I Was Spectacularly Wrong, I Hope I Continue To Be

 

I have to admit I really didn’t see this one coming. A huge congratualtions is due to the Rabble Alliance and all the Reluctant Trump supporters here at Ricochet. I do sincerely hope that the things all of his supporters see in him are what we will get over the next 4 years – the country needs it. I also take no small amount of joy at the anguish the Trump victory is imposing on liberals across the board.

Now the real work begins. I hope I’m wrong about how Trump will govern – my track record on this is admittedly spotty. As someone who opposed Trump from the begning I will support our new President when I think he’s doing right and I will continue to oppose him when he isn’t. No President deserves a blank check. Its up to conservatives to keep our new President focused on a conservative agenda and help set our country on the right track. 

Published in General
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 76 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. She Member
    She
    @She

    I’ve mentioned this before on a couple of threads.  This time, I won’t tell the story again, but I’ll just link to it.

    I can’t pretend to know what the Democrats will, or won’t do.  I don’t have the gift of second sight.  I’m sorry for those who do.  That must be hell, sometimes.

    Just as I think that an inability to put down a burden, or to set aside resentments, or allow a fresh start, although it doesn’t negatively affect the object of one’s ire,  must tie one’s own self up in knots.

    As with the poor, befuddled,  young Buddhist monk.

    • #31
  2. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Saint Augustine:

    The Disciplinary Committee:

    Saint Augustine:Amen and amen.

    Hey, for a start maybe he can declare Larry Kudlow for his cabinet!

    Super-Like.

    Also, VDH.

    Kudlow for Secretary of Treasury or some other economics-related post. Victor Davis Hanson for what position?

    Immigration czar.

    • #32
  3. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    CB Toder aka Mama Toad:

    Saint Augustine:Hey, anyone want to start a post nominating people for Trump’s cabinet?

    There’s a slim chance it might even have a (small) influence, if it made it to the Main Feed and most of us made suggestions that were both good and plausible.

    John Bolton for Secretary of State.

    Another Super-Like.

    • #33
  4. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Midget Faded Rattlesnake: White House press secretary?

    Peter Robinson.

    Instead of the daily briefing he can have one-on-one conversations over coffee in a darkened tv studio.

    • #34
  5. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Wiley:

    Cato Rand:The democrats are not contesting the election. Hillary has conceded. Your claim there is inflammatory and baseless. We are headed for a peaceful transition of power just as we’ve had throughout our history.

    As far as opposing Trump goes, it depends on what he does. He has no blank check in my book.

    And so it begins….

    Something I’ve wanted to post on Facebook but I don’t have the guts: “Calling Trump a fascist before he’s even started the job is no different from giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize before he’d even started the job.”

    • #35
  6. Wiley Inactive
    Wiley
    @Wiley

    Misthiocracy:

    Wiley:

    Cato Rand:The democrats are not contesting the election. Hillary has conceded. Your claim there is inflammatory and baseless. We are headed for a peaceful transition of power just as we’ve had throughout our history.

    As far as opposing Trump goes, it depends on what he does. He has no blank check in my book.

    And so it begins….

    Something I’ve wanted to post on Facebook but I don’t have the guts: “Calling Trump a fascist before he’s even started the job is no different from giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize before he’d even started the job.”

    Yes sharing truth comes with a price. On my Facebook wall, others have been generous in the give and take. Probably because we know each other and tend to not read meanings in that are not there.

    • #36
  7. Cato Rand Inactive
    Cato Rand
    @CatoRand

    Wiley:

    Cato Rand:The democrats are not contesting the election. Hillary has conceded. Your claim there is inflammatory and baseless. We are headed for a peaceful transition of power just as we’ve had throughout our history.

    As far as opposing Trump goes, it depends on what he does. He has no blank check in my book.

    And so it begins….

    Did you give Obama a blank check?  Since when do we give blank checks?  He won.  He will be president.  I wish him well and pray he governs well.  But presidents are not above criticism or disagreement.  And he has said many things during this campaign with which I disagree.  His victory doesn’t change that.

    • #37
  8. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Wiley:

    Misthiocracy:

    Wiley:

    Cato Rand:The democrats are not contesting the election. Hillary has conceded. Your claim there is inflammatory and baseless. We are headed for a peaceful transition of power just as we’ve had throughout our history.

    As far as opposing Trump goes, it depends on what he does. He has no blank check in my book.

    And so it begins….

    Something I’ve wanted to post on Facebook but I don’t have the guts: “Calling Trump a fascist before he’s even started the job is no different from giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize before he’d even started the job.”

    Yes sharing truth comes with a price. On my Facebook wall, others have been generous in the give and take. Probably because we know each other and tend to not read meanings in that are not there.

    I’ve managed to keep my Facebook comments cryptic. Mostly making fun of the panic and hyperbole.

    (It’s funny how many Trumpocalypse folk are liking my “everything will be fine” comments.)

    The most frustrating thing about the next four/eight years: It doesn’t make any difference how Trump actually performs in office, we’ll still have to put up with years of foolish people telling us (repeatedly, constantly, unendingly, loudly) that it’s the Fifth Reich.

    • #38
  9. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    By the way, here’s Captain Holt’s “I’ve never been more shocked.”

    That was me when they called PA.  But without Holt’s dignity.

    • #39
  10. Wiley Inactive
    Wiley
    @Wiley

    Misthiocracy: The most frustrating thing about the next four/eight years: It doesn’t make any difference how Trump actually performs in office, we’ll still have to put up with years of foolish people telling us (repeatedly, constantly, unendingly, loudly) that it’s the Fifth Reich.

    Exactly, that is my concern.

    By the bye, here is the link for live streaming of Clinton’s statement this morning. Let’s see if it is a concession speech or slips in any qualifiers, as I expect.

    20161109_hillary

    • #40
  11. Wiley Inactive
    Wiley
    @Wiley

    Wiley:By the bye, here is the link for live streaming of Clinton’s statement this morning. Let’s see if it is a concession speech or slips in any qualifiers, as I expect.

    20161109_hillary

    Just watched Hillary. Looks like I was wrong. It was a full concession speech and well done, with no hint of challenging the election. I expected her to pull a “Gore.” I will reserve the right to reassert my premise if surrogates en masse attempt to de-legitimize the election as they did with Bush. Like Jamie, I am so glad I was wrong on this one.

    • #41
  12. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Stay classy, @wiley.

    • #42
  13. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    We agree! When push comes to shove (as my mother would say), we see things the same way. I think people who hold on to their anger or are looking for revenge will be marginalized. Good post, Jamie. (Didn’t realize the comment link you sent was from your post.)

    • #43
  14. Spin Inactive
    Spin
    @Spin

    Note:

    Acronyms of phrases containing swear words are still against the Code of Conduct.

    Wiley:

    Cato Rand:The democrats are not contesting the election. Hillary has conceded. Your claim there is inflammatory and baseless. We are headed for a peaceful transition of power just as we’ve had throughout our history.

    As far as opposing Trump goes, it depends on what he does. He has no blank check in my book.

    And so it begins….

    [redacted]

    • #44
  15. Concretevol Thatcher
    Concretevol
    @Concretevol

    Wiley: When Democrats contest the election, and they will, will NeverTrumpers be their advocates? Will Jay? Mona? Zubrin? Will ….? Will NeverTrump Republicans continue to fight against Trump at every opportunity?

    I think you should look at their recent posts on The Corner and on Twitter etc.  I see no sign of anything along those lines.  There has been mostly congratulations and a wish for Trump’s success now that he has been elected.

    • #45
  16. Wiley Inactive
    Wiley
    @Wiley

    Spin:

    Wiley:

    Cato Rand:The democrats are not contesting the election. Hillary has conceded. Your claim there is inflammatory and baseless. We are headed for a peaceful transition of power just as we’ve had throughout our history.

    As far as opposing Trump goes, it depends on what he does. He has no blank check in my book.

    And so it begins….

    FFS.

    I have no idea what FFS is, but if it is relates to the comment about my claim as being baseless… I got the clue from Podesta, when he told Clinton suppoters last night that “every vote should count” and that there would be no concession speech, and they should go home. I suspect the Clinton Campaign was considering a challenge, but the overwhelming win by Trump made that calculation seem like a bad one.

    • #46
  17. She Member
    She
    @She

    Wiley:

    I got the clue from Podesta, when he told Clinton suppoters last night that “every vote should count” and that there would be no concession speech, and they should go home. I suspect the Clinton Campaign was considering a challenge, but the overwhelming win by Trump made that calculation seem like a bad one.

    John Podesta is a political hack, and a dumb one at that.

    I caught the “coded phrases” last night, and thought the same thing as you did.  As in, “Oh, oh.”

    Before Podesta spoke, though, Fox News interviewed their chief “vote predictor” guy a couple of times, before the late results came in.  This guy was extremely cautious, and made it sound as if the remaining results, including PA, wouldn’t be in before sometime much later on Wednesday morning.

    So it’s possible that Podesta was basing his speech on that assumption,and just being careful.

    But not very long after he spoke, it was “Hello, Pennsylvania,” and it was all over bar the shouting.

    The impression I got was that those couple of late results that came in at 2:30ish AM came in quicker than they thought possible, and that they were dispositive, so that was the end of it.

    So I think your reading of it is correct.

    I actually think that Hillary’s speech was quite gracious, all things considered.  If she’d given a few more speeches that reeked of that sort of sincerity (even if she was faking it) she might have been a much more formidable candidate, I think.

    • #47
  18. CB Toder aka Mama Toad Member
    CB Toder aka Mama Toad
    @CBToderakaMamaToad

    Wiley: I have no idea what FFS is, but if it is relates to the comment about my claim as being baseless

    FFS. (Not very nice.)

    • #48
  19. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    Midget Faded Rattlesnake: White House press secretary?

    I was thinking Ann Coulter for press secretary.

    • #49
  20. AUMom Member
    AUMom
    @AUMom

    A-Squared:

    Midget Faded Rattlesnake: White House press secretary?

    I was thinking Ann Coulter for press secretary.

    No. Thank you.

    • #50
  21. Brian McMenomy Inactive
    Brian McMenomy
    @BrianMcMenomy

    As a fellow Never Trumper, I add my congratulations to the President-elect and those that were far more correct than I was (although I was pretty close on the Senate & the House).

    I don’t regret the position I took, largely because I think I did so without rancor toward Trump supporters, reluctant or otherwise.  I also will say I’m more pleased about the election result than I expected to be (perhaps because I had resigned myself to a narrow Clinton win).

    Trump’s speech last night can act as a marker where we turn from the tumult and nastiness of the campaign to the enthusiasm & hope for the opportunity before us.

    As I said last night, let us pray for the President-elect to govern wisely, with revelation and humility, in this last, best hope of earth.

    • #51
  22. Brian McMenomy Inactive
    Brian McMenomy
    @BrianMcMenomy

    Fiorina for SecDef; Condi Rice for NFL Commissioner (and pianist-in-chief).

    • #52
  23. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    I was certainly one of the more vocal Reluctants who said it was time for Republicans to come home. Looking at the exit polling it seems that this is exactly what happened.

    The President-Elect seems not to have expanded the party by all that much, but just enough to offset the Nevers. He took home 88% of the GOP vote.

    What did happen, though, is Mrs. Clinton seems to have lost about 10 million of Presidential Obama’s base.

    It would be interesting if you could push this election through an alternative universe where Mr. Justice Scalia still lived and help shape the Court.

    • #53
  24. Severely Ltd. Inactive
    Severely Ltd.
    @SeverelyLtd

    Giuliani as Attorney General would please me the most. BLM, campus rape hysteria, and peculiar pronouns would get no government sanction.

    • #54
  25. Brian Watt Inactive
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    I sincerely hope that Donald Trump is successful with many of his agenda items – repealing and replacing Obamacare, bringing costs down and making healthcare more competitive; eliminating Common Core; slashing oppressive regulations especially from the EPA; eliminate the fixation on climate hysteria; cancel Obama’s executive orders; and nominating conservative judges to SCOTUS and the federal bench. I am eager to see all of the irritating Obama appointees that have corrupted the Executive Branch leave.

    I hope he concedes that he’s not the smartest guy in the room when it comes to foreign policy and national security and listens and takes the advice of those who are much more experienced and wiser in these areas.

    I wish him all the success in moving the country back to the kind of nation that the Founders intended which would entail diminishing the size of the federal government and shifting responsibility for many issues and programs to the states and not growing the current bureaucracy to accommodate new programs.

    I remain concerned about his reluctance to address Social Security and Medicare reform; his reckless remarks about foreign policy and some of America’s allies; his seemingly naive understanding of Vladimir Putin; and his threats to corporations that they will be forced to manufacture in America.

    I reserve the right to criticize him if or when he acts recklessly or puts America at risk or says something idiotic just as I have criticized other prominent Republicans, other presidents and others who hold sway in the corridors of power.

    • #55
  26. Arizona Patriot Member
    Arizona Patriot
    @ArizonaPatriot

    I’m a big fan of VDH.  I hope his wisdom isn’t rewarded with a job in the government bureaucracy, for which I think he is poorly suited.  You really want political and management types in these positions, not academics, however inspirational and brilliant.

    My picks:

    John Bolton at State

    James “Mad Dog” Mattis at Defense

    Rudy Guiliani or Chris Christie for AG

    Newt Gingrich at Treasury

    John Yoo for Solicitor General

    Ted Cruz for SCOTUS!

    How about a significant appointment for Mitt Romney?  Romney could do great work on deregulation in the Energy Department.

    I know, I know, why would Trump ever do that after Romney’s con-man speech?

    At the highest level, it would be an extraordinary act of grace and reconciliation by Trump.

    At a base level, it would force Romney to work for Trump!  Romney’s best instincts, for public service and party unity, would make it very hard for him to refuse. Trump could play his magnanimity to the hilt.

     

    • #56
  27. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    iWe:An incredible night.

    I, too, hope and pray that the next 4 years are great ones for all of us, and for America! We can all worry about a Trump presidency, but we can (and should) take a moment to mark the end of the Clinton era.

    WOOOHOOOO!!!!!

    There. That felt good.

    Maybe not the end but at least a setback for the Bush dynasty as well.

    • #57
  28. Cato Rand Inactive
    Cato Rand
    @CatoRand

    Severely Ltd.:Giuliani as Attorney General would please me the most. BLM, campus rape hysteria, and peculiar pronouns would get no government sanction.

    I suspect we’re going to have a very different Justice Department, probably mostly for the better.  Obama/Holder/Lynch have politicized it horribly.  I just pray it’s not used as a tool against Trump’s political enemies.

    • #58
  29. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Cato Rand:

    Severely Ltd.:Giuliani as Attorney General would please me the most. BLM, campus rape hysteria, and peculiar pronouns would get no government sanction.

    I suspect we’re going to have a very different Justice Department, probably mostly for the better. Obama/Holder/Lynch have politicized it horribly. I just pray it’s not used as a tool against Trump’s political enemies.

    If he does pick Rudy, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.

    • #59
  30. Jamie Lockett Member
    Jamie Lockett
    @JamieLockett

    Apparently he wants to appoint Palin to his cabinet. Ugh.

    • #60
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.