Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Fucking Election

Whether it was through hubris, complacency, or inaccurate polls, we lost. I shouldn't have got my hopes up, but there was such talk about a Democratic landslide, winning the Senate and the House, turning Texas blue... and it was all for naught. There will be endless post-mortems I'm sure, but I don't want to argue anything. I'm so numb and disappointed.

I couldn't get to sleep last night, and I also didn't want to turn on the TV again and catch Trump's victory speech. It's over and done. Last night felt just like the night of the 2004 election when my hope slipped away. I thought surely Kerry would win despite the Swiftboating, that people really hated the Iraq War and wanted out. But no, they wanted to "stay the course" with Bush. And with the bittersweet news that Clinton won the popular vote, but still lost the election, I feel twinges of Gore's loss in 2000 also.

I didn't cry. I don't know if it's because I'm dead inside after so many disappointments in Texas elections. I still have my Democratic representatives at least, and there were pockets of good outcomes nationally. I still have to work tomorrow and go on with ordinary life, just like I did after Kerry lost. Somehow we have to survive and hope for the least amount of damage.

No comments: