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Monday, November 7, 2016

AN IDLE PREDICTION

Tomorrow evening at eleven Eastern Time, perhaps before, Hillary Clinton will be declared by the media to be the President Elect.  Donald Trump will be declared the Loser.  All eyes will be turned on Trump to see whether he makes some sort of concession speech or statement.

Wednesday morning, everyone's attention will be on Clinton [and perhaps on Republicans vowing to investigate her, impeach her, or whatever.]  Nobody will be interested in Trump.  He will instantaneously become Old News.  There will be no more rapturous audiences at rallies, no more calls from news stations.  Christie, Giuliani, and Gingrich will slink away, looking for other carrion on which to feed.  Bannon will stick with him, viewing him as a useful idiot, in Lenin's delicious phrase.  His Twitter followership will dwindle.

Trump will find this abrupt reversal of fortune intolerable, unbearable, utterly unacceptable.  I predict that he will flail about hysterically trying to recapture the attention of an uncaring media.  He will threaten law suits, refuse to concede the election [or withdraw his concession, should Kelly Ann Conway have prevailed upon him late Tuesday evening], issue thundering condemnations of Clinton, the American political system, and the world.

But no one will care.  Oh, a few will care, perhaps even a few million, but after the adoration and attention in which he has basked for eighteen months, the contrast will be completely intolerable.

Dare I hope that he goes certifiably mad?

9 comments:

Andrew Lionel Blais said...

What may I hope? Sounds familiar....

Tom Hickey said...

Yes, mercifully Trump will go away if HRC wins, which seems probable — unless Putler intervenes (snark).

Enjoy the glow while it lasts. Trump will fade away, if only due to age.

But the people (mindset) that put Trump in contention for the presidency will remain. The election of their archenemy will further incentivize them.

The man to watch as the presumptive next GOP hard right champion is Sen. Tom Cotton. If you think Trump was bad, he is a pacifist in comparison with Cotton and Cotton is at least as extreme as Trump domestically too.

Moreover, campaigning for the 2018 midterms will start immediately. In the next election Democrats will be defending over 25 senate seats and the GOP less than 10. Even if the Dems were to win a senate majority, it would likely be short-lived given those odds in 2018.

It looks like the national nightmare is far from over. As my aged mother used to say, "I am glad I am going and not coming." Unless reincarnation.

Chris said...

Wow you're optimistic. My fear is Trump will do for the alt-right what Bernie is doing for progressives, and he will do it better with longer lasting results!

Tom Hickey said...

"Trump will do for the alt-right what Bernie is doing for progressives, and he will do it better with longer lasting results!"

That would be an Alt-Right media venue run by Trump campaign advisers Stephen Bannon, executive chairman of Breitbart News, and former Fox chief Roger Ailes.

Bernie flamed out as progressive champion in endorsing HRC. He's done, and his age alone disqualifies him as the new progressive leader.

The up and coming progressive leader and leadership hasn't yet emerged. What has become clear is that the Democratic Establishment has completely turned off the progressive base and the Democratic Party is potentially as fractured now as the GOP.

Anti-establishment populism looks to be to be a strong force socially and politically in the coming years.

Chris said...

I agree completely Tom. Whether it's right or wrong, Sander's endorsement of Hillary greatly diminished his flame, and it's not clear who will step in to fill his shoes.

LFC said...

The media, for various reasons, should be careful not to call the whole election while some people in the Western states might still be voting or in line to vote: for one thing, it's just tacky (a word I haven't heard for a while -- perhaps it's fallen into disuse), and for another it will inflame what will already be bitterness among those whose candidates don't prevail. So 11 p.m. eastern time seems like it's cutting it a bit close, as it will be only 8 p.m. on the West coast. Still, Prof Wolff could be right that it might be called by 11. I guess we'll see.

Danny said...

I voted Clinton I'm just sayin'..

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

"Dare I hope that he goes certifiably mad?"

It looks like the left has claimed that diagnosis.