The results of that election were far short of ideal. Then again, considering our options, “ideal” was never going to happen. We were caught between Hillary Clinton, the embodiment of shady politicians, and our new cartoon-in-chief Donald Trump. While each candidate had their enthusiastic fans, many knew by the time primary elections were underway that the US had fucked itself over.
Jay Dee Archer posted his response to the US election the other day, and I wrote the following in response. I think it deserves a place here:
Not thrilled about it either, but I realize the only reason he got elected was that Clinton is seen as less trustworthy. I’m not sure that perception is wrong. Honestly I can’t trust either one of them and voted third party. He’ll probably be out by the next election as long as the Democrats can get it together and not put all their strength behind a candidate that’s as sketchy as she was.
I doubt it’ll be an easy ride for the Republican party either. They do have a majority in our Congress but not quite enough of one to pass their laws easily. And Trump and the rest of the party have been at odds for so long I doubt he’ll be their rubber stamp. It’s candidates like this that illustrate the need for the checks and balances system that we have.
I’m focusing on the positives. The strongest third party we have didn’t get the required vote percentage for federal funding but they DID quadruple their votes over last term. So that shows people are getting tired of the two-party system we have. There’s a Libertarian candidate near me that got 33% of the popular vote in his local district. Not enough to win obviously, but a third of the vote for a third party is huge.
Our legislators are more diverse after this election. There’s a Muslim-American refugee woman in the Minnesota state legislature: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/ilhan-omar-america-first-somali-american-muslim-woman-legislator-is-elected-a7406391.html
So, there’s some good to be found.
Elizabeth Rhodes 