The 10 steps to Trump acceptance for liberals
Molly Hemingway has written a great post with an excellent list of ten things to point out to the liberals in your life who might be exceedingly upset over the Trump victory.
Just a sampling; the first two:
1) It’s Okay to Be Sad
Technically, on January 13 I predicted Trump would win the presidency. But I didn’t really internalize the belief that he’d secure even the GOP nomination until February. When he won the South Carolina primary after a debate in which he accused George W. Bush of letting the 9/11 attacks happen, I realized he was unstoppable. And it depressed the heck out of me.
No, I hadn’t been reflexively anti-Trump, but to say he wasn’t my preferred candidate is a profound understatement. I walked around in a funk for a couple of weeks. I hung on every word of my pastors’ sermons. I read a lot of Holy Scripture. Word to the wise: the Psalms were written for times like ours.
I was also sad about how things were shaping up in the Democratic Party. I looked with horror upon a country that had sunk so low as to nominate two people of such low moral standing. We’ll get to how sadness should not be the only reaction one has to Trump, but it’s important to note that this is a perfectly valid feeling.
2) Accept the Rules of the Game
One of the sillier responses to the 2016 election is to point out that Hillary Clinton won the “national popular vote” or some such. Here’s [a tweet from] Stephen King:
Clinton won the election by 3 million votes–that’s MILLION–and that idiot Trump is going to be president. What’s wrong with this country?
This is very much like saying the Cleveland Indians tied the Cubs in the 2016 World Series because they both scored 27 runs over the course of the seven-game series. It’s a statistic without any meaning at all. We don’t elect presidents via a national vote ”” very far from it ”” so the idea that California and New York going big for Clinton is somehow meaningful is a non sequitur.
I did this same thing during the primary. I would always point out that Donald Trump kept winning thanks to oddities and quirks. There were 17 candidates splitting up the vote! Trump wasn’t winning majorities! There were open primaries!
Here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter what your excuse is, the game is played according to the rules set out at the beginning. If you want to change the rules for a future contest, feel free to write a constitutional amendment and get enough states to ratify it. But wishing it were otherwise is about as worthwhile as wishing you were an Olympian. Get over it.
Much, much more at the link.
I would say, “Content yourself that the GOP nominated Trump and not someone who really believes in limited government, the Constitution, and a free society.” If such a person won, “liberals” would REALLY have nightmares.
I gone from Trump skeptic to near true believer. But he better deliver.
I’ve gone from….
Trump was way down my list (but not below Jeb!), but I came to accept him as the candidate and there was no question that I would vote for him over Clinton, because the real choice was Trump or Clinton. Anything else is a cop-out. Yes, principles, blah blah blah. The Presidential election isn’t about all that. All that happens at the primary level. At the actual vote, it’s all game theory and there was no way I could justify voting in any other way than for Trump no matter how distateful it was. Of course, the more the liberals shrieked in hysteria over Trump, the less I disliked him, and there are things I do like about him regardless, whereas Clinton in my opinion has absolutely no redeeming characteristics.
Anyhow, I’m hoping the Democrats can settle down and stop being so hysterical. Can they be angry about Trump? Sure. Can they criticize him? I would expect no less? Should they practice the same standard of judging him that they would practice with Obama? Not in a million years. But if they can settle down and act like the loyal opposition instead of a bunch of spoiled idiot brats, it would do the country a lot of good.
Eric Raymond hasn’t blogged about party politics in years, but this one is spot-on, with the interesting and insightful commentary you always find on his site: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=7268
Bilwick,
You got that right…. Cruz as POTUS would have been a bonanza for therapists.
Expecting the left to accept the rule of law is a non starter. They don’t need to follow any stinking laws, they just need power to make laws for others to follow.
Very. very sound advice. The rest of the column is well worth reading, including “Don’t follow the media’s or social media’s lead” (for the re-tweeters and Facebook gif-posters who keep insisting that Trump is Putin’s poodle even despite the last 8 years) and “Don’t keep doing the same ineffective things to fight Trump” (for the knee-jerk racism/sexism accusers), and putting the best construction on Trump words/actions instead of defaulting to nonsensical spin. Also, “Don’t lose your sanity,” “Be prepared to like something Trump said/did, and especially, “Let Trump Remind You Why the Constitution is Great.” Sound advice that they mostly won’t heed though I do have a friend or two that has subscribed to National Review, for perspective. Progress!
“Expecting the left to accept the rule of law is a non starter.”
Except when it’s a law they like, and then the law is SETTLED. Like it’s some special variety of super-law. Settled. (Technically this refers to law that has been interpreted differently in different courts of appeal and is “settled” by a USSC case.)
I think Trump started out much (much) more left (in part due to his role as a celebrity and the unwritten requirement that celebrities pay homage to lefty goals for PR purposes) and the virulent, unreasoning lefty attacks on him and his family irritated him so much that he started to actually consider the wisdom of the underlying principles of conservatism. Unfortunately, this new ideological allegiance may have an expiration date.
Maybe they’ll calm down after they knit ‘pussy’ hats and demonstrate for “women!s rights” during the inauguration? If not, the “trigglypuff” meme is very entertaining.
ConceptJunkie, 4:15 pm — “But if they can settle down and act like the loyal opposition instead of a bunch of spoiled idiot brats, it would do the country a lot of good.”
But they’re not loyal, at least not to USA or to western culture.
Outstanding advice. Few will accept it.
I had thought to link Hemingway’s piece on neo’s “what to say at the party” post – but she already had it up.
Excellent advice all the way around. And this:
Bilwick Says:
January 4th, 2017 at 3:45 pm
I would say, “Content yourself that the GOP nominated Trump and not someone who really believes in limited government, the Constitution, and a free society.” If such a person won, “liberals” would REALLY have nightmares.
Is the leftist worldview an ersatz religion that holds itself together by confessing other peoples’ sins? Will the venomous harpies at The View get sick to their stomachs if they (accidentally) give Trump any credit?
hehe! I am so tempted to pass this on to an in-law that forwarded every anti-Trump article he could find. Even though he would always tell me to not discuss politics!
But, I really won’t rub salt in his already deep wounds.
But, it was a good read!
P.S. I have a feeling that I might, just might, end up using that “talking about him all the time makes YOU look crazy, not him” line by the time our family 4th of July picnic rolls around.
Heh.
The columnist recommends that lefties read the Psalms.
Good luck with that.