Quote of the Day:
And so this is how the Obama era of Hope & Change really ends. With the world turned upside down, and with President Obama having to pass the baton to Donald Trump. That is going to be one helluva inauguration.
—Michael Goodwin, the New York Post
The American people have a way of turning the world upside down.
Americans on both sides of the political aisle are reeling this morning, and no doubt a not inconsiderable portion are hoping that, now that Donald Trump has pulled off the impossible and is President-Elect of the world's greatest democracy, he will behave accordingly (he was gracious to Hillary Clinton and indeed his entire speech last night was "pitch perfect," according to Chris Wallace).
I've resisted the comparison of Donald Trump to Andrew Jackson, one of my heroes. Jackson was a model of chivalry, and some of his speeches are still worth reading. He knew how to articulate the American idea. But where Jackson and Trump are alike is in their advocacy of the forgotten man (and woman!).
Americans are sick and tired of being governed by executive order, tired of living by laws (or worst, arbitrarily imposed regulations) that are imposed from Washington (by people who are able to escape the consequences). They don't think that their kids are any less deserving of a good education than those who come from families that can afford private schools.
Trump's victory isn't going to wipe out well-founded reservations about him. But, as Michael Goodwin describes the Trump movement, even reluctant populists might admit to a twinge of respect:
Their movement grew and spread until, early Wednesday morning, as the key states swung red one after another on TV maps, the last walls of resistance came tumbling down. It was a hallelujah moment, the ultimate underdog leading the forgotten masses to triumph. All the more so because Trump’s voters often took great risks and were routinely insulted and demeaned for their passion.
But they wore those insults as badges of honor, proudly calling themselves the “deplorables” and the “irredeemables.”
They would not be deterred, and today they have taken back their country.
Trump’s remarkable victory is their victory. It is a victory for democracy, for the common men and women of America.
The factory workers, the veterans, the cops, the kitchen help, people who plow the fields, make the trains run, pick up the trash and keep the country together and keep it moving — they are all now winners. As one, these cogs of our daily life rose up in a peaceful revolution, their only weapons the ballot box and their faith in the future.
Our sister organization, Independent Women's Voice, calls Trump's win "a giant statement from America that it is time to clean up the damage of the last eight plus years."
Here is the statement in full:
“Americans have sent a giant statement tonight that they want real change to come to Washington. It's a clear message that it is time to clean up the damage of the last 8+ years. They want an end to the corruption and self-serving back dealings of the political class and to return power to its rightful place — to the people.
“This includes repealing ObamaCare which epitomizes the Washington-knows-best-attitude that Americans reject. The American people were told that the Affordable Care Act wouldn’t increase their health care premiums, wouldn't result in canceled insurance plans and lost doctors, and wouldn't create new tax liabilities and costs for the middle class. But we've seen these promises broken time and again. President Trump should make repealing ObamaCare a top priority. He must replace the law with a new system that gives people more options, more control, better access, and gives help to those who truly need it.
“This should be a start of a new era in America. Too much power has been concentrated in Washington—leading to corruption and waste. The American people deserve a government that works for them, not against them. We need to roll back unnecessary regulations and red tape that have been destroying jobs. It's time to restore the rule of law, and give people more freedom and better options so they can pursue happiness and their vision of the American Dream. President Donald Trump, an outsider, can bring these needed changes to Washington and create a stronger, more prosperous America."
On a lighter note, a friend of mine called last night and urged me to switch (briefly!) to ABC, where the pundits seemed on the verge of tears. Martha Raddatz's voice was cracking (and I don't just think it was the lateness of the hour), and George George Stephanopoulos looked like he was at a funeral.
In a way he was: last night may well have been the death knell of the politico-media establishment.