[After Democrats win big in Virginia and elsewhere: MAGA hats for sale — cheap]

— RECENT HEADLINES —
“President Ignorant of DOJ Independence; Ups Calls to Ignore Russia and Jail Hillary” (11/3/2017)
“Trump Begins 12-Day Tour of Asian Countries, Meetings With Leaders” (11/5/2017)
“26 Murdered at TX Church; Caucasian Terrorist Shot 400+ Rounds, Fled, Killed Self” (11/5/2017)
“At Least 9 Close Trump Campaign, Transition Associates Tainted by Russian Contacts” (11/5/2017)
“Former Interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile’s Book Released; Trashes Clinton Campaign” (11/7/2017)
“As Truth Is Revealed, House Tax Plan Continues to Be Assailed” (11/7/2017)
“Dem. Wave Takes VA, NJ Governorships, Most Down-Ballot Races, Even in Red States” (11/7/2017)
“Maine Is 1st State to Adopt Obamacare Medicaid Expansion by Ballot Initiative” (11/7/2017)
“Roy Moore (R-AL) Accused of Pursuing Underage Teen Girls While in His 30s” (11/9/2017)

__________

“Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for.”

(Trump, Donald, R-N.Y., U.S. president; Twitter post; 11/8/2017.) (referring to the losing Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate, whom Trump strongly endorsed)

“This is a tidal wave.”

(Wasserman, David; nonpartisan Cook Political Report; as cited in Hohmann, James; The Washington Post; 11/8/2017.) (referring to Tuesday’s Democratic wave of election victories)

“This is a coalition of the decent that rose up yesterday.”

(Schmidt, Steve, R-N.J., 2008 McCain-Palin presidential campaign chief strategist; MSNBC’s Deadline: Whitehouse with Nicolle Wallace; 11/8/2017.) (referring to Tuesday’s Democratic wave of election victories)

“We’re [still] with Trump.”

(Ryan, Paul, R-Wis., U.S. House speaker; interview conducted by Kilmeade, Brian, radio host; Fox News; 11/8/2017.) (responding to widespread Republican losses across the country in Tuesday’s elections)




A Wave Election

Tuesday was Election Day for many states, cities, and precincts in America. It included Virginia’s statewide elections, two gubernatorial races, many mayoral races, and a few special elections. The theme of the results? Democrats and diversity won hugely. Women won very big. Latinos and African-Americans won big. LGBT candidates won big. Republicans and Trumpism lost — hugely.

Here’s a rundown of some results:

—Virginia governor: Ralph Northam (D) over Ed Gillespie (R) (by 9 points)
—New Jersey governor: Phil Murphy (D) over Kim Guandagno (R) (by 13 points)
—Virginia Lt. governor: Justin Fairfax (D) over Jill Holtzman Vogel (R) (by 5 points)
—Virginia attorney general: Mark Herring (D) over John Adams (R) (by 7 points)
—Virginia state House: (D)’s gain 15-19 seats, maybe majority (4 seats awaiting recounts or runoffs)
—Maine ACA Medicaid expansion: approved (by 20 points)
—Washington state Senate: (D)’s gain majority with special election win
—Georgia state legislature: (D)’s gain 2 House seats (breaking GOP supermajority) and 1 Senate seat
—Utah U.S. House seat: John Curtis (R) over Kathryn Allen (D) (by 28 points)

Note that the Utah U.S. House seat is rated one of the most Republican in the country, so that loss by Democrat Kathryn Allen was virtually predetermined.

This list does not include the many mayoral and other races that went to Democrats, as well as some other interesting (Democratic) highlights: Seattle elected its first openly lesbian mayor; St. Paul, Minnesota, voted in its first African-American mayor; Minneapolis, Minnesota, elected its first openly transgender council member (who is now the first openly transgender non-Caucasian woman elected to public office in a major American city); Virginia elected Danica Roem, its first openly transgender public official, to the state House — she beat 26-year incumbent (and self-proclaimed “chief homophobe” of Virginia) Robert G. Marshall.

(data courtesy of Hohmann, James; “The Daily 202: Anti-Trump Backlash Fuels a Democratic Sweep in Virginia and Elections Across the Country”; The Washington Post; 11/8/2017.)

Consult your favorite internet search engine for many more Democratic, diversity electoral firsts this week.

“Trumpism Without Trump”

The morning after Tuesday’s gubernatorial election in Virginia, there was much discussion about losing Republican candidate Ed Gillespie’s attempt to embrace “Trumpism without Trump.” That was the catchphrase throughout the media landscape after the closely watched race. Gillespie’s campaign tried to walk the line between promoting the worst elements of Trump’s policies — anti-immigrant fervor, save-the-Confederate-monuments demagoguery, “some very fine people on both sides” white nationalism — and actually being seen with The Donald himself.

It didn’t work. Democratic, Republican, and nonpartisan pundits are calling Tuesday’s result a clear repudiation (and refudiation — thanks to Sarah Palin) of Trump, the man, as well as what he stands for. Democrats swept the state in what former Virginia GOP congressman Tom Davis called “an old-fashioned thumping.” And Democrats surprised the president in many other cities and districts across the country with mayoral, city council, state representative, and state senatorial victories.



In classic Trump-alicious fashion, just minutes after the race was called for Gillespie’s opponent, the president tried to distance himself from his previous push for Ed, tweeting, “Ed Gillespie … did not embrace me or what I stand for.” Trump desperately wants us all to forget that he strongly endorsed Gillespie, repeatedly praised Gillespie, urged voters to turn out and vote for Gillespie, and recorded last-minute, full-throated Trumpian fearmongering robocalls in support of Gillespie.

Did I mention that President Trump went all in for the loser, Ed Gillespie?

Just Like Trumpism With Trump

President Trump’s anti-transgender, anti-gay embrace couldn’t even protect 26-year incumbent and self-appointed chief homophobe Bob Marshall (known for his infamous “bathroom bill”). In fact, openly transgender Danica Roem flipped Marshall’s Virginia House seat. Several other (Democratic) members of the LGBT community also rode to victory elsewhere in the country. Take that, Trumpism — with or without Trump.

Virginia had its largest voter turnout in an off-year election in 20 years. Democrats were fired up to defeat Donald’s policies and send a clear message to the president. His humbuggery about Ed Gillespie not embracing him enough is clearly one of the main components of Trumpism — mendacity — that voters rejected. Pundits on both sides agreed that Virginia’s election results were a referendum on the president. They speculated that had Trump campaigned in Virginia for Ed Gillespie (as President Obama did for Democrat — and winner — Ralph Northam), Northam’s victory margin could have been bigger. The overall results shocked Republicans. And Democrats, who won more races, by larger margins, than they had dared to hope for.

After special election defeats earlier this year, especially in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, Democrats were disheartened, discouraged. But there’s nothing like a wave election in your favor to wash away discouragement.

Mike Huckabee Fun Quotes

Mike Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. The former Arkansas governor’s daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the president’s stalwart, if abrasive, press secretary. Huckabee Sr. represents the Christian far-right wing of Trumpism, even though Donald hasn’t been in a church since his baptism, and his Bible still has the cellophane wrapper on it. (I stole that last one, from whom I can’t remember.) I include these palate-cleansing Mike Huckabee quotes to illustrate further Trump’s racist, xenophobic, Christian-pandering, slave-to-the-NRA, public-school-prayer-would-prevent-massacres policies:

“TX killer was liberal atheist stopped by Christian NRA instructor with privately-owned firearm when existing gun laws failed to stop him.”

(Huckabee, Mike, R-Ark., 2008 presidential primary candidate, former governor, ordained Southern Baptist minister; Twitter post; 11/7/2017.) (referring to the Nov. 5, 2017, Texas church massacre of 26 worshipers; the Caucasian terrorist’s religious or political views have not been determined)

“It’s time to wake up and smell the falafel.”

(Huckabee, Mike, R-Ark., 2008 presidential primary candidate, former governor, ordained Southern Baptist minister; Fox News with Bret Baier; 11/13/2016.) (responding to recent Paris terror attack and in defense of closing U.S. borders to all refugees)

“We ask why there’s violence in our schools, but we’ve systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools have become a place of carnage? Because we’ve made it a place where we don’t want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability. … People say, Why did God let it happen? God wasn’t armed. He didn’t go to the school. But God will be there in the form of … hugs and with therapy. … Maybe we oughta let him in on the front end, and we wouldn’t have to call him to show up when it’s all said and done on the back end.”

(Huckabee, Mike, R-Ark., 2008 presidential primary candidate, former governor, ordained Southern Baptist minister; Fox News Live; 12/14/2012.) (responding to — on the same day of — the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut of 20 first-graders and six educators)

I’ll bet it was a comfort to those first-graders’ Christian parents that their children were sacrificed to put God and prayer back in our schools. Mike went on the Fox News airwaves and said this before the families could even identify their innocents’ bodies. Gov. Huckabee, you are a despicable Christian hypocrite. I wonder what Jesus would have done.

MAGA Hats for Sale — Cheap

In the fight against the Trump doctrine, two very important events have developed in the past few weeks: Tuesday’s elections and Bob Mueller’s indictments.

Donald and his administration are vulnerable on several fronts. First, President Trump’s finances and business dealings likely involve many legal shenanigans over the years. Second, the evidence for presidential obstruction of justice is growing stronger each day. Third, the evidence for Russian collusion is growing stronger each day. Finally, the stomach of the American electorate for Trump’s divisive policies is growing weaker each day.

Add to this the president’s colossal incompetence, deceit, and immorality. (Other than all that …)

Until recently, it was not clear where the Russian investigation was going, if anywhere. But special counsel Robert Mueller’s first indictments, dropped Oct. 30, 2017, have brought his work into crystal-clear focus, especially for Trump’s inner circle. We now have strong indication that new indictments will rise higher and wider into that circle. In my opinion, there is a likelihood the president ultimately will resign to avoid impeachment.

Some of my fellow liberal, anti-Donald friends are of the mind it would be best to ride out the Trump presidency for four years because Vice President Mike Pence would be more dangerous: Pence’s policies are every bit as deplorable as Trump’s, and Pence has the political savvy to actually get his through Congress.

But my thinking is to get The Donald out ASAP for the following reasons: 1) He really could prompt an attack (and subsequent war) by North Korea through his dangerous schoolyard taunting of Kim Jong Un or some other unstable despot; 2) Trump’s downfall, as soon as possible, is imperative to defending truth — truth is under the severest presidential attack in modern times; 3) Once Trump is brought down, Pence and Republicans will be vastly weakened and disgraced; and 4) Democrats will take back one or both houses of Congress in 2018, which will thwart any attempted Pence-ian affronts to (our representative) democracy. At least, that’s what I believe.

President Trump’s policies and beliefs about America have been rejected in significant, official referendums for the first time since his inauguration. Before this week, speculation had it that the Trump doctrine was weakening in popularity. Record-low polling approval ratings have indicated his influence was waning. But, as politicians often say, the only poll that matters is the election — in this case, elections. Every indication is that Trumpism, with or without Trump, is on its way to defeat.

Granted, this was only one cluster of off-year and special elections. And Democrats could underperform in 2018 — in which case I’ll eat my “Make America Great Again” hat. But what do you call a wave election in 2017?

A great start. ■

 

Quotes of the Week

“The saddest thing is, because I am the president of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I’m not supposed to be involved with the FBI. I’m not supposed to be doing the kind of things I would love to be doing and I am very frustrated by it.”

(Trump, Donald, R-N.Y., U.S. president; interview conducted by O’Connor, Larry; WMAL’s The Larry O’Connor Show; 11/3/2017.)

“Korean golfers are some of the best on Earth. In fact — and you know what I’m going to say — the women’s U.S. Open was held this year at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.”

(Trump, Donald, R-N.Y., U.S. president; South Korean National Assembly address; Seoul, South Korea; 11/7/2017.)