The lesson of Brexit - the grudge candidate doesn't have to offer anything real, just the role of representing those with an axe to grind - he can represent more than 1 incompatible causes.

All Hillary's policy papers are useless - the people never cared, they didn't want details, they didn't want to know if it would even work. They wanted to feel someone was listening to them. Hillary halfway got there, but she kept shifting to answers, solutions - they just wanted a slavish advocate. Be clear: everything she did to make things more concrete hurt her. Trump could say anything and everything, in 1 sentence, and it didn't hurt him, while her details just provided more fodder to attack. Okay, even where he was specific they didn't care. You know how Bad Boys are - they can do anything.

If my kid needs a good teacher, I don't need the teacher to sell him/herself - I don't even need a particular personality. But for our supposed public servants, we're not asking for leaders or people with good ideas - we want an entertainer and someone who caters to us. Trump's the pussy-grabbing cad because he can be - 2/3 of uneducated white women voted for him, and they'd go out with him and otherwise humiliate themselves. Because he's somehow rich and acts out his uncaring caddish alpha-dog role, he rules the roost. As Salinger said in Seymour, "quit trying so hard, buddy - cause when you're trying so hard, it means you think you're going to miss..." Ever the Zen Buddhist

America was buying a symbol. Hillary simply isn't a symbol, even if she has attributes that are symbolic. Bernie's a symbol, Trump's a symbol. To be fair, none of the other candidates were a symbol either, but she's more talented than the lot of them.

Money spread out for organizing - especially among Hispanics. I'd heard complaints months back, don't know how severe (everyone always complains about lack of money, but...). Kinda inexcusable to be caught by surprise *twice* in Michigan. And in the end, not enough outreach to white folk. Same reason Brexit happened. I wrote about this in April - http://dagblog.com/reader-blogs/bernie-wins-new-york-20580 - probably the most pertinent thing I wrote - if the GOP is blind to the rising Hispanic minority, we're blind to the fading rural white. Well, not blind, but we don't have a good way of engaging them still. (I doubt if Bernie would have managed this in a general election, but I can be greatly wrong).

It's hard to see a populace that rails against Hillary's ties to Wall Street then be so indifferent to a corrupt NY property developer. But that's the point - he promised them nothing, she promised them everything. The soft bigotry of no expectations.

The GOP owns 2/3 of state legislatures, most of the governorships, the House, the Senate, the Presidency, and in 2 months the Supreme Court. And the first thing they'll do is complain about how Democrats are obstructing their ability to act. Expect extreme chutzpah - they're experts at it. Corey Ledowski or whatever was on bashing Hillary for not conceding the election before the last states were called, claiming hypocrisy. They simply do not care whether their complaints are true - they care that they add up, over time - playing the ropes. And it works.

But among incompetent legislation there will be horrid legislation. The police think we need law and order, the FBI thinks we need more surveillance. The chance of dismantling Obamacare is high - Brexit and the invasion of Iraq proves they don't need a plan for what comes after even. Abortion may be legislated or Supreme Court'd out of existence. It's hard to contemplate just what other damage can be done. Maybe cede our place in the Mideast and let the Russians bask in their newfound glory. Maybe an oligarchy like Putin has in Moscow and Poroshenko has in Kiev.

The outrage over Russian and FBI interference will fade. People simply have short memories, especially if they won. Look at PussyGate - topical for 2-3 weeks, then disappeared. If he'd shot his mother in the face, might have lasted 5 weeks. Might not.

Ironic the demand that Hillary concede even before the winning states were called - waiting until AP called it (apparently no one remembers the problems Gore caused by conceding early). I recall Bernie conceding... at the convention? When Hillary was condemned for conceding to Obama 3 days after the last primary. (Hell, she was condemned for not conceding a month before).

There's truly something disgusting about seeing Trump walk the stage with Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich, these fossilized obnoxious creatures of the machine. It makes you realize the absurdity of the symbolism Trump supposedly represents. It's like handing your daughter to Roman Polanski to protect her virginity from say a Justin Bieber. All the talk about establishment and what not - just words. The same old faces walk out the door, the same money exchange, the same cagey actors, the same destructive backroom deals the Republicans have been pushing for decades. Here's Rudy, whose main claim to fame was prosecuting Martha Stewart for stock irregularities and pumping up 9/11 for his own image. Chris Christie, whose closing a bridge for political purposes just got litigated and he lost. Their failures are symbols of their success. Meet the New Nothing. The table's open, America's open for business in Trump's new casino, and now we'll see the real pros at pay-to-play. Me, I'm cashing in my chips.