https://www.axios.com/2024/11/07/democrats-blame-game-2024-election-harris

Great headline: “Democrats start clawing each others’ eyes out over election fiasco”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/results-nevada-exit-poll-us-presidential-election-2024-11-05/

«Harris wins 45% of white women voters nationwide; Trump wins 53%. Trump’s share is down 2 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.»

Amazing. Always amazing.

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/11/trump-voters-got-what-they-wanted/680564/

«Trump, unfortunately, means most of what he says. In this election, he has triggered the unfocused ire and unfounded grievances of millions of voters. Soon we will learn whether he can still trigger their decency—if there is any to be found.»

If there is any to be found.

Future elections will need to be about not policy or the right candidate or the right messaging (all within limits) but countering the unthinking rage of a lot of Americans. (Including a bunch on the left, too.)

Not necessarily reducing the rage but persuading enough decent Americans or persuading the decent sides of enough Americans to vote against it.

Inb4: yes, I know this is Monday morning quarterbacking. And I know I haven’t always taken this position.

I thought of you, dear fediverse, when I read this quote from “In Enemy Hands (Honor Harrington Book 7)” by David Weber –

“We’ve got reports that they used snowflake clusters on street mobs, My Lord.”

Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/gr8lYjU

A whiff! Of grapeshot!

I guess our next Bad Guy is going to be Napoleon.

«Many of those shattered by this result will be tempted to withdraw into passivity—or recoil into performative radicalism. Reject both. We should focus, instead, on how to win back to the cause of liberal democracy a sufficient number of those Americans who voted for a candidate who denigrated this nation’s institutions and ideals.»

He neglected to mention that they picked Trump over a better-qualified candidate who ran a better campaign simply because she was a Black woman, but ok. Grieve first.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/trump-wins-second-term-presidency/680546/?gift=ly-h2TZGdDJyaoFv6n-KaY6uA5MUf5y6cp2S0WG_aDo&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Time to ease into the long haul. Rest, grieve… then…

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/11/trump-victory-democracy/680549/?gift=ly-h2TZGdDJyaoFv6n-Kad1yKea2GqC13u6x-4Q1h2k&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

People were complaining about inflation and taxes.

1. Have fun with Trump’s 20% tariffs, which will jack up all your costs and appear as… inflation.
2. Your tax increases are courtesy of your pals Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, who passed permanent tax cuts for the ultra-rich and temporary tax cuts for the middle class, timed to sunset during the Biden administration, making your taxes go up. Neat trick, eh? Ready for more? Ready for Zimbabwe-style government finances?

[Update: why didn’t you say something about this earlier, John? I figured it was more or less obvious, but, yeah, given the stupidity just demonstrated, I should have.]

I definitely don’t agree with everything in this article, but:

«There’s no one way to plug in to today’s interconnected struggles. The Palestine solidarity movement, which also challenges U.S. hegemony and colonial power structures, is a rich terrain for culture workers, researchers, and workers of all trades — not only students and professors. Those on the front lines ensuring continued access to abortions and trans health care are always in need of greater support. If you’re a tenant, you could join or organize a tenants union; if you’re a worker, even precariously employed, there’s always room to join or build upon unionization and organizing efforts. Mutual aid groups abound in every city. Local governments nationwide are building cop cities in need of fierce opposition.

I left my great friend’s apartment late on Tuesday night, heavy-hearted but unsurprised that Trump would likely return to power. I first met this friend during Occupy too. “We’re not starting from scratch,” she reminded me, as we hugged goodbye. Movement politics — long and painfully aware that there can be no robust reliance on the Democratic mainstream — is where we must turn and further build.

We are not starting from scratch.»

https://theintercept.com/2024/11/06/trump-harris-election-results-action/

Ok… I’m not going to reply to any particular posts, because I know people are hurting and angry and Do Not Want some white reply guy sailing in, but…

Can we now agree it’s about race and gender and stop with the “it’s not racism, it’s classism!” DSA bullshit?

Trump won by 4.5 million votes. Can we stop with the “if only Democrats had made this tactical adjustment” nonsense?

3rd party voting does not seem to have made a difference, really. All that nonsense about Muslims voting 3rd party in Michigan over Gaza is just that.

Moving forward, can we focus on the real issue now? It doesn’t do any good to run around calling people “racist” to their face, but can we at least strategize around it? Speak to their fears, maybe, stuff like that? Maybe face it in ourselves, even?

https://abcnews.go.com/538/donald-trump-won-presidency/story?id=115556511

«While we can’t be sure until we can review records of who actually voted (states will release those over the next few months), the drop-off in turnout is currently greater in the most Democratic counties across the battleground states. That is something that would uniquely hurt Harris; if you’re a Democrat, then lower turnout in the suburbs is bad, of course, but not so bad as missing the mark in Philadelphia or Milwaukee, where you’re relying on a lot of votes to carry you to victory.»