actually tried to make sure that we “walked the talk.” All of the movements that you and I were part of were seeking to live up to the ideas stated in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, i.e.:
“...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”
And:
“to form a “...perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty…”
As we worked to refine and expand the concepts from these amazing founding documents, and as the years rolled by, those who aimed to control all, to maximize their profits over people, used every tool at their disposal to undermine these movements. Probably the biggest tool used (in addition to turning news into entertainment mostly owned by moguls - and now we have to add the use and ownership of social media too -look at Musk- if you can stand to), was Citizens United which insured that money rules, not people. Add to this the nearly-well-kept secret of organizations like ALEC (the innocuous sounding American Legislative Exchange Council), and the average citizens have been fleeced like sheep.
How could a generation or two raised in the intentionally dispersed education system of homeschooling and private, myth perpetuating schools possibly know what they were doing when they supported a person given a “get out of jail free” card from one cornerstone of our supposed “checks and balances” system design, the Supreme Court? Young people who hate history (I have heard this often), know nothing about our Constitution, nothing about what has created and sustained dictatorships throughout history, who have never heard of the “Dark Ages,” who never fact check anything- how could they know what they are doing?
So now we are here, in the beginning of the worst possible predicament we could be in. I have often wondered what I would have done if I had lived in Germany when Hitler rose to power, and I would prefer to have it remain a speculation; however, it is real for us now.
“The poor will probably suffer the most …” Do not be complacent. An injustice for one is an injustice for all.” And the abuse of power will come for you next.
We must be smart and work to get this democracy back on track. We want to live with, by, and for just laws. I know we cannot ever co-operate with evil. Noncooperation is a good start. I am researching how others have ended dictatorships without violence to see if we can get some ideas to work with. This is one resource I found from “How to Get Rid of a Dictator” from Gene Sharpe, The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Part Two
NWCitizen Management
Nov 09, 2024The link Carol Follett tried to post in her comment above:
How to Get Rid of a Dictator
We editors used to be able to fix errors like this for commenters, but our program no longer works as it used to. Thanks to the generous donations by readers, our funding drive was a success and we will be rebuilding this website so everything works again.
Jon Humphrey
Nov 09, 2024One incredibly important point made in the movie “Cabaret” is that in pre-Nazi Germany the Germans were, in many respects, a cosmopolitan society. However, their Democratic system had become corrupt and their major parties had turned on their workers and working families often to appease special interests. Nothing justifies what follows, but it seems like a point to make out loud.
Tip Johnson
Nov 09, 2024There is irony to the somewhat ubiquitous feeling voters had that things were economically better under the previous Trump administration. The economy and wages actually fared better under Biden, but under Trump they briefly enjoyed free pandemic money, rent protections and business support which quietly expired under Biden, post-pandemic. That brief feeling of cash in the bank was due to the four trillion Trump added to the deficit - the main stimulant for the recent inflation, blamed on Biden, that turned folks back to Trump.
Carol Follett
Nov 10, 2024I believe I am correct in saying that those of us communicating on this page do not want a dictator in the White House. What are some ideas to prevent successfull dictator actions? Here we are in a runner up to Hitler’s Germany. We even have a governor with his private army- https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2023/11/16/dangers-desantiss-militiaI. I do not know how many privatised prisons we have in our country ready, waiting, and willing to house citizens who will try to exercise their Constitutional rights to oppose injustice and voice grievances…. What are we going to do?
John Servais
Nov 10, 2024Please, let us not turn this thread towards a ‘what to do’ one. Give me a till this evening and I think we will have an article posted on that subject and those comments will be appropriate. I hope this thread can stay on the subject of ‘why’ did this happen. Thank you.
I especially want to note Satpal’s comment above. He cites the immigrant bashing that Trump used to gain his election victory. That bashing is so counter to what this country is all about. This also is a subject that requires its own article.
Carol Follett
Nov 10, 2024Thank you, John. 8 look forward to discussions of solutions at another time.
Dick Conoboy
Nov 14, 2024The following is from a piece by Vijay Prashad of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. You can read the entire newsletter by clicking on the title here: Swimming in Mud in the Fifth Circle of Hell What does the piece tell us about both parties and what remains in front of us?
Excerpt: In 2017, Brazil’s Perseu Abramo Foundation published a study about the political perceptions and values of the residents of São Paulo’s favelas, which found that they are in favour of more social policies of relief and welfare. They know that their hard work does not result in sufficient means, and so they hope that government policies will provide additional support. These opinions should theoretically lead to the growth of class politics. Yet the researchers found that this was not the case: instead, neoliberal ideas had flooded the favelas, leading its residents to see the primary conflict not as one between the rich and the poor, but one between the state and individuals, setting aside the role of capital. The findings of this study are replicated in many other similar investigations. It is not that the sections of the working class that turn to the far right of a special type are irrationally angry or deluded. They are clear about their experience, but they blame the degradation of their lives on the state. Can you blame them? Their relationship to the state is not shaped by social workers or welfare offices, but by the viciousness of the special police that are authorised to deny their civil and human rights. And so, they come to associate the state with the neoliberal pact and to hate it. Rising from these muddy waters, the politicians of the far right appear as potential saviours. Never mind that they have no agenda to reverse the carnage that the neoliberal policies of the old parties inflict on society: at least they purport to hate it, too.
Michael Riordan
Nov 16, 2024I’ve been avoiding any comment until now, instead reading and listening to what others say, and mulling things over in my mind. So now I’m ready to give you my reasons for this catastrophe. And as a fallen-away Catholic who still thinks in trinities, I’m going to restrict myself to what I believe are the three principal reasons:
1. The inflation that occurred during Biden’s reign, especially the public perception of it and blaming Biden for why it happened, which reveals to me the lack of intelligence and critical thinking among the majority of Amerikans. A recent analysis by Peter Orzag (of Clinton’s Office of Managment & Budget) credited that inflationary surge to the pandemic and its impact on supply chains, which drove up the costs of goods at the very time people were cutting back on services (e.g., restaurants) and buying things like home excercise machines. Yes, the econimic stimuli helped, but they also helped avoid a serious recession, but few gave Biden credit for that. And another factor was the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing cutoff of Russian oil and natural gas exports (esp. to Europe), which drove up the price of oil worldwide the following year. None of this can be blamed on Biden, but the dolts did.
2. What you CAN blame on Biden was his hanging on and trying to run for a second term at age 81 and then finally dropping out when his mental infirmities were obvious to all (except himself) and with only three months to go. At that point, it was much too late to hold a primary or open convention that could have determined a better alternative candidate (like Sherrod Brown or Gretchen Whitmer). The choice of Kamala Harris gave Democrats someone to rally around and avoid likely chaos, but it also saddled them with a nominee trying to carry Biden’s heavy baggage.
3. The underlying racism of a significant fraction of the Amerikan electorate — especially those with penises instead of brains — who simply could not stomach the thought of a dark-skinned woman of African and Asian extraction as their president. I’d guess that cost her 2-3% of the vote and more than that in southern states like Georgia and North Carolina.
Those are my three cents, probaly what they are worth!
Dick Conoboy
Nov 18, 2024Noam Chomsky said “People not only don’t know what’s happening to them, they don’t even know that they don’t know.” But that deserves clarification. They do SEE and EXPERIENCE what is happening in the moment but cannot appreciate that beyond the immediate experience. So they lash out. What they do not grasp are the causes beyond their current pain nor do they understand that they don’t know that they are unaware. If they were aware, they would understand that they have been abandoned by and lied to by BOTH parties for 40-50 yrs.
Here are links to two articles that delve into this:
Swimming in Mud in the Fifth Circle of Hell: The Forty-Sixth Newsletter (2024)
The Democrats Deserved to Lose 1,000 Times Over
David A. Swanson
Nov 21, 2024Among his many other contributions, Kenneth Rexroth wrote a series of commentaries on books and compilations he considered to be important, ” ‘Classics’ Revisited” (New DIrections Books, 1965). In his review of the “Iliad,” he wrote
Dick Conoboy
Nov 22, 2024A kakistocracy is the word that sums it all up. Read HERE.
George Dyson
Nov 24, 2024Re Eisenhower’s warning, it is eerily prophetic (in reference to a certain interloper on the political stage) to revisit the whole of it. Over a beachside lunch 25 years ago, this is how Herb York (Eisenhower’s science advisor) explained it to me:
“The Eisenhower farewell address is quite famous. Everyone remembers half of it, the half that says beware of the military-industrial complex. But they only remember a quarter of it. What he actually said was that we need a military-industrial complex, but precisely because we need it, beware of it. The other half: we need a scientific-technological elite. But precisely because we need a scientific-technological elite, beware of it. That’s the whole thing. It’s a matrix of four.”
“I asked him who do you have in mind for this scientific-technological elite and without any hesitation he said [Wernher] von Braun and [Edward] Teller. They were a great nuisance as far as he was concerned. Whatever they may have done, their constantly pushing and selling and over-selling, the charisma and the public attention, he just didn’t like that. He never mentioned von Braun and Hitler but maybe he had that in mind. I certainly did.”
—Herbert F. York, La Jolla, CA, 6 February 1999.