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LUMPENPROLETARIAT GONZO: When many of us woke up this morning, we were quite certain that neoliberal Hillary Clinton would handily win the 2016 U.S. presidential election, whether we liked it or not. But, now, as the polls close and as states report in favour of Republican Donald Trump, it’s looking like Hillary Clinton is struggling to capture a decisive win. We underestimated just how much racism and white resentment resides in middle America, not to mention male patriarchy. There is proving to be just enough to catalyse and propel an openly racist presidential candidate with absolutely no experience in political office into the White House.
In more ethnically diverse states, such as California, we may lull ourselves into thinking the United States has outgrown its white supremacist origins, but only at our own peril. Evidently, in 2016, police can kill in broad daylight with impunity and a sleazy white man can be a complete bigot, male chauvinist, who boasts of sexually assaulting women, offend every standard of public decency, and still become president of the United States. White man’s burden, or white man’s privilege? Such grotesque behavior and rhetoric would have disqualified any woman or person of colour from the presidential candidacy. But, as long as one saturates broadcast media, one is legitimated by society, no matter how degenerate, juvenile, sexist, or racist one’s attitudes and perspectives. And, when one is part of the two establishment political parties, and especially when one is pushing the political centre rightward, one can be as toxic to our social discourse as one wants and get a pass because of the sheer establishment power the two-party system wields in its relationships with the corporate media. It certainly paid off for Trump to have gotten the lion’s share of media exposure, as Edward Bernays or Walter Lippmann (or common sense) would expect. This is what Dr. Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman called manufacturing consent. Meanwhile, Dr. Jill Stein, Ajamu Baraka, and the Green Party were virtually ignored by the corporate media 
(and even free speech media). Despite the Green Party’s progressive platform, which best speaks to working class interests, the actuality of mass media propaganda kept voters’ political consciousness confined within a narrow two-party paradigm. This is symptomatic of a crisis of political imagination.
Beyond the failings of our misguided ideological conclusions, we suffer from a flawed election system, which has already evidenced many examples of electoral fraud or voter suppression, as Greg Palast has documented in his writings, his book, and documentary film, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Voter rolls are being 
corrupted or deleted. And alternative political parties and candidates, such as the Green Party‘s Dr. Jill Stein, along with their ideas and policy proposals, are kept away from public view. And, of course, ideas and perspectives are censored, or suppressed, most vigorously by the corporate media when they reflect political perspectives on the left of the political spectrum, which reflect egalitarian or humanitarian principles.
At my polling location, it seemed everybody, mostly Hispanic, Spanish-speaking voters, coming out in force to vote against Trump, had provisional ballots in their hands, for some reason. We recall Greg Palast‘s reporting on the many problems with provisional ballots not being counted, of being placebo ballots. So, to see this in a predominantly Hispanic/Latino community, too, raised questions. I’ve voted at other polling locations, which did not consist predominantly of Hispanic voters, where this was not the case. It seems people were given provisional ballots just so that they could avoid the long lines. Voters seemed to walk past the long lines with their provisional ballots already filled out and sealed to hand them over to poll workers. We need to make sure that we, the people, get a full audit of all of the ballots and such, at the very least. We know presidential elections in the recent past have been corrupted, or outright stolen. [1] At best, we seriously need to ask ourselves if there are modifications we can make to our election system, which can make it more democratic. Of course, if we had adopted a ranked-choice voting system, then voters would have been liberated to vote their conscience and, possibly, elect a real people’s presidential candidate, such as Dr. Jill Stein, in this 2016 election. Political alternatives could achieve surprise wins when people are allowed to rank their political preferences so as to fully express their political will and to fully vote their conscience, without fear of throwing their vote away. Ah, but no.
2016 NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
Federal Office:
- Donald Trump: 279 electoral votes
- Hillary Clinton: 228 electoral votes
[Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, i.e., more people voted for her. But Donald Trump won the antidemocratic Electoral College. Is this the most democratic way to elect the president of the United States?]
California Ballot Propositions
- Proposition 51 (School Bonds, High-Interest Debt-Funding for K-12 and Community College)—PASSED (54% Yes)
- Proposition 52 (Medical Hospital Fee Program)—PASSED (70% Yes)
- Proposition 53 (Revenue Bonds, Require Statewide Voter Approval)—FAILED (53% No)
- Proposition 54 (Legislature, Legislation and Proceedings Initiative, Increase Transparency)—PASSED (64% Yes)
- Proposition 55 (‘Millionaire’ Tax Extension to Fund Education and Healthcare)—PASSED (62% Yes)
- Proposition 56 (Cigarette ‘Sin Tax’ to Fund Healthcare, Research, Law Enforcement, etc.)—PASSED (63% Yes)
- Proposition 57 (Criminal Sentences, Parole Option, Judiciary Discretion for Trying Juveniles as Adults, etc.)—PASSED (64% Yes)
- Proposition 58 (English Proficiency, Multilingual Education Option)—PASSED (72% Yes)
- Proposition 59 (Campaign Finance, Repeal Citizens United)—PASSED (52% Yes)
- Proposition 60 (Pornographic Films, Redundant Condom Requirement)—FAILED (54% No)
- Proposition 61 (State Prescription Drug Purchases, Competitive Pricing Standards)—FAILED (54% No)
- Proposition 62 (End the Death Penalty)—FAILED (54% No)
- Proposition 63 (Firearms, Ammunition Sales Restrictions)—PASSED (63% Yes)
- Proposition 64 (Cannabis Legalisation for Adults)—PASSED (56% Yes)
- Proposition 65 (Redirect Funds Collected for Carryout Plastic Bags)—FAILED (55% No)
- Proposition 66 (Death Penalty Procedures, Speed Up Execution Process)—PASSED (51% Yes)
- Proposition 67 (Uphold the Ban on Single-Use Plastic Bags)—PASSED (52% Yes)
Messina
***
***
FREE SPEECH RADIO GENERAL ELECTION COVERAGE, THE AFTERMATH ON WEDNESDAY
TALKIES—[9 NOV 2016] The Morning After With Hosts Norman Solomon and Dante Chinni, Director of The American Communities Project. Hosted by Kris Welch. Listeners call ins at 1-800-958-9008
[Host Kris Welch chats, from a liberal perspective, with Norman Solomon and Dante Chinni about the general election aftermath. There is much brooding about the dynamics between the Democratic and Republican parties, but not much discussion nor interest in expanding the narrow two-party system. None of the guests during this broadcast lamented the antidemocratic disaster of our democratic process, nor lamented the plight of people who work for political alternatives, such as the Green Party and Dr. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka’s progressive politics. The great bellyache this morning is that they didn’t wake up to a Hillary Clinton America. But Hillary Clinton would’ve been a neoliberal warhawk, without question. So, perhaps, our perceptions are skewed.]
[snip]
[(c. 11:00) Norman Solomon critique of Democratic Party and confronting class struggle]
[(c. 25:00) In Norman Solomon’s closing remarks, he lamented the many problems with the corporate nature of the Democratic Party’s leadership. And he urged that progressives need to clean all of that up to be ready to campaign in two years under the Democratic Party label. That line of argumentation only makes sense if one is seeking to preserve a narrow two-party system, which blocks and suppresses all political alternatives and political competition to the status quo. Norman Solomon doesn’t acknowledge the popular will and energy and desire for political alternatives, so-called ‘third parties’. He can never mention the Green Party or expanding the debates, even though they represent a broad, if disaffected, segment of society, because liberals of his kind are so terminally wedded to the notion of reforming-the-Democratic-Party-from-within that they are forced to oppose any political competition. In that sense, they diminish our collective political imagination and possibility.]
[(c. 32:00) Kris Welch asks Norman Solomon about Roots Action.]
[(c. 45:00) Jill Stein supporter calls in and gets bashed by Norman Solomon’s stock anti-third party rhetoric.]
[(c. 47:00) Next caller cites a white backlash against the first black president.]
[(c. 50:00) Next caller, Andrew from Los Angeles calls for unity.]
[(c. 53:00) Next caller, Sharon in Sacramento supports Dr. Jill Stein and celebrates the fact that Dr. Jill Stein went down to the Dakota Access Pipeline and got arrested. She challenged Norman Solomon to cite an example of a Democrat doing the same.]
[(c. 55:00) Next caller, Remy in Newark resisted being “cynical”.]
[(c. 57:00) Last caller, a Bernie Sanders supporter since the earliest primary until the end decried how Bernie Sanders didn’t contest any of the primaries. Indeed, it sure looked like he went out very compliantly, as if helping cover up electoral fraud and manipulations. Norman Solomon responded dismissively, saying that the caller’s complaints were exaggerated and that Bernie Sanders did draw attention to the ‘structural challenges’.]
[snip]
[snip] (c. 59:59) [9 NOV 2016]
Learn more at TALKIES.
*
LETTERS AND POLITICS—[9 NOV 2016] [Intro by Mitch Jeserich. On today’s broadcast, a roundtable discussion on Trump’s winning of the U.S. presidency.]
[KPFA News Headlines (read by Aileen Alfandary)]
[Adele Stan (AlterNet)]
[Rick Perlstein]
[(c. 41:00) On how bad the Democratic primary was…]
[snip] (c. 59:59)
Learn more at LETTERS AND POLITICS.
*
DEMOCRACY NOW!—[9 NOV 2016]
Headlines
Donald Trump Elected 45th President of the United States
Donald J. Trump was elected 45th president of the United States on Tuesday, defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton in a stunning upset that reverberated around the world. Trump carried at least 279 Electoral College votes to Clinton’s 218, although Trump appears to have narrowly lost the popular vote. Around 2:50 a.m., Donald Trump took the stage at a New York City victory party, saying he had received a phone call by Hillary Clinton congratulating him on the win.
President-elect Donald Trump: “To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I am reaching out to you for your guidance and your help, so that we can work together and unify our great country.”
The contest pitted the two most unpopular candidates in modern presidential history against one another, with a majority of Americans viewing both Trump and Clinton unfavorably. Donald Trump has never held elective office. He opened his campaign in 2015 with a speech calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists. Trump has proposed banning all Muslims from entering the United States. He openly mocked his opponents, reporters, Asians, African Americans and the disabled. More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual assault, and he was heard in a 2005 videotape boasting about sexually assaulting women. Throughout the campaign, Trump drew the enthusiastic support of white nationalists and hate groups. Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, who ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana, cheered the outcome of the election. Duke tweeted, “This is one of the most exciting nights of my life -> make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump! #MAGA.”
Hillary Clinton Supporters Shocked by Loss to Donald Trump
News of Trump’s victory left supporters of Hillary Clinton stunned and shaken. A crowd of thousands—a majority of them women—gathered under the glass ceiling of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, where celebration turned to despair as it appeared Clinton was headed to defeat.
Early-Morning Protests Spring Up After Donald Trump Victory
Trump’s victory sparked early-morning protests around the country. At the campus of UCLA in California, about 1,500 people gathered to protest and burn a Trump piñata. Outside the White House, Trump’s opponents shouted at supporters, who responded with chants of “Build that wall!”
Republicans Retain House and Senate Majority
Meanwhile, Republicans captured both the House and Senate, positioning their party to control all three branches of government. Democrats gained a Senate seat but will fall short of the 51 seats needed to overcome Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s tie-breaking power. In the House, Republicans will hold a comfortable majority, with at least 236 of the chamber’s 435 seats.
Republican Sweep Likely to Tilt Supreme Court Balance
The congressional sweep makes it likely that Donald Trump will appoint a conservative to the Supreme Court post left vacant since Antonin Scalia died in February. Republicans have refused to consider Obama’s pick for the high court, Merrick Garland, and will likely ignore his nomination until Trump names his own nominee during the next Congress.
Stock Markets in Turmoil as Donald Trump Stages Upset
Markets in the U.S. and around the world plunged overnight as Trump’s victory became imminent, with the S&P dropping by 5 percent to its “limit down,” the maximum drop allowed before trading curbs kick in. Many stock indices recovered after Trump’s victory speech. The Mexican peso fell 11 percent overnight to an all-time low before recovering some ground.
Long Lines, Voter ID Laws and Fewer Polling Places Suppress Turnout
Tuesday’s election was the first in half a century to take place without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. The Leadership Conference for Civil Rights says voters had 868 fewer polling locations. In key battleground states, many spent hours in line, while others gave up and left the polls. In Greenbelt, Maryland, voters waited for one ballot scanner for the entire precinct.
Jide Eniola: “I actually asked the lady that’s there, ‘Why do you have one scanner here? I have a friend that lives in Montgomery County, and they have—in one place, they have about six or seven.’ She said that’s what they gave them. Yeah? I asked her, I said, ‘Why do you only have one here?’ The line was about—you have to make a U-turn, like 360, to get up to the first one. And it’s just—three hours is just too long.”
There were hours-long lines in parts of New York City, as well, where Donald Trump was booed as he entered Public School 59 in Midtown Manhattan to cast his ballot. Turnout was down among African-American voters in key battleground states, where federal lawsuits have challenged voter ID laws that civil rights groups say are targeted against communities of color.
House Speaker Paul Ryan Confident He Will Retain Leadership Role
In Wisconsin, Republican Paul Ryan easily reclaimed his House seat Tuesday. Ryan says he is confident he’ll retain his leadership role as speaker of the House.
Speaker Paul Ryan: “I’ve just been sitting there watching the polls. By some accounts, this could be a really good night for America. This could be a good night for us.”
Some Republican congressmembers say they’ll seek to replace Ryan as House speaker, after Ryan repeatedly condemned Donald Trump’s remarks on the campaign trail. Despite the criticisms, Ryan never dropped his endorsement of Trump.
Wisconsin: Russ Feingold Loses to GOP Incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson
Also in Wisconsin, Democrat Russ Feingold narrowly lost his bid to return to the Senate, falling to Republican incumbent Ron Johnson.
Florida: Republican Senator Marco Rubio Re-elected
In Florida, Republican Marco Rubio has retained his Senate seat, after reversing a pledge to retire from politics, and despite a failed bid for the Republican nomination for president. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly mocked Rubio’s appearance, calling him “Little Marco.” At a victory party on Tuesday, Rubio struck a conciliatory tone.
Sen. Marco Rubio: “I hope we will set the example in this great state that while we can disagree on issues, we cannot share a country where people hate each other because of their political affiliations. We cannot move forward as a nation if we cannot have enlightened debates about tough issues. You can disagree with someone without hating them.”
California: Kamala Harris Elected as Second-Ever Black Woman U.S. Senator
In California, state Attorney General Kamala Harris has won the Senate seat vacated by Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, who is retiring. Harris is a Democrat of Indian and Jamaican ancestry. She becomes only the second black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate.
Gubernatorial Races Split Between Republicans, Democrats
In gubernatorial races, Democrats and Republicans appear to have evenly split the 12 governor’s seats up for election. In North Carolina, Republican Governor Pat McCrory is demanding a recount, after an initial tally showed him trailing Democratic challenger Roy Cooper by fewer than 5,000 votes.
Voters Raise Minimum Wage, Support Death Penalty, Legalize Marijuana
In ballot measures, 69 percent of voters approved an anti-union measure to make Alabama a right-to-work state, while a similar measure was defeated in Virginia. Voters in Colorado, Maine and Arizona all voted to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020, while in Washington state the minimum wage will increase to $13.50 an hour. In Colorado, voters have rejected a measure to create a single-payer health insurance system. Nebraska has voted to restore the death penalty, while in Oklahoma voters have approved a measure that amends the state constitution to guarantee the right to impose the death penalty. In California, a ballot measure to overturn capital punishment is trailing, while another measure to speed up the pace of executions is winning by a narrow margin. Voters in California, Massachusetts and Nevada voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, while North Dakota, Arkansas and Florida approved medical marijuana initiatives.
Minnesota: Ilhan Omar Elected as First-Ever Somali-American Legislator
In Minnesota, Ilhan Omar has been elected as the nation’s first Somali-American legislator, winning a seat in the state House as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loses Bid for Seventh Term, May Be Jailed
In Arizona, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost his bid for a seventh term. Arpaio faces the possibility of jail time, after federal prosecutors announced they are charging him with criminal contempt of court over his refusal to end unconstitutional immigration patrols in Arizona.
California: Gunman Fires Near Polling Place, Killing 1 and Injuring 2
In California, two people were left dead and two others wounded after a man high on cocaine and armed with handguns, a rifle and shotgun opened fire near a polling station in the city of Azusa, east of Los Angeles. Police Chief Steve Hunt said the gunman was found dead after a battle with police.
Steve Hunt: “We believe that the suspect was armed with an assault rifle with a rapid-fire capability. Whether it’s fully automatic or semiautomatic, we don’t know at this time.”
The violence halted voting at two polling places and caused a lockdown at a nearby middle school. Police say the gunman fired at least 20 rounds at officers. The shooting came mere hours before California voters approved Proposition 63, which bans possession of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and provides a process for felons to have guns confiscated.
Orlando, FL Night Club to Become a Memorial to Gun Massacre Victims
In Orlando, Florida, city officials said Tuesday they will purchase the Pulse nightclub and convert it into a memorial for the 49 people killed there on June 12. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Shooter Omar Mateen purchased the guns he used in the killing, including an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, legally.
World Meteorological Organization Says Recent Years Hottest on Record
In climate news, the World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday that the five years from 2011 to 2015 were the hottest on record, with hundreds of thousands of deaths likely due to global warming from human activity. The findings were presented in Marrakesh, Morocco, where United Nations climate talks got underway this week. The report found human-induced climate change was directly linked to extreme events, including an East African drought and famine in 2011 that claimed over a quarter-million lives. Elena Manaenkova of the World Meteorological Organization says the Earth’s temperature has already risen by 1 degree Celsius, which is nearing the limit of a 1.5 degree rise set by the Paris Agreement.
Elena Manaenkova: “The conclusions are very clear that that was the warmest five-year period on record. We also confirm that the 2015 was the year when the global surface temperature exceeded 1 degree, and it links to the debate during this climate conference and the Paris Agreement targets.”
Trump Climate Denial Threatens U.N. Climate Change Agreement
Meanwhile, many delegates to the U.N. talks are expressing panic over the election of Donald Trump, saying the outcome threatens the future of any international agreement to slow catastrophic climate change. The Republican president-elect has said he will “cancel the Paris climate agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs.” Trump has also promised to promote coal power and fracking, and says he will allow for oil and gas drilling on federal lands. He has also promised to ask TransCanada to renew its permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline.
Indian Supreme Court Orders Action on Toxic Air Pollution Crisis
India’s Supreme Court has ordered the federal government to come up with a plan to combat toxic air pollution so thick that it’s being described as “beyond measurable limits.” The government has 48 hours to respond. A recent UNICEF report found 600,000 children under five die of air pollution every year, with about a third of the world’s at-risk children living in northern India and surrounding countries.
North Dakota: Pipeline Company Says It Will Soon Begin Drilling Despite Lack of Permit
In North Dakota, the company building the Dakota Access pipeline says it is preparing to drill beneath Lake Oahe on the Missouri River within two weeks, even though the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not granted a permit. The announcement shocked and infuriated opponents of the $3.8 billion pipeline, which has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe along with representatives of over 200 other indigenous tribes and non-Native allies. Opponents, who call themselves “water protectors,” say they were promised by an Army Corps of Engineers official that the Dakota Access pipeline would be delayed by at least 30 days, should the Obama administration agree to a permit. But pipeline builder Energy Transfer Partners said Tuesday the Army Corps was mistaken when it said the company had agreed to slow construction. The announcement came one week after President Obama said the Army Corps was looking at a possible “reroute” of the pipeline.
Puerto Rico: Protesters March Against Federal Oversight Board
And in Puerto Rico, activists took to the streets for an Election Day protest against a federally appointed oversight control board with sweeping powers to run Puerto Rico’s economy. Jocelyn Velázquez of the Promises Are Over movement helped organize the protest.
Jocelyn Velázquez: “Today we celebrate the elections in Puerto Rico, and it is a futile exercise, because there is an oversight control board imposed by the United States government that is going to take the transcendental decisions about our future. It was indispensable not only to take this demand to the national level, but take it to the international level, too. In Puerto Rico, there is no democracy and no participation. The electoral exercise is simply a pantomime of what a democracy is.”
On Tuesday, Puerto Ricans elected Ricardo Rosselló of the New Progressive Party as governor. Rosselló is a conservative who strongly favors U.S. statehood for Puerto Rico.
From the First African-American President to One Supported by the Ku Klux Klan: Trump Wins in Upset
Donald J. Trump was elected 45th president of the United States on Tuesday, defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton in a stunning upset that reverberated around the world. Trump carried at least 279 Electoral College votes to Clinton’s 218, although Trump appears to have narrowly lost the popular vote. Donald Trump has never held elective office. He opened his campaign in 2015 with a speech calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists. Trump has proposed banning all Muslims from entering the United States. He openly mocked his opponents, reporters, Asians, African Americans and the disabled. More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual assault, and he was heard in a 2005 videotape boasting about sexually assaulting women. Throughout the campaign, Trump drew the enthusiastic support of white nationalists and hate groups. Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, who ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana, cheered the outcome of the election. Duke tweeted, “This is one of the most exciting nights of my life -> make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain.”
AMY GOODMAN: Donald Trump has been elected the 45th president of the United States, defeating Hillary Clinton in a stunning upset that reverberated around the world. Trump carried at least 279 Electoral College votes to Clinton’s 218, although Trump appears to have narrowly lost the popular vote. As recently as yesterday, some pollsters were predicting Clinton had a 99 percent chance of winning the election, but that was before Trump pulled off victories in the key battleground states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Ohio.
Donald Trump, who has never held elective office, opened his campaign in 2015 with a speech calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists. He has proposed banning all Muslims from entering the United States. He openly mocked his opponents, reporters, Asians, African Americans and the disabled. More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual assault, and he can be heard in a 2005 videotape boasting about sexually assaulting women. Throughout the campaign, Donald Trump drew the enthusiastic support of the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalist and hate groups. Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, who ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana, cheered the outcome of the election. Duke tweeted, “This is one of the most exciting nights of my life -> make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump! #MAGA [Make America Great Again],” unquote.
Around 2:50 Eastern time this morning, Donald Trump took the stage at the New York Hilton Hotel victory party, saying he had received a phone call from Hillary Clinton congratulating him on the win.
PRESIDENT–ELECT DONALD TRUMP: I have just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us—it’s about us—on our victory. And I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she—she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely.
Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I am reaching out to you for your guidance and your help, so that we can work together and unify our great country.
As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign, but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family. It’s a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people.
And serve the people it will. Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I’ve spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world. That is now what I want to do for our country.
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll have more on Donald Trump’s election as 45th president of the United States in a minute.
[snip] (c. 52:00)
[snip]
[In her closing remarks, Amy Goodman announced that a second hour of coverage will be available at DemocracyNow.org.] [9 NOV 2016]
Learn more at DEMOCRACY NOW!
*
ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE, TUESDAY
KPFA NEWS—[8 NOV 2016] [Three-hour broadcast from 9pm PST to midnight.]
[The end of the Democracy Now! Election Night coverage ended at 9pm PST with a music break and local station identifications, appeals for support, and local announcements. KPFA Radio has Mark Mericle come on the air announcing Trump is polling stronger than expected. And stocks are crashing in response to the uncertainty associated with a potential Trump presidency.]
MARK MERICLE: (c. 0:01) “Republican Donald Trump has won his point, at least. He proved he can run a cooperative and a competitive presidential campaign on his own idiosyncratic terms. He still may win the presidency itself yet tonight. All the signs are pointing to it. Hillary Clinton, who has not performed as expected in state after state, must win nearly all the battles, which remain to be decided. It’s still too close to call. But it’s a lot closer than almost all the experts predicted.
“And stock analysts are warning investors not to make any hasty decisions to buy or sell. The Dow futures and Asian markets are crashing.
“Meanwhile, plenty of business still tonight in California: 17 propositions are on the statewide ballot. ”
[News Headlines are read by Mark Mericle. Mark Mericle interviews Mitch Perry(sp?) in Tampa, Florida with FloridaPolitics.com. (21:19 PST) Mericle continues updating the ‘horse race’. (21:20 PST) (c. 0:20) Sharon Saboda(sp?) reports from Hillary Clinton camp. Mark Mericle interview Gavin Newsom.]
[KPFA News Department’s Max Pringle reads KPFA News Headlines]
[(c. 21:35 PST) (c. 35:00) Next report.]
[(c. 21:45 PST) Mark Mericle speaks with Tom Campbell, former south bay congressperson.]
[(c. 21:47 PST) (c. 47:00) Mark Mericle interviews Brit-sounding Matt Cherry, who led the campaign for Proposition 62, to abolish the death penalty in California. SF Bay Area is trending in favour of Prop. 62, but the rest of California seems to be against Prop. 62. Matt Cherry cautions premature calls, as the Los Angeles area has still not fully reported election results. (c. 21:52) Mark Mericle dismissed Matt Cherry.]
[(c. 21:52 PST) Mark Mericle gets into local SF Bay Area measures. Oakland Measure HH, the sugar soda tax seems to be winning. Unidentified guest interviews Dianne Wolsen(sp?) on the sugar soda tax.]
[snip]
[(c. 22:02 PST) News Headlines (read by Aileen Alfandary)]
[(c. 22:17 PST) Mark Mericle dismisses Don Nielsen(sp?) on presidential election commentary.]
[(c. 22:17 PST) Next guest, Mike Walinski (CA Teachers Association), on statewide ballot propositions.]
[(c. 22:25 PST) KPFA reporter on local politician Jesse Arreguin poised to be the first Latino mayor of Berkeley, endorsed by Bernie Sanders. Arreguin speaks with KPFA’s Mark Mericle. (c. 22:31) Mark Mericle dismisses Arreguin.]
[(c. 22:32) Music break]
[(c. 23:23 PST) Podesta asks the audience to call it a night, as there’s still a few states, which are too close to call tonight. Podesta asks everyone to go home for the night and tries to pump up the crowd one last time. But signs of cracks in the veneer are starting to show.]
Podesta announces that Hillary Clinton will not be speaking on Election Night
Trump Speech After 2016 November Election
[(c. 23:46 PST) New VP Mike Pence gave a victory speech and introduced the new US president Donald Trump.]
[(c. 23:51 PST) Donald Trump took the stage, announced that Hillary Clinton just telephoned him to concede the election, gave a bloated and vacuous victory speech. (c. 23:59 PST) Trump acknowledged his campaign team and offered his concluding remarks, including thanks to Rudy Giuliani, Governor Chris Christy, Senator Jeff Sessions, Dr. Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee and family, General Mike Flynn(sp?), General Kellog(sp?), et al.]
[Three-hour broadcast of the KPFA News Department’s Election Night coverage ended at midnight, in terms of the time-blocks in which the radio broadcasts are archived. But, in reality, Mark Mericle and the KPFA News Department stayed on the air past midnight with their coverage of the U.S. presidential election. The regularly scheduled programme, No Other Radio Network, was preempted for a few minutes, as Trump’s victory speech carried on.]
[(c. 00:03 PST) Donald Trump continued after somebody, apparently his campaign manager, announced him as the ‘next president of the United States’. Trump acknowledged the Secret Service and “law enforcement”. Trump promised to “do a great job”.]
PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: “And law enforcement in New York City, they’re here tonight. [audience cheers and applauds] These are spectacular people, sometimes underappreciated, unfortunately, but we appreciate them. We know what they go through. So, it’s been what they call a historic event. But, to be really historic, we have to do a great job. [Audience member: Yeah!] And, I promise you, that I will not let you down. We will do a great job. We will do a great job. I look very much forward to being your president. And, hopefully, at the end of two years or three years or four years or, maybe, even eight years—[audience cheers]—you will say—so many worked so hard for us, but—you will say that that was something that you were really were very proud to do. And I can only—[responding to voice in the crowd] thank you—that, while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is, now, really, just beginning. [audience cheers] We’re going to—” [(c. 00:04 PST) (c. 04:27) Mark Mericle cut into the broadcast, as it seemed Donald Trump had no intention of wrapping up his victory speech anytime soon. In fact, it went on about four more minutes. (See video above for extended audio of Trump’s remarks.) On free speech radio, KPFA News Department boss Mark Mericle read credits of KPFA News Department’s coverage of the 2016 November General Election coverage.]
MARK MERICLE: “And that’s it, folks. We do have a winner. His name is Donald Trump. That’s a wrap. But this is not a movie. That will conclude KPFA’s Election Night coverage. Donald Trump has been elected the next president of the United States. Hillary Clinton conceded to him in a telephone call tonight without speaking to the nation at all.
“Thanks for joining us tonight, and thanks to the team, that produced this coverage. Aileen Alfandary was our executive producer and newscaster. Christina Aanestad was our producer. Assistant producer: Corrine Smith. Janeen Edder(sp?) was our engineer. Max Pringle: our newscaster. Christopher Martinez and Mike Cohn(sp?) provided statewide returns. Megan Sussman provided returns from San Francisco. Sadia Malik(sp?) handled the returns in Alameda County. Tia Monroe(sp?) covered the Berkeley mayor’s race. Justin Gold covered Proposition 64, the legalise marijuana measure, which easily passed. Sharon Sabodo(sp?) was with the Democratic Party in San Francisco. Taylor Romine(sp?) with Scott Weiner For State Senate. Simon Peltier was our sound editor. China Armstrong covered the Richmond Progressive Alliance and the Richmond Rent Control measure. Amber Miles was with the Jane Kim For State Senate race in San Francisco. Ruben Sapphire was with the Green County in the East Bay. Vic Bedoyin(sp?) covered the central valley races from Fresno. Glen Reader(sp?) was on the Oakland Measure HH, the soda tax measure. Karen Argood(sp?) produced the voices of voters. And our technical producer tonight was Dev Ross.
“If you appreciated this coverage, here, on KPFA, and our coverage of the election season throughout the last 18 months and can help us continue this work, please go to kpfa.org and make whatever contribution you can. I’m Mark Mericle. Good night. [theme music funk instrumental] (c. 6:43) [(c. 7:25) Hosts of No Other Radio Network take over the radio trransmission with its abstract audio collages, reflecting a particularly jilted sense of American pride amongst the liberals and progressives in the wake of Trump’s demagogic electoral victory. Abolish the Electoral College.]
(c. 2:59:59)
Learn more at KPFA NEWS.
*
PACIFICA RADIO—[8 NOV 2016] [Four-hour broadcast from 5pm to 9pm PST, produced by Democracy Now!]
[Four-hour special broadcast is scheduled for Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, 2016, starting at 5pm (when the first time zone of election polls close on the east coast at 8pm eastern time zone).]
[(c. 62:00) Second hour begins. Florida overwhelmingly passes medical cannabis legalisation.]
[(c. 74:00) Thomas Frank critiques Hillary Clinton’s type of “liberalism”. But he, nevertheless, admits that he voted for Hillary Clinton. And, saliently, he carefully avoids the word neoliberalism]
[(c. 76:00) Dr. Malveaux tepidly enunciates the explosive word “neoliberalism”. But she does so dismissively.]
[(c. 77:00) Amy Goodman moves on to voter suppression issues, including a lawsuit invoking the Ku Klux Klan Act and its legacy.]
[Guest argues that a moral hunger exists among liberals to reclaim the moral centre.]
[(c. 95:00) Dr. Malveaux, the indefatigable Hillary Clinton apologist, says she’s not voting against Donald Trump but for Hillary Clinton.]
[(c. 96:00) Reverend Barber: There wouldn’t be a Donald Trump without a backlash against Obama. On the race question: People have suffered for rights, “died and bled”.]
[(c. 92:00) Next guests…Mitch Perry(sp?)]
[(c. 97:00) AG gives Thomas Frank an opportunity to respond, as she ‘knows he must leave the broadcast soon.]
[(c. 1:13:00) Greg Grandin…]
[(19:04 PST) (c. 2:04:00) Eddie Glaude: There are no surprises.] [This sounds like a repeat of what was said, or broadcast, earlier at 17:00 PDT, or earlier in the day, during the regular Democracy Now! broadcast.]
[Dr. Malveaux chimes in, largely agreeing and perpetuating this subtle Democratic Party apologia.]
[(19:08 PST) (c. 2:08:00) AG updates the two-party dictatorship ‘horse race’.]
[snip]
[(20:06 PST) Allan Nairn alleges the FBI may be swinging the vote in favour of Trump.]
[(20:08 PST) CBS News has just reported that Trump has won North Carolina.]
[(20:13 PST) (c. 3:13:00) Sheriff Joe Arpaio(sp?) has lost his election.]
[(20:13 PST) (c. 3:13:00) Next guest: ]
[(20:23 PST) Dr. Malveaux cites Dr. Ralph Nader]
[(20:23 PST) John Nichols cuts in.]
[(20:25 PST) Alan Nairn cuts in.]
[(20:26 PST) Amy Goodman cuts in, brings up other issues, including 84-year old Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is facing criminal charges and facing possible jail time.]
[(20:27 PST) Alan Nairn applauds justice being served against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who once called for prisoners caloric intake to be reduced, so that they wouldn’t have the energy to resist prison injustices.]
[c. 20:28 PST] Female pundit joins in.
[(20:40 PST) John Nichols retorts.]
[Professor Eddie Glaude, Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter, chimes in.]
[(20:43 PST) The other male guest chimes in.]
[(20:43 PST) Dr. Malveaux chimes in.]
[Back and forth chatter within a narrow two-party paradigm continues.]
[(20:44 PST) Dr. Malveaux invokes Russia fearmongering: ‘Maybe Trump has dealings with Russia.’]
[Back and forth chatter within a narrow two-party paradigm continues. No mention of the erosion of democracy, which only Dr. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka’s Green Party campaign are countering.]
[(20:25 PST) Amy Goodman cuts in to the horse race banter to introduce Wayne Barrett(sp?). AG reports the corporate media has now reported Iowa coming in favour of Trump. Barett invokes Bruce Springsteen, a ‘man of the people’, who was ‘never asked’ to campaign for Hillary Clinton. Deluded liberals are reeling as Trump appears to be winning county after county and state after state on election day.]
[(20:48 PST) Amy Goodman cuts in to report that ‘Donald Trump has just won the battleground state of Georgia’.]
[(20:54 PST) Amy Goodman asks about Trump’s relationship with the FBI, including James Comey (b. 1960).]
[Democracy Now’s neoliberal rhetoric continues until the KPFA News Department cuts in, giving no word that the broadcast will not be returning to Democracy Now’s ‘expert’ panel.]
[(21:00 PST) Democracy Now! team silently ends their broadcast transmission.]
[snip]
[snip] (c. 3:59:59)
Learn more at PACIFICA RADIO.
*
FLASHPOINTS—[8 NOV 2016] [Broadcast summary from kpfa.org broadcast archive page: “Today on Flashpoints: Greg Palast joins us for an election daypost mortem on voter-intimidation. Also The Pipeline: How Marin and San Francisco Financial Firms Fuel the Fracking Boom. And we’ll see if we can get in a few listener phone calls.”]
[snip]
Learn more at FLASHPOINTS.
*
HARD KNOCK RADIO—[8 NOV 2016] [During the first half hour, Davey D spoke with a centrist liberal, whose remarks largely bolstered a Democrat apologist line of argumentation in the context of the 2016 November general election.]
[snip]
[snip] (c. 59:59)
Learn more at HARD KNOCK RADIO.
*
LETTERS AND POLITICS—[8 NOV 2016] [“Election Commentary with Richard Wolff” broadcast preview summary (accessed at 10:21 PDT on 8 NOV 2016): “with Dr. Richard Wolff, a renowned American Marxist economist, and Professor of Economics Emeritus, about the elections, the state of politics in the US and his ideas for rewriting the economic script in the country. His latest book is Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism.”]
[transcript pending]
[Messina called in during the call-in section and raised a bunch of issues, particularly the economic fact that we can end involuntary unemployment as we know it through an MMT-based job guarantee programme. MMT stands for modern money theory, which, as taught at heterodox economics departments throughout the United States, such as at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, shows us how we have monetary sovereignty, which allows us to use modern money for public purpose. Your author’s former professor, Dr. Stephanie Kelton, for example, shows us that all money exists as an IOU. This means, technically, taxes don’t pay for federal spending. They pay for state spending, but not federal spending. Dr. Richard Wolff agreed that everything was “correct”. But he didn’t really delve into, or engage with, the issue of the MMT-based job guarantee programme because it seems to clash with his particular variety of Marxian ideology.]
[snip] (c. 59:59)
Learn more at LETTERS AND POLITICS.
*
DEMOCRACY NOW!—[8 NOV 2016] [Listen to this radio broadcast here; or view the TV version here.]
[Democracy Now! featured coverage of the many local ballot measures throughout the nation, apparently the most in any general election in recent history. Many of the local ballot measures involve minimum wage laws, local revenue needs, medicinal (and so-called non-medicinal) cannabis sales, sin taxes, and other health care initiatives.]
[(c. 27:00) Inequality.org]
[(c. 30:00) Graham Nash music break/local station identifications and announcements]
[Rolling Stone’s Greg Palast (author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy) reported from the ‘battleground’ state of Ohio. Greg Palast has also reported for free speech KPFA Radio’s Flashpoints for its Election Protection series during the 2016 presidential election.]
[On charges of ‘double-voting’ found through ‘cross-checking’ of ballots with similar names as a pretense for purging voters of colour from voter rolls. At least one million voters are being deleted from the voter rolls; their ballots are being invalidated. Audit functions are being turned off in Ohio.]
[(c. 45:00) Amy Goodman dismisses Greg Palast]
[(c. 45:30) music break/local station identifications and announcements/on KPFA, Christina Aanestad appeals for listener donations]
[On upgrading our democratic process: abolishing the electoral college; National Popular Vote Interstate Compact; ranked-choice voting (or instant run-off voting); proportional representation.] (c. 51:00)
[Guest from Fair Vote.]
[(c. 55:00) Archive clip from Amy Goodman’s ambush interview of Bill Clinton on the political bankruptcy of the two-party system]
[snip] (c. 59:59)
Learn more at DEMOCRACY NOW!.
***
ENDNOTES
[1] For example, see the following articles:
- “The Stolen Presidential Elections” by Michael Parenti, MichaelParenti.org, May 2007 (updated version)
- “How the 2004 Presidential ‘Election’ Was Stolen by George W. Bush” by Eric Zuesse, 25 OCT 2016.
***
[‘ranked-choice ballot’ image by source, used via fair use. ]
[‘Model 100 voting machine’ by Messina]
[8 NOV 2016]
[Last modified 17:37 PST 10 NOV 2016]
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