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NOBODY LOSES AN ELECTION
boblonsberry.com ^ | 11/09/16 | Bob Lonsberry

Posted on 11/09/2016 11:24:23 AM PST by shortstop

Nobody loses an election.

Not when it's done right.

In the new beginning of an election, the opportunity for a great do-over exists. In the elation of the one and the disappointment of the other, there is a chance to bond the whole.

That's where America is today.

This is the first step of a new beginning, a chance to redefine what was presumed just 24 hours ago.

Trump feels like Reagan, and Reagan was an "us," not an "us and them." He went from a populist victory of regular Americans to a coalition that, polls showed, included most Americans. Though always attacked by the most strident of partisan opponents, Reagan went on to, for much of his tenure, be among the most popular presidents of modern time.

That doesn't happen in a season of division.

It happens in a season of common purpose and common benefit. Reagan turned a surprise landslide into a nation united.

And it must happen again.

But that's not just about the president-elect, it's about the nation and its people. Trump must reach out to all, as he has already begun to do, but all must reach back to him. Making amends is a two-way street, and brotherhood is a partnership.

Today is not about recriminations, or even celebrations. There must be no taunting, or end-zone demonstrations, no "I told you so's." Neither should there be rehashing of old slogans or re-arguing of campaign debates. Both sides must let go of the past and grab hold of the future.

There is a time to fight, and a time to refrain from fighting. When they count the votes is when you switch from the former to the latter. This is the time to bury the hatchet.

Some things don't need to be dissected, or hashed out.

Trump won. He won by a lot.

The press missed it, the pollsters missed it, the elite missed it.

The press tried to stop it, the pollsters tried to stop it, the elite tried to stop it.

The gathered forces of political correctness and progressive orthodoxy shouted his followers into silence, until they walked into the voting booth and the voice of the people was heard.

That voice is a rallying cry.

And it sounds to all Americans. To the Black Lives Matter people who condemned Trump, and to the Republican establishment, which did the same thing. From broken urban streets to leafy suburban enclaves, from the farm to the factory, across every race and religion.

It's time to come together.

Not to compromise principles, or the things that led us to vote for different candidates, but to recognize that the pledged verse, "one nation ... indivisible" is as sacred to our American nature as any other.

The election was not a vanquishing of anyone. It was a choice. A majority of Americans chose to go a certain way, as our Constitution empowers us to do, and now we all go forward.

Lay the fights of yesterday aside, and the recriminations and condemnations. Campaigns galvanize people in opposition to one another; elections galvanize them in cooperation with one another.

Trump said that he will work hard to be the president of all Americans, and he will.

In return, all Americans should work to bind up our hurt feelings, seeing things not just from the position of the aggrieved, but recognizing their own contribution to our national estrangement.

The American people tend to vote for freedom, and they did that last night. The outsiders, from both parties, gave rise to a groundswell victory.

But with our freedom we've always craved unity. The "e pluribus unum" type of unity, that recognizes and accepts differences in the creation of the whole.

Democracy worked yesterday.

Today, civility must have its turn.

And that will happen only when every person, from both sides of every divide, chooses unity and brotherhood instead of partisanship and passion.

We've done it after countless elections.

And we can do it again now.

If we are wise enough to choose to do so.


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: election; hillary; trump
Today is not about recriminations, or even celebrations. There must be no taunting, or end-zone demonstrations, no "I told you so's." Neither should there be rehashing of old slogans or re-arguing of campaign debates. Both sides must let go of the past and grab hold of the future.
1 posted on 11/09/2016 11:24:23 AM PST by shortstop
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To: shortstop

Reagan turned a surprise landslide into a nation united.

Ahh. A landslide IS a nation united.


2 posted on 11/09/2016 11:25:46 AM PST by Ray76 (DRAIN THE SWAMP)
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To: Ray76

Trump ran a good election campaign and will work hard as our next President. He will not even accept pay.


3 posted on 11/09/2016 11:33:53 AM PST by FreedBird (T)
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To: Ray76

Reagan turned a surprise landslide into a nation united.


That was a different time. The other side is not going to unite with us under the leadership of Trump. They will fight him, tooth and nail, on every issue.

Obamacare
Global Warming
Perverts in the bathroom
“Bake the cake”
Mentally ill rights (aka LGBTQRSUVWXYZ)
BLM
Etc.

They are used to a conservative side that bends over. Bullying has always worked for them and they will continue to do it, only more so. We are in for a very rough 100 days, if not more, because Trump will not back down.


4 posted on 11/09/2016 11:34:34 AM PST by Mr. Douglas (Today is your life. What are you going to do with it?)
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To: FreedBird

Did he say that? I was wondering how that was all going to work. I would imagine our new President will have to spend some time divesting himself some.

I can see him not taking a salary. Not an expectation of mine, given he’s going to work very, very hard over the next four years.


5 posted on 11/09/2016 11:37:23 AM PST by RinaseaofDs (Truth, in a time of universal deceit, is courage)
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To: Mr. Douglas
That was a different time. The other side is not going to unite with us under the leadership of Trump. They will fight him, tooth and nail, on every issue.

You don't remember them trying to break Reagan's stones at every turn

I sure do
6 posted on 11/09/2016 11:39:22 AM PST by uncbob
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To: uncbob

You don’t remember them trying to break Reagan’s stones at every turn

I sure do


Yes, I do. But what I mean is that I think it is going to be a LOT worse this time. By an order of magnitude.


7 posted on 11/09/2016 11:41:18 AM PST by Mr. Douglas (Today is your life. What are you going to do with it?)
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To: Mr. Douglas

This is not directed at you, just a general comment.

Our work is only beginning.

It is not vindictiveness to restore rule of law and to roll back illegal programs... Obamacare etc.

Already we are being lectured about being “conciliatory”, “healing”, “binding” etc blah blah blah

No one is advocating otherwise.

The entire movement is about restoring rule of law and rolling back illegal programs, yet there seems to be those who are looking to abandon what has just been won.


8 posted on 11/09/2016 11:50:23 AM PST by Ray76 (DRAIN THE SWAMP)
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To: Ray76

You and I are on the same page, actually. We need a fighter and, fortunately, Trump seems to be one. Maybe we can finally break the “Lucy and the football” curse the R’s have been under for so long.


9 posted on 11/09/2016 11:53:25 AM PST by Mr. Douglas (Today is your life. What are you going to do with it?)
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To: Ray76

To put it bluntly, if Lucy lifts the ball this time, I wanna see Charlie Brown kick her in the teeth with his follow through.

It will be the last time she does it.


10 posted on 11/09/2016 11:54:16 AM PST by Mr. Douglas (Today is your life. What are you going to do with it?)
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To: Mr. Douglas

Yes. Yes indeed!


11 posted on 11/09/2016 11:59:51 AM PST by Ray76 (DRAIN THE SWAMP)
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To: shortstop
Today is not about recriminations, or even celebrations. There must be no taunting, or end-zone demonstrations, no "I told you so's." Neither should there be rehashing of old slogans or re-arguing of campaign debates. Both sides must let go of the past and grab hold of the future.

Those are noble sentiments but the Demonrats aren't going to abide by them. You can bet they are studying ways they can block, obstruct and nullify our efforts to right the wrongs of the last eight years. Besides after eight years of having our noses rubbed in their mess we deserve a period of celebrating and expressing our relief.

12 posted on 11/09/2016 12:18:23 PM PST by Smittie (Just like an alien, I'm a stranger in a strange land)
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To: shortstop
Neither should there be rehashing of old slogans or re-arguing of campaign debates.

I still think we need to lock her up. It's not because I'm vindictive. It's because she committed serious crimes and needs to face the consequences. Draining the swamp doesn't do much good if it still pays to muck it up again.

13 posted on 11/09/2016 12:26:09 PM PST by Gil4 (And the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, ax and saw)
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To: shortstop

Hillary lost....


14 posted on 11/09/2016 12:26:58 PM PST by GregoTX
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To: Ray76

I think we should remind them of how B. “I won” 0vomit was “conciliatory” and “healing”.


15 posted on 11/09/2016 1:27:30 PM PST by generally ( Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
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To: Gil4

If my brother steals cookies before dinner and the only punishment a stern look from Mom, perhaps he will do it again. Perhaps I will stop following the rules and decide it’s worth it for me to steal them, too, since there are never any left for me after dinner because he keeps eating them all before dinner.

Jail time is needed. Lock her up.

I want ALL Americans to know that NO ONE is above the law. In fact, the higher up you are in the government, the more severe the punishment should be because those at high levels should know EXACTLY what they are doing wrong.


16 posted on 11/09/2016 1:32:38 PM PST by generally ( Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
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To: FreedBird

Right. Trump said he would not take pay. Now let’s see if his word is more honorable than Cher, Miley, and Jon. He can donate the Presidential salary to a worthy cause in lieu of returning it to the snakepit.


17 posted on 11/09/2016 1:42:45 PM PST by ez ("Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is..." - Milton)
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To: Ray76

I wish my father had lived to see this election. He was a true-blue Reagan man, and he would’ve loved Trump.


18 posted on 11/09/2016 1:45:32 PM PST by workerbee (The President of the United States is public enemy #1)
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