Dick Bernard: One month after November 8, 2016

Post-Election, here is my personal “favorite” political statement about us, as I saw in Rochester MN five days before the 2016 election. It says so much…. Click to enlarge.

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On the morning of Nov. 10, a good friend of mine, who rarely ventures into politics, sent a brief e-mail which began “Once again, Bernie Sanders knows just what to say“, and then added Sen. Sanders “Statement on Trump” which began “Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class…” (continued below, including the complete statement).
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Some pertinent items as we move forward.
The 2016 Election Results
Presidency
When I first wrote about the actual 2016 election, I was basing assessments on what I knew at the time, including how many voted, and for whom.
Here is the best data I have been able to find as of Dec. 7, 2016:
231,556,622 Voting Eligible population in 2016: (voting age population: 251,107,404)
136,015,661 Total Ballots counted (est.) (59.1% of eligible)
As of December 7, 2016, national vote totals by candidate (source of data here):
65,525,364 (48.2%) Hillary Clinton 232 Electoral*
62,850,329 (46.2%) Donald Trump 306 Electoral*
7,639,968 (5.6%) Others
United States Congress (here note tabs at top of page.)
239-194 Republican: U.S. House of Representatives (Democrats gained 6)
51-46 Republican: U.S. Senate (Democrats gained 2)
* About the Electoral Vote
Of course, Donald Trump has won the Electoral Vote, but this final election is not until December 19 when the Electoral College casts its votes. This anomaly comes from Article II of the U.S. Constitution: u-s-constitution-art-ii001.
Odds are that the Electoral Vote will support Donald Trump’s election, but nonetheless there will be demonstrations around the country, including in Minnesota. I support the idea of demonstrations, as laid forth here by my friend, Madeline:
Alexander Hamilton’s original reason for creating the Electoral College was to prevent the election of an unqualified person or tyrant to the Presidency. That’s where we are. Trump is unqualified by any measure and continues to prove it every day. We need to encourage the Electoral College members to do their Constitutional duty, and genuine moral and patriotic obligation, to elect a qualified person for President. They should seriously consider voting for the winner of the Popular Vote for President, who so far has 2.7 million more votes than Trump, or elect another qualified candidate.
Besides various actions already being taken by members of the Electoral College, including at least one resigning, and lawsuits in some states, the following events are planned at the Minnesota state capitol, and hopefully and likely others will occur at state capitols across the country, regardless of party.
March against President Elect, Dec. 17 2-5 p.m. State Capitol, St. Paul (These two links are to Facebook pages)
Fight for the Popular Vote 2016, Dec. 18, noon; Dec. 19 8 a.m. State Capitol St. Paul.
These actions to urge the Electoral College to change the outcome of the election may indeed be a long shot, but if possible would be far superior to trying to fight each and every wrong individually after the fact. For example: on December 6, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship said this: “Here’s what we’d like to hear her [Hillary Clinton] say before Donald Trump takes office — a call for a shadow government that will watchdog everything he and Congress do. Link to their website.”
Personally, I don’t expect large turnouts at these demonstrations, but I think they are important nonetheless and I plan to participate.
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Continued, briefly…
Bernie Sanders complete statement here: Bernie Nov 9, 2016001
I commented back to my friend: in my opinion, there are different kinds of anger. There is destructive anger – prisons are full of people who acted on their anger – apparently it feels good to kill someone, at least for awhile.
There is also passive anger, where someone gives up – “I don’t give a damn any more”; an attitude that guarantees no success. This is a close relative of destructive anger.
Then there is constructive anger, where finding scapegoats is replaced by a personal commitment to be part of the solution. This approach is messy and difficult and requires participation. But it gives potential for a positive outcome.
My opinion: destructive anger won on November 8. All of us, including Donald Trump, received at least a two year sentence without parole.
I want to continue to try to be in the constructive category.
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There are endless opinions. Three….
1. A number of years ago I read, then wrote about, some good political advice from then U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey. He was commenting on “Compassion” as a part of “Politics”. His brief comments can be found here. Simply note the first paragraph.
2. A good friend, very active in politics, recommends this article from the August, 2016 Atlantic. Bear in mind that this was published three months before the election.
3. I continue to highly recommend subscribing to Just Above Sunset, a free contribution to the conversation by Los Angeles blogger Alan Pavlik. Here’s today’s offering, on “Obamacare”. It arrives at my home about 2 a.m. each day except Sunday, and just sits quietly there till I choose to read or delete. It is always excellent.