Election Wrap Up

The part of this blog that are in brackets { } were written Wednesday. 

{I'm lousy at predicting stuff.

Really, look at my weekly football picks, I've been in pools since I was in high school. I've won maybe 10 times? That's over a 25 year span.

My college basketball brackets? I've won a couple of those pools, but more often than not, my bracket is usually in tatters by the Sweet 16.

But that's sports. That's a fools errand.

In politics, I've been a bit better.

In 2000, I told my family that the election was going to come down to who won Florida. I said that a week before. I had no idea that it would be decided by the Supreme Court over a month later, but yes I did say Florida would decide it.

In 2004, I predicted that John Kerry would beat George W. Bush and win the Presidency. I was wrong, but only because I picked Ohio for Kerry. I picked every other state correctly.

In 2008, I figured Obama would win. I thought it would be closer than it was. Same thing in 2012. In 2012, I looked at the map and told my Obama loving friends they had nothing to worry about. They thought I was trying to jinx them. I wasn't. I didn't.

Nothing in life is supposed to shock me anymore. At 43, I've seen so much. I'd felt like I had seen it all. I know that's impossible but that's how I felt.

Last night? I was shocked.

Last night, I can't believe what I witnessed.

Timmy had his first CYO basketball practice last night. I was walking with him into the gym, when the first results were coming in. The first electoral score I heard was Trump 19, Clinton 3. " He should enjoy it while it lasts" I thought to myself.

By the time I got home figured the wave of blue States that would carry Hillary to the White House would start pouring in. At one point, I saw she was winning in Texas. She wins Texas, it's game over right there.

I expected him to win Florida. I thought if he won Ohio, he'd stay alive. When Hillary pulled out a win in Virginia, once again I figured she was on her way.

Hillary was winning Pennsylvania, so while the pundits were suggesting that this was turning out to be a closer race, I was thinking "OK, if she wins, but he keeps it close, I can take that as a win. She wins, but knowing that it was close, she can't brag that she had a mandate." 

I couldn't believe that Michigan and Wisconsin were still in play and that he was leading. I just kept waiting for the surge of voters that would push those two states blue. It wasn't coming. I started doing the math I my head. If he somehow won Michigan,Wisconsin, Georgia and New Hampshire, he was going to be well over 270.

Michigan began to tighten. For a split second, I thought OK, here we go..... Then my mind was totally blown...

He was now leading in PA. There was despair all over my FB feed. Weekly Mail co editor Karl (the Ace) Ludwig texted me to remind me of the Gallagher jinx. And how I assured him that it wouldn't hold here.

She would take back PA, and Wisconsin and Michigan. How could she not?

11 PM approached. I remembered 2008, when the network's literally counted down the seconds to 11 PM so they could announce that the US had elected it's first African American President. They probably figured they would get to do it again with the first Female President.

I still thought they would. But it wasn't happening at 11 PM.

Midnight came, and the numbers were still in his favor. Now I was starting to see. I just couldn't believe what i was seeing. The guy on CNN was insisting that she could still pull it off, but MSNBC was starting to sound as if he was going to do it. On Fox News, Neil Cavuto was also very quietly speaking of an upset.

I tried to nap during commercials and kept giving myself bedtimes that I kept breaking. Finally at 2:00 AM, John Podesta announced that Hillary wasn't going to make any speeches that night.  I turned in, but really didn't sleep.

I kept hearing that this was an upset, but that doesn't do it justice. The Giants beating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII? That was an upset. This was the 62 Mets beating the 61 Yankees. This was the Washington Generals beating the 96 Bulls.

This was by far, the biggest upset I have ever seen. Politics, Sports, the Oscars, you name it. I was never more stunned by anything in my life.

I was all set for the Hillary victory party. I was all set for having my nose rubbed in it by some, all set for the barrage of Congratulations Hillary memes that were sure to fill up my news feed. I remembered back to 2008, how I bad I felt, but that I thought I was gracious in defeat, could I do that again?

As I went to bed, I was in to much of a fog to think. My head was spinning. I'm not angry, but I'm not happy. I didn't think I would be happy, but I also didn't think I'd have the feeling that I did have. The feeling I still do have.

Stunned disbelief.}

*****************************************************************************

I've been reluctant to post anything because things are still too hot. I really don't want to lose any friends over this. And technically I shouldn't. 

I didn't vote for the man. I was pretty adamant that I didn't want him to the the President. I don't need to re list the reasons. The bottom line is I said I wasn't going to vote for him and I didn't. 

But to many, a vote for anybody but Hillary was a vote for Trump. And I didn't vote for her either, as I said I wouldn't. Again, refer to my previous writings as to the hows and whys. 

I ended up writing in Evan McMullin for President and Mindy Finn for VP. Probably the fact that I wrote both of their names in invalidated my ballot, but again that doesn't really matter, because my ballot looked a lot like my college basketball brackets. Pretty much everybody I voted for lost. I mean I wasn't dumb enough to think McMullin would win, but I hoped Chris McGrath and David Gurfein would pull out victories, but nothing doing. Only Chuck Schumer kept my ballot from being perfect. Albeit with losers) 

I decided Monday night I would write in McMullin after I saw a report on CBS about him. He seemed like a decent, relatively honest man. And young, the first candidate for President to my knowledge who is younger than I am.  And he pulled 20% of the vote in Utah. Which technically hurt Trump more than it would have Hillary. 

To wrap this whole thing up, and to hopefully not ruffle too many feathers I will leave you with this....

President-elect Trump, Secretary Clinton, and President Obama, all gave eloquent speeches about the peaceful transfer of power, and about how they would all pledge to work together. 

However I hearkened back to the speech Al Gore gave on December 13, 2000, in conceding after over a month of contesting his loss to George W. Bush.....

"I've seen America in this campaign and I like what I see. It's worth fighting for and that's a fight I'll never stop."

And I think all of us should take those words to heart. This country has taken a beating throughout this campaign, and especially the last few days. I've read that this result proves that we are inherently racist, sexist and homophobic, that this confirms the ugliness of America. 

These people forget that we just put an African American in the White House, twice by pretty strong margins. That the first female candidate for President actually won the popular vote. That we wept together on 9/11, and celebrated victories like Bin Laden's capture together. 

Maybe I'm naive, but like Gore, I see a nation that is inherently good. Perfect? Far from it. Is there still racism? Far too much. But you'd have to be blinded by hate to not see the progress. Is there poverty? Again, far too much, but there are millions of Americans willing to help, who help every day. With little to no fanfare. 

One thing that has pissed me off, is all these celebuturds who said they would leave the country if Trump won. As John Kerry used to say "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

My heroes are the ones who, as Gore said, will stay and fight for what they believe in. They believe in this country, and that's to be admired. I have no issue with people going out and protesting, (so long as they do so peacefully and without destruction of property) Better yet, they should pour their energy into coming up with a couple of contenders to take Trump on in 2020. Create a movement behind a candidate who is young, smart, energetic and all inclusive. Take a page out of what the Republicans did this time, and find an outsider or a young insider. 

This country is bigger than one person, better than one person. Yes I worry that the economy will tank, yes I worry about war. But we've gone through recessions and depressions and war before. I'm giving the man a chance because we have to. If you really can't stand the man, then you have 4 years to get someone to run against him. 

Pour your passion and anger into that.