Somehow, the United States of America does not look or feel united this day November 9, 2016. Picture this, an election that went down to the wire, a campaign that was extremely bitter, and a people deeply divided by race, religion and class.
Moments after Donald J Trump was declared President Elect of America, only half of America is smiling. The other half is in tears. A glass ceiling that was there to break, remains. It serves as a solemn reminder that the 2016 election termed as “a rebellion against elites” turned out to be much more, and negatively so.
President Elect Trump had always claimed he was going to find his fair share of voters in the “rust belt,” an economic region concentrated in the formerly dominant industrial states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. And he certainly did hit a bullseye in these states. Predictably, the Dems won urban areas, in exurban America Hillary Clinton stumbled somewhat, and in rural regions, white voters supported Trump by margins tipping past 40 percent.
However, when Election night 2016 is remembered, it will be noted that the battle of suburbia alone did not cost Hillary Clinton; her, and millions with her, their dream of seeing a woman in the White House. The battle was shaped and won by the conservative white male voter who voted Trump. The race makeup of 2016 voters read: White-70 %, Black-12%, Latino-11%, Asian-4% and others 3%. Almost prophetic, Professor Douglas Spencer, Expert in Election Law, University of Connecticut, had told TNIE last week: “Come election night, Trump will be closely watching the exit polls to monitor the turnout rate of White males. His best chance to win, perhaps his only chance, is if this crucial demographic group turns out in historic numbers.” And they did.
Given this, and economic brouhaha notwithstanding, Americans must then ask themselves the tough question: Could it be that the majority white American male voter is simply not ready to take orders from a woman? Are we implying gender bias? Let’s just say we are not “implying” it. Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, via Skype, some addressing a crowd of women gathered at Wellesley College, Hillary’s alum to watch her win said it best. “Nothing comes easy for women. Everything that is worth doing takes work.” Point is, Hillary Clinton had done her work on Capitol Hill for decades, and much more.
Even President-elect Trump acknowledged the same in his gracious acceptance speech. But the fact is, Mr. Trump had also repeatedly questioned this very fact, had questioned Clinton’s stamina and qualifications to be Commander-in-Chief. A conservative, even medieval thought? Frighteningly, yes. For those who believed America had turned a corner with regard to racial prejudice and misogyny the verdict was an eye-opener. Interestingly, a CNN exit poll nearly 46% advocated a more “conservative” approach in governance and carrying forth President Obama’s policies.
Given the shocking developments, Hillary’s hard-hatters who had worked relentlessly hoping to break the glass ceiling have every reason to retrospect. Who are these people, rural or suburban that place archaic patriarchal values above democratic principle? The answer is, perhaps the 46% of voters who said they were dissatisfied with the way performance of the federal government. This despite the fact that President Obama currently enjoys an approval rating of 57%!
And we still have not talked about the elephant in the room. Race. Wait, we here you say, both candidates were white. Political commentator, Van Jones’s statement will probably go down in history with the US Presidential Election 2016. “We haven't talked about race. But, this was a “white-lash” against a changing country ... against a black President in part.” And there might be some truth to that. In addition to Trump winning the majority white male vote Clinton lost the uneducated white women by 28%.
Oral Historian, Terse Pipe, at age 75 had voted for over 50 years and was ready for a woman President to finally lead America. She finds it hard to imagine that women, from any genre “would even consider voting for Mr. Trump after the way he denigrated women.” Scared yet? For those who answered “no”, chew on this.
In the last 24 hours, scores of Americans have voted for a candidate who has been endorsed by the Klan and the NRA. They voted for a candidate who denigrated women in the crassest of terms.
They voted for a candidate who advocates racial profiling for people of color, immigrants, Mexican and Muslims.
Van Jones painted a poignant picture when he remarked: “You have people putting children to bed tonight, and they're afraid of breakfast. They're afraid of ‘How do I explain this to my children?” Later that evening, the answer, came from the immigrant parent of an American-born Muslim child: “We don’t. It is democracy at work. But we stay, and fight the good fight.”
“Like Hillary Clinton who put the crack in the glass ceiling?” asked the little girl.