Tuesday, November 8, 2016

The "People" are both angry and private

Progressive Liberal Democrats are depressed.  I can understand that; they have been spoiled by having things pretty much their own way for almost a decade now. Their President has used Executive Orders to create a country that he devoutly wishes he could have brought into being with laws, but made do with his pen.  The good news for the PLD folks was that they got the country they wanted.  The bad news is that is wasn't and isn't permanent.

But that is just the ideological view.  What is much more important is that this election revealed the depth of the voters' anger at the entire political establishment...all sides...is tremendous.  It showed in the Republican primaries.  It showed in the Democrat primaries.

The fact is that the political establishment deluded itself, talking itself into a presumption of control and power based in part on a disrespect for the independence of the American voter.  That presumption was ill conceived, presumptuous and just wrong.  And our politicians have earned the anger.  You can be sure it will not be easily assuaged.

The other factor that makes this election a surprise to so many is that the American public can be really private about what they think, especially if revealing their true feelings might cause their friends and business associates to disrespect them.  Clearly, this flumixed the pollsters.  I personally know two individuals who were polled and told the pollster they were voting for the Democrat candidate, yet told me that they were voting for Mr. Trump because of Mrs. Clinton's lying, inabilities, and what they see as her treating Classified information as unimportant when it collided with her desire for secrecy and control of her private affairs.  The view her as inherently corrupt.

Politicians, Washington (D.C) and the power structure in this country had better adjust quickly and treat the citizenry with the respect that they have not granted for several decades.