I don't think what has just happened can be fairly compared to Brexit. The prospect of losing European citizenship is thoroughly dismaying, but it doesn't scare me in the way that President-elect Trump does. He properly terrifies me.
I'm trying very hard to convince myself that it's not going to be so bad, and that life will go on after January. I do draw some comfort from Craig Murray's assessment that Trump will be more of a peacemaker than Clinton would have been. As you know, my own instinct is that the opposite is true, simply because Trump is such an unstable character. In particular, I can't help thinking back to how he went from describing Alex Salmond as "an amazing man" to branding him as "Mad Alex" within a dizzyingly short period of time. If his opinion of Putin were to change equally dramatically, the potential consequences for the world hardly bear thinking about. But it's reassuring to know that at least some people have confidence that Trump will deliver what he promised about avoiding military adventurism, and we'll just have to hope they're proved correct.
If Trump can somehow avoid destroying the world, perhaps a little good may yet come out of all this, and some long-cherished goals of the left might be achieved almost by accident. The inevitable loss of respect for America's leadership role, and the question marks that will now hang over NATO's future, might lead to the birth of a more multi-polar global order, which would be no bad thing.
As for John "The Gardener" McTernan, the extraordinary run of defeats he's helped to mastermind goes on - Gordon Brown, Julia Gillard, Jim Murphy, Owen Smith, and now the biggest casualty of all in Hillary Clinton. It's little wonder that the media continue to worship at his altar, because there can't be a "political strategist" anywhere else on this planet who can boast a record quite like that.
Certainly, a disappointing result, but, like the Independence referendum and the EU referendum, it is a result and one which we have to come to terms with. With the EU referendum, there were aspects of how the EU is run and especially the treatment of Greece, that made my decision to vote 'remain', a bit more iffy than my unequivocal support for independence for Scotland. Like you and many others, I had reservations about Mrs Clinton and the neocon aspects of her philosophy. Were I an American, like you I would have 'held my nose' and voted for the 'less worse' of the two.
ReplyDeleteAs with the EU referendum and the places where the votes for Leave came, there was, in America, a shout of defiance against the neoliberal, monetarist, financial services driven, austerity, etc nexus of policies which are enfeebling and impoverishing billions of people. It has a very dark side in its xenophobia, racism, anti Muslim, social reactionariness. But it is also a call for 'another way' which redistributes wealth and power better.
In his speech to supporters after Mrs Clinton conceded, Mr Trump's tone was conciliatory and he talked of a substantial programme of public works on, perhaps, a New Deal scale. He was inclusive of all Americans in his remarks and he was less aggressive than I had expected in his general statement about foreign policy. So, there are some glimmers of light. However, with Republican control of Senate, House and Presidency and with vacancies in the Supreme Court to be filled, all of the levers of power in the US lie with one group. The American system is one of checks and balances and, despite many infamies, has been pretty robust. The popular vote was very close. Mr Trump did not even have a majority of the votes, and nowhere near a majority of the electorate. Governing and campaigning are two different things, and the former has to be more nuanced.
A disappointing outcome, but, it is one that we have to make the best of.
Clinton is almost certain to win the popular vote. Or as certain as anything can be these days, anyway.
DeleteWinner McTernan does it again. The Midas Touch.
ReplyDeleteJuncker (unelected) invites Trump to the EU Summit. German politicians and military leaders not happy about Trump election! Will Scottish Nat sis keep attempting to hand our country over to the Bundesbank! Will Knickerless congratulate Trump and invite him to Scotland!
ReplyDeleteTreeza Naenicks has already sucked up to Trump.
DeleteNo doubt she will invite him to place some spare Nukes in Scotland.
As Cameroon said---"Scotland? Don't really care ".
When does that light bulb moment occur when GWC2 realises that he is one and the same of the Nazis that are on the march throughout the western world? I wanna be there please when it happens and the wee shit implodes into his own faeces.
DeleteThat colonial mouthpiece doesn't realise quite how much of an ultra-right-wing authoritarian stance it maintains. Self-awareness isn't its strong suit.
DeleteSilly far left and right Nat sis living in a mushroom.
DeleteThe Britnat si considers Scotland a colony and calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, armed militias in every workplace and armed insurrection, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs while claiming they're not derogatory, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor.
DeleteThe ultra-right-wing authoritarian colonial mouthpiece can trot off snivelling back to its chums at the Daily Suppress whenever it's ready.
Will Trump allow his golf courses to be in an independent country? Or does he prefer them in the 51st State?
ReplyDeleteMcTernan will continue to get a gig on BBC/Radio Scotland, in the same way that Brian *opencast mining* Wilson does just now.
Some people are in with the bricks, no matter what!
Bias---whit bias?
So the folks of the USA tell the establishment politicians and the establishment media to get lost. Soon the folks of Scotland will tell the Westminster establishment and britnat media to get lost.
ReplyDeleteTrump's presidency will be defined by who he surrounds himself with.
ReplyDeleteThat will be the really interesting bit.
What hurts is that out of the 432 predictions he has made, he only got 1 correct. The Scottish Indy ref.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he was privy to the postal ballot in our ref.
I heard that Clinton had a huge postal vote, but they obviously never stuffed in enough. :-)
Not really shocked. The "super deligates" in the Democrats, like McTernan, knew better than everyone else and could not read the public mood.
ReplyDeleteThey dismissed Mr Saunders with the same contempt as they dismissed Mr Trump. They thought they had it in the can, but we're canned themselves.
If there is anyone who knows what needs to be done now, it's Mr Trump himself. Just over two years away from mid-term elections and forming the Supreme Court in the Republican mould.
I suspect many of those who voted will be short on patience if they do not see their new direction materialise and the backlash could be severe... Mr Trump will be hoping the Democrat super deligates remain as self opinionated as McTernan and every bit as arrogant.
Some of those fears expressed I feel are a tad overdone.
Sharpie.
I hope you're right about our fears being misplaced and the backlash against Trump being severe, but this morning any optimism is out of reach for me
DeleteMcTernan is toast and in the dustbin. I do not kow why you Nat sis have this obcession with him. Try some progressive policies and get away from Thatcher. All your anti Tory clap trap may be swallowed by your docile faithfull followers but not real observers of your policies.
ReplyDeleteMy sister is law in called Linda. I bet yours isn't.
DeleteI think it is safe to say that McTernan would be joining the SNP.
ReplyDelete*would not*
DeleteIf there's one myth that we can bury after this election and the Brexit vote, it's the myth that betting markets are an accurate predictor of political outcomes.
ReplyDeleteIs there a more accurate predictor? I don't think anyone sensible ever claimed they're actually infallible.
DeletePolls are a more accurate predictor, ironic though it may seem - on both Brexit and the US election, they were closer to the truth than the betting markets. Plenty of people do regard the markets as a sort of predictive God (Neil "Alligators" Lovatt being the obvious example.)
DeleteI did caveat that with "sensible".
DeleteOkay. I'll own up. It was me. I made Trump win - by predicting he would lose.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be a fly on the wall at SNP HQ right now, as Sturgeon struggles to deal with the fact that someone she has gone out of her way to insult is now the most powerful man in the world.
Brexit will now be made easier - and Scottish independence more difficult. And if you are an SNP politician on the take or on the make - or 'playing away from home' - then keep a look out for those wee spooky dudes in sunshades and sharp suits who will be following you around starting from 20th January 2017 :0)))
Aldo
#AldoPredicts - a fount of knowledge on a par with #McTernanPredicts...
DeleteAldo, if Brexit is "made easier" (ie. a hard Brexit), by definition that makes independence more likely. Sorry to burst your bubble, but rather that indulging in wishful thinking, you'd be better off persuading your own side to step back from the brink.
Delete"The undecideds and the bottlers will put it in the back of the net for 'remain'. I'm sure Cameron also has a few tricks up his sleeve to deploy in the dying days of the campaign."
DeleteAldo
I like how Aldo mocks his own propensity for making arrogant and inaccurate predictions, and immediately goes on to make another.
DeleteYou think the SNP would accept him?
ReplyDeleteIn reply to Marcia.
Delete'The only reason I wouldn't visit some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump." - B. Johsonson 'Foreign Secretary'
ReplyDeleteMy Brexiteer, SNP-hating, Trump/May-loving boss has so far made 3 accurate predictions: 1) Scotland would vote to remain in the Empire, 2) UK as a whole would vote to leave, 3) Trump would win.
ReplyDeleteHis next three predictions are 1) Le Pen will become President of France, 2) Scotland will lose Indyref 2, 3) Ruthie will be First Minister (although, lets face it, that last one just his right-wing pipedream).
He's 3 for 3 so far, please let him be wrong about the rest.
1 and 2 certainly sound plausible.
DeleteI don't think No 1 is all that plausible, at least not at the upcoming election. As long as Alain Juppé is in the final two, he'll beat Le Pen by a landslide. The only real danger would be if her opponent in the run-off is Hollande, but I don't see how that can possibly happen.
DeleteWhether we win or lose Indyref2 is very much in the balance, so he could be right or wrong about that, just as he could be right or wrong the next time he "predicts" the outcome of a coin toss.
I just remember only a year ago everyone thought the idea of Trump running for President was funny. My favourite political comedians like Samantha Bee and John Oliver had field days with it... then it all went wrong. The rise of the Alt-Right in the west has been terrifying.
DeleteThe difference with Le Pen is that there is extensive opinion poll evidence showing that she has very little chance (unless something freakish happens in the first round and she ends up with a weak opponent in the run-off). The polling always suggested Trump was in genuine contention - it was just that people chose not to take that seriously.
DeleteAre you sure Scotland voted to remain in an Empire? Which one?
DeleteThe Britnat si considers Scotland a colony and calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, armed militias in every workplace and armed insurrection, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs while claiming they're not derogatory, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor.
DeleteThe ultra-right-wing authoritarian colonial mouthpiece can trot off snivelling back to its chums at the Daily Suppress whenever it's ready.
Glasgow Working Class 2 - that would be the British Empire, and all the embarrassment that entails by still being part of it (even if it is just the broken husk that's left).
DeleteI do find it ironic that the Confederate Flag is considered a symbol of racism and yet the Union Flag isn't. The Union Flag has surely flown above more invading armies and slave ships than any other in history?
Cllr Jon Burke @jonburkeUK 7 hours ago
ReplyDeleteSpin it whatever way you want, but @BernieSanders enjoyed a ten-point average lead over Trump in May. Hillary's lead was 3.2. You knew best.
Murray Foote @murrayf00te 5 hours ago
ReplyDeleteCan't believe some of my colleagues have concerns over the suggested Page 1 headline
SHITEHOUSE IN
THE WHITE HOUSE
Stewart Kirkpatrick @calgacus 111 hours ago
ReplyDeletePost-Hillary, post-Gordon Brown, political parties shd realise that putting forward uninspiring candidates cos it's their turn is disastrous
BloombergVerified account @business 42 minutes ago
ReplyDeleteInvestors are betting Trump is about to make inflation great again http://bloom.bg/2eDov1n
Max Levchin @mlevchin 3 hours ago
ReplyDeleteFinal numbers for #ElectionDay
231,556,622 eligible voters
46.9% DID NOT VOTE
25.6% voted Clinton
25.5% voted Trump
Yet more proof that Project Fear can only work when you have the entire media on your side and the population has been psychologically abused by 300 years of the Cringe.
ReplyDeleteSelf abuse is no excuse for your stupidity.
DeleteThe Britnat si considers Scotland a colony and calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, armed militias in every workplace and armed insurrection, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs while claiming they're not derogatory, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor.
DeleteThe ultra-right-wing authoritarian colonial mouthpiece can trot off snivelling back to its chums at the Daily Suppress whenever it's ready.
Self abuse is no excuse for your stupidity.
DeleteThe Britnat si considers Scotland a colony and calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, armed militias in every workplace and armed insurrection, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs while claiming they're not derogatory, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor.
DeleteThe ultra-right-wing authoritarian colonial mouthpiece can trot off snivelling back to its chums at the Daily Suppress whenever it's ready.
Business InsiderVerified account @businessinsider
ReplyDeleteFormer KKK leader David Duke: 'Our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump!' http://read.bi/2eCxTlC
I have a feeling Trump will do quite well. He's a practical sort of chap not interested in military aggression. The US has been at war every year for a century. Surely that is bad for business and Trump can always see the bottom line.
ReplyDeleteHe lost a billion in a year.
DeleteWe don't know how interested he is in military aggression, as he's been contradictory on that as on everything else. He did suggest we should be more ready to use nukes, and said we should carpet bomb ISIS-held territory in Syria and Iraq.
Jeffrey Guterman @JeffreyGuterman 4 hours ago
ReplyDeleteCreationist Ben Carson is Trump's top pick for Secretary of Education. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/president-donald-trump-the-41-people-tipped-for-his-cabinet-and-their-most-terrifying-quotes-a7410006.html …
Nat si Tasmin sumphin talking a load a shite on Newsnight. Whit an embarrassment tae Scotland.
ReplyDeleteThe troll calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor
DeleteYou are the soak muppet. No policies no argument just a Nat si toe the party line knob without an end. But do carry on.
DeleteThe troll calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor
DeleteTrump will arrive in the former Scottish airport Prestwick renamed Kim Yung Eck and will move onwards tae Glesga using the Stagecoch the Kim Yung Eck preferred transport with an overnight stay in Kille before moving oan tae Glesga.
ReplyDeleteThe troll calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor
Deleteemily m @maitlis 49 minutes ago
ReplyDeleteKKK will hold Donald Trump victory parade rally in North Carolina | McClatchy DC
Probably led by fash decendents of fash Scottish settlers.
DeleteThe troll calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor
DeleteExcuse me whilst I indulge my creepy fantasy about your first minister not wearing knickers. Christ my wrist is sore. Just popping out for some more kleenex.
ReplyDeleteThe Britnat si considers Scotland a colony and calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, armed militias in every workplace and armed insurrection, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs while claiming they're not derogatory, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor.
DeleteThe ultra-right-wing authoritarian colonial mouthpiece can trot off snivelling back to its chums at the Daily Suppress whenever it's ready.
Anon get help, posting under someone elses name and then replying to it is schizophrenic. Is this Nat si open weekend at Carstairs?
DeleteThe Britnat si considers Scotland a colony and calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, armed militias in every workplace and armed insurrection, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs while claiming they're not derogatory, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor.
DeleteThe ultra-right-wing authoritarian colonial mouthpiece can trot off snivelling back to its chums at the Daily Suppress whenever it's ready.
it emerged that ministers will use Nigel Farage as an unofficial intermediary to build bridges with Donald Trump to ensure the “special relationship” does not falter in the wake of his election.
ReplyDeleteThe Telegraph understands that ministers will be forced to seek Mr Farage’s advice because they have no links to the President-elect’s inner circle.
emily m @maitlis 49 minutes ago
ReplyDeleteKKK will hold Donald Trump victory parade rally in North Carolina | McClatchy DC
A legal organisation originally formed by a Jock hootsman.
DeleteThe Britnat si considers Scotland a colony and calls scottish people "jocks", advocates arming Leave campaigners, armed militias in every workplace and armed insurrection, claimed Jo Cox's husband was a fascist, uses racial and ethnic slurs while claiming they're not derogatory, pretends to be Labour (badly) while espousing far-right racist hate-speech, praises Theresa May and the tories and displays a perverted poisonous obsession with Scotland's First Minister & her predecessor.
DeleteThe ultra-right-wing authoritarian colonial mouthpiece can trot off snivelling back to its chums at the Daily Suppress whenever it's ready.
We drew with New Zealand. It's only RL but better than nothing!
ReplyDeleteMind you James, more of a peacemaker than Hillary is an extremely low bar
ReplyDelete