November 9th

From NPR this morning:

As of 11:45 a.m. ET, Clinton had amassed 59,429,038 votes nationally, to Trump's 59,240,076 — a margin of 188,962 that puts Clinton on track to become the fifth U.S. presidential candidate to win the popular vote but lose the election.

This fact suggests that while Clinton wasn't a great candidate, she was at least pretty good. What she didn't have was a real platform. She had a detailed website which she cited frequently. But she seems to have lost the part of the electorate that would be disinclined to go to any website for such information. People are already arguing that this result is a case against the relic of the Electoral College. Why should a state like California have its votes diluted to such an extent? When the country was designed states were viewed as States. The Civil War changed a lot of that, but perhaps not as much as we think.

Both political parties failed in this election. The Republican Party lost control of its primary process. No one as incompetent as Trump should be found on a general ballot for President. This is Kibbee in "Dark Horse," but less charming. But the Democratic Party also failed. The Clinton strategy of always finding the compromise, and of making insider deals where ever possible ignored the hopes and idealism of many of the Sanders supporters. Many of them went to Trump. Many of them didn't vote, and didn't understand that not voting was a vote for Trump.

The mainstream press failed. Chris Matthews, at 1 AM, asserted that race had no role in the election. No one mentioned the purge of progressive pundits from MSNBC in the months prior to Clinton's nomination. Voices were silenced, particularly Ed Schultz, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Chrystal Ball, who disappeared immediately after asserting on air that Clinton was a weak candidate. Even last night Matthews was sneering at the idea that Sanders might have won against Trump. In general, the elite media and the elite governing class did and do view ordinary voters with disdain. While Clinton was right in her "deplorables" comment: there is without doubt a deep vein of racism in the Republican base, the comment also exemplifies her elitism.

If this election is really the end of the Clintons as a political force in this country, there is some good in it. If I were them I'd pack as much of my loot as I could carry and move to somewhere pleasant, perhaps Lisbon, Portugal, there to enjoy retirement and their old age. Perhaps the Obamas could drop by for a visit from time to time. Since Trump cannot fulfill his extravagant promises, the Clintons are easy targets which in their pillorying will distract the base for some time. Get the hell out of Dodge during the lame duck period. It worked for Bin Laden's relatives.

Here in North Carolina we seem to have rid ourselves of Governor McCrory. Another sliver of silver.

Trump is indeed the dog that caught the car. But he will likely transform the United States in terrible ways before he runs out of honeymoon. I grieve for the millions of good people who will be exposed to the hate and in many cases violence his rhetoric now exposes them. The government Trump will create is incredible in its likely shape. There will be huge policy implications. The great issues, such as global climate change, are set back to a point of no return--at which point another dog has caught another car. The fantasies and denials eventually are undone by realities. The price is paid in pain and anguish.

A twenty-something girl at a Trump victory rally last night said, "He will bring back integrity." This is yet another indicator of the abject failure of the media to deliver truth to all of us. I hope and pray that the country has enough structural strength to muddle through this terrible coming time.

There's a lot to read. Here's a good starter: http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2016/11/the-aristocrats