Aftermath 11/2016 Video. Anger, yes...but there needs to be more

AROUND THE BLOCK

Commentary

Aftermath November 2016

One commentator's disgust at the Trump victory

A friend forwarded a video entitled "Aftermath November 2016" posted by Tess Rafferty, a TV writer, comic and author.      https://vimeo.com/191751334?ref=em-share

It's very powerful.

She’s says what many are thinking but won’t say; won't say mainly because of fear that what she's saying confirms the impression that we on the left (the coasts?) are all a bunch of liberal elitists who look down on all those “deplorables.” She says she's given up on trying to forge a common ground with the kind of people who voted for Trump. 

I’m just not sure continuing to “diss” them moves things forward.

My guess is her response to me would be: “I’m over pussy footing around those assholes."

Ok, understandable and possibly cathartic. But is it helpful?

After viewing the video, I began to think about some realities; realities that we need to address if we don’t want to find ourselves at the very beginning of one very long, very miserable slippery slope.

• Reality 
• This was an election in which the Democrats screwed up and, with the exception of some voter suppression here and there (!), Trump mostly won by the rules.
• The GOP did a “post-mortem after the 2012 election. Up until about 9pm EST on November 8, Democrats were laughing that the GOP post-mortem was a failure. Oops, our turn.

• Reality
• Despite her incredible credentials and unmatched qualifications, Clinton family hubris and Hillary’s many unforced errors were too much to overcome.
• Sorry, whether you like it or not, there are lots of people who, influenced by 30+ years of right wing hatred, can’t stand Bill and Hillary. And it’s not just blue collar white men. It's (GOP) women as well. With that hatred as background even trivial errors influenced opinions and votes. I wanted with all my heart for her to win. She didn’t. We need to get it right next time (If there is a next time; with Trump in power, you never know) — not just in 2020 but in 2018 as well. The Democratic bench is not deep. But, despite that, we need to do better next time in selecting the right candidate for the times; a candidate who can demonstrate empathy for, and garner the support of, all demographics. The pundits say that the national demographic changes are moving inexorably Democratic. But they said that this time as well and... 

• Reality
• We don’t like that the fact that the rules are not democratic but don’t know how to and/or can’t fix them.
• Yes, the Electoral College gives undue influence and power to rural areas. If you believe we live in a one-person/one-vote democracy, that makes no sense. But it’s not going away. So let’s figure out how to work with it. One major objective: reduce the margin of losses in red districts; Democrats will never win a majority in these places but not everyone living in a red precinct believes that someone like Donald Trump is right for America or the world. These people need to be convinced, in a better way than Hillary did, that there is an alternative answer to their issues and problems.
• Reality
• Trump’s “crooked media” screeds ring ironic given the mainstream media’s culpability in the outcome of this election with their non-stop Trump coverage and false equivalencies.
• Les Moonves, head of CBS, said it best: "It may not be good for America, but It's damn good for CBS.” (And CNN and NBC and etc., I might add). Trump drove ratings and ratings drove profits. We need to hold the media to a higher standard. Call them out if you don’t think they’re doing their job or being objective. Stop watching outlets that put profit over their responsibility to act as both an information source and a watchdog. Boycott their advertisers. If money is the only thing that influences them, we need to hit them where it hurts.
• Reality
• We lament the influence of Fox News, talk radio, alt-right media like Breitbart and fake news posted on social media for the hold they have on a significant portion of the electorate. But we haven’t been able to curb that influence.
• This is a tough one. And the problem will only grow tougher. I’ve seen the calls for supporting legitimate media through subscriptions, etc. That will help. We don’t want Trump’s pronouncements of the demise of media like the Times and the Post to come true. So yes, buy, don’t steal the news. But getting those who only get their news from Fox et al to read, listen to and absorb information from other than what they’re relying on is a big challenge. And it will become ever bigger without some cooperation from the media platforms that facilitate the promulgation of unedited, non-vetted, “information.” (See this link for the possible start of a fix:     https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2016/11/18/fake-news-on-facebook-is-a-real-problem-these-college-students-came-up-with-a-fix/?wpisrc=nl_optimist&wpmm=1)

• Reality
• We complain about the influence of money on politics and elections but one result of this election is that we have diminished our ability to reduce that influence for years to come.
• Elections have consequences, this one in particular. I don’t see the Republican Congress or the soon to be majority conservative SCOTUS supporting campaign finance reform in the near future. But there’s still work to be done, particularly with our Democratic elected officials. Get them energized. Get them working. With all three branches of the federal government in the hands of the party that benefits the most from this system, this an uphill battle. But it’s a battle that must be engaged.

The bottom line is, I’m as angry as Tess Rafferty is. 

I get even angrier as I watch in horror as Trump names terrible appointees (Bannon, Flynn, Sessions) and parades them, as well as sycophants and former critics (I talking to you, Mitt Romney), in the driveway of his ironically named “Trump National” golf club. 

I’m appalled that his family inner circle appears to be ready to burnish the Trump brand and increase the company’s profits through the good offices of the White House. 

I recoil at the alt-right’s feeling of empowerment with their rallies, their “heil-Victory” salutes and their eager anticipation of the return of their “white America.” 

I understand why Tess Rafferty said what she did. But I also know that the way forward is not just to be angry and lash out, but to channel that anger by facing the realities and addressing them strongly and unswervingly.