As much as it breaks my heart and shatters my soul, it’s over.
We will fight like hell the next four years to stop his destruction of our country. Today, we grieve the harm this will do to our country.
Tomorrow, we get to work to defend our democracy. pic.twitter.com/gsMtoUTyH5
— Protect Kamala Harris ? (@DisavowTrump20) November 6, 2024
The exact JRR Tolkien quote:
“‘We must do without hope,’ he said. ‘At least we may yet be avenged. Let us gird ourselves and weep no more! Come! We have a long road, and much to do.’”
Even as a devout Cynic (Original Eeyore branch), sometimes I feel like one of those mussels they dump into polluted waterways for filtration cleansing, but: Now more than ever, we’re going to need community, not least the community we’ve built here. Honor to all who fought their best, doorknocking and donating and doing the gruntwork.
So, we start the hard work of rebuilding. And as a start, here’s some bright spots from last night. WINNERS!:
Andy Kim was elected to the U.S. Senate in a historic win that upended New Jersey politics. Kim will be country’s first Korean American senator. https://t.co/mNRjbzC2Ap pic.twitter.com/NUia5v8B1d
— Philadelphia Inquirer Politics (@PoliticsINQ) November 6, 2024
Baier: Fox News can project that North Carolina's Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein will defeat Republican LT. Governor Mark Robinson pic.twitter.com/NnoSZtvxCP
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 6, 2024
Congratulations to @AdamSchiff on becoming a U.S. Senator! Schiff is a strong supporter of Israel, and we look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in the Senate! #CASEN pic.twitter.com/D5dKx9g5xm
— Democratic Majority for Israel (@DemMaj4Israel) November 6, 2024
Good news: Maryland has elected its first Black woman to the Senate. ???? pic.twitter.com/EMDIBWmG4E
— Amy Siskind ?????? (@Amy_Siskind) November 6, 2024
First super big House race has been called.
Democrat Eugene Vindman wins the VA-07 House race, defeating Republican Derrick Anderson.
Democratic HOLD.
— James (@MI_James57) November 6, 2024
NEW: Maryland voters pass a ballot measure to protect abortion access in the state.
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) November 6, 2024
#BREAKING Arizona votes to extend abortion rights in ballot initiative: US media pic.twitter.com/N1pZmwtcvw
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 6, 2024
BREAKING: Missouri voters REPEAL the state's extreme abortion ban and codify abortion access in the state Constitution. Even in deep-red states, voters agree: The government should stay out of your exam room.
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) November 6, 2024
NBC News projects that Sarah McBride has won her House seat in Delaware and will be the first openly transgender Member of Congress!
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) November 6, 2024
DEMS HOLD #KS03!
Kansans have reelected @sharicedavids because they trust her bipartisan record of putting families first and delivering real results – from lowering costs, to protecting reproductive freedoms, to making communities safer. Congrats, Congresswoman! pic.twitter.com/zHUsnYhjbb
— DCCC (@dccc) November 6, 2024
Results are in! North Carolina's next Attorney General is a proven champion for gun safety! @JeffJacksonNC will defend our laws and crack down on gun trafficking.
This is a major victory for safer communities. #GunSafetyWins pic.twitter.com/5KdoaEO6Ga
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) November 6, 2024
(If you have more candidates, drop a comment!)
In closing: I endorse this proposal…
Lexi Harder deserves the Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/OvBclU1ncM
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) November 5, 2024
Ohio Mom
Thank you, Anne Laurie for these rays of hope.
Baud
Thanks for the sprinkling of positive results in an otherwise terrible night.
rikyrah
Sorry, but nothing good about this morning 😔 😔 😔
Baud
@rikyrah:
Agreed.
rikyrah
I guess I know what my ancestors felt as they watched the end of Reconstruction, and the ushering in of Jim Crow, which was America’s first foray into fascism.
Never forget…it lasted almost 100 years.
They didn’t have the tools with which to fight. They spent the next almost 100 years fighting.
Sigh
Didn’t want to be in this position again
Ned F
Well at least the economy will be suddenly booming by January 15th now that DT is back in charge.
Baud
@Ned F:
Yep. I’ve been saying that for a couple of years now.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Thirded. I feel betrayed
But at some level expected after I saw how even the Democratic party brass treated Joe Biden.
Mousebumples
Last I saw for the Wisconsin races we had thermometers for –
Jodi Habush Sinykin has declared victory though not called yet.
Rob
F*ck
back to lurking
Ramona
With respect to the Florida race 57% to protect abortion and yet Trump and Scott win: https://newrepublic.com/article/186599/arizona-abortion-ballot-measure-trump
Geoduck
In Washington State we kept the executive branch all-Dem (welcome new governor Bob Ferguson), and voted down 3 of the 4 garbage initiatives that a wealthy MAGAt puked up. The one that did pass is happily the least damaging, I think, cutting attempts to make new homes more energy efficient. Didn’t torpedo the state transportation budget, kill the capital gains tax, or wreck the state insurance setup.
Ramona
@rikyrah: I hope not. Dear God, I hope not!
Ramona
How is Vance’s seat filled?
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: Let’s sit together in silence while we absorb this betrayal.
Old Dan and Little Ann
My wife is teaches AP Government. She went to bed crying. She woke up crying. She just called me driving while crying. I don’t know what to say. : (
lowtechcyclist
@rikyrah:
Given the effects of global warming (which we won’t do anything about, now) on this nation and our very interdependent world over the next century, I doubt we’ll have any form of government more advanced than local warlords a century from now.
sab
@Ramona: Gov DeWine ( R) appoints his replacement for the rest of the term. Historically, the replacement rarely wins the next election, but we’ll see.
Suzanne
As I said last night, I don’t have the bandwidth for Resistance stuff this time. I’m concentrating my time, energy, money on my own family and getting us through this time. Maybe out.
Also — and I fully acknowledge the pettiness of this — my children need safety and a functioning government, and a lot of people decided to fuck around with that for whatever their reasons are. So I’m not going to make any efforts on their behalf.
I marched and registered new voters at anti-SB1070 rallies.
Chris Johnson
You know what, we were going to have a fight anyhow.
The thing to watch for is wild overreach by Russia here (I could say Trump, but you know he’s a puppet, yes?). Biden and Harris are literally in the White House, with immunity from everything (technically). We’re going to have a fight, but it’ll be about whether Biden/Harris get even one more day, or whether that risks too much in the way of looking into the vote, recounting, checking why the results are so counter to reality on the ground.
It played out like a Russian election. We need to know why. We need to bear that in mind as the Trump forces double down and go for broke. There’s a lot of convenient assumptions, such as ‘because 99% of the votes were for Dear Leader, that represents 99% of the people out there in the country and don’t you contradict it’.
Doug
The Vindman win is a good thing. At least someone will be unbowed on Ukraine.
TBone
Here’s looking at you, kids
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmey95lE-98
✊
prostratedragon
@rikyrah: This is the problem. We’re faced with the erosion or even destruction of the tools of democracy. Continuing the post-Reconstruction analogy, we’ll have to find ways to build internal communities that can flourish in the gaps.
Quinerly
Morning Joe is thought provoking this AM. I am doing my best to process the analysis.
Consensus is Trump won mostly on the economy. “The lived economy.”
narya
I’m going for a run, probably with tears on my face. And then try to find the strength to chop wood and carry water, as the Buddhists say. And mourn.
Layer8Problem
The economy. Bullshit. Take your bows, MainStream Media. Really looking forward to your hot takes on the effects of tariffs.
Quinerly
@Suzanne:
You and I are so on the same page on this. I am extremely selfish now. Plus, I don’t have any children….no family for that matter. From now on, it’s all about me. I don’t have the energy to fight anymore for others.
I’m reading that Biden’s student loan forgiveness has been raised as a strike against Harris. Mentioned in exit polling.
M31
late-stage capitalism sucks
the Dems were actually doing something about it
but late-stage capitalism still sucks, so Dems get punished
Ms. Deranged in AZ
I’m seriously grieving and I just don’t have any hope regardless of what has happened at the state level. Like @Suzanne says, I have to worry about my family first and foremost now. How do I look my Trans kid in the eye and say everything is going to be ok? I’m not going to comment anymore as I don’t want to make everyone feel worse.
NeenerNeener
Tim Kaine retained his Senate seat. Sorry, Hung Cao, but people DO need health care.
Shalimar
I have been thinking about the Civil War, Vol. 2. I think rightwingers have been wrong the whole time stockpiling arsenals for their 2nd Amendment solutions. We’re still a democracy. This civil war will be fought with empathy, not guns, and they’re outclassed because they have none.
What we will do is hoard our resources and help everyone we care about who needs help. Musk has already said everyone will have to hurt for a few years. Make sure his supporters are the ones who feel most of the effects of the evil they voted for.
Another Scott
Sorry, everyone. A very disappointing result in too many races.
One consolation is (according to a quick scan of electoral-vote.com) TCFFG got fewer votes than last time. (Unfortunately, it looks like too many of Biden’s voters stayed home.)
Congratulations to the winners on Team Blue. We’re counting on you!
Lots of work to do. We have to stand strong and work for better days. It won’t be easy.
Hang in there, everyone. We need you.
Best wishes,
Scott.
rk
@schrodingers_cat:
If Biden had stayed in the race it would have been all about his age and cognitive abilities 24/7. He wouldn’t have won. I kept being told by my kids that no one likes him and he was too old. Young people wouldn’t have turned out for him.
But in the end I don’t think any Democrat could have won. She was an excellent candidate, ran a great campaign. But all I kept hearing and reading was about vibes and positivity and large crowds. I’m shocked at her totals in Blue states. Something major was missed by the party. The reality and the true situation on the ground was missed. The totals are not even close.
tobie
I admire everyone’s courage here. This is a tough morning.
Czar Chasm
@Shalimar: If you haven’t yet looked into mutual aid groups around your area, now might be the time to do so.
TBone
@tobie: ❤️🤍💙
🎶🔥🔥🔥
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lwc56DhSuII
Suzanne
@Quinerly: Tom Nichols pointed out that the worldwide phenomenon is people leading comfortable lives who seethe with resentment at others who they perceive as “unjustly” living lives even better than theirs.
Like, if that’s your motivating principle, sorry, get fucked. I’m going to protect my peace and my own family — who vote and act with openness and justice toward others.
JMG
I’ve posted this before, but IMO “the economy” is a way many voters say “pandemic trauma.” First at a minimum people basically lost a year of their lives, with many who survived losing much more. Then came the worldwide inflation caused by demand as the global economy restarted. Every country had this, and every democracy has seen its incumbent party broomed as a result.
I wonder if Trump will dump RFK Jr. now that he no longer needs him. I do not like that I might have to worry about my grandson getting polio because some people were pissed at the price of eggs. His appointment to ANYTHING would get back into activist mode right quick.
Quinerly
Exit polling
https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Suzanne: I think I feel the same way. I’m still processing this because I went to be early and saw the results only half an hour ago. So maybe I can find some other way to feel.
Shalimar
@Quinerly: I know exactly how you feel. I feel the same way. Fuck everyone. But we’re wrong. There are people we care about. There are people worth fighting for. We just have to focus on them and let every other decent person do the same.
Czar Chasm
I don’t know if it’s been said yet, but MAJOR PROPS to @WaterGirl for the efforts made with fundraising and networking!
Mousebumples
Unfortunately, I’m in a similar boat. I will resist, I will not comply on advance.
But I’m also considering options – I don’t be my 5 yo daughter to grow up in a country where she’s a second class citizen.
Starting with passports for the littles, so long as that department of the government still works..
I also don’t know that I have the mental bandwidth to keep up with an the Trump atrocities this time around.
Times like this, being a normie seems appealing.
prostratedragon
@Czar Chasm: Hear, hear!!
Quinerly
@JMG:
For what it is worth, Trump made a point tonight in his speech giving a hearty shout out to RFK Jr. Said he was looking forward to his work in the administration.
Ohio Mom
@Quinerly: Yes, the “lived economy” has been tough, I feel it every grocery run. And now it’s going to get worse.
It’s going to affect Ohio Family otherwise I’d look forward to that with some glee because I can hold a grudge forever (got that from both sides of my family) and I have an esthetic appreciation for karma working out in real time.
EarthWindFire
@Suzanne: Same. I’m the primary breadwinner in my house and see no way that my contract remains intact within 6 months of inauguration day. I’m in my 50s and live in an expensive area. I need to see if I can afford early retirement, move, and all sorts of other things. My resistance days are over, at least until that’s sorted.
Raven
Artie and I are out greeting the kids on their way to school. Lotsa tears.
Ramona
@Shalimar: I second this motion!
Quinerly
@Shalimar:
I’m pretty bitter.
But I do appreciate your comments.
Shalimar
@Suzanne: If that is really how they feel (and I do agree with the observation), they’re in for a rude awakening. Because they just voted for the people doing even better than them to take whatever they want.
Kayla Rudbek
@lowtechcyclist: my nightmare vision of my grandniece living in a post apocalypse world where the metro stations are abandoned and overgrown ruins and no one knows what they’re for is a lot closer to reality now.
RepubAnon
One wonders what the Trump voters will think when their lives get far worse due to the Project 2025 implementation. I expect they’ll blame Democrats.
Baud
@RepubAnon:
It’s what Democrats would do.
Suzanne
@JMG: I think “the economy” is how most people say “cost of living”. And inflation has been significant, childcare costs are bonkers, housing costs are bonkers. I fully accept that those concerns are valid and those things are real.
I also believe that the Democrats’ response that “our economy is the envy of the world” is tone deaf as fuck and not really relevant to a person who has to have a side hustle just to make rent on a shit apartment.
What I absolutely do not accept is any rebound to the idiots in the GOP as any sort of corrective to these issues.
p.a.
@Suzanne: I’ve seen this for years with respect to unions. It used to be: wow, look what those union guys get. I want that too!
Then, even before Reagan: wow! look what those union guys get. Fuck them, take it away!
Under Joe, this finally began to turn back to version 1. Now with this fucking crew in charge…
Betty Cracker
@Chris Johnson:
No, it didn’t. The result wasn’t out of line with the data we were getting all along, which projected a close race. It was a close race. We lost. That sucks, but denying reality won’t help.
I mean, go organize a “stop the steal” rally if you think it will help, but I don’t think you’ll find many takers in the reality-based community.
The problem isn’t a foreign op. It’s that we have a lot of goddamn idiot, weak-minded voters who are exploited by bad actors at home and abroad. I don’t know how to solve that problem, but denying that it exists seems…unhelpful.
Suzanne
@Raven: Hugs to you. I saw your news in the other thread yesterday. I’m sorry. I hope you’re coping and feeling okay. At least physically.
Chris Johnson
@JMG: Like hell he will: Trump doesn’t really have agency, he’s an arm of Putin. Dismantling all American healthcare has to be on Putin’s wishlist, therefore RFK Jr. will be given as much power as possible.
Bear in mind that since this is in fact a war (to become far more obvious), people don’t have to obey the dictator in advance. Healthcare people don’t have to dismantle everything they have just because an invading leader put in place a wrecking ball of a guy.
I mean, especially when they say ‘we totally win, trust us’. We knew they’d claim they won regardless, so what is so different on 7:38 the morning after? We even know some of how they manage the votes, and some of our states pre-emptively forbade oversight (hi Florida, I see you). You don’t have to become totally credulous the instant you can’t see the most immediate trick.
TBone
@Raven: hugs
sab
Well, my husband just announced that he is going to start smoking again, and go off his statins and his lifetime antibiotic. I told him the smoking is fine but it had better be outside. We’ll see.
Locally we did well. The huge school levy passed, so our growing immigrant community gets their new high school. Children services levy passed. Emilia Sykes is returning to Congress. Countywide it was almost a Democratic sweep. And we had 71% registered voter turnout. Blue island in a red sea.
Did we retake the House? That controls the budget. And is Mitch McConnell still stepping down as Majority Leader in the Senate? I can’t see Cornyn or Thune as being anywhere near as effective. That’s about it for my bright spots.
Quinerly
@rk: it’s pretty obvious that if Biden had stayed in we would be talking results like 1972 or 1980. It is ridiculous for these 2 commenters to keep saying he would have done better than Harris.
New Deal democrat
@JMG
Via Kevin Drum, who writes “was it just inflation all along.”, David Dayen makes an important point:
“ Every incumbent party around the world when the post-pandemic inflation began has lost, regardless of ideology and regardless of where inflation was at the moment of the election”
https://nitter.poast.org/ddayen/status/1854022015474356464#m
This morning I feel sad for the world. In particular, say a prayer for the brave people of Ukraine, who have just been abandoned to Russia.
Prescott Cactus
@Ned F: The implied open for the stock markets are way up this morning. A win for capitalism, a loss for democracy. Fuckers.
TBone
@Chris Johnson: amen
schrodingers_cat
@rk: If Ds had stood by Biden instead of falling for MSM narratives he would have won.
But since you are incapable of any introspection I am muting you now. I have no desire to argue with you.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
While I agree with everyone this sucks. I mean, just going by Trump’s own advertisements he looks in worse shape than Biden, I am not surprised by the results because this…
Came up a lot in conversations with people I have had in the last year. No one ever explained to me how Trump is going to fix things like high rent, just he is going to do it, so, I suspect a lot of disappointed voters over the next two years.
Chris Johnson
Also: drink water, eat some food, bathe etc.
I’m having a lot of trouble with those basics but I’ll attend to some of them: I filled up my water bottle, just now, which has been empty since 3:00 AM.
Quinerly
@schrodingers_cat: you are off your rocker. Please pie me.
Ramona
@Czar Chasm: Indeed! Thank-you Watergirl!
schrodingers_cat
Ds have flipped 4 seats in NY held by Republicans.
JMG
@Quinerly: Trump says a lot of things. He’ll dump the guy like a hot brick if he senses he’s of no use to him.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
Good news. Thanks.
twbrandt
I have nothing to say.
All I can do is be kind, be generous, be gentle, and work as hard as I can for those less privileged than I.
rikyrah
@Ramona:
1.5 MILLION MORE VOTES and the measure lost😡
sab
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: “Disappointed voters” ha. It will suck to be them.
lowtechcyclist
Pulled out my Browncoat t-shirt (“May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one”) for today.
I may have to buy another one or two of them; I may want to wear it more often than I do laundry.
@Kayla Rudbek:
I hear you. And I’m seriously thinking about what to tell my son about college. Will the sorts of jobs you can get with a liberal arts degree still exist in the 2050s and 2060s?
He’s an OK student but hardly an outstanding one, and no interest at all in STEM stuff, so even now, it might be better for him to learn a trade, have some hands-on skills – but even more so down the road.
BlueGuitarist
Love all y’all
rikyrah
@schrodingers_cat:
Sounds like good news
Tim C.
@Shalimar: So say we all!
Quinerly
@JMG:
I think he will keep RFK Jr around. If anything for the name. Hope you are right, though.
marklar
Two thoughts…
1- If I die in the next couple of years, I want to come back as a leopard. Lots of faces to eat!
2- In 2026, there are 33 seats up for election in the Senate. Currently, those are held by 20 Republicans and 13 Democrats, presenting an opportunity to flip the Senate. I wish Alito and Thomas good health until 2027.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
The biggest mistake the Dems did was not doing the daily
Are you better off than you were 4 years ago.
Pounding it into folks heads about his complete mishandling of COVID AND WHAT THAT DID TO THE ECONOMY. PUTTING it in the faces of people.
p.a.
@Raven: Read about your diagnosis: best wishes going forward.
bbleh
@Quinerly: @Enhanced Voting Techniques: that would be my guess (which ain’t to say my guesses have proven out very well recently). I think the relentless media pounding on “inflation,” plus the idea that somehow got into peoples’ heads that prices should NEVER go up, convinced enough (likely low-info) voters that things were bad and change was needed.
I’ll also guess misogyny played a role. If Harris were a man, I think things would have been closer or even different.
But that’s the swing vote. Let’s not forget that, even had Harris won, Trump still has a LOT of support that ISN’T from low-info / late-deciding voters. And those folks’ motivations tend to be a lot … darker.
Ramona
@rikyrah: Hispanics get to be White because they are not Black and so they vote for the racist.
HinTN
@Raven: Glad to see you here.
And now, per @Suzanne: I see I missed news. Whatever it is, be strong, friend.
Suzanne
@rikyrah:
Lots of people were financially better off four years ago. Lots of those people never gave a fuck about COVID because they didn’t think it would affect them significantly (and they were correct).
We’re talking about people who only think about themselves. That’s the problem with that question.
sdhays
@New Deal democrat: This kind of thing makes it pretty hard to worry about “messaging” or “issues”. Basically, if a segment of people are upset, they’ll vote for the other party, regardless of what that party is proposing to do about it.
Basically, we just have to hope for a disaster, and work on blaming incumbent Republicans. Also, we should help foment disaster, not stop help them shave off the roughest edges. Just like Trump killing the damn border bill.
I don’t like that, but I’m not sure what else to take away.
Ramona
@Quinerly: I wonder if this was from people who actually owe on student loans? If so, I just cannot. If not, then I’m not surprised!
The Audacity of Krope
Adam Schiff has shown very poor judgment this year. He is clearly too old for that Senate seat he was just elected to. He should just concede the seat to some evident next in line.
Well the second place was his Republican challenger. That should work nicely.
Betty Cracker
@Suzanne: I missed it. Can you point me to the thread?
Eunicecycle
@sab: I’m glad to hear Emilia won. I was so heartbroken I was afraid to look. Hopefully we’ll be in the majority and give the asshole lots of heartburn.
Layer8Problem
I’ve got a partner I’m concerned about. A good, decent person who worries too much about the unfixable. Partner’s deeply unhappy, and so’s the kid off in the kid’s city. All I can do is sit next to them and say the equivalent of “There, there”, like Yossarian to Snowden.
I’m oldish (the new 51) and White. I’m playing on the easiest setting of the video game. Yeah this will hit me, but it will hit lots of decent people worse. I am angry and trying to think of ways of registering my discontent appropriately to any dickhead who says “Great day, huh?”
My bar opens at 11. I’ve got a bag of gummies. That self-medication shit’s easy and doesn’t fix things or advance. I can’t think right now, but I’m of the opinion that between all of us decent people we will come up with some combination of stuff that will put a stick in their spokes. I don’t think we’re going to lay down.
Raven
@Suzanne: Thanks!
p.a.
@rikyrah: Yes. Monday morning QB-ing, but I never saw ads with the emergency freezer truck morgues needed on tRump’s watch. The blithering ivermectin & the-other-crap-meds press conferences. The female scarf-wearing doc rolling her eyes as he spoke. Maybe just not in my media markets?
bbleh
@Ramona: I’d say it’s just another aspect of the general grievance and victim complex that motivates many Republicans. They’re oppressed, it’s Libruls and their Other friends who are the oppressors, and a big part of that oppression is taking My Hard-Earned Tax Dollars™ and giving it to moochers (unlike the benefits I receive, which I earned).
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
It’s social media and the stream of disinformation being fed to people with less capacity to recognize it. The US government under Biden didn’t have a plan to actively combat this. That’s a huge issue. As the MSM falls, whats replacing it is worse by every measure.
It’s also the pain of inflation and high housing costs. People are really struggling. That’s driving a lot of anti-immigration. They think we dont have the resources for both the existing citizens and millions of desperate new arrivals. Climate change is making it worse, and will continue to. Their answer is that the world isn’t our problem and we will stop them from coming here by any means. Our answer is to stretch resources to help as many as we can. That’s not an answer many people feel satisfied with. I feel like folks here dismissed or downplayed a lot of that.
I am deeply disappointed with the results. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t even know how much risk living here exposes me to. I am worried and scared for the future.
Layer8Problem
@BlueGuitarist: Thanks! We all love you back.
Chris
@lowtechcyclist:
Maybe once the whole world’s reduced itself to Mad Max status, some loony scientists will poke through the debris and come up with the means to create a faster-than-light capable vessel, thus drawing the attention of a well-intentioned alien species that’ll help them rebuild human civilization along social-democratic and multicultural lines.
That’s all I got for now.
Ramona
How many women like the Pennsylavanian in the OP had her ballot returned? And Why? I saw a video of a young woman from Georgia who spent $700 tonfly to Georgia to vote because her absentee ballot requested October 4th didn’t arrive on time.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I was told several times outright by people who got 20 to 30% raises during the Great Resignation that inflation was caused by the livable wage laws. A lot of “fuck everyone else, I got mine” going on out there.
p.a.
@Ramona: It’s a sign you’re on your way to making it in Murica!/s
Every immigrant group except Jews have done it: get a leg up, shit on the next group.
Baud
We weren’t going to message ourselves out of inflation, if that was the driver here. Losing was inevitable.
Eunicecycle
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: if we get the House I hope we introduce lots of bills to help people and really get the word out, then dare the Senate to not take them up.
marklar
@lowtechcyclist: “I hear you. And I’m seriously thinking about what to tell my son about college. Will the sorts of jobs you can get with a liberal arts degree still exist in the 2050s and 2060s?”
Professor at a Liberal Arts College here…Tell him to go to school and learn to love learning. That’s best accomplished by taking the courses that most interest you. Your son is lucky to already be unburdened by the need to maintain a high GPA– he can focus on intellectual development as opposed to academic performance.
Nobody knows what the job market will be like in 30 years. My advice to my students is that the job they find that is most meaningful to them might not even exist yet, or may exist but they never even thought of it. For example, my 32 year old daughter started a job last year that she loves. She finds homes for retired off-the-track racehorses. She gets to ride them to learn their physical strengths and weaknesses, study their behavior interacting with other horses to see what kind of herd is best for them, interviews prospective ‘parents’ to see what they bring to the table (and see what they want the horse for, e.g., jumping, barrel racing, dressage, trail ride), and finds the right match! She had no idea this job existed until they advertised in an equine magazine for which she was an editor.
This is not to downplay the value of trades. That might be where he feels fulfilled (at least in terms of a job). Those jobs are much more than physical now…with computer interfaces and diagnostics, there is a great deal of problem solving involved, and his developing a love of learning through the Liberal Arts will serve him well there too!
Sorry about the long response…I’m smack dab in the middle of advising, and I guess that hat is glued to my head right now.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
This community is important, so I’m going to resist the temptation to give into despair, withdraw from outside contact and live as a hermit (semi-hermit, since my long-suffering wife has to deal with me).
But I’m reeling and unable to look at any political news right now. My presence here will be very light for a while till I figure out how to live with the new reality.
My long-suffering wife, who is so much stronger than I am, points out that our grandparents had to deal with much worse. And they got through.
TBone
@Chris Johnson: self care so we can live to fight another day. 😽
tobie
I phonebanked in PA weekdays and weekends since the Dem convention and, frankly, never felt confident about our chances in the state. I was encountering too many Trump supporters on my lists. At first I thought this is cool: the campaign is reaching out to Republicans and Independents to create a broader coaltion. Maybe that was the point. I don’t know. Those decisions were above my pay grade. BUT the depth of misinformation among the people I talked to was staggering. We bitch about the MSM for good reason. But what’s scarier is how suspceptible Americans are to disinfo on social media. I don’t know how you fight that. We’re living in a time when large swaths of the public believe any and every snake-oil salesman–Ivermectin! Bitcoin!–not just because we have no faith in institutions but because we want a magician to wave a magic wand and make all our ills go away.
cintibud
Nothing to say other that I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue (h/t Airplane, in case anyone thinks I’m serious)
Fair Economist
@Betty Cracker: I think there probably was a foreign op involved, but it worked by propaganda, not altering votes.
Chris
@Quinerly:
Well, the economy, but not the lived one.
By mid-January, all references to recessions and inflation will be gone from the discourse, and shortly after that, majorities will start reporting that the economy’s fine.
Trump won on the media.
Kay
@Baud:
Food prices went up 19% and Americans pitched a tantrum.
Fucking childish, spoiled whiners. I feel worst about Ukraine. Tough, brave people who don’t deserve to be abandoned because McDonalds costs 14 dollars instead of 9.
Gin & Tonic
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: My parents lived through Hitler and Stalin and WWII. I suppose I owe it to them to not give up.
H.E.Wolf
Profound sorrow for this outcome. Yet I’d rather be counted among all who are grieving today, because that’s who share my vision and values.
I’m so glad we did our utmost, in so many ways, and that we cannot reproach ourselves for inaction.
And I am very practiced at doggedly working toward a seemingly unattainable goal, while in despair.
I think this is my leg of the relay… with a full heart and in fierce love for the beloved community.
bbleh
And just to vent, I really hope we don’t spend any time on conspiracy-theory explanations and as little as necessary on “what Dems should have done.” Dems ran a GREAT campaign and Biden’s governance has been exemplary. The hard truth is, a LOT of voters affirmatively chose what the Orange Guy was selling (although I’m guessing they don’t know a lot of what’s gonna come along with it). We just gotta figure out what to do now.
Layer8Problem
@Chris: That would be nice, we definitely need one of those.
In the meantime, how easy is it to acquire permanent residency in France?
SFAW
@rk:
Anecdotal “evidence” on my end would seem to agree with this. But that raises the question: DID they turn out in numbers any different from previous elections? Or did they just “feel the vibe,” and that’s as far as it went? I really don’t know, and not interested in researching it (at the moment).
TBone
As a descendant of Askenazi Jews from Vilnius, my hackles are way up and I’m figuring out where and how to best put my skills to use in the short term first, then for the long term. I may not disclose my long term plans in order to stay safe. That includes getting rid of the tracking device that I am currently using to type this.
Down-low and dirty.
Baud
@bbleh:
That’s where I am.
AWOL
I’d like to thank everyone on this blog for their kindness, wisdom, and efforts to make the world a better place. I hope people are nice to each other. We need each other.
Baud
@Kay:
We don’t have another set of voters though. I just don’t want is to start apologizing all over the place. That’s weak.
Shalimar
@rikyrah: They did internal polling and people did not want to hear about Covid. The majority of people reacted negatively to even being reminded of it. Plus, we already had a Covid election in the middle of Trump’s fuckups and he barely lost.
I agree with you though. Maybe constant repetition would have broken through eventually and reminded people how bad 2020 was. Harris ran a near-perfect campaign. That is the only thing they could have done differently that might have had a positive effect.
p.a.
Have the numbers been resolved to the degree yet that we can tell how many Biden voters flipped vs just stayed home? Morbid curiosity I guess, but to me just sitting this one out is worse.
Quinerly
@Chris:
Media definitely played a huge part. I am just recounting what exit polling is saying. The “lived economy” seems to be the main issue for voters.
SFAW
@tobie:
Rethugs have worked, since at least 1980, to destroy a functional public education system. This is where those efforts have borne fruit. Yeah, it’s not the entire reason for yesterday, but without an educated (esp. in critical thinking) populace, it’s much easier for Fox et al. to gain a large audience.
Shalimar
@Layer8Problem: France isn’t that far from turning over control to their own fascist. There is no escape. This is a worldwide problem.
Quinerly
@p.a.: everything that I am reading seems to point to Trump raising his ceiling. New voters. Plus, Trump getting 45% of the Hispanic vote.
Kay
@Quinerly:
Voters are going to have to decide though – they can have cheap food or they can have a living wage for unskilled workers – they can’t have both.
Looks to me like they chose cheap food.
Jeffro
FYI – not trying to gloss anything over, just looking out for my peeps here there and everywhere, so I thought I’d share this:
SFAW
@rikyrah:
In the middle of COVID, more than one analyst foretold that the harm being done to the production sectors — food, durable goods, etc. — would lead to shortages and heavy inflation later on. Instead of Fuckhead getting blamed for that, he gets rewarded. And as a result of that reward, his new Economy Tsar Elon and Health Tsar RFKJr will drive us into a second Depression. For which Biden will again get blamed.
Quinerly
@Baud:
THIS!
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: MSM needs a reboot.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
I can’t help but wonder if Harris had been white and male, if things would have turned out differently.
This isn’t a “Biden would have won” thought because he wouldn’t have for other reasons, it’s more of a comment on just how misogynistic this country remains. Well, and racist.
Now it’s a countdown until we start seeing “President Vance” and that’s an awful thought.
Somewhere, Ben Franklin is watching and said “We told you so but you’re not listening.”
I thought 40 years ago when I was with friends watching elections returns (all the same friends that were gathered together last night to watch em) was awful. But in the words of Bachmann Turner Overdrive “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.
tobie
@SFAW: Yup, public education has been eroded. No one has the patience or the wherewithal to understand how complex systems work, which makes it easy for a huckster like Trump to come along and say, “I alone can fix it.” I’m still trying to figure out why we fall prey to conspiracy theories but maybe that’s just me trying to overcome the devastation I’m feeling through mental gymnastics.
Quinerly
@Kay: they actually have chosen cheap food over a lot of things….democracy, NATO, our allies, science, climate, vaccines, ……
Ramona
@p.a.: Bingo!
Eolirin
@marklar: There are only two pickup opportunity in 2026, absent a very massive wave election, and there’s one heavily at risk seat. We’re on track to have to make up three seats, minimum, but as many as 6, maybe 7.
I think the odds of us getting the senate back are nonexistent.
JeanneT
One bit of good news from Michigan: both Democratic endorsed candidates for our Supreme Court won. That will be a help in protecting rights here for the next few years.
Doug
@marklar:
@lowthecyclist I will add that none of the jobs that I have done for the last 20 years were possible when I graduated with a liberal arts degree, and many of them did not even exist. The skills that I learned to get that degree have helped me to adapt to a world that has steadily kept changing. Love of learning and readiness for new things will keep you from being a farrier in an airplane world.
Nelle
I’m jumping in here without reading all the comments to say two things. One, I come from a migratory people. Since the 1600’s, my Mennonites went from Netherlands to Prussia to Russia (the part that is now Ukraine) to Canada, United States, and Paraguay mostly. I love the land here, but am stunned by the politics. And I have a place I can go. My son can too. Will he? Can I get the grandchildren there?
Two, make this make sense to me. We have a candidate who, in 2020, knew precisely how many votes he needed where and he tried to bully and threaten to get those votes. In 2017, he had a celebration in the Oval Office with Lavrov and other Russians. This time, he said he didn’t need or want (can’t remember which) votes. He had no ground game and hoovered up money for his personal legal fees. Fewer attendees at rallies and people left early. No attempt to broaden his appeal to anyone other than his base. Insulted more and more people and groups. Threatened to use the military against citizens. The only thing that fits the way I work puzzles is that he had a lot of cyber help. He’s still a Russian agent.
In conclusion, Biden has immunity. I want him to empty the storehouses of weapons to Ukraine, because if you think we’re in the deep doodoo, Ukraine is going to be handed over to Russia very quickly.
Our poor planet. And RFK in charge of CDC?????
Shalimar
@Kay: Are they really gonna get cheap food though? Voting for an asshole who deports millions of agricultural workers is going to seriously fuck that up.
That is what i don’t get. I support immigrants because I have empathy and I want their lives to be better, but I have no vested interest in them being here or anywhere else. I don’t even know any first generation immigrants personally. The people who really benefit from immigration the most are Republican-owned businesses. And they are seriously fucked now.
Chris
@lowtechcyclist:
As much as that show gets rightly dinged for all the Lost Cause imagery it trafficks in, part of the reason I stay attached to it is that it felt pretty resonant for a liberal in the early 2000s (it came out in 2001, I discovered it a few years later). The Reagan coalition was at its peak, adding insult to injury eventually when Kerry lost not just the electoral but the popular vote, and the war hysteria and 9/11-Democrat phenomenon meant that liberals felt even more alone in a Republican world. And God damn, the Alliance blundering its way through the outer planets “bringing them civilization” “for their own good” sure looked like a dead ringer for the war on terror military/security state.
Kay
@H.E.Wolf:
This is such a nice comment – thank you.
HinTN
@Fair Economist: Adam Silverman has been saying this for a good long while.
Ramona
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: they believe we haven’t the resources for immigrants who pick our food, pack our meat and build our houses yet they begrudge billionaires like Elon none of their billions!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@lowtechcyclist: I like the Firefly reference. I think I need one of those shirts
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Quinerly: Also, he thinks having RFK with him is sticking it to Ds
Shalimar
@Eolirin: I may be wrong, because there will be massive propaganda telling people their personal experience is wrong and everything is great, but I think the next 2 years are going to be so bad for most people that 2026 will be the biggest wave election we have seen since 1974.
p.a.
@Shalimar: Yeah but… Hannity will blame Dems & *presto change-o* it’s the Democrat’s fault!
lowtechcyclist
@Layer8Problem:
This. It won’t be clear what we can do to gum up the works until we know what ‘the works’ actually consist of. I’m no Hayduke, but I can at least be a bit of sand in their gears, and I intend to be that.
RaflW
I wake up this morning very nearly shattered. Tammy Baldwin’s razor thin margin in WI is part of that, and of course the national news that the county may be attempting to destroy itself.
Somewhere along the way, I’ve lost my resilience. I’ve spent decades working towards a more just society, and to see this reckless backsliding is breaking me.
I know the fight goes on. I’ll see where I can contribute. But I have no trust in my fellow Americans, not writ large. I know good people are among us. But I’m bereft.
Gloria DryGarden
@schrodingers_cat: totally, absolutely
Kay
@Shalimar:
No they’re not going to get cheap food.
The US consumer benefited from huge subsidies to food including farm supports and the cheap labor of the migrant workers we bring in to produce it. It would be more expensive in the unsubsidized, unregulated market of the far Right.
They want Reaganomics on steroids, and that is what they are going to get.
Thats what they voted for.
tobie
My hunch FWIW is that one of the reasons Latino voters like Trump is that they’re very similar to Trump’s base. Small business owners in the home trades (often just mom & pop operations) who resent having to pay taxes to the gubmint when they’re “job creators” and hate regulations.
Eolirin
@Quinerly: They’re not gonna get cheap food when they start rounding up all the people responsible for doing our agricultural work.
And ignore climate change.
And get rid of SNAP.
Kay
@RaflW:
Im glad you have somewhere to say it.
it IS sad. You’re not wrong.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Perhaps, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump forces him out as VP because Trump sees the VP as a reminder that Trump is at end of his life.
zhena gogolia
@rk:
So where were they yesterday?
TBone
Nobody puts Baby in a corner.
Gloria DryGarden
@H.E.Wolf: teach me.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Ramona: Yes. Exactly
Shalimar
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: If Harris had been a generic white male, yes, she would have done better. We don’t get generic, though. Which specific white male would you have replaced her with? I don’t see any in our top tier who would have done better this year. She was our best.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@tobie: Its also the macho.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I think Harris was still the best possible choice the Dems could have made for a candidate, if this electron was just “throw the party in power out, damn the consequences”. She showed everyone how to get under the Orange duffus skin, did a lot to undermine Vance, and I think that will be useful in the next four years.
Shalimar
@tobie: Also, a hell of a lot of misogyny.
Layer8Problem
@Shalimar: I’ve noticed. It’s the right here I’m having a problem with at the moment.
zhena gogolia
@RaflW: This is where I am. Let the young people resist and fight. I’m done.
tobie
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: @Shalimar: Yes, that too. It hurts.
eclare
My liquor store opens in thirty minutes, I plan to be there. I will wallow for a day or so, then get back up.
Kathleen
@Ohio Mom: Greg Landsman OH#1 also won reelection.
Layer8Problem
@zhena gogolia: One kinda thinks that when the choice is between Good and Evil that Good is the obvious choice. I would have backed Biden to the end, and I backed Harris to the end. But racism, presumably sexism, and “poor economy/inflation” seem to beat Good.
RevRick
I pray for my son and daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, who will now have to live in the world Trump and his fascist minions will create.
I pray for the world, because enough Americans have chosen to say, “Screw the science of climate change; I want cheap gas for my Ford F-150.”
I pray for all those who outspokenly opposed Trump, because we have heard his threats.
I pray for the rest of the world, which we will abandon to predators.
I pray for all of us who are now experiencing incredible pain and grief.
Chris
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:
The MSM has put its thumb on the scale harder than it has before, and as hard as any social media outlet.
The truth is that Democrats have no idea, and through no fault of their own, how to compete in a world where every single source of information is a partisan right-wing puke funnel 24/7 (to a degree that not only wasn’t true in the twentieth century but wasn’t true even as late as 2016 or 2020). Biden tried ignoring them. It didn’t work. Harris tried going around them through more modern news outlets so she could define herself instead of just letting the pundits define her. It didn’t work. It’s hard to see what could.
Kathleen
@rikyrah: I was thinking about that this morning. That Black people in the South lived under fascistic terrorist rule for decades. So when white America asks, “How did we get here”?, the answer is “We’ve always been here. It’s in the DNA.”
Ramona
@sab: that would be 2028 before Vance’s seat comes up in Ohio, right.
lowtechcyclist
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:
Two things:
1) Those ‘desperate new arrivals’ are out there in the fields, tending to and harvesting the produce. Or turning chickens into pieces of breast and thigh meat that you can buy in the store. We kick them all out, and have fun paying an arm and a leg for everything from apples to zucchini.
2) It’s not the ‘desperate new arrivals’ that are the reason the developers are building lots of mini-mansions and not much basic housing.
Spanish Moss
Thanks, Anne Laurie, for sharing these bright spots. I really needed that. I am not giving up on this country, but damn I am depressed. Not as bad as when Hillary lost, probably because I am not as shocked this time around. I am surprised about the popular vote though. So awful.
Kathleen
@Chris: I totally agree with you. I’ve been saying since 2016 that there is a coordinated, funded plan to destroy the Democratic Party and the media have been witting, integral cog in that wheel.
Another Scott
@Prescott Cactus: Note that the early opening line often has nothing to do with the way the market closes at the end of the day. Random walk stuff.
Who knows how the markets will go over the next 3 months. Often, they’re looking 6 months ahead, but the S&P500 is up 32.45% in the last year, so…
Hang in there, everyone.
Cheers,
Scott.
Jeffro
that is the right approach!
(don’t forget to hydrate =)
Theflippsyd
Maybe the problem with the Democratic Party is the people who are Democrats spend more time blaming Democrats and listening to the opposition. I get it — if the problem is something within the control of the democratic party, it can be changed and fixed.
Anger, grief, fear are all normal reactions — for those of us who love this country and believe in democracy. It is ok — and actually good for your mental health — to want to spend the next days focusing on your family and those who are close to you. It is healthy to express anger at those individuals who voted for a person who has declared that he will bring vengeance to “his enemies.” We have every right to be angry with the voters who have placed this country and her citizens at great risk.
A reminder that just because some of (insert demographic here) voted for the demented felon does not mean all (insert demographic here) voted for the demented felon. We will need each and everyone of these individuals for the future fight.
Now is the time to avoid listening to media pundits who will blame Democrats and say how Democrats should change their message, accept the results, make an effort to understand the voters who voted for a fascist. Nope, it isn’t the Democratic Party at fault, it is the people who voted for a demented felon who deserve the credit and consequences of that vote.
I believe the problem is much bigger than the “Democrat Party” — and much more complex. Just to name a few — a true lack of understanding of civics on the parts of a majority of US citizens, a population with no sense of history, media institutions (and citizens) who treat election season as a team sport , a lack of critical thinking — which is reinforced by a media that holds the two parties to two different standards, a culture that has embraced racism, misogynism, and all the other isms, and a majority of the population that doesn’t realize they are not “temporarily embarrassed” millionaires, and in fact, are looked at with derision by the people they support. Add the trauma of the pandemic and all the assorted cognitive flaws that come as a result of a trauma reaction and there you have it.
I love the community of Balloon Juice and want to thank each of you for being there throughout these “interesting times.” I don’t know what I would do without you. So, be kind to yourselves. Take whatever time you need. Care for yourself.
Kathleen
@Ramona: The first Ohio Republican who is willing to bite off the head of a living bat as sacrifice for Donald Trump.
schrodingers_cat
@Kathleen: That’s good to know.
H.E.Wolf
@Kay:
@Gloria DryGarden:
Thank you both. I appreciate your kind words very much. They are a moment of grace in a sad time.
I’m not sure I’m meant to teach; more like to follow the example of those who have gone before. I’m a John Lewis Democrat, which to me means keeping on, through Selma and after, in sorrow and in tribulation. In faith.
Chris
@Layer8Problem:
Never had to wonder myself. I may want to look into that for the sake of friends.
Another Scott
@sdhays: My take away is that there’s still no One Weird Trick.
It’s a slog. 2 steps forward, one step back. Strong reactions against positive change. People are afraid of change. Nothing can be taken for granted, and the other side is more powerful than they should be. Power never relents easily.
We have to keep pushing forward, every day.
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
Gloria DryGarden
If I understand it correctly, TFG won on immigration, economy, inflation, and being a strong-seeming bossy take-no-shit guy, who acts like he can do what he wants, so he’ll be strong enough to take on anyone in the world. Have I got this right?
the immigration thing was a lie, he trashed a bill, demanded while having no place in the current government, that his loyalists fail to pass the immigration bill, that would have been a decent fix. It already wouldn’t have been an issue to the same extant. But he got it trashed so he could run on it. Dud people really not notice this, in the news? It was no secret. What kind of stupidity is going on?
the inflation isn’t caused by a president. Folks don’t understand much about economy vs cost of living. They aren’t the same, but for most of us it’s word salad.
I have heard people in recent years blame Biden for the cost of their food and gas. It’s time for all of us to understand how this stuff actually works, inflation, costs rising and the causes. So it’s not just propaganda for the ignorant and lay people. So the entire misunderstanding of what bidens been doing to help common people, got lost in memes and lying talking points.
ignorance has been cultivated, to the advantage of people who want to be in power.
am I summing this up accurately? Folks fell for some obvious open lies, and voted for him? They feel safe with such a “Tough” guy as a leader. Is it from watching movies? From being safe in paternalistic patriarchal families and churches? I don’t know these people, for the most part.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Shalimar:
Oh, none. My thoughts aren’t about “who did we have that was a ‘better’ candidate?” It was simply about if Harris were white and male but otherwise Harris, how would this have played out.
The fact we had such a great candidate, who was black and female, and ended up losing like this is a reflection of where we remain in our political culture, misogynistic and racist.
AM in NC
@Ramona: Well those people now DON’T have abortion protected in their state. May every woman who voted for Trump get pregnant at age 48. With triplets.
May every MAGA man get severe Peyronie’s disease on top of ED.
Another Scott
@marklar: +1
Beyond that, a degree is a screening tool. That piece of paper is a chit that shows that you can do the work required for it to completion. It’s often a minimum requirement to even be considered.
The economy is changing all the time. The specific facts and figures that one learns in school are often obsolete 5-10 years later. But knowing how to evaluate the facts and figures stays with you and is important no matter how you end up earning a living.
Best of luck to the folks figuring out these questions!
Cheers,
Scott.
RaflW
@bbleh: Yes, please. Over time, we can unpack what the heck we do about our body politic and ways we fight back politically. But recrimination and snap analysis will not help.
The situation seems much more precarious than 2016, but like then, mobilizing for mutual aid and resisting is far more valuable and urgent than any fault-finding.
Gloria DryGarden
@H.E.Wolf: I respect the level of faith you’re talking about. I believe it has helped some very oppressed people be strong, and have hope.
im not sure I have the absolute trust and faith that I see in a friend of mine, and that was perhaps informing the courage of so many during the civil rights actions, and the centuries of slavery/ terror/ escape/risk/courage. She’s absolutely sure she’s protected and guided. Maybe you have this too. That’s amazing. Thank you for all you aim to do
Gloria DryGarden
@RevRick: joining you in prayer
Chris
@Gloria DryGarden:
Well, first of all, see above WRT media. A lot of people who are concerned about this shit don’t even hear about it, and if they do, forget quickly enough because the media doesn’t keep harping on it.
Secondly, people who care about immigration in this sense aren’t motivated by anything that would work, they’re motivated by racism. So whether or not an immigration deal passes doesn’t necessarily get you that many brownie points. See Obama.
But thirdly and most nastily… one of the ways fascists and their sympathizers get into power is by completely wrecking governance and society whenever anyone other than them is in power. Eventually, low-infos and lazy people decide “fine, if the only way to not have total chaos all the time is to have fascists in power, then let’s put fascists in power.”
sdhays
@bbleh: Co-sign. The only suggestion I can make is that we need to work harder at blame shifting in the moment. Price spikes – Trump messed up all the supply chains and billionaires are stealing your hard earned wages!
SiubhanDuinne
@Suzanne:
I must have missed raven’s news. @raven, what happened?
lowtechcyclist
@Doug:
This begs my question of whether the ‘airplane world’ jobs will still be here in the same abundance when my son is in his 50s, or will the societal breakdowns that I see as inevitable due to global warming will have started happening to such a degree as to reduce their number? To me the only question is the timing: maybe these jobs are safe for another five decades or so. Maybe not.
In a world where we were at least trying to slow down the progress of global warming, I would be saying the same thing you are. But since we’re no longer in that sort of timeline, I have my doubts.
sdhays
@Another Scott: Well, for today, it sure seems like the fascists have one fucking weird trick, and it fucking works. Trump was falling apart before their eyes – and they saw that because we know they stopped showing up or staying for his rallies – and he still won. I don’t know why he bothered tiring himself out so much. It seems he could have just hung out at Mar-a-lago and golfed for the last three’s months and it wouldn’t have made a difference.
Gloria DryGarden
A few delicious things.
Colorado passed an amendment keeping abortion legal. Much harder to change an amendment.
we álso passed one to keep gay marriage legal, striking down a previous amendment that said marriage is only between a man and a woman.
on the east coast, an openly trans person was elected to congress. And there trumpet was campaigning on his mockery and hatred toward trans people. Now a lot of people will interact with their first trans person. For those With any cápacity for empathy, this might shift things.
H.E.Wolf
@Another Scott:
Yes.
evodevo
@lowtechcyclist: electricians make good money…
Geminid
@Gloria DryGarden: There may also be some good news from the Pacific Northwest. According to David Villaneuve of the Northwest Progressive Policy Institute, Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesnkamp Perez (WA03) is on track to hold her seat, and Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum seems likely to flip the Oregon 5th CD across the Columbia River. Villeneuve said that Democats did well elsewhere in Oregon and Washington.
jame
New Mexico’s elections went pretty well for Democrats. I’m greatly relieved that Gabe Vasquez beat Yvette Harrell (her first action in Congress was to vote against impeaching Trump), and that Martin Heinrich beat Nella Dominici. On the very local level though our small town is still overrun by Republicans, who are industrializing it as fast as possible, sustainability be damned.
I have nothing useful to add about our country that voted in fascism and autocracy in the name of patriotism and Christianity and the cost of living.
evodevo
@Kay: AND that won’t be cheap once the Trumpian trade wars start…between farmer subsidies, no immigrant labor for meat processing and veggie harvesting, no veggies from Mexico, etc. etc. If they think food is expensive NOW, just wait…
jame
The weeping Statue of Liberty up there has six fingers and no thumb on her left hand. I get the sentiment, but I really hate AI illustrations.
FelonyGovt
@Quinerly: I’m with you and Suzanne. For now it’s all about my family and myself. My daughter is gay and I’m terrified for her, and I’m worried about losing the Social Security and Medicare my husband and I depend on.
Kathleen
@sab: We did well locally also in Cincy/Hamilton County. Our congressman won reelection handily.
Kathleen
@schrodingers_cat: Did we get the House back do you know?
Kathleen
@Eunicecycle: Oh, thank God! Last I saw early this morning she squeaked by but AP hadn’t declared her yet. I love her. Did Marcy Kaptur make it? Last I saw she was in same situation as Emelia.
Ramona
@AM in NC: Peyronie’s disease?