While the media and the Democrats are in disarray over last week’s elections, it looks like President-elect Donald Trump’s honeymoon is over before it even began. While there may have been a few reports in the past week that were simply factual about Trump’s transition team and process, virtually all of the reports in the mainstream media have been negative and even hostile towards Trump, his transition team and his supporters.
The media meltdown that accompanied Trump’s victory last week has been a sight to behold. How could they have completely missed this outcome?, they wondered. Most of the articles—such as those by The Washington Post (sampling, weighting and voter estimation), The New York Times (misunderstanding major swaths of our country), and Pew Research(underestimating Trump’s support and “non-response bias”)—attempted to explain away their acknowledged failure. Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager John Podesta are blaming the media, and FBI Director James Comey for his public comments on the ongoing investigation into Hillary’s mishandling of classified information.
But this misses the larger point. In spite of a thoroughly biased and corrupt news media and popular culture that worked their collective hearts out to rid the country and the world of what they viewed as an uncouth, dangerous egotistical businessman and reality TV star, a significant majority, as measured through our Constitutional system of the Electoral College, chose Trump over Hillary. Yes, Hillary won the popular vote, but that’s not how we elect our president.
Whether Trump’s campaign was brilliant, or he was running against such a flawed candidate that he pulled off a win in spite of himself, will long be a subject of dispute. But he did just that. Along the way, he knocked off two political dynasties: Bush and Clinton. Through WikiLeaks, the FBI investigation, Project Veritas—which revealed ties between the Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and various left-wing activist groups that plotted to create violence and havoc at Trump rallies and pursue efforts at voter fraud—the public learned enough to understand how corrupt and manipulative the Democrat Party and its top leaders had become.
Another explanation is that Trump was the beneficiary of billions of dollars of free publicity on TV that enabled his victory. But the truth is that at least 90 percent of that attention was negative, intended to make him look bad—and some of it deservedly so. Trump did have conservative talk-radio on his side, and several spokespeople who got considerable air time. He had Sean Hannity’s support, and otherwise fairly balanced coverage on Fox News.
But for the most part, the media were apoplectic at the outcome of the election. In essence, their narrative was that Trump was beyond the pale, and that reports of Hillary’s actions were exaggerated and false, especially concerning her handling of classified material, and her actions as secretary of state that might have influenced payments to the Clinton Foundation, to Bill Clinton personally, and to allies of the Clintons, such as in Haiti.
Brian Stelter of CNN’s Reliable Sources said, “Donald Trump was tapping into something that already existed, which was distrust of the media, particularly on the right, but among many Americans who for various reasons distrust the media, partly because they’re told to by conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. But Trump exploited that mistrust and deepened it…Trump tapped into that anger at the media and made it much, much worse.”
Over at MSNBC, Lawrence O’Donnell called Trump a “tyrant,” and said that the Democrats in Congress must do all they can to block him. Rachel Maddow then referred to Trump as “vengeance minded.” Not much of a honeymoon.
I have heard very few complaints about Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Granted, we don’t really know how many of those who voted for them would have otherwise voted for Hillary, Trump, or stayed home. But, take Michigan, for example. That is the one state that, according to most websites keeping track, still hasn’t been officially called. Trump leads by less than 12,000 votes, while Johnson received 173,000 votes and Stein 50,000. In Wisconsin, Trump won by 27,000, while Johnson received 106,000, and Stein got 31,000. Regarding Florida, Trump won by 120,000, Johnson received 206,000 votes while Stein got 64,000.
Trump could have lost Wisconsin and Michigan and still have received enough electoral votes to win. But if he also had lost Florida, Hillary would have won. In Pennsylvania, Trump won by 64,000, while Johnson/Stein won 190,000 votes. Remember Ralph Nader in 2000? He earned the wrath of Democrats forever for supposedly preventing Al Gore from winning Florida. But that anger aimed at third-party candidates doesn’t seem to have caught on this year. Despite the many pleas from Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Hillary, and the Obamas to not vote for third party candidates, many did anyway.
And now, Republicans dominate the political landscape, with 33 governors, 68 of 99 legislative bodies across the country, the House, the Senate and the White House. The left-wing website Daily Kos has published the best graphics that I found on how dramatic the Republican dominance of the political landscape across the country actually is. Currently Republicans outnumber Democrats in the Senate by 52 to 48. But in 2018, Democrats must defend 25 seats (including the two Independent senators who caucus with the Democrats), while the GOP must defend only eight seats. The Democrats thought that bringing out some big guns—former Sen. Russ Feingold (WI), former Sen. Evan Bayh (IN) and former Gov. Ted Strickland (OH)—would give them control of the Senate. But all three lost. Hillary is being criticized for never having gone to Wisconsin to campaign, overconfident that she would win it. The Democrat blame game and finger-pointing is only beginning
Hillary never held an open press conference throughout this entire year. It was always controlled situations whenever she met the press.
Trump struck a chord with many who haven’t been voting in recent elections through his relentless attacks on the bias and dishonesty of the media, and on the incompetence and corruption of the Obama/Clinton administration. Hillary wrapped herself in Obama’s supposed popularity—he and Michelle certainly worked hard for her victory, at least in the last month or so—but in the end, it was to no avail. His appeal to certain voters didn’t transfer to Hillary.
What is remarkable about Trump’s victory is what he had to overcome to win. Besides the media, two former Republican presidents, Google, Facebook, Pope Francis, pollsters, a money gap (reports indicate that Hillary raised $380 million more than Trump), Trump’s inexperience, and the complete panoply of pop culture—from Lady Gaga to Katy Perry to Miley Cyrus; Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, everyone on the Comedy Central Channel, many scripted shows such as “Madam Secretary,” and LeBron James—there was active voter fraud, some of which the Public Interest Legal Foundation has documented. And still Trump won.
The name-calling, caterwauling, crying and disgust will continue on the left, as they figure out how to pick up the pieces and move forward.
Roger Aronoff
Roger Aronoff is the Editor of Accuracy in Media, and a member of the Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi. He can be contacted at roger.aronoff@aim.org. View the complete archives from Roger Aronoff.
Prude and Prejudice
“UNABLE TO ACCEPT LOSS”
by Thomas Pastore, ©2016
(Nov. 20, 2016) — The latest of many examples of reverberating “voter shock” among the Obama / Hillary “offspring” is the incident at the Broadway play called “Hamilton.”……..Mike Pence, Vice-President to be, was insulted and mistreated by the cast merely because he attended the show. In the ill-spirit of the NFL and its likewise naive “protesters,” the Hamilton cast felt the need to make demands to captive victims, so they imposed their “forced speech” onto innocent citizens under the guise of “free speech.” The holier-than-thou, self-righteous cast felt it was necessary to tell Mike Pence what to do and how to do it, when in fact he isn’t even in public office until January. The assumptions of what Mike Pence and Donald Trump will do when in office have brought liberal prejudice to an even higher level than the Obama administration has been teaching these naive children these past eight years.
The mass hysteria crowd that demands “diversity” and “tolerance” has failed to exhibit any such ingredients in their chosen “lifestyle” of “Do as I say, NOT as I do.” The “Hamilton” cast liberals spoke of their “diversity but failed to mention that the original “backstage” trade ads for acting parts in the play requested that “Whites” need NOT apply. Now that this flaw in their invisible “tolerance” has been exposed, they have modified their ads, blamed it on the trade newspaper, and now they say that…..of course, Whites can audition….But no mention if they will get any work. Imagine the audacity of these individuals to demand from Mike Pence what they themselves cannot even consider doing!
This is a dangerous sign of what is to come from a generation that has been taught that everyone is a trophy winner, we can do no wrong, and “the other side” (whoever that is) is always to blame for their mistakes. Tolerance to them is defined as, “We will do what we wish, what we choose, and you must accept it.”
We cannot forget others of the same Obama-ilk, the paid-for-protesters, who are impacting so many communities country-wide with their unfounded and bizarre “fears” as they destroy property and lives with fire and anger. These attempts are nothing more than the inflamed Prudeness of the Leftist Loons who feel they should always win, everyone else is to blame, and…..now since Hillary has lost, they fear they may have to actually “pay their way in society.”
Where is the diversity, tolerance, and understanding when you carry signs that make terrible threats against people? Neither Donald Trump nor Mike Pence has actually done anything yet to allow anyone to draw anything but a biased, bigoted, and prejudicial opinion of them. The façade of their false sincerity has been exposed with their extreme prejudice as exhibited when they verbally attack and vilify elected candidates and an administration that hasn’t even been sworn into existence!
I find it almost humorous when they hold signs that say “Trump is a Fascist” when I suspect they don’t even know what a Fascist is…..otherwise, should they check, most dictionaries may say……..”*See under….Obama.”
Where are the Leftist Leaders of this Loon Pack, and why don’t they demand that they refrain from exposing their prejudices just because they lost an election? Why hasn’t any of them come to the public podium and requested a “Cease and Desist” declaration of these violent protests as a true leader would do? Furthermore, this sudden desire to remove the Electoral College just because it didn’t serve their purpose shows a serious deficiency in their ability to think clearly. Death threats to Electoral voters, with demands that they change their votes in support of Hillary, are all signs of anarchy and attempts to disrupt the process.
Citizens unable to accept loss as well as they would victory is a reflection of all these government-sponsored teachings in schools and in life that are attempts to hide reality’s consequences from our young. They have taught them to rely on government to handle their problems, and so they are lost post-election, children running into the streets for verification of their existence.
I am compelled to speak to them in their own “tongue” and let them see that their misguided “Trump-phobia,” their “Xenophobia,” “Pence-paranoia,” their self-imposed “misogynistic” attitude is only going to impair their ability to think as individuals once again and seek their own opportunities, no longer restricted by a failed administration that must now “set them free.”
Unleashed from the rhetoric and illusions of Obama and the never-ending lies of Hillary, they may actually enjoy individuality once again. To make America Great again, these “children” must break away from the festering “collective” that was their safety cocoon and enjoy the pursuit of that which allows them to have self-respect and self-esteem.
Thomas Pastore/Vietnam Veteran/USMC, hoping that “Uncle Sam” may rise from its imperiled “death bed” and allow us to be who we are, and not what others want us to be.