My Two Cents: President _____

Yes, I'm back from the Left Coast and I will post about that but, well, first things first ...

So ... President _____.

I cannot say that; I cannot type that. Maybe I’m a baby or maybe I’m a sore loser or maybe I’m afraid ... or maybe it sounds like a new reality show that won’t be very good and nobody wins except the bigots and the white man.

I was traveling on Election Day, taking the red-eye from San Francisco to DC. I was glad about that because I was too nervous to watch the election results; I mean, I was very sure Mrs. Clinton would win, but still ...

When I got off the plane in DC I expected to see the newsstands filled with papers declaring “Madam President” but I didn’t see one; I did hear _____ speak and I read the chiron at the bottom of the TV screen: President-elect _____.

My heart dropped; my stomach jolted; my head hurt.

How did this happen? How did a man who has spoken so heinously about Mexicans and Muslims and women become president? How could we elect a man who says he wants to bring back jobs to America but sends his own company’s jobs overseas? How could we elect a man who received five deferments to get out of military service but says he knows more about ISIS that anyone, including our own military leaders? How could we elect a billionaire—or so he says—who vows to help the working class when his entire business life has only been about making  himself more money and avoiding paying taxes?

How did Hate win?

And how did it happen ... again ... that the winner of the popular vote, the person that more Americans than not wanted to be president is not the president? As of Wednesday morning, Mrs. Clinton had a lead, albeit a narrow one, in the popular vote. She had 59,415,609 votes to _____’s 59,231,829. Sure, it’s a thin difference especially considering the 120 million votes cast but maybe that will change when all the absentee votes are counted. And so if Mrs. Clinton keeps that lead she will be the first presidential candidate since Al Gore in 2000 to win the popular vote but lose the election.

How ...

Well, you independents who said the choices form the two major parties were both so awful that you voted third party did this. A vote away from Mrs. Clinton was a vote for _____. You did this.Oh, and those of you who stayed home don’t look so shocked, because you’re even more to blame. You sat on your asses and whined about her being untrustworthy and him being a vile disgusting pig of a man and how you couldn’t make a choice, and so you didn’t vote ... and that was a vote for ____. So, if anyone within the sound of my voice ever walks up to me and says “I didn’t vote,” be ready for the onslaught of my wrath because, and I will say it again:

You.Did.This.

And so where do we go from here? I have a few ideas ...

Demand change. Mobilize. Speak up. And most importantly ... vote, in every election from dog-catcher to president. Vote out any and all Democrats who are not doing the job to which we elected them to in the first place. Vote out all Republicans ... Out!

Demand that the media ask questions and demand answers! How does a Donald _____ get away with being elected president with a slew of ideas ... walls, trade, bringing jobs back to this country ... without one single definitive plan and yet no one in the media asked him about it? They were just too busy wringing their hands in glee and watching the dollars pour in from the Media Circus. Demand that the media do its job.

Demand the end of the Electoral College; sure, that'll be hard because the GOP will never go for it since it's worked in their favor twice, but try it. Demand it. Remind people, every day, that, yes, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. She is the person more Americans wanted to be our leader.

Demand that President ____ represent all of us. Demand that. And if he does not, if he continues as he has said all along that he wants to deport all immigrants, and turn away refugees, turn back the clock on Roe v Wade, overturn marriage equality and refuse to admit that there’s such a thing as climate change and use his office as a means to bully those he loathes and punish those who didn’t support him, demand that he stop.

And how do you demand? You speak up, you say something, and every single Election Day you walk into a voting booth and you motherfucking vote.

VOTE.

And before I get myself any more riled up, though I will stay riled up and angry and sickened by this election, let’s hear from Mrs. Clinton, in her speech after the results:

“I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too. And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort. This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this.

Our campaign was never about one person, or even one election. It was about the country we love and building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted. We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America, and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald _____ is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power.

We don’t just respect that. We cherish it. It also enshrines the rule of law; the principle we are all equal in rights and dignity; freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values, too, and we must defend them.”

We were so close to having that kind of wisdom and honor and respect and inclusiveness in the White House and we missed it and we blew it.

But we can make the change; four years isn’t too long—if he lasts four years—and we can get him out then.

Demand it. Vote it.

Until then ... Peace.