Media, Politics

THE WOMEN’S MARCH AND AMERICA’S WAR OF THE ROSES

margaretanjourichard_iii_earliest_surviving_portraitAs I have previously discussed, my house is hosting over a dozen family and friends who have come from around the country to join the protests today as part of the “Women’s March” in Washington. We know at least a dozen more local friends attending. I will not be one of them as I explained earlier. I respected those marching today for values that mean so much to them . . . and to many of us.  There is obviously going to a sizable crowd — one that may dwarf the Inauguration attendance.  I did note that, when I dropped off my brother Chris and his family this morning, the metro in McLean seemed much more crowded than it did yesterday for the Inauguration. Having spent a few days with protesters and celebrants at the Inauguration, I am struck by how hardened both sides are toward each other . . . and dismissive of the operative facts underlying this election. Both sides seem unwilling to recognize the flaws in their past positions while grotesquely distorting their view of the other side. It reminds me of Richard III and the advice of the Queen Mother, Margaret, on how to learn to hate as she sought to “teach thee how to curse.” It is simple, she explains, just “Think that thy babes were sweeter than they were, And he that slew them fouler than he is.”

Having spent time with both people supporting and protesting Trump, I have been saddened by the level of hate and lack of objectivity in conversations.  Indeed, unless you demonize or idolize Trump, you are viewed as out of touch or naive or suspect in your views.  Hillary is now sweeter than she was and Trump fouler than he is.

What is striking to me is how many have forgotten what brought about this election. Hillary Clinton is now portrayed as a selfless feminist and progressive who was defeated by angry white men despite the fact that she did worse with women than the prior two elections and barely won the female vote. While Trump is (correctly) criticized for failing to turn over his tax records, it is forgotten that Clinton refused to turn over her Wall Street speeches. While Trump is (correctly) criticized for contradictions in the media, it is ignore that Clinton continually changed her account for such issues as her reckless use of a personal server or other accounts. That is why I was highly critical of both candidates.

The reaction to the Inauguration speech was a good example of the hardening and loss of objectivity on both sides.  I thought the speech was not particularly strong and did not offer a positive unifying theme.  In the end, I thought it was a lost opportunity for Trump to transcend the campaign rhetoric in favor of an outline for his new approach to the nation’s problems and divisions.  Yet, we have seen Trump supporters unwilling to even consider shortcomings in the speech while Clinton supporters like Chris Matthews bizarrely portray the speech as having “Hitlerian” elements.  Likewise, when a friend who protested at the Inauguration criticized Trump supporters for mocking or disrespectful comments, I noted the over 200 arrested anti-Trump supporters and the property damage to the city. That ended the conversation. It is again all or nothing.  Blue or Red. Again, to paraphrase Queen Margaret, one has to remember one’s friends as better than they were and one’s foes as worse than they are.

The Democrats had an opportunity to learn from this defeat. Clinton and Trump were the most unpopular politicians ever to be nominated for president and over 60 percent of voters viewed Clinton as fundamentally dishonest. Clinton has always had extremely high negatives and was carrying more baggage than Greyhound when the establishment effectively anointed her as their candidate. As shown by leaked emails, DNC figures like Debra Wasserman-Schultz and Donna Brazile worked against Bernie Sanders who presented precisely the populist campaign that many voters were looking for. Clinton had the Democratic establishment and many allies in the media — everyone agreed except the public. That was enough . . . until the voters had their say on November 8th. What is remarkable is how successful the Democratic establishment has been not only keeping their same leadership like Nancy Pelosi in place but convincing Democrats that (as suggested by Bill Clinton) it was just angry white men who determined the election. It is the same identity politics that led to the defeat. The effort is to direct all of that anger toward Trump rather than allow it to backfire on the party establishment.

I have many of the concerns as my family and friends about the future (particularly about the environment), but I am deeply disturbed by the effort to delegitimize this President and the effort to reconstruct history to fit a new narrative. The problem is not personalities but far more fundamental and serious. People felt that they do not matter in this system and they were right. Even with this populist election, not much has changed in Washington. So we are left with the same duopoly of power like the Yorks and Lancasters in the War of the Roses:

300px-white_rose_badge_of_york-svgred_rose_badge_of_lancaster-svg

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

choosing_the_red_and_white_roses

This post has been undated.

364 thoughts on “THE WOMEN’S MARCH AND AMERICA’S WAR OF THE ROSES”

    1. Reminds me of I ran ten miles for charity at raised a dollar a mile. Did anything realistic or meaningful come out of it? More people than that voted for the loser. Not bad for a sunny sunday in winter BUTonly Madonna got any real press coverage.

      1. Lots of coverage on FB, twitter and local newspapers……. Pictures of women with daughters, babies, pink hats everywhere……. The marches made us feel better and I really do see the movement growing and building through social media.

      2. Isn’t it ironic how many women turned out for the march but they didn’t show up at Hillary’s empty rallies or get out to vote for her in bigger numbers when she needed them. As Madonna said from the stage yesterday, “It took this moment of darkness to wake us the F up.”

  3. Women need to march on London and tell that May broad to speed up the Brexit.

    Its after 7 a.m. on Sunday and we need a new article. If its about New Guy then something new. The is an email off Cloud 9 with Trump’s name on it about the number of abortions he sponsored for girlfriends over the years and some in recent years.

  4. Sad to see Bernie at the “Woman’s March” given most of those women voted for HRC during the primaries. Stupid Dems.

  5. When one had God Himself-Herself on their side, facts become irrelivant, as seems to have been the case in reviewing Obama’s 8 years in office by the Republicans and over estimating Hillary’s strengths and weaknesses before the election.

    That folks have suddenly woken up to Trump’s distortions post election is irrelivant, since his truth telling skills changed not at all, witness Trump University.

    Impeach Trump and get Pence, a Christian Fundementalist who would walk all LGBT and especially T advances back to the stone age. Medical marijuana and the environment are out to lunch on any Pence watch, as is Social Security and Healthcare.

    International relations to Trump apparently has to do with sex with Mexicans, et. al. Pun fully intended. In any event, this is the only President in my lifetime who was apparently surprised to win and totally unprepared for it. But how did so many voters miss this fact ? Perhaps we need compulsary junior high school (sic) and more English As A Native Language courses to boot.

    1. The rulilng class of the left has spoken to it’s collective. Stay in Denial keep acting stupid,keep losing votes.

      Nothing new there move on dot unorg.

  8. Dr. Turley’s point is sadly not quite on mark- the real war is between women. Why were many Pro-life women excluded with prejudice -and meant to feel that way – from the ranks of these Marches? Why were women who hold a different viewpoint so treated by..ahem ‘tolerant’ women? It turns out this was not primarily an Anti-Trump protest but an anti-Pro-life march. And that’s a different Wall of bigotry entirely.

    1. So true and thank you for pointing that out.

      “….thousands of women will gather on the National Mall in Washington, marching to support a woman’s right to choose total submission to the organizers’ exclusive political agenda.

      Sources confirm the Women’s March on Washington, co-sponsored by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, invites women of all walks of life to join together and express their views, except for those who disagree with the event’s official platform, which includes uncompromising support for open access to legalized abortion.

      http://babylonbee.com/news/march-defends-womens-right-choose-conformity-one-political-viewpoint/

      1. “In the pre-dawn darkness of today’s presidential inauguration day, I faced a choice, as a lifelong liberal feminist who voted for Donald Trump for president: lace up my pink Nike sneakers to step forward and take the DC Metro into the nation’s capital for the inauguration of America’s new president, or wait and go tomorrow to the after-party, dubbed the “Women’s March on Washington”?

        The Guardian has touted the “Women’s March on Washington” as a “spontaneous” action for women’s rights. Another liberal media outlet, Vox, talks about the “huge, spontaneous groundswell” behind the march. On its website, organizers of the march are promoting their work as “a grassroots effort” with “independent” organizers. Even my local yoga studio, Beloved Yoga, is renting a bus and offering seats for $35. The march’s manifesto says magnificently, “The Rise of the Woman = The Rise of the Nation.”

        It’s an idea that I, a liberal feminist, would embrace. But I know — and most of America knows — that the organizers of the march haven’t put into their manifesto: the march really isn’t a “women’s march.” It’s a march for women who are anti-Trump.

        As someone who voted for Trump, I don’t feel welcome, nor do many other women who reject the liberal identity-politics that is the core underpinnings of the march, so far, making white women feel unwelcome, nixing women who oppose abortion and hijacking the agenda.

        Following the money, I poured through documents of billionaire George Soros and his Open Society philanthropy, because I wondered: What is the link between one of Hillary Clinton’s largest donors and the “Women’s March”?

        I found out: plenty.

        By my draft research, which I’m opening up for crowd-sourcing on GoogleDocs, Soros has funded, or has close relationships with, at least 56 of the march’s “partners,” including “key partners” Planned Parenthood, which opposes Trump’s anti-abortion policy, and the National Resource Defense Council, which opposes Trump’s environmental policies. The other Soros ties with “Women’s March” organizations include the partisan MoveOn.org (which was fiercely pro-Clinton), the National Action Network (which has a former executive director lauded by Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett as “a leader of tomorrow” as a march co-chair and another official as “the head of logistics”). Other Soros grantees who are “partners” in the march are the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Constitutional Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. March organizers and the organizations identified here haven’t yet returned queries for comment.”

        http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/01/20/billionaire-george-soros-has-ties-to-more-than-50-partners-of-the-womens-march-on-washington/

        1. AKP – I am amazed the NYT is actually reporting on this. Nice to see the Valerie Jarret has transitioned to a new job.

        2. Kudos to you: a woman who can think, assess and make her own decisions. My problem with so much of this is not the point of view of the marcher, but do they understand why they are marching? Have they thought it trough? I applaud you.

    2. The “movement” isn’t for ALL women. Never has been. It is for those who walk the uber liberal philosophy. Now, understand, there are women who marched who are in no way uber left. Many have succumbed to the fears fanned by the leaders. I do think there is a subset of marchers who are positive and just wants the world to know they care about their sisters and will work for them. They are not necessarily protesting anything.

      As to whether it was a anti-pro-life march vs. anti-trump march, one could probably ask that question to marchers and get as many answers as times asked. This march had no focus. While I have not read all things, from what I have read it was primarily an anti-Trump march. They say they are going to resist but what are they resisting?

      To me, this was an opportunity to vent and one should be careful as to what conclusions to drawn.

  9. OK, here is an Irish Poem for the old, worn out screen actresses who showed up at the silly march, and who I fear will resort to a time-honored old tradition for women’s protests:

    SAG-AFTER???
    An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm

    Alas! For that ancient old twat!
    Like a leopard that can’t change its spot!
    I fear! Oh, I fear!
    She will burn her brassiere!
    And that I can un-see it – NOT!

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

      1. Thanks! But actually the word means different things depending on where you are. In England the predominant usage is “a stupid or obnoxious person”, while in America it is mostly a slang term for a. . .for a.. .uh..er…OH! a “twazzie!” Of course, being a prim and proper person, I meant it in the first sense. It is also sometimes pronounced to rhyme with “hat” in England. As wiki says,

        Robert Browning famously misused the term in his 1841 poem “Pippa Passes”, believing it was an item of nun’s clothing:[4]

        Then owls and bats
        Cowls and twats
        Monks and nuns in a cloister’s moods
        Adjourn to the oak-stump pantry

        Its meaning was in reality the same then as now, Browning’s misconception probably arose from a line in a 1660 satirical poem, Vanity of Vanities:

        They talk’t of his having a Cardinalls Hat
        They’d send him as soon an Old Nuns Twat

        Another mistaken (or perhaps dialectal) use was in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1870 science fiction novel The Coming Race, in an apparent satire on Darwin:

        Among the pithy sayings which, according to tradition, the philosopher bequeathed to posterity in rhythmical form and sententious brevity, this is notably recorded: “Humble yourselves, my descendants; the father of your race was a ‘twat’ (tadpole): exalt yourselves, my descendants, for it was the same Divine Thought which created your father that develops itself in exalting you.”

        It is commonly thought that a “twat” is a noun to describe a pregnant goldfish.[5] However a goldfish cannot be impregnated and this definition of the word has never appeared in a respectable dictionary.[6]

        Words are such interesting things.

        Squeeky Fromm
        Girl Reporter

  10. You really nailed it on this post. I have a lot of concern about the division between people now. I believe this is a result of mass hypnosis. The utter nonsense that is being published and broadcast is actually being taken as truth. Now we see mob mentality taking over the Progressive movement. I thought it would die off but no sign of it yet.

    Trump is making a big mistake if he doesn’t nip this in the bud. My hope is he actually knows what he is doing and is giving the radicals rope with which to hang themselves. Otherwise we are going to be in a world of hurt. We shall see in time.

    1. That’s because the media is in it and the Professors are giving extra credit for attending. Most have fled. The most progressive thing they have done is physically regressing which sums up the rest of it.

  11. The time to do that was Nov 8th at the polls. That seems to escape notice with all the hoopla AFTER the fact. But no.. they had to play pretend , Try to ignore the rules once again, and then play pretend again. Same thing thing in two other elections. Of course they liked the rules just fine when it fell to their advantage. I wouldn’t give the left as a group anymore credence than I did before but his is something different it’s another group breaking away from the secular regressive hollyweeds and that IS a good thing.

  12. Well, the silly-a$$ Women’s March has been very peaceful, which is a good thing. But it is still silly. At this point in Obama’s first year, they were discussing the Nobel Peace Prize he was going to get a week or so later. Here Trump is, having spent the first night dancing and dining at the balls, and the idiots are already protesting over various imaginary fears.

    What a bunch of hooey!

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

      2. Tell them he hears them and try to end the hostility. It might not work but he really needs to try. That would be a start. Why does a president want to compete with sponsors of a protest as to who has the most.people. That makes him look childish. We all need him to be better than that.

        1. What most people. As a cohesive party they couldn’t get enough to turn out to make 50% plus of the meaningless popular vote. 48.2 while others voted AGAINST Clinto or stayed home. Trump took 55% or so of the vote that counted. Now the former Democrat Party has splintered and divided it’s five parties and couldn’t elect Clinton as dog catcher in New York City. Presuming she stays out of jail.

          Is it still true that Shwarthmore is AKA JSU?

        2. Hogwash. It wouldn’t work for sure because these types of demonstrations have absolutely nothing to do with anything other than keeping the base stirred up. There is no reasonable basis for any of these trumped up fears. It’s all bullsh*t.

          The Democratic Leadership and its activist cadre are simply after raw power, and has no principles outside of obtaining power. Most lower level schmucks in the Democratic Party have been convinced that they are on the side of the Angels, and Tolerance, so they will march until their feet fall off. A few of them are capable of waking up, and they did—which is why Trump won. But the great majority of Democrats are either scoundrels, or easily led cultish idiots. They are blind to Reason.

          Squeeky Fromm
          Girl Reporter

        3. SWM, or SWG – the hostility has been fermented (fomented?) by the angry HRC supporters.–movie /muzak starz, “public” intellectuals like Robert Reich and people who are still hating on us Bernieorbusters for not complying and voting for her.

        4. Well, granny, if the protesters were singing out of the same hymnbook and knew what exactly they were protesting and was against an actual policy specified by Trump, you might have a semblance of a point. Unfortunately, no one has a definitive answer as to what the protesters want reversed. And what on earth did he hear? I heard “F**** Trump”, saw the third finger salute, heard people talk about blowing up stuff, etc. Try to end the hostility? A group which does the things they did is demonstrating it has no interest in talking. It is not unlike the kids on the college campuses who want to dictate the contents of a professor’s lectures and demand their tender sensitivities not be hurt. Nothing to work with here.

          1. Consider the amount of former ‘somebodies’ well past their prime trying to regain that ‘stature’ no matter how limited in a world that has passed them by. How many already are saying Who or what is an Ariana, a Madonna, a Rosie a Whoopie Cushion and of them all recognize no one or no thing. It’s a last grab at the brass ring for people whose agents no longer answer the phone.

    2. I can’t decide which march did the least: Million Man March, Million Women March or the Woman’s March. Of course, the most useful march is the daily parade at Disney World.

      1. 100,000 cops. Many were Border Patrol had cut and he (Clinton) had to replace them later. Like the phony White House staff cuts whichy were promptly replaced by loners from other departments.

      2. A lot of this silly crap is for the purposes of creating the appearance of consensus. Like all the women in the country are concerned and afraid of Trump. Hogwash. They wouldn’t even let the pro-life women be a big part of the alleged “woman’s march.” But symbolism is very important to the Democrats’ Gleichschaltung Process, much like the Nazi’s

        In Nazi terminology, Gleichschaltung (German pronunciation: [ˈɡlaɪçʃaltʊŋ]), was the process of Nazification by which Nazi Germany successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of society, “from the economy and trade associations to the media, culture and education”.[1]

        The apex of the Nazification of Germany was in the resolutions approved during the Nuremberg Rally of 1935, when the symbols of the Party and the State were fused (see Flag of Germany) and the German Jews were deprived of citizenship (see Nuremberg Laws), paving the way for the Holocaust.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltung

        There is no party but the Democratic Party! There are no beliefs permitted but the Democratic Party’s beliefs! Seig Heil!

        Which is why the Democrats shut down free speech rights at universities. And go 4+ apesh!t over Trump, when he hasn’t even done anything yet.

        Squeeky Fromm
        Girl Reporter

          2. Yep ………………… They follow Alinsky. Forget the rule number but one is to demonize your foes.

    3. Squeek, This march doesn’t bother me. If Hillary won many of these lazy, losers would be in DC getting govt. jobs.

      1. Me neither. They ought to call it the Sore Loser March. They are probably shooting themselves in the foot, because they are expending too much energy over nothing, and I do not think they can maintain the activity level for 2 years, in order to change the Congressional makeup. They might win in 2020 because I think the country is still predominantly stupid.

        Squeeky Fromm
        Girl Reporter

        1. Come Sunday they all go home exhilarated that they got together for one colossal bitch session only to realize that Trump is still President and controls all three branches of government. Amazing what people do to console themslves only to find it was all for naught. Well, they got some exercise and the privilege of carry a wooden pole.

          1. And, they get the whole “I feel good about doing something” vibe that is sooo important to them. People used to get that from church, but that is becoming passe’, hence this New Religion of Smarmy Crap, at the Walkabout Church of Warm Fuzziness.

            Squeeky Fromm
            Girl Reporter

    4. Doesn’t this remind you of an overnight where ghost stories are being told and everyone is trying to outdo the other and they end of scaring the begeezers out of each other?

      or

      The overnight where the center of conversation is what parents don’t allow you to do. Again, everyone is trying to top the last and by the end they think they have no hope for the future as long as their parents are in control.

  14. http://www.startribune.com/thousands-flock-to-st-paul-for-women-s-march/411409885/#1 “Natalie Rahn, 46, of Minneapolis, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said, “The world is in a pretty scary place right now, and I hope by being here, it will bring some hope that one person [Trump] cannot make all the changes” she fears.

    She said she’s “terrified” that the new administration’s policies will hurt people with disabilities and public education. “We’ve come a long way, and we could lose it in a heartbeat,” she said.

    Linda Garrett-Johnson, 58, of Apple Valley, said she’s marching because “Donald Trump is really not my president.”

    “I am here to show my children and grandchildren how to protest respectfully,” she said. “We need to send a message that we are the United States and that his campaign of hate and bigotry will not divide us.”

    Kathleen Mickelson, 57, of Roseville, marching with her husband, James, said they’re protesting not just for themselves, but for their daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law and many others who couldn’t make it Saturday.

    “Our most important job is to be active citizens,” Kathleen said.

    Ann DeGroot, 61, of Falcon Heights, and Liz Richards, 56, of St. Paul, both wearing pink hats, arrived at the Capitol early to await the marchers.

    “It’s part of our duty as citizens to let people know what we think,” DeGroot said.

    Organizers had worked with St. Paul police beforehand to assure an orderly event. Planning included a training session for the more than 100 people who served as volunteer marshals. Officers were out in force Saturday to direct traffic and pedestrians.

    The gathering was upbeat and almost entirely peaceful. One counterprotester was arrested, police said. Witnesses said he shouted his opposition to the protest and brought pepper spray into the crowd.” The largest crowd that ever protested anything in Minnesota turned with 60,000 peaceful protestors.

  15. ABC7 Eyewitness News ‏@ABC7 54m54 minutes ago

    #BREAKINGNEWS 750,000 now gathered in downtown for Women’s March Los Angeles

    1. And when they are done? Will they actually do anything? That is the real test.

      1. They got to have a “unifying and meaningful experience” as “midwives of the revolution” while sending Trump a message that this is just the beginning of the resistance…..is some of what I’ve read.

        “IKEA has better Cabinets” was another sign.

        1. LOL,,, that one is funny. Trump mus tbe bugged as Sean Spicer came out and said their crowds were bigger.

        2. AKP – IKEA has better Cabinets is, of course, a lie, especially if you have every tried to put one of their cabinets together. However, I think the sign is cute. 1 point for cuteness.

        3. What are they resisting? Seems to me, this is shutting of the ears and a refusing to either talk or listen. That is a negative way to approach a problem.

    1. That’s hilarious – but not surprising for the Golden State. I just hop these women heavily tip the poor white, black, brown people they profess to care so much about mightily!

      1. The restaurants in my neighborhood are booming with all this activity. Hope everybody gets tipped.:)

        1. Women are shitty tippers, unless they’re bartenders or waitresses, then they’re the best tippers. Liberal women tip almost as badly as black people or Canadians.

          2. Nick,
            Why do you say “Women are shitty tippers”?

            I try to tip really well because between my stupid food issues (d@#n you gluten and dairy!) and having a table full of kiddos, I know we are a tough table no matter how hard I try to ameliorate it. Heck, I am happy I am not the one to prepare, serve, or wash dishes afterwards when we go out to eat. That deserves a huge thanks all by itself!

    1. Agree. It’s a good piece on a thorny issue. Will there ever be any broad based recognition that this was not so much a Trump win as a resounding HIllary loss? Doubtful. Will the powers that be give up so much as an inch of space to those they have smugly been shafting? The Democrat party is dead. Has that fact even registered with the “Coordinators” who are so inextricably bound up with the actual Uniparty that they can’t even perceive it’s existence?

      I like economist Mike Albert’s term, “Coordinator Class” distinction in this piece, describing the paternalistic professional and managerial (and largely liberal) upper fifth of the middle class. The ones who essentially treat the rest of the working class as “deplorables” needing constant guidance and oversight.

      I think it normal to be pretty depressed at this point. We had two terrible choices and nothing is going to change that for four years, and right now it looks like no one is even going to recognize why that is a problem that will be just as ugly if not more so next time round, when they again try and tell millions of us that we have no where else to go, unless we want to burn in Hell, than the exact same rotten to powdered dust DNC or the equally corrupt guilded populist (ha,ha,ha,ha) billionaires of the Republicans.

      Paul Street’s conclusion is hardly more optimistic if one examines the difficulty,

      We must come out from under both of those two noxious wings and their obsessive and endless focus on the quadrennial candidate-centered electoral extravaganzas, which have replaced the recently closed Ringling Brothers show as the greatest circus in the world.

      1. Oh yes, and of course, “Goldman Sachs wins either way.”

        BTW, I’m finding it hard to even mention Hillary or team Dem now, particularly in the cold light of bringing this on themselves. It has become that sore a subject that rather than reflect on it, or gain anything from it, people are saying, “it’s over, in the past, forget about it,” and prefer to focus on bashing Trump and rolling thier eyes at each new salacious tid-bit of vulgarity the press can squeeze out of almost thin air. Oddly, however, they don’t feel Bush II and his war of mass deception is so far in the past that he too should be forgotten. Oh well, 365 * 4, and all that sort of thing…

      2. You are referring to the scientific administration of the secular progressives expert class or secular progressivism. That to me would be objectionable for the same reason as the present group as it automatically subverts the Constitution and would require the military to uphold their oath of office aka bullets not ballots. Not Acceptable by any name or definition. Why get rid of one known evil and then sanctify it back into power immediately thereafter, Answer. Not acceptable WITHOUT a valid change as specified and approved by the Constitution itself.

        The party’s run the primaries and choose their own candidates by one means or another. Some like Iiowa use a form of delegate even at that level. That is there business. Pluralities may or may not be acceptable

        At the federal level only a clear majority in each state governs the choice of that state., Pluralities are not acceptable.

        What might and maybe should be added, if done legally, is something called None Of The above especially at the state level in a State contest or Federal level if at that level. NOTA beats out the others winning a clear majorrity the other candidates are stricken and not allowed to run again. Possibly if NOTA has a plurality the top two whose votes en toto exceed NOTA those candidates would be allowed to remain on the ballot but this time a clear majority required.

        If as you started to say it is a problem then it requires a solution and a Constitutionally valid solution.

      3. Speaking of course of the left wing and the right wing OF the left. RINOs to DINOs. You left out a rather large chunk of the population.

      4. ” Will there ever be any broad based recognition that this was not so much a Trump win as a resounding HIllary loss? ” LOL …… Over-simplification reeks from this statement. So many want to broad brush virtually everything and, in doing so, miss most of the points which would allow them to evaluate the true reasons or causes.

  18. Meanwhile, back at the pro-women (not anti-Trump) DC Women’s March, beauty-challenged, orally fixated Madonna has mused about blowing up the White House and now that girl-next-door and admitted “nasty woman” Ashley Judd asserts that Trump has wet dreams about this daughter Ivanka. How charming.

    With scads of enthusiastic family there, JT and Joe must be elated to see they’ve all been given the chance to be catapulted back to the 60s and an Abbie Hoffman/SDS rally replete with “bombing the man” fantasies. H.G. Wells got nutin’ on these Sisters! Here’s hoping for a rare wintertime tornado in DC to get our li’l girls back to Kansas or whatever rock then slid out from.

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/01/21/ashley-judd-im-not-as-nasty-as-white-privilege-or-as-using-little-girls-like-pokemon/

    1. Seen no bombing in this women’s march anywhere today and we are talking about millions of peaceful protestors. You should see it in Austin, Tx 🙂

        1. Lol, I have friends in their seventies that went with their daughters and granddaughters.

          2. You forgot to tell me if your daughter enjoyed Madonna’s White House bombing wish or Ashley’s incestuous comments better? It’s a tough call for that crowd I’m sure.

            1. My friends went to DC and I have not spoken to them.. My daughter marched in another city which I will keep anonymous.

            2. The organizers forgot to mention that it was NOT family-friendly language or content 😉

          3. I did not feel the need to participate in the 60s and I still do not. I was proactive and thought I was good enough to compete with men and I took steps to do that. Yes, I had to prove that I was capable, Everyone should expect that. As to yesterday’s march: What are they protesting? What right do they have? Have they tried working within the system to “fix” whatever is perceived to be wrong?

            The message I received is that the women think Trump is anti their vision of women and they are not interested in speaking with them. They have given up before they begin. The march was well organized as far as logistics but not as far as messaging. When you have Sunday morning broadcasts asking what the message was, there is a messaging problem. And if you have never tried to work with the new administration, how can you assign a position to them?

            All that said, I choose not to march because I am not a victim – nor do I think women are victims. We are not the poor, inept gender. Focus of the can do not what someone telling you what you cannot do. Be positive. Don’t put yourself beginning a relationship in a negative position.

            1. In one way for sure women were victims and victimized and the victimizers were the group led by the Clintons and the Secular Progressives. Or else explain why the women’s movements turned their backs on their sisters and supported bubba cutebutt and his main enabler?

              If any group is excluded it rightfully should be their main opponents. The far left.

              1. I disagree. Now, understand, I do not put women (or for that matter, blacks,Hispanics, men, etc) in one group and declare them to have the same impact from any one event (or whatever). One should not make assumptions that all people in a group perceive in the same way. I also am leery of those on the edges – right or left. They are very narrow in their focus and too full of themselves – Translation, they would never lower themselves to have sincere interaction with anyone outside their belief system.

                Now ……….Were their women who became victims under the Clintons and the Secular Progressives? Sure, but it is too simple to say they are the cause. The women were not empowered. They did not believe they could do anything to help themselves. They became caught up in the groups of secular progressive women telling them they had been against and, if they would only follow them, they would work to improve their lot in life The secular progressive groups were not the cause but they took advantage. Define a group as put upon and used by other groups and tell them: Follow us and we will right the wrongs done to you. This is nothing new. It has been done innumerable times over the history of man.

                Any group which is full of itself and unwilling to see anything beyond their view of the world can become the victimizer. They do not necessary begin that way. They can honestly belief in what they do. I have no doubt many of the women who led marches yesterday truly believe a Trump Presidency will be a danger to women. They have fanned themselves into a frenzy. Whether they know it or not, they are tellig these women they cannot do for themselves. They are victims.

                Again: I do not think women have to be a victim. Many of us do not have the confidence and need support to become empowered but the women’s groups are not empowering the women. I am not saying their are not women who are victims. I am saying not all of us are victims and those who are victims are not getting the support needed to relief themselves of this yoke.

                1. Nancy – George Soros funded that march and the ‘leaders’ in DC all have jobs they have to get back to. Not one of them can take the time to lead a movement. They may be butt hurt that Hillary didn’t get elected and the Clinton Foundation will soon be closing its doors. Hillary may actually have to work for a living, they cannot keep that lifestyle without the Foundation and the speeches. However, there is no more influence to peddle, therefore no more income.

                  I think that Democrats should be horrified at the way the game was rigged for Hillary against Bernie. And I think we should get Podesta on the stand and find out what he has on Bernie that kept him on a short leash.

                2. ” I am saying not all of us are victims and those who are victimsly po are not getting the support needed to relief themselves of this yoke.”

                  The explanation and the summary is certainly objectivist and indicates progress. So let’s take it a step further. While i can many others can do two things. One recognize the situation and Two continue to support reaching the end goal what ‘support is needed and from whom…a way of saying continue your thoughts. An addition. When you write the next part can it be applied to not only ‘sexism’ but ‘racism’ and ‘bigotry?’

                  For my part I see the present situation as a useful tool but tools need to be used to remain useful I found the losers in this case were completely close minded but constantly saw evidence and participated in providing ideas and goals which were accepted into the mix. Those doors are still open.

                  Pick any subject mattere you wish relating to this ‘ism or any others and thanks for participating.

        2. SDS? Do what? Like most leftists the firmly believe saying is doing. End of subject.

            1. That’s ALL you can come up with. Did you forget something. Symbionese Liberation Army? But did they actually DO anything?

            2. That brought back some bad memories. There is some through to the old adage: You had to be there…. Those not old enough to remember those days cannot conceive Bill Ayers was not just a liberal young man carrying a protest sign. The groups back then made no bones about it: violence was their vehicle

  19. Professor Turley,
    “I am struck by how hardened both sides are toward each other”

    I see this, too, and it saddens me deeply.

    Fear and anger are a lethal cocktail.

    1. Prairie Rose, for what it’s worth – some months ago I was looking at some art at one of our galleries that specializes in African-American. A young black man approached and asked if I was familiar with a certain artist (I wasn’t) so he showed me some prints and a book. We started talking and I noticed that he was wearing “the ring” – a proud Citadel grad and he told me about himself. When we left he gave me his card which features a Gullah saying. I have been carrying it around since then and pull it out like a talisman of a sort

      “Ef e hol’ ya mad, e wuld kil ebi glad” – which translates to English as “If you hold in your anger, you kill your gladness”

      So, yeah, like today I am totally pissed at the HRC libs who let Obama get away with nary criticism and are marching.

      BUT participating on this blog allows me to have an outlet – very important – as well as tuning into Jimmy Dore, Jordan Chariton, Tim Black, Sargon of Akkad, etc. so I realize I’m not entirely insane.

      So try to find a way to enter into dialog – at least that’s my MO for now =)

      3. I so agree with you — and the quote is spot on!

        The people who refuse to talk and reject any way other than their way are refusing to be a part of this democratic republic. Unfortunately, we saw a President of the United States treat those opposed to his policies in much the same way. (Demonstrated by such things as his “I won” to Paul Ryan and his obsessive use of executive orders in lieu of talking to Congress – including his own party.) They are electing to take themselves out of the game. It is akin to a three year old refusing to eat something he has never tried while crying that he does not like it. Mama said: “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”

        1. Great description of the Obama Administration. Nothing to do with reality today but living in the past it is I suppose a way to stay in denial and therefore stay vulnerable, lose more votes, lose more support and continue to watch the former Democrat party rend itself asunder. Keep up the good work Keep up the good work and thanks for helping the Constitutional Republic based on democratic principles supporters of the moderate center. Couldn’t have done it without your third time at confusing primary voting with general election voting at the federal level.

          We’ll look forward to more or actually less of you but more of your help in 2017 and 2018 and……

  20. If as you say, Americans are more politically divided than ever today, why is it that national poll after national poll has confirmed that the public is far more “progressive” than the politicians or political parties? Moreover, what the outcome of the November election demonstrated is that nearly the 3 million voters were disenfranchised. America is a democracy in name only. Lastly, it is easier to sow social discord than to bring people together for their mutual benefit. In a “winner take all” society, everyone loses in the end, men and women alike.

    1. If as you say, Americans are more politically divided than ever today, why is it that national poll after national poll has confirmed that the public is far more “progressive” than the politicians or political parties?

      Because those polls are a figment of the imagination of the person who produced the talking points you’ve read, along with the tommyrot about 3 million disfranchised.

    2. Thanks for the progressive viewpoint and their polls. The elections proved progressives can’t follow directions it’s the third time they pulled this popular vote stupidity and this time it bit them in the ass with an unexpected boot – not from the republicans or conservatives but from the citizens of the country who took back their country. As for sewing social discord what else are you left wing fascist followers of Marx and Engels good for? Just to correct your view ‘from the other world’

      Stupid is as Stupid does Hillary did not get a majority but only 48.2. If it did count she still would have lost. But it doesn’t count at the federal level. Next time try reading the instructions instead of making up your own fairy tail!

      Your three million disencranchised themselves through sheer ignorance. Now your on your own as the other affected factions of the Demo’s are going in their own direction.

      How did you get one point two billion to waste but weren’t smart enough to read the directions on voting? Stupid is as stupid does for the third time Duuuhhhh

      Last statistic I saw Trump took 55% of the vote that counts and you were left, leaderless and your candidate still getting investigated.

      Next time get a life it’s a Constitutional Republic NOT a socialist autocracy and the CENTER is the Constitution not fascist socialism as filtered through Soros, Lykoff and Carville

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