I look at it sort of like a major battle in a war.
Imagine a city. The city is walled off and has a strong gate. Nearby there is a fort in a key location.
We had to take the fort. That was the primary objective. Under normal circumstances, the gate should have been impregnable and out of reach but this year there was an opening and it became a secondary, if long-shot, goal.
Yes, it would have been nice if we had taken down the gate so we could storm the city. The odds were heavily against it. As it were, we didn't succeed at that and those that occupy the city were able to muster up the means to fortify them a little bit (although not as much as they should have been otherwise). Battles were fought along the periphery, many of which we won but a few we did not.
The key to focus on is that we did, in fact, take the fort and are now in a much better position to launch key raids until reinforcements arrive in a couple of years. There is a giant siege engine being built in the form of the Mueller investigation. The war might very well have been over if we had failed in that objective but now we're in a much better position than we would have been otherwise.
This was a big victory in every sense of the term.
Mas1581,
He will never do as he has been told. He is a toddler in a total tantrum now. This man thinks and does what he wants no matter the consequences to him or his party. Matter of fact he is so delusional that he thinks the Republicans that won was because they embraced him and not the other way around. Please read this funny article on how one person live tweeted and tased trump on all the republicans that he endorsed that lost.. https://secondnexus.com/news/ally-maynard-tweets-trump-endorsement-losers/amp
Yes, Matt that is what i have been saying since last night. We won no matter what. A lot of races were close. This is the happiest i have been since Trump won
My favorite thing I saw online was from comic writer Andy Borowitz:
"Mueller counting down minutes until he can press SEND"
I laughed out loud for real!
I am also feeling slightly more optimistic than a few days ago. I just hope Twitler doesn't try to pull some real sh*t like starting a war with Iran... I do still worry he'll find a way to declare marshal law before the new Congress is sworn in.
LOL . Mines is after Sessions was “resigned “ someone said trump was casting his next reality show.
Jessi,
Dont be confused by thinking that everything he says he believes. He knows when he loses and when that happens he feels that he has to spin/lie about the facts to make it a win. He also knows where his protection is. Yes, Trump is all about Trump and only Trump, but he is aware enough to know he needs certain people in certain places to keep him safe. He is very aware that he took a beating yesterday and that mistakes were made. He is also aware that his heavily divisive and racist plays to the base cost him house seats. That is why the presser today was all about "working with Dems unless they investigate him" and not "brown people storming the castle". He wont admit he went too far, but he also will tone it down because he doesnt want to lose more votes and not get reelected in 20.
Matt, I loved your breakdown on a previous page with a positive perspective on the hard won gains we achieved. Absolutely agreed. I've also been seeing yesterday's results as an overall tactical win for Democrats in a crucial battle for the country.
It's turning out to be a longterm war, but we've known that.
The fortified city you described is that "shining city on a hill,"* which I believe was taken by insurgents some time back. Tea Party Republicans, neo- and paleo-cons, the alt right, and white nationalists are only their more recent iterations, but whatever their party affiliation or tribal mating call, they've been sellouts to American oligarchs and corporations.
In absolute service-of-self, with only greed and avarice to guide them, they wrote their name in the Devil's book, handing over their souls—along with the best interests of the American people. What he gave them in return was power. Five of Swords—the power to win at all costs.
Though, that brand of power has another name: pride before the fall.
Over time, these Insurgents have embedded themselves in the population, taking powerful positions in our churches, corporations, public sector, press/media, and the entertainment industry. Not only did we tolerate it, many eventually embraced it. Subtly and over time, the Insurgent Way became inseparable from the American Way, especially in the eyes of the rest of the world. It changed us.
Just like Romans grown fat on power, these Insurgents didn't simply take over, they corrupted our laws and codes and founding doctrines, our most sacred principles and norms. They did this to ensure their power would continue untested (and because it's what any good Devil demands). Subverting and distorting moral norms and sacred vows (whether we call them secular contracts or not), actually traumatizes the People. (And trauma numbs and dissociates us, so that we're even less conscious, less aware of what we're agreeing to participate in.)
It's illustrative that, also like the Romans, they propped up a Golden Calf right on the street in the center of what they worship most. Pride before the fall.
And while they've stuffed themselves on red meat and wine, the People have been starving and angry. So, the Insurgents made an old play out of an old playbook—twisted populism, outright lies. They put a leader in power who's just as good as Caesar at whipping the populace into a fearful, hateful frenzy over some imagined enemy out there. And Caesar said it best: It's very easy to make people afraid. If you use their fear to your advantage by making them afraid of something which you then promise to crush for them, they'll give all of their power over to you. Without question. Indeed, you will become their god.
So, it isn't simply that the Progressive army needed to breech a gate, or even take a city. Before we could get to the battlefield or the polls, we needed to overcome years of powerful propaganda, deliberate distortions, ignorance, and apathy. In short, we needed to start waking up—ourselves and everyone around us. We needed to successfully fight an asymmetrical war against entrenched disenfranchisement and suppression.
We needed to win the People back. I'd say we have, and we'll keep winning more. Only now can we launch a widespread offensive against the enemy in order to win our country back.
With a new Democratic foothold, Republicans will be forced to go on the defensive. Their leader faces an onslaught from all directions, and when he's cornered, he attacks his own. With each test, they'll be pushed further and further back. It won't be easy, and it won't always be clear. They have a lot of dark and dirty tricks at their disposal, and the one thing they're very very good at is sleeping spells.
Still, as a nation, we're on a collective Hero's Journey. Our trials are nowhere near over, but I'd say we passed the second threshold into hell some time back. If we've learned anything, it's how to get around in the Underworld. As long as we keep going, we're well on our way toward transformation and atonement. Or as some scholars call it, "reclaiming the sword."
*[In Reagan's famous speeches, he quoted Jesus' sermon ("city on a hill"), but there's evidence that he often secretly referenced the brilliant occult scholar, Manly P. Hall, author of Secret Destiny of America. Hall believed that 1,000 years before its discovery, American democracy was already part of a "Great Plan" by esoteric organizations who were working to usher in a new age of religious and personal freedom.]
VestraLux -- wonderful post, as always!
I just wanted to add, as I've mentioned in another thread, there is another battle tomorrow: mass protests are scheduled across the country in reaction to the replacement of Rod Rosenstein as the overseer of the Mueller Investigation. You can find your nearest place of protest here: MoveOn.org: MULLER PROTECTION RAPID RESPONSE
Wasn’t there a prediction that Arizona and New Mexico would be surprises? Rachel Maddow just broke that a projected congressional win in New Mexico - a republican woman who gave a victory speech last night - has actually just lost due to more than 8,000 votes being discovered that weren’t counted. The dem candidate never conceded, so it looks like she is now the winner.
That's great news Saibh. I'm not a US citizen but I feel so proud and joyful for everyone for the results. The hard work done by Dems and others in rallying people to vote has paid off. I hope this lesson will not be forgotten in the future, that everyone's vote does count and how important it is for people to exercise their right to vote, to use that voice they have. I feel that in democracies there is a tendency to get a little complacent - democracies can be overturned, they aren't set in stone, so we have to all contribute to protecting them and voting is one part of that.
I was so happy to hear about Dems not conceding in the election. I think it was totally the right thing to do - they made the right statements about every vote needing to be counted as people had made the effort to do so (I was amazed at the length of the voting lines you have in the US), and I think this helps to make people feel that yes, their vote is valuable. That's so important.
It's a good victory regarding the House. It shows what can be acheived. I don't think it means challenging times aren't over, far from it, but I think it's a really important step. I imagine now Trump will be blaming Dems for every little thing that doesn't go right, or is seen as a problem - he'll say they have the House majority therefore it's their fault. So it'll be tough going forward in that respect too. I just hope Dems keeping pushing the truth and facts out there when this happens and don't let him get away with his bull.
Hi Everyone,
A quick update on the race for the 6th district in Georgia. The Republican candidate conceded. The Democrat, Lucy McBath, is our new representative. I can not remember this ever happening since I have been voting. She advocates for gun control and social justice. The seat was held in the past by both Newt Gingrich and Tom Price (formerly in Trump’s cabinet). This is big and shows how the demographics have changed over the years in that area.
Let’s hope that Stacey Abrams will get a fair count of the votes after all of the shady stuff that happened on Election Day.