Electoral Whiplash

I can’t quite wrap my head around what has been going on. I can’t quite pinpoint what part of the election made me angriest. Was it the arrogant foolish approach from the DNC assuming this was all a lock? Was it the pisspoor turnout from the Hillary supporters that resulted in a whopping 10 million fewer votes than Obama back in 2008? Was it the sheer avoidance of Trump’s sketchy history as women, Christians, and even a slew of minorities voted him in?

Was it the fact that a man with literally no political experience managed to crawl into the top through word-of-mouth instead of immense advertisement spending from the Clinton campaign? Or is it the fact that this incredible shift has occurred because of the previous 8 years of supposed inactivity---which was caused by the same party that just took over the White House?

None of that. What makes me angriest is that the man who could have won, who should have won, and who was without a doubt the top candidate this election season struck out before engaging in a Primary Election debate---and I shall add completely unfairly. Bernie Sanders would have beat Donald Trump, and I state this as a strong opinion without enough knowledge of the political system or much evidence to back this up.

Nonetheless, I will stand by this: Bernie Sanders had the young vote, Bernie caused voter turnout in BOTH primaries to skyrocket (never forget, the rise of Trump and Sanders was simultaneous). Bernie was collecting more money than Trump, spent less than Hillary, and could outperform them both in debates, and in public appearance attendance. Bernie Sanders, and NOT any other third-party candidate was willing to tear down the political system without hate, and unite all parties as he would attempt to mold the government into a service that would allow for Americans to receive more benefits that they deserve while living within the borders.

Bernie Sanders is not a war-monger, doesn’t have any ridiculous ties to questionable leaders, yet is totally unafraid to go up against the presidents and leaders of the White House. He fought against Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and even Obama. He has the energy of Trump, the experience of Hillary, and the ability to appeal to both fanbases. He can draw the attention of the angriest of Trump supporters and the most passionate of the Black Lives Matter protesters. And I firmly believe that with the obvious momentum he was riding if he had gotten the nomination instead of Hillary through those controversial Super Delegates, he would have crushed Trump and it would have far less poisonous material to sift through on the way to Election Day.

He definitely wasn’t perfect in his strategizing to try to become president, but his message was clear and it was a very refreshing thing. It felt like Obama circa 2008. But the DNC was having none of it, as they were grooming Hillary Clinton since seemingly 2012 for the win.

And what happened? Well, an ugly concoction was brewing. It was the backlash from 8 years of Obama, one of the most daring and unique presidents we’ll ever see. It was a backlash against the LGBT and feminism movement occurring within the last decade. It was the arsenal of drastic changes happening to America that the Bible Belt, the Midwest, and most of the South was not enjoying. It was a backlash against immigration, against Black Lives Matter, against Islam. Trump wasn’t the better candidate at any given point, but he was the answer that half of America was silently-then-vocally seeking.




Hillary Clinton and the DNC overplayed their hand. They assumed they could keep the Obama momentum, which turned out to be a farce. They thought they could claim the young vote in a landslide, which although 53% average from ages of 18-39 isn’t shabby, not getting many millennials to vote really hurt her. They thought the racism coming from the Trump camp would be enough to convince voters that he is unfit. Well, that was wrong too. The DNC picked the wrong candidate to go up against rock star not-a-politician Trump and never ever truly went for the kill, settling for a close race.

They completely fumbled the entire campaign---from the emails to the obviously biased support of Hillary right down to shady voting results in an already-rigged primary system. And with all the ugliness happening voter turnout overall decreased, leaving us with an America that handed more votes to Hillary, but gave more Electoral College votes to Trump. The Senate and the House belongs to the Republicans as well, an extra prize for surviving the storm and sticking to Trump despite having every reason not to.

Giving you every reason to discuss why Trump isn’t the right pick to continue leading the country is absolutely pointless, because it’s already happened. It’s done, there is no do-over here. Basically hang tight, because it’s going to be a ride. It is already revealed that Trump will eliminate the work visas that allowed international students to work for Disney, and we already know that we will be witnessing setbacks to gay rights. He hasn’t been in the White House for a minute and we’ve already seen a couple strikes.

The next four years are going to be ugly. The DNC screwed up representing the dangers of voting such a man into office, so it might be up to the minority crowd to step up to the plate and yell. Obnoxiously. Relentlessly. Endlessly. And with enough firepower to undo the disaster caused by White America on both ends---the Republicans sticking to their man despite a billion warning signs and the Democrats who downplayed the dangers and obviously picked the wrong candidate to represent all of us, especially the people most in need of continuous support.

If you want silver linings from this election, here they are: only half the country is actually ignorant, Hispanic turnout in Florida was fantastic and was nearly enough to eradicate the Confederacy from the Electoral College. The young vote recognized the dangers of Trump, even if they didn’t pop out in Obama 2008/2012 and what would have been Bernie 2016 numbers. Hillary winning over Bernie pretty much sucked the air out of millennial interest in the election. Do remember 50,000 people wound up voting for a dead gorilla.

Today, Hispanics are going to have to rise up and be louder, and loud enough to combat the rise of anti-Hispanic bigotry. From the cultural melting pot of Miami all the way to Los Angeles, we need to step up to the plate. I’m going to have to step up too, for these next four years will be celebrated by the KKK, Nazis, the ignorant, and those that just don’t care about us enough. They want us to be quiet and accept what's coming. They want us to attempt to work together. Nah, not anymore. Time to hit them where it hurts: their pockets and their image. Time to carry that mantle once held by Bernie before it got ripped from his hands because he wasn't part of the election plan of the Democrats. 




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Time for movement. Time for protest. Time to fix the political system that time and time again has ruined us. Time for organized rebuttal of an America that has rejected us. Time to fight even more for equality. Time to fight for what we deserve: affordable health care for everyone, higher taxes for the wealthiest so they can contribute more to a society that has greatly rewarded them, less protection of massive businesses that have stunted growth for the lower and middle class, less emphasis on capitalism and more emphasis on helping fellow neighbors, free college education, affordable education, complete freakin' overhaul of the education system (If I see one more time that the Civil War wasn't about slavery..........), total elimination of profitable prisons, more diversity in Washington, a better system for immigrants and refugees merely seeking a better life in the United States, a greater understanding of the Hispanic community and the culture, less greedy money entering the political system, more money to battle climate change (or at least prevent it from occurring, for those that still don’t believe), and overall a better American culture that has been severely tainted by events happening this millennium----peaking with half of America believing that a man with a terrible track record with Hispanics and Blacks and Middle America in general is still good enough to be president.
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Do I have a plan? Not really, because the screaming hasn't stopped. But if I'm going to remain in an America ruled by Trump, it won't be done calmly.


Alright White America, your voices were heard, and you single-handedly controlled the results of the election in the midst of requesting a great big change at the White House. You won fair and square, that's not a lie. You wanted Trump, and you (miraculously) got Trump.





Now, be ready for the backlash. And it won’t be quiet.