I woke up Wednesday morning feeling that I was on another planet, or at least in another country. The new one was ugly, hostile, frightening. I suppose that sense mirrors the pre-election feelings of those who voted for Trump, and why they did so. They wanted change, but may learn to be careful of what they wish for.
Twelve years ago, following the (re)election of George W. Bush, London's Daily Mirror asked, "How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?" The Brits lost their ability to denigrate our good sense by voting for Brexit, but it didn’t take long for us to recapture the lead in self-destuctive folly.
It remains to be seen whether the rise of Trump causes any rethinking on the part of the Republican Party. His victory and Republican retention of Congress probably will discourage any such movement but, if it were to happen, it might be more serious than the 2012 exercise. It might, as in 1964, be the product of a wing of the Party.
In the meantime, the Democrats need to do some soul-searching. Hillary Clinton was not a good choice as their standard-bearer. Among other problems, she represented the wing of the Party — neoliberal, centrist, New Democrat, whatever — which is too cozy with big business and too much into globalization to convince ordinary people that it is on their side. She represented staying the course when many voters, Democrats as well as Republicans, wanted a new direction.
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