The blue wall didn’t hold. Pennsylvania fell about midnight, west coast time, and the awful truth sank in. It’s a personal truth, which I shared with a few friends and I expect to hear the same thing from a lot more people. And that is, that I don’t want to live in a country that would contain enough stupid people to elect Donald Trump as its president. But the fact is that that has happened. Again. 2016 was not a fluke. We have elected a convicted felon and an adjudicated rapist to the highest office in our land. We could have elected a decent woman, a former prosecutor and vice president, but instead we chose the showman. We chose the phony.
This is, once again, H.L. Mencken’s prophecy come to life: “As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
We are sending the downright moron back to the White House. America will never recover from this. Right now, as we speak, Viadimir Putin is grinning like the Cheshire cat. Volodymyr Zelensky is, I’m sure, cringing. It is entirely possible that all aid to Ukraine will be terminated in January. Our NATO allies are putting contingency plans in place because the United States is no longer dependable.
I’ve spoken of the two Americas for many years. The America with which I identify values integrity. In my America people tell the truth, not outrageous lies, people respect one another, their differences as well as their similarities, people don’t demonize the vulnerable. But that America didn’t win tonight. The Other America won. MAGA won.
Donald Trump is a moron. He has no character. He has been convicted by juries of his peers for abuses and crimes which he has committed. His four-year reign was characterized by chaos and the death of 1.1 million Americans from COVID.
Who knows what he will do for an encore? It is unthinkable to me that so many Americans thought that it was alright to return him to office. But return him they did. They flocked to the polls to return the worst president in the history of this country to serve a second term.
America showed its true face tonight and I weep. I weep that I no longer live in the America I was born in. I mourn what we have become. And I am not alone in that. The shockwaves are starting to be felt all over the globe.
Nobody has any idea where this is going. America dodged the bullet in 2020 and now we have walked right back in front of the cannon. Boom.
The prophecy of “Idiocracy” has come to pass.
Yes. Who knew that Idiocracy was a documentary?
The world too shares your despair. I hope we all have the resilience and energy to come back from this.
I am honest to God shellshocked. I haven’t looked at the final statistics, none of that, but I simply can’t believe that Trump is going to walk from all his criminal acts. I guess it’s a good thing that he got convicted in the hush money case. Justice was done there.
How did Americans who respect the rule of law becomes the minority?
Dearest Ursula, Murf, Jason and Denis
I am so sad; sadder than I was when he got in in 2016. I cannot now read the news (including your wonderful articles) as I will find that too depressing, dispiriting and terrifying.
Please know that you all do a fantastic job, and I am not leaving because I didn’t enjoy reading your contributions, but I can’t do it any longer. I need to save my own sanity, and hope that America will come back, pick up the pieces and reform. I am so sad that Kamala Harris didn’t win. So so sad.
With love and gratitude to you all from across the Pond.
Mag xx
I hope you will reconsider Meg. I understand your feelings completely. But we need to stick together.
That was Mag from England, not me. I share her deep, deep sorry and will respond later.
Thousands are leaving pro-democracy web-sites Please come back as soon as you can. The fight never ends. In fact, it is more important for the good guys to stay well informed now than ever.
I’m afraid to ask where you are getting this information that “thousands are leaving pro-democracy websites.” Can you send me an answer to my email, [email protected]? I would appreciate it.
America has lost its collective marbles!
Welcome to the Fourth Reich (please leave your sense of decency and justice outside)
I am beyond sick with this. I’ve had some personal health issues, an eye infection, and some other things. I was so hoping for a Democratic victory to help cheer me up and now I feel like the roof just fell in. I sent you an email, BTW.
Dig into the family documents, find one that shows at least one one of your grandparents was born on the island of Ireland (any part north or south) and trot round to the nearest Irish Consulate and ask “Please sir – can I have a passport?”
Three of them were born in the Republic of Ireland, to the best of my knowledge. I don’t have any “family documents.” Like a birth certificate or anything like that. Do I need to consult a geneologist or something? Please email me and give me your phone number. Thank you.
Mencken also said “Democracy is the theory that the common man knows what he wants; and deserves to get it good and hard.”
So bend over every single one of you greedy or willfully stupid, racist and misogynist people who voted to piss on the blood and sacrifice of all those who managed to advance this country over two-and-a-half centuries. The louder you scream as you take the barb wire wrapped telephone up your ass from Trump the wider he’ll smile as he makes fun of you and your suffering.
I was going to call you, Denis, around 11:30 p.m. I didn’t know if you’d be awake. I don’t know if I’ll ever sleep again.
There’s a fifth of Jack Daniels I bought back in 2020 that’s still half-full. It’s calling my name and I’m increasingly willing to “self-medicate” myself into a stupor, much as I hate the thought of being both depressed AND hung over in the morning. So if you call, I might not hear the phone ring if I give in. Or might not make much sense. OTOH I tool am finding the thought of sleep difficult. It was a rough night and I tried to nap during the day as I always do and finally after five pm’s attempt got about an hour worth of sleep. I might crash tonight but also might not be able to sleep at all.
They’ve just elected the ‘Leopards Eat Your Face Party’.
How much time have we got before face eating starts?
What will Biden do in his lame duck period?
Has the cheating already taken place? Can we find out?
Are the American people really this stupid?
Endless questions with, by the looks of it, no good answers.
Maybe it’s time for me to move to New Zealand. Man. I never, ever thought that I would be seriously contemplating leaving my wonderful, beautiful country. But if this is who we are now, we elect a convicted felon to the White House…..words fail me. I cannot describe my feelings right now. Shock doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I envy you and every other friend who lives in another country right now, be it Canada, Australia, Ireland, other places. Those are nice places to be. I don’t know what the U.S. is right now.
Roy Jenkins, a prominent UK politician and former minister lost his seat in Hillhead in an election. In his speech said, as I remember it: ” the great people of Hillhead have spoken. Damn them!”
So, too, the majority of US voters. Damn them. For surely they and the world are damned to a very much less certain future. With Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court, a craven media, bi$$ionaire oddballs all massed together there are no guardrails. Not God Bless America but God Save America.
The only question is how many months before his enablers organise to deliver President Vance through the 25th Amendment? Bets?
That is a possibility.
I expect it to happen as soon as his 10% tariffs plan jacks up prices and the MAGA cult begins howling – probably around this time next year.
Anyone know what is going on with the House and Senate races? trump vs. a dem house and dem senate will be spinning his wheels.
I knew americans were stupid. I have known this for decades. This time I figured even the stupidest people would realize, having seen trump’s complete incompetence for 4 years, that someone, anyone, would be better. I guess I just did not give enough credit to the racism, bigotry, and misogyny that IS the united states.
Senate in GOP hands, as expected. House not called. It could go either way.
I live abroad and now will never reurn. Wat will you do, Ursula, when the brown shirts come for you? If trump holds to his promise, any opposing voice will be in the bullseye of his vengeance.
I don’t know, Fred. I don’t know how much of what Trump says is his bluster and how much he really intends to shut down CBS, NBC, or leftist blogs. I guess we’re gonna find out, right?
I can’t speak for Ursula but like another Zoomer who lives over in Chapel Hill I can say this – if they come for me the adrenaline (and my inner Marine grunt) will kick in and I’ll be going to hell in a crowd. I’d of course rather it not come to that but I’m prepared mentally for that possibility and have already thought how to use my cane to advantage.
I live in the UK, I pray this Is not a return to 1930’s Germany. Hitler put alll opponents on a concentration camp and kept them just alive until 1945. I expect sham trials now
He didn’t keep them all alive.
Thanks Mitch for dishonorable service as this pissant was impeached and you never tried him on the facts, which were irrefutable. Thanks Merrick. You failed to prosecute this traitor and wasted two phucking years. Let’s hope you end up in a camp. There’s no telling how many innocent children are going to die and be put through hell because of you not doing your goddamn job. Welcome to the new Civil war…except this time the nazis rule every goddamn branch of government. Remember Hitler was put into power by the vote. Now that this nazi has unlimited power and has permission to do whatever his little toddler brain wants, better start getting used to the darkness. PRAY.
Hitler was put into power by the vote. I sincerely don’t know where this is going. This is my worst nightmare come true.
Dear Ursula, Murf, Jason, Denis, and Dino,
Thank you for all the work you did leading up to the election. You always made me think with your different viewpoints. I have learned SO, SO, SO much from you. I’m hoping you will manage to keep going, because losing Politizoom would be losing support and sanity.
As for me? I’m so shocked, stunned, and terrified that I can’t even cry to get some relief from this. I’ve been talking to friends all day since I found out (I managed to finally get to sleep last night and my husband decided to let me sleep because it wouldn’t make a difference when I found out the news) trying to process this and really, he was right. I feel numb. my mom is a huge T fan and what is she going to do when Social Security and Medicare gets kicked to the curb? Elon is going to tank the economy and send us into another depression. RFK Jr is going to screw our country’s medical system. And let’s not forget Project 2025. Let’s not forget “I will protect women whether they like it or not”. Abortion will be outlawed. Women will lose the right to have autonomy over their own bodies. These are just some examples of our country going to hell and I know there are more. They *WILL* happen.
I’m emphatically staying away from the liquor because that won’t help, either. I and my husband are making a “prepper” list of things we need to do before January – food, vaccines, water purifier, and this list goes on, too.
As soon as I found out, I came here to see if there was a column, and there was. Thank you, Ursula, for putting into words something that I couldn’t. You were and are sanity in hell, all of you. I won’t forget that and I greatly hope you will continue. I wish I could still write.
You are writing just fine.
Hi Susan, yes, we intend to keep going. I just hope Walter is not right when he says “thousands’ are fleeing pro-democracy websites. We need to stick together now. Although I completely get it that people would want to run and hide. I know how horribly depressed I am right now and fearful for the future.
If you want to talk more, email me at [email protected]. Take care of yourself.