We’re now beginning the Age of Trump after a really tough year. But if Hillary had been elected, history books would say it had ended as a normal election. At least we won’t be under that illusion.
Almost every nation contains an elitist “guiding” group — but we hang on to our democracy bubble like a life raft. Our primaries show some democracy until they blow up, and there are only favored candidates in the general election. We can see this each time, if we pay attention.
In 2008, the elitists’ favorite was Obama, who beat out semi-favorite McCain. In 2012, they had two favorites, Obama and Mitt Romney, so it didn’t matter to them who won. 2016 at first looked pretty straightforward too: Hillary Clinton would run against their favorite, Jeb Bush. But things went crazy — too many pre-picked candidates over time.
Voters couldn’t stand it any more. The economy was still worsening, except for most big corporations, and economists. And a couple of candidates naturally felt just like the voters.
The elitists are often mislabeled “the elite.” They hold power, but they’re not smarter than the rest of us.
Last year they could have been called the “mediocracy,” describing both their commonality and their supreme tool — the media, the filter that they use to get their way. Or call them the “idiocracy.”
How did the voters end up with the two least popular presidential candidates in history?
Maryland Democrat Martin O’Malley was a fine candidate, but who remembers him? And Bernie Sanders was the classiest candidate in our lifetime (ironic for a socialist). Word was passed down, and the major news editors and owners made them both un-persons. That’s all it took.
But even the “mediocrats” couldn’t stop news media coverage of Trump — he brought in such great ratings.
Those who were desperate and bitter, and I was one (we had to shut off our satellite service to get money and learned from it), enjoyed his candid and moderate comments as well as the immoderate way he sometimes spoke. I ended up voting for him without regrets. He stated flat out that a few insiders filter the news (except some of his own remarks) — the first candidate since FDR to do that. This candor was so refreshing.
The backup tactic was the sex scandal. How important is it? Young Monica Lewinsky did something that confused everybody and got Bill Clinton impeached. He did deserve it — he was as bad as JFK when it came to women. Donald Trump, a very bright man, pointed the tactic out as soon as the mediocrats did it to him. The lovely women he married and his enthusiastic daughters showed the claims to be untrue. The mediocracy were too titillated to realize that it was not philandering, but his vain personality that turned people, especially women, off.
Since sex scandals didn’t work, Trump was falsely barraged as a racist and ethnic and religious bigot. Trump knew he had to appeal to voters’ fears to win, and it worked for him, even at the end when most people, including Trump himself, had doubts. But his supporters were focused and smart.
The idiocrats’ Republican nominee, Jeb Bush, saw that the disgraceful old methods no longer worked for him, so he quit. Hillary Clinton likewise observed, and quit without quitting, hoping to coast through to election. The Democratic party is the women’s party, and the Clintons somehow had a stranglehold on it. Hillary clearly lost the electoral vote, the third time that an unexpected loss been due to her.
To me, the most distressing result of Trump’s election is that progressives are still out to get him. Many can’t separate their personal hostility to Trump’s personality from the idiocrats’ massive propaganda barrage that they bought into. Some know they’ve been had, making them bigger idiots, and are squandering the present precious opportunity to influence this former Democrat. In a weird reversal, they attack Trump for tolerating Putin, as if they want the cold war back. How could Putin have thrown the election? Sadly, I’ve learned not to trust groups I’ve supported for decades. Trump’s appointments from the few Republicans available and willing have been better than his enemies predicted, although most are not good; they will still go through our viscous confirmation process — though his position on taxes and Obamacare are bad.
Trump is not hateful or angry but intuitive — a man who had a campaign strategy that gave the misery of so many people a voice. Now that he’s won, he’ll add a new “deal” helping to bring us together. And he’ll kill the TPP agreement that would further hollow out our economy, and other abuse.
If in 2020, and 2018, we’re outspoken about how we were used, as “unsophisticated” Trump voters already are, it will make last year’s election season the best ever rather than the worst.
Hugh Field was a case worker and then a quality control monitor in the former Mass. Welfare Department until he retired several years ago. He lives in New Salem with his wife, and participates in the Quabbin Valley Pro Musica chorus.