Jump to content
Please support this forum by joining the SH Patreon ×
Sturgeon's House

Post Election Thread: Democracy Dies In Darkness And You Can Help


T___A

Recommended Posts

Predictions I made that were wrong:

1. Hillary would do poorly with women. My reasoning was that low-education women would feel inherently competitive with and subconsciously repelled by a female candidate (where they tend to turn out big time for attractive male candidates). I made this prediction back before Trump got the nomination, and it proved wrong. Hillary did about the same with women as Obama did in 2012. It looks like women vote more on political lines than I thought.
 

2. Trump would win in a landslide. I was right about why (Trump would carry the rust belt and low information voters in general), but wrong about the extent. This race was more competitive than I originally predicted, because Hillary had more advantages than I accounted for.

Predictions I made that were right:

A. Trump would win. See 2 above.

B. Voter turnout would be low. I'm not sure this is right yet, but the latest numbers seem to suggest that is the case. I predicted that the viciousness of this election would turn a lot of people off, and that would favor Trump (it would magnify his low information voter advantage).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welp. I've had five #NEVERTRUMP Facebook acquaintances "unfriend" me on FB before the election. Now post election the number is two liberal FBers who are melting down because their SAFE SPACE is violated.

 

I mentioned this in the other thread that Democrats, liberals and progressives should be thankful that they are no longer shackled to the corpse of the Clinton Crime Family. Now they can actually support a real progressive candidate who cares about progressive issues instead of a corporate shill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The president of my campus. Tony Frank, just delivered this email. 

 

Because apparently, we need to watch what we say, because other people might get offended. My favorite part is when he urges students to call the police if they feel threatened. Emphasis added by me.

 

Fuck off, Tony.

 

 

 

Hello, CSU.  While I wasn’t planning on a post-election message (I’ve
never sent one), comments from across campus and from within my inbox
indicate enough collective angst and uncertainty that I thought I’d
just share a couple of thoughts.

First, I am no political scientist but I suspect the unexpected
results of last evening’s election will take some time and analysis
to be put into perspective.  One thing seems reasonably clear:  Just
as many millions of Americans awoke today with a disorienting sense
of a world deeply at odds with their beliefs, many millions of other
Americans have been struggling through a similar sense of
disenfranchisement – and they went to the polls yesterday to make
their concerns and desire for change known.  What does this mean for
us as a campus community?  I gave a speech Friday evening where I
suggested that part of our challenge come this morning would be to
put aside our individual votes and whether our candidate “won”
or “lost," and reframe the issue: We – one collective American
electorate, a chorus of many voices – have elected our President and
it now becomes part of our responsibility to help the President-elect
and the country move forward.  While this may not be easy, it’s also
important that we do our best.  Although I’m a bigger fan of his 2nd
Inaugural Address, Lincoln has a couple of sentences from his 1st
Inaugural that I think speak to this point as we attempt to address
our own concerns in light of our nation’s divisions: "We are not
enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have
strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.” He went on to
speak of the “better angels of our nature,” and these will be needed
from all of us if we are to focus on the commonalities that we
share.  Commonalities that, when all is said and done, dwarf the
differences on which we spend so much of our focus.

This leads me to my next point. While we all have our rights to free
and open speech under the First Amendment, it is incumbent on all of
us right now to recognize that there are members of our campus
community who may feel differently about last night’s election

results than we do. There are people on all sides of the political
spectrum who have been hurt and made afraid by the stinging political
rhetoric and stereotyping that have been hurled back and forth during
this election cycle. We are better than this, and I ask that we call
on our “better angels” to reach out to one another with kindness and
understanding. If you choose to discuss personal politics in the
workplace, please be mindful and respectful of others in the room. As
members of an academic community, we ought to all hold ourselves to
the highest standard of respect and integrity in our communications
and interactions with one another, and this includes assuring that
the loudest voices in the room don’t drown out the quieter ones. It
means that we also celebrate the diversity of voices, viewpoints, and
identities that are the strength and hallmark of a learning
community. This is who CSU is – in fact, such diversity is at the
heart of a land-grant university, created to ensure that all people –
no matter their heritage, wealth, or family background -- would have
access to an excellent, public education. Our Principles of Community
speak to this well, and if you haven’t read them, I encourage you to
do so (http://col.st/K8qHn). If you have concerns about safety,
harassment, or wish to report an incident, please contact our CSUPD
at (970) 491-6425
.  Students who are feeling depressed, anxious or
stressed for any reason are encouraged to reach out to the CSU Health
Network Counseling Center at (970) 491-6053, a trusted faculty
member, or to any of our campus cultural centers. The Employee
Assistance Program for CSU employees can connect faculty and staff
with community counseling services

(http://www.ombudsandeap.colostate.edu/eap.aspx). The Office of the
Vice President for Diversity will be hosting an open discussion
session next week for anyone on campus who wants to talk about this.
For more information, contact the office at 970-491-6849. Remember,
take care of yourselves and each other.

Finally, I hope we can all give ourselves some time as well as
assuming the good will and intention of our fellow members in our
community.  None of us, least of all me, knows what time has in store
for our future.  At this time last week, the Cubs hadn’t won a World
Series, so who knows what is possible?  But history may hold some
useful lessons for us as we all, whether we’re pleased or
disappointed in yesterday’s results, attempt to put an unexpected
world into context.  Over the rise and fall of the tides of time and
history, young people with talent and motivation have turned to
knowledge (education in our more modern vernacular) as a tool of self
and societal improvement.  As a community of scholars, our role to
facilitate their success has remained unchanged from the day Abraham
Lincoln signed the Morrill Act; it remains our role on November 9,
2016, and it will remain the north star by which we navigate in
whatever future seas we find ourselves.  For our part at CSU, I’m
confident that we will continue to challenge all manner of
assumptions and views – from scientific to social - and that we will,
as we always have, find ways as an academic community to do so with
respect for each other.  In doing so, I believe we will continue to
be an important catalyst in the improvement of the collective human
mind.  Let’s keep our eye focused on this; it’s why we exist, it’s
important work, work that has always and will always need to be done,
and work at which we excel.  I look forward, as always, to doing this
work with all of you.

Take care of each other and be well.

- tony

Dr. Tony Frank
cleardot.gif
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for down ballot races. Looks like the GOP may have lost one or two seats. But still has 52 Senate weasels in office as a bare minimum.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/live_results/2016_general/senate/

 

I'm not sure if the New Hampshire race between GOP Ayotte 47.9% and Democrat Hassan 48% will go to a recount.

 

Also there is chatter that West Virginia's Democrat Senator Joe Manchin - who is kinda conservative for a Dem - switching sides to the GOP. With 238 Congresscritters in the House, that is a sizable GOP majority to work with The Donald.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/live_results/2016_general/house/

 

Bonus. There are 33 GOP governors to 15 Democrat according to RCP atm with two more races left to be called.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/live_results/2016_general/governor/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...