A few random observations and opinions about the recent election:
1) THANK GOD IT’S OVER! Am I the only one who has had it up to here with politics — and politicians? So it astounded me when I read a headline this morning asking, “Now that this election is over, is it time to think about 2028?”
I have a one-finger, two-word answer.
2) Florida is the third most populous State. It extends over two time zones. From Pensacola in the far west, to Key West at the southern tip of the continental United States is 800+ miles by land, and takes over 12 hours to drive. We have four large urban, areas (Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Metro-Dade/Ft Lauderdale) and many (becoming too many) densely populated suburban regions.
We’re a big state.
Yet we had all our votes counted, statewide, within just over two hours after the last poll closed. So how is it even possible there are less populated, more geographically compact, states that are still counting ballots?
Some say it’s corruption. But I’ll go with Hanlon’s Razor as an explanation.
Never attribute to malice, that which can be adequately explained by incompetence.
3) Within 24 hours of merely becoming President-elect, Donald Trump improved the economy. The New York Stock Exchange “soared to record highs” the day after the election.
Those who say that’s great for “Wall Street investors” seem to forget who many of those investors are. They are retirees, and others — many of whom would be called ‘working class’ or ‘middle class’ – with the foresight to invest part of their income during their working years in IRAs and 401ks. Not to mention the pension plans, both public, union, and private, that have invested in the market.
4) The ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017′, passed by the Republican Congress and signed into law by Donald Trump was “the largest middle-class tax cut in American history” – but is set to expire in 2025. With Trump back in office, and Republicans again (likely) to control Congress, those tax cuts can be made permanent. (Trump losing to Biden sort of worked out. Had Biden lost, Trump wouldn’t be President when those tax cuts expire. Karma works in strange ways! Excuse me while I chuckle a little.)
Contrary to candidate Harris’ talking points, those tax cuts did not “only benefit the rich”. Everyone benefited.
“[T]he Trump tax cuts also lowered taxes for middle- and lower-income households, including by lowering income taxes for lower brackets, expanding the child tax credit, and doubling the standard deduction. An analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a left-of-center Washington think tank, found that 80.4% of taxpayers received tax cuts, across the income spectrum.”
5) Kamala Harris and Tim Walz weren’t the only losers in this election. They are joined by much of the media — and many pretentious celebrities.
There was a time in America when the endorsement of large newspapers had significant impact on elections. Then for the past half-century the broadcast media could influence elections — by manipulating what the public heard about candidates and issues.
Those days are now clearly (happily) over. The fact is, they’ve lost their influence, along with much of their credibility. Thomas Jefferson may have been channeling Nostradamus when he wrote (in 1803), “Our newspapers, for the most part, present only the caricatures of disaffected minds. Indeed, the abuses of the freedom of the press have been carried to a length never before known or borne by any civilized nation.”
Then in 1807, Jefferson added, “Nothing can now be believed that is seen in a newspaper. The man who never looks at a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
The loss by so much of the media of any credibility is their own fault. Just look at a few of the most egregious political “falsehoods and error” perpetrated by the media just in the last decade:
a) The “Russia hoax” perpetrated during Trump’s first term that was subsequently debunked;
b) Suppression of the story about Hunter Biden’s laptop;
c) Joe Biden’s mental decline;
So is it any surprise the public didn’t believe the regime media saying that Kamala Harris was the best candidate — particularly after the same media spent the previous three years declaring she was the “most unpopular” vice-President in history, and suggested Biden replace her as his 2024 running mate. But in their arrogance, the elites in the media were convinced they could re-package her, and ‘the folks’ would be to stupid to see through their latest hoax.
Democrats actually believed they could hand-pick a totally unqualified candidate, who hsad never won a primary, and get her elected with the help of a corrupted media and the endorsements of some celebrities. They apparently confuse independent voters, who decide elections, with their own naive supporters.
Fortunately, alternatives to the regime corporate media — such as the Pagosa Daily Post — have become more trustworthy to the public, because they want to hear both sides of issues.
6) Celebrities. Who do these people think they are?
My favorite dialogue in the movie ‘The Aviator’ (a biopic about Howard Hughes) is between Hughes and actress Katherine Hepburn. When she tells him she is ending their relationship, and presumes to lecture him on his reaction, he shuts her down, saying “You are a movie star… nothing more!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAGgo5AtHzE
Cause when you’re a celebrity, it’s adios reality
You can act just like a fool, people think it’s cool
Just ‘cause you’re on TV
— from ‘Celebrity’ by Brad Paisley
A number of celebrities vowed to leave the country if Trump is re-elected. Presumably their over-inflated egos convinced them anyone with actual sense would switch a vote from Trump to Harris just to keep them around. Well… adios … don’t let the door hit ya’ on the way out…
(Mrs Beatty is willing to help you pack.)
7) During conversations with a number of people before the election, they explained that though they weren’t impressed with Harris, they weren’t voting for her — they were voting against Trump. When I asked why, the answer was invariably a version of “He’s says mean things about people.”
So, I’d ask, if mean insults disqualifies one from the presidency, how do you feel about Harris calling Trump ‘Hitler’ and his supporters ‘fascists’? What has Trump ever called anyone that is worse, or even as bad as, ‘Hitler’?
Nor could any of them actually define ‘fascist’. Fascism can take different forms, but they all have a few things in common — one of which is “a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites” .
Damn if belief in the supposed worthiness of the elites to rule us isn’t what Trump, his supporters, and the whole populist movement are fighting against. Sounds like a little projection, by Harris, to me – but I’m just a dumb middle-class kid who went to public schools, so what do I know.
8) Which brings us to some other losers in the election. The old-establishment Republican Party. The party that cozied up to the military-industrialists and got us into the Iraq war — and likely would have gotten us into more wars if Harris had won.
Why else would hard-line neo-con, old-school Republican war mongers like Dick and Liz Cheney, and a slew “experts in the intelligence community”, have endorsed Harris? Their Republican Party is (hopefully) dead and gone. Good riddance!
9) During this campaign, I saw what may be the dumbest political ad in my lifetime. Kamala’s campaign ran an ad — narrated by a celebrity — that was so demeaning to women, when Mrs Beatty saw it she exclaimed it was the most insulting thing any politician ever said to her.
But what’s most disturbing about the ad is that the people who thought it was a good idea seem to actually believe it.
10) Contrary to the emerging Democratic Party (and corporate regime media) narrative, Harris didn’t lose because of ‘misogyny’. Considering that Democrats seem to have a problem even defining what a woman is, that claim is laughable — but that’s an aside.
Harris didn’t lose simply because she was a woman. She lost because, like Hilary Clinton, she is an unlikable woman. She reminded men of their ex-wives/girlfriends — constantly belittling, condescending, and demanding. No man (and damn few women) wanted to listen to that from a President for the next four years.
11) Ok Trump – and Republicans in Congress. You damn sure better deliver. We independents who supported you, and got you elected, expect results — not excuses.
12) And finally, in an effort to ‘reach across the aisle’, I suggest Republicans propose legislation that was suggested by Joe Biden a few months ago, and picked up on by the Harris campaign, to wit:
Expand the Supreme Court. There needs to be an odd number of Justices (to avoid tie votes) so add two more. Better still, since Republicans will control the Senate (which confirms Justices), give Trump four more appointments and raise the number to 13. That would show Republicans are willing to adopt Democrat ideas.
Harris also said if she won she would abolish the filibuster in the Senate. Not sure how she thought she, as President, could dictate the rules of the Senate — but that’s moot.
However — again in the spirit of compromise with Democrats -—when the Republican take control of the Senate in the upcoming new session, they could appease Democrats by abolishing the filibuster. Since it was a Democrat idea, I’m sure they would support doing so.
I invite requests for other humble suggestions.