post-election thoughts II

Going to keep it short and sweet. I made a promise to cut back on the politics 😛

Anyway, I think Democratic voters are now hearing what they need to hear, in terms of questioning the wisdom of nominating Clinton. That is one of the silver linings of this situation. I really wish the price for that crucial bit of introspection wasn’t quite so high, but the responsibility for that lies back in the nomination and primary process for both parties, actually.

So what happens now? While I would love it if Sanders supporters, Progressives, and …. lets say, those of us who are jaded enough about the Democratic party to have become a touch militant, politically speaking … I’d love it if we all would take the 3rd party path, as I think we would have *much* better negotiating leverage that way. However, I’m not seeing any signs that my belief is shared at all. What I’m seeing is there will be repeated efforts to attempt by progressives to guilt establishment Democrats into growing a conscience. Not optimistic on that front. Perhaps the new generation of D party leaders will want to win badly enough to compromise their loyalty to the now semi-discredited Clintonian approach.

Time now to batten down the hatches and ride out the Trump presidency. Marijuana legalization will help a lot here. And, yes, if anything is to be made of the important truths exposed by this moment, a lot of groundwork needs to be done in the next 2 (not 4) years, with the goal of persuading the D party to run some worthwhile candidates. That’s regardless of whether the “inside” or “outside” strategy is used for the persuasion.

As for Trump, I actually think he will try make an effort to do good for his country, but his crew so far leaves pretty much no room for any positive expectations. If he screws up big, I hope he takes some corporatists and reactionaries with him, that too would be instructive, but boy, would it get expensive… In any case, a pre-pre look at potential Trump cabinet features the G man, who I’ve touched on before, NeoCon Bolton, quintessential Republican hack Gingrich, and the obligatory Morgan/Goldman man guarding the Treasury. Bad news from front to back. Hopefully voters and commentators who went with Trump based on his right-populist appeal take note of how none of these are new faces.