Not one single comment as to a single redeeming attribute of Donald Trump. To elect a man whose well-known false claims and lies about the President's birth certificate and then just simply say it's over is not the kind of man needed in the White House.
America will never be the same because of the nasty and fraud nature of Donald Trump.
America will never be the same because of the nasty and fraud nature of Donald Trump.
448
Rudeness and Boorishness? Really? Your brother didn't really watch any of the debates or Trump's rude and boorish performance at the the Al Smith Dinner. Political discourse in this country has been dealing steadily for some time. But, one of the lowest points was September 2009 when Joe Wilson stood up during Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress and yelled "You Lie".
481
Affluent, educated? Paper napkins, tin gravy, ham sliced in bite size pieces, nylon tablecloth, sad centre piece, dollar store candles, ancient Pyrex, Trump swill...and a healthy serving of nastiness. I hope they enjoyed their enlightened fare. So thankful this was not on our family menu.
311
Dear Maureen, if you wish to return to Donald's good graces I suggest you write an apology letter to him that reads something like this.
Dear Donald, I realize that my descriptions of you were not terribly flattering, but at least I portrayed you as a somewhat lovable doofus. It may not be the portrait you want to mount on your golden guilded bathroom wall, but consider how I painted your rival in the thousands of portraits I skillfully crafted over the years.
I turned Hillary into Snow White's evil queen, the wicked vessel of self serving, unethical ambition.
I was actually one of your most effective promoters- who wouldn't pick Ralph Kamden over Malificent? You really should be offering me at least an apprenticeship if not a post in your cabinet.
Dear Donald, I realize that my descriptions of you were not terribly flattering, but at least I portrayed you as a somewhat lovable doofus. It may not be the portrait you want to mount on your golden guilded bathroom wall, but consider how I painted your rival in the thousands of portraits I skillfully crafted over the years.
I turned Hillary into Snow White's evil queen, the wicked vessel of self serving, unethical ambition.
I was actually one of your most effective promoters- who wouldn't pick Ralph Kamden over Malificent? You really should be offering me at least an apprenticeship if not a post in your cabinet.
375
It's silly to see the support for Trump as anything other than a Black Friday impulse purchase.
I'm fairly certain the Trumpites will spend a lot of their intellectual and emotional resources the next few years justifying their choice even as the drama of deconstruction grows more and more sober and portentous.
"Never saw it coming," they'll say, worried of a sudden, as things fall apart and our president does business -- as usual.
I'm fairly certain the Trumpites will spend a lot of their intellectual and emotional resources the next few years justifying their choice even as the drama of deconstruction grows more and more sober and portentous.
"Never saw it coming," they'll say, worried of a sudden, as things fall apart and our president does business -- as usual.
210
I try to listen to Trump people and I still just don't get them. I don't see anywhere the EPA is winning. Instead, I see lead in our drinking water, pig effluent pools overflowing into the rivers and groundwater, species dying right and left from starvation or habitat loss, out of control factory farming that is a vortex of misery and torture, and rampant GmO crops that are leading to super bugs of all species. Where exactly is the EPA winning? I just don't get it..
And also, i agree with anyone who thinks Maureens 'brother' is a fabrication. Seems a silly way to write an opinion piece.
And also, i agree with anyone who thinks Maureens 'brother' is a fabrication. Seems a silly way to write an opinion piece.
233
Sorry, Kevin, but rudeness is not limited to one party. Remember Obama's heckler in the U.S. Congress? How about the lack of civility of the man who questioned his president's citizenship? While I wish the theater goers would have let Governor Pence watch Hamilton in peace, he is familiar with the risks of being a public figure and took it in stride. People had many reasons for voting for the GOP ticket, but good manners can't have been on the list because the GOP candidate crossed the civility line daily. Mr. Trump doesn't talk about safe spaces, but does seem to have deeply wounded feelings a lot. He looks like the poster boy for the whiny culture you attribute to the Democrats.
312
Dear Kevin: Let's table this discussion for now and schedule another one for this time next year. We'll see how things shake out. Oh, and keep a copy of your column handy, it will be instructive to review it in light of a year of a Trump presidency. Prediction: Be ready for Humble Pie for Thanksgiving next year.
180
Dowd Bro - like others who share his rationalization - manages to simultaneously hold completely opposing belief systems, smearing lipstick copiously on a pig when necessary in order to tiptoe around what will become clear to everyone over the next several months: the pig will be moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January and whatever he may think of "Cersei", the country made a big mistake on November 8th, the repercussions of which will last decades.
180
Wow. So, Maureen Dowd phones it in and allows her conservative right-wing brother to write her column for her? Where he gets to lecture minorities like myself, whose rights are in danger, to just "suck it up, buttercups"?
This is a weirdly cruel and nasty Thanksgiving missive from Ms. Dowd, it is awful by any standard. This is bizarre, and I am seriously re-considering my Times subscription. Your Op-Ed pages are a dusty mausoleum of unbelievably stale 90s thinking. Friedman, Brooks, Dowd, Douthat- no one in the real world cares one bit about what they have to say, they are dinosaurs. Sorry to say, but the Times is a dinosaur too, there is some serious shake-ups needed, because I cannot believe how quickly the Times as slipped into irrelevancy. It is drastic, how badly the Times has lost the esteem it once held. Maybe get rid of garbage columns like this if you want to stay relevant, it's a disgrace.
This is a weirdly cruel and nasty Thanksgiving missive from Ms. Dowd, it is awful by any standard. This is bizarre, and I am seriously re-considering my Times subscription. Your Op-Ed pages are a dusty mausoleum of unbelievably stale 90s thinking. Friedman, Brooks, Dowd, Douthat- no one in the real world cares one bit about what they have to say, they are dinosaurs. Sorry to say, but the Times is a dinosaur too, there is some serious shake-ups needed, because I cannot believe how quickly the Times as slipped into irrelevancy. It is drastic, how badly the Times has lost the esteem it once held. Maybe get rid of garbage columns like this if you want to stay relevant, it's a disgrace.
244
Looking at the way that the American left and right have been eating themselves alive over the past 18 months - and the hysteria to which the election result has been received it seems to me that both sides are exactly like the other. The baiting, the outrage, the irony, the histrionics and drama - the hypocrisy is prevalent on both sides. The chastising by Mr Brooks would have been a bitter postmortem about 'rigged' elections if Ms Clinton had won - similarly now the Clinton supporters attacking the electoral college and attacking the right for being 'morally bankrupt'.
In America the most important element to get elected is not policy - but how a candidate makes you feel. From his first day in office Obama was hated by the core supporters who support trump - why? because they feared him - Trump gets those supporters the same way - tapping into fear. Never mind that the left would give more 'stuff' like a decent safety net to these impoverished communities - no its down to feelings. This is the result of a culture which is now officially a reality TV show.
Mr Brooks decries liberals for their weakness as exemplified in his distaste for kids getting medals for participation - but yet from his own writing here - It is apparent that by ignoring everything about Trump which borders on white supremacy he is rooting for the guy who makes him feel better. The guy who shores up what he thinks a human should be - tough, feelings are for wimps etc.
Two sides of the one coin.
In America the most important element to get elected is not policy - but how a candidate makes you feel. From his first day in office Obama was hated by the core supporters who support trump - why? because they feared him - Trump gets those supporters the same way - tapping into fear. Never mind that the left would give more 'stuff' like a decent safety net to these impoverished communities - no its down to feelings. This is the result of a culture which is now officially a reality TV show.
Mr Brooks decries liberals for their weakness as exemplified in his distaste for kids getting medals for participation - but yet from his own writing here - It is apparent that by ignoring everything about Trump which borders on white supremacy he is rooting for the guy who makes him feel better. The guy who shores up what he thinks a human should be - tough, feelings are for wimps etc.
Two sides of the one coin.
45
So now that the Clintons are not around to bash and point to, who will people like Kevin and the Clinton haters focus their anger on in the Democratic Party? Perhaps they can focus on their own words and actions, dissecting everything until it illuminates a new hatred - that of the self.
99
Political reporters and their bosses must also "have access" to the next 1,461 days of Trump. What else may we read into Maureen's abdication from practicing free unfettered journalism, let the bully dictate his terms or you are barred from his rantings and ratings, A reaction from older days reporters would have been to stiffen up their courage, not cave in. It is all surreal, Trump complained about the media live cameras right in front him, dozens and dozens of them, which gave him unprecedented access and exposure. Corporate media's response was the other candidates could have phoned them up any time. Throughout the entire campaign period Bernie Sanders speeches had less time than a couple of waiting for Trump to appear on stage live feeds, Trumps jet had more time than Hillary. Yet he complained, yet the media covered him too much, was all very weird.
45
Memo Mr. Dowd: You cannot get away with claiming that not all Trump voters are "homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists or any other 'ists'." Such a claim is as morally vacuous as it is intellectually fatuous.
You and your ilk knowingly supported a man who publicly, explicitly and repeatedly trafficked in racism, religious bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, etc., and you threw your lot in with his supporters who enthusiastically embraced the same enmities.
It is a non sequitur to posit that there are "bad" Trump voters and "good" Trump voters. All Trump voters shall, and should, be judged by the company they chose to keep.
You and your ilk knowingly supported a man who publicly, explicitly and repeatedly trafficked in racism, religious bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, etc., and you threw your lot in with his supporters who enthusiastically embraced the same enmities.
It is a non sequitur to posit that there are "bad" Trump voters and "good" Trump voters. All Trump voters shall, and should, be judged by the company they chose to keep.
250
He pulled off the greatest defeat...with Comey, hacked emails, outright lies, demonstrated misogyny, xenophobia, the approval of the KKK... But all that doesn't matter, we still get to gloat because our guy won. It doesn't really matter how, or if there are people who no longer feel safe in our country. It's "rude" of them to speak up and rain on the winner's parade. The Trump campaign wasn't polite or respectful - why do people who object to his divisive policies held to a much higher standard ?
154
This column proves that even the educated are factually ignorant. ISIS composes a tiny proportion of the Islamic "community." Yet Republicans want everybody to use the "politically incorrect" term "Radical Islam" as Islam making common cause with ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
White power neo-nazis are a larger component of those who support Trump, so why should there be a different standard for those whom made common cause with them? Neo-nazis should therefore be called "Radical Republicans."
White power neo-nazis are a larger component of those who support Trump, so why should there be a different standard for those whom made common cause with them? Neo-nazis should therefore be called "Radical Republicans."
118
Kevin, you go on and on about how democrat's supposed over sensitivity is ruining the country but then get in a lather when an avowed homophobe is booed and lectured at a Broadway play. My advice: toughen up, you're going to get 4 years of it.
178
Mr. Dowd,
I voted Democrat for the last 9 elections, but I agree with some of what you say. Surprised? You shouldn't be. In the reality populated by people who search for truth and evaluate information, as Americans we don't really differ by that much. There are always things upon which we can agree. We can respect each other, and don't need to find reasons to be offended.
In the reality populated by people who spend their time in echo chambers and believe what they read based on what they want to be true, there is no room for true respect. Instead, the creed is "Lead with your middle finger", then wonder why the other person thinks you are an idiot.
Notice that these things are not based on being a Conservative or Liberal. They aren't based on your race or religion. They aren't even based on your hair style. Instead, they are based on the deliberate choice to be informed about our world and respectful of the opinions of others. That's all it takes.
About Mr. Pence - like you, I was raised to respect those placed in authority above me. It's a basic part of my religion. However, I can't help but notice that Mr. Pence handled the situation with dignity, while others, including our President-elect, seem to be determined to be offended in his place. That, Mr. Dowd, is a basic component of the political correctness you profess to eschew.
Respectfully,
Jack Cain
I voted Democrat for the last 9 elections, but I agree with some of what you say. Surprised? You shouldn't be. In the reality populated by people who search for truth and evaluate information, as Americans we don't really differ by that much. There are always things upon which we can agree. We can respect each other, and don't need to find reasons to be offended.
In the reality populated by people who spend their time in echo chambers and believe what they read based on what they want to be true, there is no room for true respect. Instead, the creed is "Lead with your middle finger", then wonder why the other person thinks you are an idiot.
Notice that these things are not based on being a Conservative or Liberal. They aren't based on your race or religion. They aren't even based on your hair style. Instead, they are based on the deliberate choice to be informed about our world and respectful of the opinions of others. That's all it takes.
About Mr. Pence - like you, I was raised to respect those placed in authority above me. It's a basic part of my religion. However, I can't help but notice that Mr. Pence handled the situation with dignity, while others, including our President-elect, seem to be determined to be offended in his place. That, Mr. Dowd, is a basic component of the political correctness you profess to eschew.
Respectfully,
Jack Cain
79
Ms. Dowd got it in the end. Her (and her family's) dislike, disapproval (and possibly hatred) of the Clintons trumps any consideration about Mr Trump obvious shortcomings to become POTUS. Time will tell how right Mr Krugman's Friday tweet was.
40
How quickly Kevin forgets how in 2008 Republicans made their number one priority to limit Barack Obama to one term - which failed - and the years of blocking so many attempts to govern, culminating with the disgraceful disregard of the President's constitutional duty to appoint a Supreme Court justice. I do not think this gives Republicans, including Kevin, the license to lecture others on not being sore losers.
I agree with some of the analysis Kevin offers, as I agree that Trump surfaced valid and serious concerns in America. What I do not and cannot agree with is that the answers offered or the elected leader are the right ones to move the country to a better place.
This sugar high will end, and sooner than we think, and the cracks that will most certainly emerge will come not from Democratic opposition but rather from the right for a host of reasons, not least the unmet expectations of millions of Americans waiting for jobs to be returned to them, and I mean in a structural way rather than some twitter boast about a company or two.
Maureen - I like your column a lot, and have a sneaking suspicion you have better family Thanksgivings ahead ... and sooner than you may think.
I agree with some of the analysis Kevin offers, as I agree that Trump surfaced valid and serious concerns in America. What I do not and cannot agree with is that the answers offered or the elected leader are the right ones to move the country to a better place.
This sugar high will end, and sooner than we think, and the cracks that will most certainly emerge will come not from Democratic opposition but rather from the right for a host of reasons, not least the unmet expectations of millions of Americans waiting for jobs to be returned to them, and I mean in a structural way rather than some twitter boast about a company or two.
Maureen - I like your column a lot, and have a sneaking suspicion you have better family Thanksgivings ahead ... and sooner than you may think.
58
Maureen, your readers deserve better than your brother's average, boiler-plate analysis.
115
I am sick to death of the right blaming "the left" for Trump. The right invented the term "the left," remember? I am sick to death of zealous DTers whose signs still litter neighborhoods. I am sick to death of reading that DT didn't really mean all those terrible things he said and the company he attracts on so many occasions and that Hillary is so much worse for calling out all the horribleness as "deplorable;" or that he's automatically brilliant because he's a businessman but fail to overlook his bankruptcies, extreme number of lawsuits and non-payment of invoices from contract laborers. I am sick to death of his sickening attitude toward women. Men of America, let me give you advance warning - you showed your muscle in this election, look out for us in the next. I am sick to death of his limited 15 word vocabulary and his utter disinterest in learning or reading about that anything that will affect all of us, and the safety and protection of our world and planet. The election is over, of that we agree. Everything else is a battle to be waged.
124
Kevin, what exactly do you think you have 'won' (apart from 'repudiation' for your grievances)?
The billionaires filling his cabinet have 'won.' The Hollow Man wants to capitalize further on his hollow name has 'won.'
But what, truly, have you won?
This is a Pyrrhic victory.
The billionaires filling his cabinet have 'won.' The Hollow Man wants to capitalize further on his hollow name has 'won.'
But what, truly, have you won?
This is a Pyrrhic victory.
46
"Repudiation of Barrack Obama"?
Oh how those living in a (Clinton) bubble misread what has occurred.
Trump's win was not a repudiation of Obama. Obama's victory and Trumps' victory were the same: the angry middle reaching for "change" even if they knew deep down it wasn't gonna happen.
Sure small cohorts of voters shifted in each case (lots of reporting of the urban and non-urban voter turnout here) but in the end the overall middle simply voted against the known (and disliked) Clinton machine.
Oh how those living in a (Clinton) bubble misread what has occurred.
Trump's win was not a repudiation of Obama. Obama's victory and Trumps' victory were the same: the angry middle reaching for "change" even if they knew deep down it wasn't gonna happen.
Sure small cohorts of voters shifted in each case (lots of reporting of the urban and non-urban voter turnout here) but in the end the overall middle simply voted against the known (and disliked) Clinton machine.
23
Thank you, Ms. Dowd. After reading Mr. Blow's column a few days ago, I wondered if any critical columnist would have the hutzpah to call out the Dems on their "sore loser" reactions to Trump winning the White House. You did.
32
Kevin's senseless rant only proves Krugman's right. Again...
105
Maureen,
I like to save things which I know will be useful in the future.
I'd stash Kevin's column away somewhere and serve it up as a future Thanksgiving meal, because he'll certainly be eating his words at some point down the road.
My guess is that, at some point, he may regret having written such a gloating piece. But words are permanent, and cannot be retracted.
You'll need patience, but you'll get your chance...
I like to save things which I know will be useful in the future.
I'd stash Kevin's column away somewhere and serve it up as a future Thanksgiving meal, because he'll certainly be eating his words at some point down the road.
My guess is that, at some point, he may regret having written such a gloating piece. But words are permanent, and cannot be retracted.
You'll need patience, but you'll get your chance...
46
"Liberals miss this by being illiberal." -Frank Bruni, NYT Columnist
As a lifelong Democrat, I am now realizing -- as a result of reading all of the post-election NYT Op-Eds and Comments' sections -- how self-righteous, melodramatic, intolerant and self-serving Democrats really are. I always attributed those character traits to Republicans. I guess those attributes are humans being human and they unveil themselves when people don't get their way.
Dems, Please start writing Op-Eds and Comments about what YOU are doing and going to do to help people who made no progress under President Obama and whose lives have slipped through their fingers. Let's all start with the Unemployment Epidemic of the past eight years and the fact that the jobs reports don't tell the real story. Here's a good stat to begin with: "At 4.9 percent, the nation's unemployment rate is half of what it was at the height of the Great Recession. But that number hides a big problem: Millions of men in their prime working years have dropped out of the workforce..." (Source: NPR)... seven million men! ... I'm a woman, yet I feel their pain. Do you know the stat when you include women, dear NYT and subscribers? Look it up and write about solutions and your contribution to triaging this Epidemic.
As a lifelong Democrat, I am now realizing -- as a result of reading all of the post-election NYT Op-Eds and Comments' sections -- how self-righteous, melodramatic, intolerant and self-serving Democrats really are. I always attributed those character traits to Republicans. I guess those attributes are humans being human and they unveil themselves when people don't get their way.
Dems, Please start writing Op-Eds and Comments about what YOU are doing and going to do to help people who made no progress under President Obama and whose lives have slipped through their fingers. Let's all start with the Unemployment Epidemic of the past eight years and the fact that the jobs reports don't tell the real story. Here's a good stat to begin with: "At 4.9 percent, the nation's unemployment rate is half of what it was at the height of the Great Recession. But that number hides a big problem: Millions of men in their prime working years have dropped out of the workforce..." (Source: NPR)... seven million men! ... I'm a woman, yet I feel their pain. Do you know the stat when you include women, dear NYT and subscribers? Look it up and write about solutions and your contribution to triaging this Epidemic.
45
Ms. Dowd: I wish you would spare us your brother's takes on politics. We come here to learn your views. If I wanted opinions like your brother's, I'd go to the Breitbart News.
92
All of the clichés and misinformation spread during the election are contained in this column. Kevin Dowd is living proof , to paraphrase H.L. Mencken, that "no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people".
86
Kevin and his colleagues live in a fantasy world where concern for others is considered "elitist" or "p.c." Another word for anti-P.C. is "racist," sexist," "bigoted," "misogynist." His hero Trump brands all people of any particular group as indistinguishable. Trump considers anyone who criticizes him as "disgusting." Is it elitist to want a thoughtful, considerate, measured, courteous person sitting in the White House? The alleged "liberal" "untrustworthy" media are merely those who report the facts. It is the Republicans who flee the truth and live in a fantasy world where saying it makes it so. Witness G.W. Bush doctoring EPA documents relating to climate change. Witness Florida's governor forbidding his staff from referring to "climate change." Witness Republicans voting for a man who has consistently made promises he cannot keep, leading to at least four bankruptcies, shady practices such as buying chips from his own casino to keep it afloat, shady tax practices, promising not to issue junk bonds for his casinos in N.J., then turning around and doing just that, incurring huge losses, then shifting those losses to investors he misled, then claiming those SAME losses on his own tax returns in order to avoid paying income tax on subsequent income of hundreds of millions of dollars. This is not sour grapes. This is fear of what a charlatan will do to the country now that he has been elected based on promises he cannot possibly keep.
81
Ms. Dowd, who are you kidding? You have written five times as much of your disdain about Obama and Hillary than you did about Trump. You voted for Trump as well.
101
Very adult of you! Well done
6
I'm sorry - you may like saying that folks voting for Trump are not homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists, nut you have voted your values, and as his cabinet picks prove, you are all of these things or you would not vote for them. I'm tired of liberals being blamed for your narrowness. It was a liberal who gave you everything you've got from the "dreaded" ACA to seat belts in cars.
57
Pense's response to the message to him from the class was classier than Maureen's: he said he was NOT offended by the direct message to him from the cast; that "that's what freedom sounds like."
39
How bigoted, to reduce the President's commitment to our constitution and its declaration that all people are created equal, to trivialize his support of equality as "his fixation on things like transgender bathrooms". Far too recently in this nation's ugly past, the "fixation" on equal rights cost many people on both sides their lives. Although facts are irrelevant in Mr. Dowd's ignorant universe (and in general, today) the act in North Carolina he apparently refers to also prevents municipalities from enacting anti-discrimination policies, setting a local minimum wage, regulating child labor, or making certain regulations for city workers. What a disgrace, to see our nation's shameful, centuries-old battle for the civil-human-equal rights of its citizens marginalized and mocked in a country founded on this very principle, especially in this newspaper, in this forum, in this column.
64
I'm not sure what world Kevin lives in. In fact if by repudiation it means that people overwhelmingly voted for him, lest he forget Hillary won the popular vote by over 2 million and counting. In a normal year this would have brought her victory. So kev take that bottle of cheap champagne (shows you have little taste there as well) and stow it.
As to who is objectionable, by all accounts the Republicans are very rude, and Trump probably won by being on the News everyday by saying something even more crass than the day before.
As to the economy, like with Clinton, we just handed you a strong and healthy one, please try not to screw it up so completely again. But given your typical policy mixture of stimulusless tax cuts for the rich, which run up the deficit, as they did under Obama until they sunset, I suspect you will. And then take us in to a useless war, that completes the trifecta of waste. The economy will be handed to us again in taters. These deficits and tax cuts make it hard to maintain that precious military you so love.
And yes, Obama had little to work with after the Bush exploded the international world with his stupid military adventures, yet try he did. Oh and who got Osama, 3 trillion dollars of war later?
Obama care is a got send to those with preexisting conditions. I have a feeling it's not going away as easily as the you think.
As to deplorable, well, who you run with says a lot about you.
As to who is objectionable, by all accounts the Republicans are very rude, and Trump probably won by being on the News everyday by saying something even more crass than the day before.
As to the economy, like with Clinton, we just handed you a strong and healthy one, please try not to screw it up so completely again. But given your typical policy mixture of stimulusless tax cuts for the rich, which run up the deficit, as they did under Obama until they sunset, I suspect you will. And then take us in to a useless war, that completes the trifecta of waste. The economy will be handed to us again in taters. These deficits and tax cuts make it hard to maintain that precious military you so love.
And yes, Obama had little to work with after the Bush exploded the international world with his stupid military adventures, yet try he did. Oh and who got Osama, 3 trillion dollars of war later?
Obama care is a got send to those with preexisting conditions. I have a feeling it's not going away as easily as the you think.
As to deplorable, well, who you run with says a lot about you.
67
No you don't, Maureen.
You and a few others were Trump's chief enablers. That he said "Maureen's too tough" is not much different than his "disavowal" of white supremacists - we know he's got their back. He said you're too tough because you exactly weren't - you spent all your time trying to normalize Trump and tear down Hillary. He said you're too tough, Maureen, because he wants to make your enabling of him seem credible, seem objective.
And, by the way... your brother comes across as just another, low-class Trump rally attender, affluent suburbanite or not. Either way, Krugman has it right.
You and a few others were Trump's chief enablers. That he said "Maureen's too tough" is not much different than his "disavowal" of white supremacists - we know he's got their back. He said you're too tough because you exactly weren't - you spent all your time trying to normalize Trump and tear down Hillary. He said you're too tough, Maureen, because he wants to make your enabling of him seem credible, seem objective.
And, by the way... your brother comes across as just another, low-class Trump rally attender, affluent suburbanite or not. Either way, Krugman has it right.
109
Regardless of what the perceptions of the Kevins of the U.S. are about issues, the reality is that Trump is committed to no policies or issues whatever, only to narcissistically manipulating any available audience to achieve short term gain. So, from any political perspective, he is completely unsuitable for the office of the Presdiency.
55
Sorry your brother is a fool.
84
If the US of A going to continue with a functioning Electoral College, the number of Representatives in the House of Representatives MUST rise (or fall) appropriately after every 10 year Census. There hasn’t been a change in the number of Reps since 1910. That would be nineteen TEN!
-
The House of Representatives was built to be a reflection of US population and, by extension, any popular voting trends. If the Electoral College and the 2 Senators per State function NO MATTER the population, where is the actual, factual population representation to counterbalance them? Stuck with the numbers from pre-WWI, the Age of the Robber Barons. What say - Conservative or Progressive alike - we follow the Constitution as written instead of as manipulated since? What say?
-
The House of Representatives was built to be a reflection of US population and, by extension, any popular voting trends. If the Electoral College and the 2 Senators per State function NO MATTER the population, where is the actual, factual population representation to counterbalance them? Stuck with the numbers from pre-WWI, the Age of the Robber Barons. What say - Conservative or Progressive alike - we follow the Constitution as written instead of as manipulated since? What say?
19
Kevin is quite correct and eloquent. The grinder has rejected the baloney to paraphrase Bill Buckley. We should all rejoice at the election of Donald Trump. Hopefully he will be able to kill Liberal microbes that have caused our country to stall economically and reverse morally. Democrats should rejoice that they have found out that their assembly of grievance groups, free stuff, general indecency and Cultural Marxism only works in a few places.
Clearly, happy days are here again!
Clearly, happy days are here again!
22
To use a quote often attributed to Voltaire: I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.
Unfortunately, when you read his column Kevin doesn't sound like the kind of person who would return the favor.
Unfortunately, when you read his column Kevin doesn't sound like the kind of person who would return the favor.
55
Dear Kevin,
I recall another recent Republican legislature and administration. From 2000-2008 they led the country and the world to the brink of disaster. Let's see where we are 4 years from now.
I recall another recent Republican legislature and administration. From 2000-2008 they led the country and the world to the brink of disaster. Let's see where we are 4 years from now.
58
I would suggest they continue to be just that "a basket of deplorables".
23
There are more than a few well-taken points in the quoted "Therapy Guide," but the "sorry that we didn't try harder to find a less destructive and dangerous vehicle for knocking smug intellectual liberalism off its ivory tower" apology is conspicuously absent. Evidently some key lessons of this election are yet to be learned, and look like being hard ones.
16
Wow! If Kevin were my brother, I'd be looking for another place to celebrate Christmas. If he thinks the rudeness reached his peak when Pence was booed at "Hamilton" he must have slept through the election. The rest of his column is sanctimonious horse-pucky.
106
Maureen, your brother made one huge mistake in his column... I am not his friend.
30
I suggest, Ms. Dowd, that you provide your brother with a copy of R. Derek Black's opinion piece in this same issue. He points out that the white Americans who elected Trump do not recognize the fallout from their denial unless they are willing to do what you did: listen. Thank you for showing us how real this threat, with its accompanying denial, truly is.
25
"boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president"
Sorry Kevin, but you forfeited any and all rights to lecture anyone on this topic when you voted for the birther candidate. Perhaps you are too distracted by the gaudy gilding around your Trump-brand mirror to notice your own reflection in it, but your side stopped respecting the office 8 years ago (shouting "Liar!" during SOTU) and own any lessening of civility that exists today.
Sorry Kevin, but you forfeited any and all rights to lecture anyone on this topic when you voted for the birther candidate. Perhaps you are too distracted by the gaudy gilding around your Trump-brand mirror to notice your own reflection in it, but your side stopped respecting the office 8 years ago (shouting "Liar!" during SOTU) and own any lessening of civility that exists today.
83
If we are to judge from a transition period characterized by both dangerous and nonsensical appointments to the most influential offices in the land, and a president-elect who seems more interested in shoring up and expanding his business interests than preparing for the daunting task ahead, this is shaping up to be one chaotic shambles of a Presidency.
A propos of Kevin's Thanksgiving table centerpiece, it will be interesting to see who will be doing "a walk of shame " four year's from now. Emperor Trump is more than ready as he already has no "clothes."
A propos of Kevin's Thanksgiving table centerpiece, it will be interesting to see who will be doing "a walk of shame " four year's from now. Emperor Trump is more than ready as he already has no "clothes."
35
Kevin says the behavior of the Hamilton cast was,"... considered boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants." Nevertheless, many of these same people vowed to thwart Obama *before* he even took the oath of office. Can someone explain how that showed "respect" for the office of president?
61
How can you (or those for whom you purport to speak) claim to respect the office of the presidency after questioning the citizenship of our current Commander-in Chief? Give me a break!
62
Oh, dear. Kevin, while you go on about poor losers consider that your piece demonstrates the posture of a poor winner.
50
I hope your brother will remain happy when he loses his Medicare and social security benefits. Then again, if he's drinking Trump champagne maybe he doesn't need those sorts of trivial things. Like taxes, that stuff is for the little people (I'm quoting another unpleasant NY real estate mogul).
34
This is ridiculous. My community and i range from ages 30 to 75 with me in the younger part of the middle. We are not millennial by virtue of our employment status and attitudes. But we were devastated beyond exams, were we young enough to require them and shed legitimate tears for the first time in ANY of our lives. Make light of it if you must but this is a serious change and not for the better. That's not a comment about trump but rather the division and the world's view of the USA now.
27
yikes.
16
Just want to point out that in recent memory Trump
was basically just a television celebrity popping off about politics. And he showed very, very little respect for the office of president, let alone the person who held it.
was basically just a television celebrity popping off about politics. And he showed very, very little respect for the office of president, let alone the person who held it.
62
Doesn't this guy have his own column? I don't read nytimes to get the right wing roused rabble's point of view (I go to Breitbart for that). And of all the criticisms a trumpette could hurl at democrats, rudeness about takes the cake.
45
Wow. I'm not sure exactly how to respond to Kevin's column except to say that the disdain for civil discourse seems to be coming from the conservative end of the animal in this case. Seems like a good old-fashioned match-up between theories and methods are in order here, formal logic as well as a repeat of your civics lessons, Kevin.
19
I have several Trump supporters in my very large family. But not one of them gloated or broke out champagne or threw jabs at Thanksgiving. Sounds like you have a mean, nasty family. After reading your brother's diatribe, it's at least clear you have a mean, nasty brother.
78
NYTimes: Please hire Kevin as a full-time editorialist to provide some balance to your otherwise skewed reporting. Bravo Maureen for having the guts to run this.
15
Funny how Kevin appears to be perfectly comfortable with corruption, conflicts of interest, self-dealing, personal enrichment, tax chicanery, outright fraud, and nepotism - as long as they're perpetrated by someone other than Hillary Clinton. Hypocritical much, Kevin? What's good for the goose should be good for the gander but it never is for people like him.
42
“Kevin” may be from Ms. Dowd’s “conservative” family, but there was nothing in Kevin’s piece that expressed anything conservative.
But it did express “Trumpism”, once accurately defined by Rick Perry as “a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense”. Now Mr. Perry may be a cabinet member and work for Trump.
The GOP and “conservatives” like Kevin have sold their soul to a shabby demagogue. It is said that when you lose your soul that you do not feel a thing. Trump supporters are still in that stage.
But it did express “Trumpism”, once accurately defined by Rick Perry as “a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense”. Now Mr. Perry may be a cabinet member and work for Trump.
The GOP and “conservatives” like Kevin have sold their soul to a shabby demagogue. It is said that when you lose your soul that you do not feel a thing. Trump supporters are still in that stage.
40
Ms. Dowd, if anyone needs post-election therapy it is your family. "No therapy dog, no weaving therapy, no yoga, no acupuncture, no meditation, no cry-in" will suffice.
Your sister overpaid for a bottle of cheap Chinese champagne, relabeled "Trump"; obviously your family has money to waste. And like you, we presume your family has enough education to know better. I'd say your family is in a basket of fools. A basket of affluent, educated suburbanites who voted for Trump, people whom Paul Krugman accurately identified as fools.
Tell Kevin, here's what else there is to say.
Setting aside the idiocy of many of Trump's stated 'policies' (bring back coal, for example); setting aside his own admissions of moral depravity (entering dressing rooms to violate the privacy of naked teenage girls, for example); your family is celebrating having put into the White House a thin-skinned, vengeful, unpredictable and unstable person who views the presidency as his trophy.
Merry Christmas Dowd family.
Your sister overpaid for a bottle of cheap Chinese champagne, relabeled "Trump"; obviously your family has money to waste. And like you, we presume your family has enough education to know better. I'd say your family is in a basket of fools. A basket of affluent, educated suburbanites who voted for Trump, people whom Paul Krugman accurately identified as fools.
Tell Kevin, here's what else there is to say.
Setting aside the idiocy of many of Trump's stated 'policies' (bring back coal, for example); setting aside his own admissions of moral depravity (entering dressing rooms to violate the privacy of naked teenage girls, for example); your family is celebrating having put into the White House a thin-skinned, vengeful, unpredictable and unstable person who views the presidency as his trophy.
Merry Christmas Dowd family.
53
Congratulations to Kevin Dowd from a fellow affluent, educated, suburban, "deplorable." Glad common sense was in full force at the Dowd home on Thanksgiving and sorry the gene was not passed on to Maureen. My favorite line: "The Democrats are now crying that Hillary had more popular votes. That can be her participation trophy." Sorry Kevin but that "trophy" too needs to be melted down. Last I checked we live in a Republic not a Democracy. The are 51 "mini-elections." Trump won 30 and Clinton 21 (including D.C). "Our participation trophy is better than yours." It's back to the crying rooms boys and girls.
11
Dear Maureen,
I am impressed that you could sit through Thanksgiving dinner with people who are so rude and pompous. We all know the character of the man we just elected, and the uncivil behavior that it has unleashed, unfortunately in your own family.
Melinda
I am impressed that you could sit through Thanksgiving dinner with people who are so rude and pompous. We all know the character of the man we just elected, and the uncivil behavior that it has unleashed, unfortunately in your own family.
Melinda
35
So your brother is okay with mimicking the disabled, grabbing women without consent and "blood coming out of her whatever"? Please let your brother know that relishing the demise of political correctness celebrates a not-so-brave new world of disrespect where a lack of civil discourse nourishes hatred and scapegoating. And with the exception of throwing in "sensitive snowflakes," his writing is nothing more than a collection of alt-right cliches strung together in an old and dated white authoritarian male voice telling everyone else they better behave.What a boor.
57
Hey, Democrats, you don’t have time for lamenting. Dangerous policies are going to start. Hey, journalists, it is your duty to criticize the extreme attitude of the new government. Your roles will be much more important from now.
18
Can you ask Kevin to write a monthly column the next Four years?
11
These are the same yahoos that insisted that Iraq had WMD.
The "conservatives" intentionally slander anybody who disagreed with them. They are the party of McCarthy, blinded by propaganda and the hate that grows in it.
Revenge and lying, which the "president elect" brags about doing, are not the strategies or pathway for followers of Christ.
The "conservatives" intentionally slander anybody who disagreed with them. They are the party of McCarthy, blinded by propaganda and the hate that grows in it.
Revenge and lying, which the "president elect" brags about doing, are not the strategies or pathway for followers of Christ.
28
Only if you and your family are NOT Hispanic, Muslim, Black, Jewish or decent could you find that column clever or funny. There is nothing even moderately helpful about this column. We already know how the other side thinks, as their leader spouts it every day. After all that false news and "win at any cost" demagoguery that we have seen, and will continue to see, I cannot see why anyone would find Maureen Dowd's analysis, or her brother's, anything but the defense of easily-fooled and privileged. We already see, by the experience and orientation of his cabinet and staff appointments, what such fools have brought us.
34
I have one word for Kevin Dowd's smug cultish crowing over the election—gerrymander.
The rise of republican dominance in both houses of congress, governorships and state legislatures is due to the 2010 election which democrats failed to show up allowing republicans to redraw voting districts to ensure republican dominance despite popular votes. Which is why despite higher votes for democrats more republicans won and maintained their house seats.
It's time for the Dowd family to submit to an intervention and intellectual honesty.
The rise of republican dominance in both houses of congress, governorships and state legislatures is due to the 2010 election which democrats failed to show up allowing republicans to redraw voting districts to ensure republican dominance despite popular votes. Which is why despite higher votes for democrats more republicans won and maintained their house seats.
It's time for the Dowd family to submit to an intervention and intellectual honesty.
23
Oh Maureen. I have nothing to say but I'm sorry. Well, ok, I also think your brother is a glib, misguided soul basking in his moment of glory. I suppose he's entitled, though wrong. About everything. As if any of us - Bruce, Barbra, Beyonce and me - are going anywhere. Dream on, Kevin. That said, what I really want to do is give you a hug and invite you to dinner.
5
Ms. Dowd, I don't always agree with you, but I second Krugman. So sorry about your brother.
24
I'm sorry but brother Kevin spends the second paragraph denigrating the office of the Presidency and then lectures us that denigrating the office is what led to defeat.
23
Look forward to Kevin's column every year. Another winner. Thanks Kevin and thanks especially to Maureen. You are still the queen, but it's great to hear from the hoi polloi once in a while.
You ought to allow Kevin a quarterly contribution. Once a year is not enough.
You ought to allow Kevin a quarterly contribution. Once a year is not enough.
7
I find Kevin's assertions troublesome not because they are a provocation, but because they are simplistic. His "affluence" clearly did not teach him basic etiquette and his "education" certainly did not push him to think critically or employ complex logic. His writing and his condescension are neither interesting nor enlightening for the Liberals he hopes to lampoon. We know that celebrities supported Clinton, we are aware of the "PC" lament by Republicans and Trumpists alike and we know that those on the Right hate being labeled with any "ists". We already know that the Right was aghast that actors spoke their mind to the VP elect and that mocking safe spaces seems to be a Republican pastime as of late. Basically, his column doesn't provoke his political opponents to think about the world or the election from a new perspective. He fails to register an original thought and instead seems to revel in a snide, banal, superficiality that exposes just how little he has to contribute to contemporary political theory, action or thought.
112
Maureen, you wrote what thousands of ex NYT readers feel.
9
The Clinton loss will be endlessly debated. I myself subscribe to the theory that there are millions of Americans who admire what is ugly and despise what is true. You can find them by the train loads at golf courses, wrestling matches, bowling alleys, hunting lodges, gun shops, country music concerts and Powerball lottery ticket counters.
Trump was catnip to these people, so he won. The lesson to Democrats is simple. Cut out all the high-toned rhetoric
about saving Social Security, sensible gun control and improving the environment and give people circuses where illegal migrants get attacked by lions. From there it’s a short distance to the White House.
Trump was catnip to these people, so he won. The lesson to Democrats is simple. Cut out all the high-toned rhetoric
about saving Social Security, sensible gun control and improving the environment and give people circuses where illegal migrants get attacked by lions. From there it’s a short distance to the White House.
25
Kevin, I bet you'll be thrilled when Herr Trump calls out the National Guard to quell peaceful protests of his, and Congressional, edicts.
Heaven help us all. The whole world's watching.
Heaven help us all. The whole world's watching.
17
"Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion."
Well, that's a knee-slapper! Re-read that comment, Kevin, and see if it doesn't apply (minus the religion reference) to you and your family's treatment of your sister at the Thanksgiving table. Or shall we remember Congressman Joe Wilson's shouting "You lie!" during the State of the Union speech, or Gov. Jan Brewer sticking her finger in the President's face in front of reporters, or Newt Gingrich's "Kenyan anti-colonialism" comment or any one of the thousands of instances of disgraceful disrespect shown the President of the United States during the last 8 years.
I happen to agree with you about PC, Western Civ-less colleges, safe spaces and the horrible Rachel Maddow, but you veer into la-la land when you claim that the "liberal media," a term never separated from its adjective anymore thanks to the right wing's spurious claim that the media is biased, has lost all credibility. When you sober up from your victory bender and discover you've managed to shove a spectacularly unqualified, lying, tax-cheating, carnival barker into the most important office in the world, you my feel differently.
And by the way, yes Donald Trump did win the votes of sixty-two million Americans, but Hillary Clinton won sixty-FOUR million, so I'd suggest you take your gloating and stick it...
Well, that's a knee-slapper! Re-read that comment, Kevin, and see if it doesn't apply (minus the religion reference) to you and your family's treatment of your sister at the Thanksgiving table. Or shall we remember Congressman Joe Wilson's shouting "You lie!" during the State of the Union speech, or Gov. Jan Brewer sticking her finger in the President's face in front of reporters, or Newt Gingrich's "Kenyan anti-colonialism" comment or any one of the thousands of instances of disgraceful disrespect shown the President of the United States during the last 8 years.
I happen to agree with you about PC, Western Civ-less colleges, safe spaces and the horrible Rachel Maddow, but you veer into la-la land when you claim that the "liberal media," a term never separated from its adjective anymore thanks to the right wing's spurious claim that the media is biased, has lost all credibility. When you sober up from your victory bender and discover you've managed to shove a spectacularly unqualified, lying, tax-cheating, carnival barker into the most important office in the world, you my feel differently.
And by the way, yes Donald Trump did win the votes of sixty-two million Americans, but Hillary Clinton won sixty-FOUR million, so I'd suggest you take your gloating and stick it...
27
Poor Maureen! What a family! Your brother, as many Americans miss totally the point. It is not about votes. It is about the fact that Americans, so keen to preach about moral values, have elected the most immoral fantasist that ever was. Please read again "the scarlet letter" and look at your own hypocrisy. Unless you perform a serious exercise of self criticism and discover what you really are, you will keep coming back to candidates endorsed by the Ku-Klux-Clan.
7
Idiocracy had it right all along.
6
Ms. Dowd, thank you for publishing your brother’s column as it encapsulates with great clarity a point of view that I profoundly encountered while traveling around the Pacific Northwest outside of Seattle and Portland. On the flip side of that coin I just tossed I also found that point of view utterly lacking in my home city of Seattle.
More than once I was scolded by my Seattle neighbors for my lack of intelligence when I tried the bridge the perception canyon that I personally experienced over the summer and fall. Nobody was listening, even worse nobody cared to listen, that their suburban and rural neighbors had thoughtful and valid points of view regarding the direction the country needed to go.
Instead they smugly rebutted how much diversity, tolerance, and understanding are valued and in the same breath labeled their non-urban neighbors as racists fools that need a not so civil lesson in civility. If one needs strong evidence that these big blue balls are mono cultures all one needs to do is look at my November ballot.
My choices for the Congressional race were both Democrats, all three of my State representatives ran unopposed and were Democrats, and finally Sec. Clinton trumped Trump with 70% of the vote.
For the record, I think your brother Kevin is one smart fellow and yes, I agree with him right down the line. As for you Ms. Dowd, I think you should be given a participation award for being singled out by The Donald for picking on him.
Keep up the great work.
More than once I was scolded by my Seattle neighbors for my lack of intelligence when I tried the bridge the perception canyon that I personally experienced over the summer and fall. Nobody was listening, even worse nobody cared to listen, that their suburban and rural neighbors had thoughtful and valid points of view regarding the direction the country needed to go.
Instead they smugly rebutted how much diversity, tolerance, and understanding are valued and in the same breath labeled their non-urban neighbors as racists fools that need a not so civil lesson in civility. If one needs strong evidence that these big blue balls are mono cultures all one needs to do is look at my November ballot.
My choices for the Congressional race were both Democrats, all three of my State representatives ran unopposed and were Democrats, and finally Sec. Clinton trumped Trump with 70% of the vote.
For the record, I think your brother Kevin is one smart fellow and yes, I agree with him right down the line. As for you Ms. Dowd, I think you should be given a participation award for being singled out by The Donald for picking on him.
Keep up the great work.
10
Kevin is a fool, but he is far from alone.
Many a fool has been proven as such by believing anything
That comes out of the mouth of Donald Trump.
His foolishness is being proven daily as Trump backs away from things he said in the campaign, which he will continue to do at the same time he denies doing it.
Many a fool has been proven as such by believing anything
That comes out of the mouth of Donald Trump.
His foolishness is being proven daily as Trump backs away from things he said in the campaign, which he will continue to do at the same time he denies doing it.
14
If find all of this painful and fascinating.
Is 'the left' to obsessed with detail, with thing that don't matter? Effective politics is boring. It a lost of talk. It all about details.
The republicans have openly and effectively sabotaged the political system over the last 8 years, that seems to me the main reason things are bad for most Americans. Not sure 'hard working Americans struggling to make end meet' realize most Europeans are in general working about 35 hours a week and making a decent living out of it. We have the technology now that means we can produce enough food an shelter for all humans easily. We should be thinking about what we do with our time now that we can not all 'work for food'. What do we need? Food ,shelter, clothing, washing machine? We could all have all of that if not some want to have (way) more than their share?
Trump got elected on big words and showmanship. He got the sale. The illusion of a solution. The world is getting more and more global. Most problems big enough for the US as a whole are actually worldwide problems. Most problems are local and have nothing to do with Trump. Trump inherited his wealth and found he can fool the world with is salesman showmanship. What is he actually trying to achieve. I think a secure future for his name and family is the answer. The world will survive. Boring inclusive talk and caring about others is the future, we can make fun of it or we can try to help out.
Is 'the left' to obsessed with detail, with thing that don't matter? Effective politics is boring. It a lost of talk. It all about details.
The republicans have openly and effectively sabotaged the political system over the last 8 years, that seems to me the main reason things are bad for most Americans. Not sure 'hard working Americans struggling to make end meet' realize most Europeans are in general working about 35 hours a week and making a decent living out of it. We have the technology now that means we can produce enough food an shelter for all humans easily. We should be thinking about what we do with our time now that we can not all 'work for food'. What do we need? Food ,shelter, clothing, washing machine? We could all have all of that if not some want to have (way) more than their share?
Trump got elected on big words and showmanship. He got the sale. The illusion of a solution. The world is getting more and more global. Most problems big enough for the US as a whole are actually worldwide problems. Most problems are local and have nothing to do with Trump. Trump inherited his wealth and found he can fool the world with is salesman showmanship. What is he actually trying to achieve. I think a secure future for his name and family is the answer. The world will survive. Boring inclusive talk and caring about others is the future, we can make fun of it or we can try to help out.
7
Maureen, please don't ever let your brother write your column again. You were hired for your talent in providing insightful (even if snarky) commentary on the world around us. Sadly, your brother is only capable of regurgitating the bile that he consumes from breitbart "news" and Vladimir Putin's propaganda machine.
11
"The Dems' answer was to give them more of the same from a person they did not like or trust." Just to look at one example, Syrian refugees: As is occurring all over Europe--rightly or wrongly--many have fears of jobs being taken, loss of cultural identity, and the possibility of terrorism. Obama's response was calling these citizens names, condemning them as ignorant and prejudiced, and announcing that he was simply going to up the number of refugees he would accept and also accelerate the schedule. There was nary an acknowledgement of their emotions and anxieties or any real attempt to understand them or try to change their hearts and minds with convincing, empathic discussion. He knew he was "right," possessed a pen, and intended to use it. Well: Brexit happened, Donald Trump was elected, and--pray tell--what is wrong with Kevin's analysis?
12
I don't mind, in fact I rather enjoy, reading dissenting opinions. Reading the opinions of American conservatives, however, is just infuriating. They live in a completely separate, utterly fact-free universe. Kevin's writing contains so many absolute falsehoods and misrepresentations I hardly know where to begin. Individual sentences sometimes contain three or more unique falsehoods (quite an accomplishment!).
This is the fundamental problem with America: half the country has invented an alternate reality to live in, and is entirely impervious to facts and quantifiable reality. You cannot reason with these people, because they have constructed a reality devoid of reason. This is their true strength, and their danger: unthinking tribalism and ideology are the most dangerous human forces ever unleashed....and they now sit in all three branches of the US federal government.
This is the fundamental problem with America: half the country has invented an alternate reality to live in, and is entirely impervious to facts and quantifiable reality. You cannot reason with these people, because they have constructed a reality devoid of reason. This is their true strength, and their danger: unthinking tribalism and ideology are the most dangerous human forces ever unleashed....and they now sit in all three branches of the US federal government.
28
Dear Kevin,
Insanity is NOT doing the same thing over, and over again and expecting the same results. Contrary to popular opinion, it is blatantly misreading things and mistaking a piece of rope for a snake or a friend for a foe. Such things were quoted over a thousand years ago by sages who wrote the Vedas, and I'll stick with antiquity over these so-called modern times any day of the week.
With Trump you get the Barnum and Bailey ringmaster and his incessant barking and his flim flam conniving. You also get the United States, China and India sending the entire world over the perilous cliff in terms of The Greenhouse Effect. I assume you are about the same age as Maureen, Kevin, so unfortunately you won't be around to see the mass migrations and the starvation and deaths of literally millions of people as Category-5 Hurricanes hit our shores.
But have no fear! Steven Bannon and his Alt Right folks have some great ideas as Trump talks of taxing the middle class more and cutting those same taxes for the Super Rich as he muses repealing the Dowd-Frank Act.
Even Larry Summers, not exactly a Flag Waving Liberal, is appalled, and warns that Trump's coming policies could cripple the American economy for an entire generation.
But don't worry. Kev, we've got the King of Bankruptcy. Wilbur Ross, as Commerce to bail us out.
Miss Betsy DeVos is here to educate everyone after bankrupting Detroit's public schools and not improving them one iota.
Insanity is NOT doing the same thing over, and over again and expecting the same results. Contrary to popular opinion, it is blatantly misreading things and mistaking a piece of rope for a snake or a friend for a foe. Such things were quoted over a thousand years ago by sages who wrote the Vedas, and I'll stick with antiquity over these so-called modern times any day of the week.
With Trump you get the Barnum and Bailey ringmaster and his incessant barking and his flim flam conniving. You also get the United States, China and India sending the entire world over the perilous cliff in terms of The Greenhouse Effect. I assume you are about the same age as Maureen, Kevin, so unfortunately you won't be around to see the mass migrations and the starvation and deaths of literally millions of people as Category-5 Hurricanes hit our shores.
But have no fear! Steven Bannon and his Alt Right folks have some great ideas as Trump talks of taxing the middle class more and cutting those same taxes for the Super Rich as he muses repealing the Dowd-Frank Act.
Even Larry Summers, not exactly a Flag Waving Liberal, is appalled, and warns that Trump's coming policies could cripple the American economy for an entire generation.
But don't worry. Kev, we've got the King of Bankruptcy. Wilbur Ross, as Commerce to bail us out.
Miss Betsy DeVos is here to educate everyone after bankrupting Detroit's public schools and not improving them one iota.
19
Apparently snark is a dominant gene is the Dowd family DNA. The only thing worse than Maureen's incessant snark about the Clintons and Obamas is her brother's sneering snark over the election results. Wish I could un-read this column now. What an insufferable family this is and what a deplorable "Thanksgiving" dinner that must have been.
37
How was the pie?
11
The irony is that he gloats like a liberal elitist - so many big fancy words! Was he once an East Coast liberal? When did he move to the dark side, Maureen?
1
It’s fun to see two siblings so adept at sarcasm weigh in from different sides of the political spectrum and comforting to sense they respect each other despite the invective. Still, hauling out a gloating political screed during a family Thanksgiving dinner? Pass the Maalox, Mama Dowd.
14
There's a word rhetoricians use for this but I don't know what it is.
"Mr. Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists or any other 'ists.'"
"Not all of them…" Well, how many then? Can we work our way around that particular dodge? Not all, for sure. But most, unquestionably. They voted because they agreed with what they heard but don't like it when a spade is called a spade. Well, in the words of that legal giant we all know so well, "Get over it." Go on, justify yourself. Tell yourself you're in the clear when a Muslim kid gets beat up in a high school hallway, when a gay kid gets beat up on the street, when black college students are taunted with the Confederate flag. Guess what? You're not in the clear. The violence is yours. Own it. You participate in it and know exactly what you're doing.
In the meantime, if you have a conscience, give us a break and and from now on keep your hate speech to yourself instead of spreading it like the poison it is. When you justify yourself you're just spreading it again.
"Mr. Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists or any other 'ists.'"
"Not all of them…" Well, how many then? Can we work our way around that particular dodge? Not all, for sure. But most, unquestionably. They voted because they agreed with what they heard but don't like it when a spade is called a spade. Well, in the words of that legal giant we all know so well, "Get over it." Go on, justify yourself. Tell yourself you're in the clear when a Muslim kid gets beat up in a high school hallway, when a gay kid gets beat up on the street, when black college students are taunted with the Confederate flag. Guess what? You're not in the clear. The violence is yours. Own it. You participate in it and know exactly what you're doing.
In the meantime, if you have a conscience, give us a break and and from now on keep your hate speech to yourself instead of spreading it like the poison it is. When you justify yourself you're just spreading it again.
21
"And he is going to be here for 1,461 days..."
Only 1,461 days? Not anticipating a 2nd term?
Only 1,461 days? Not anticipating a 2nd term?
2
Oh the smugness and self-righteousness that the Trump followers are displaying at this time--they seem to have taken on some of their President-Elect's qualities!
They have blinders on if they don't realize that the fear many Americans are feeling is not just a display of emotion. It's based on real possibilities of pain and chaos for communities and the smug ones may be impacted in the future as well.
They have blinders on if they don't realize that the fear many Americans are feeling is not just a display of emotion. It's based on real possibilities of pain and chaos for communities and the smug ones may be impacted in the future as well.
15
The GOP sent a message to half the country that a man who has no respect for women or minorities should be the President and you are concerned that the liberals are boorish and rude. Elections are not a game and they are not a place to strike back because people are jealous. Anger at "educated elites" is misplaced anger that should be focused on the super rich who have accumulated all the wealth in this country. People who are educated have spent years in school and most of them don't make a lot of money. Your family needs to be educated, they need to get out and meet some of the people they claim to hate. Your dislike for Hillary Clinton has made it difficult for you to focus on what is important in this election. There are a lot of people who are going to be hurt by Trump's presidency and my guess is your family members (and their children) will be included in that pain.
24
Very funny Mr. Dowd. I've got to hand it to Conservatives: three decades of increasing hate and propaganda have educated millions of people who believe fake news and placed a moron in the White House. Fundamentalists and Catholics voted massively for a man that any relatively sentient human being could see was inconsistent with their beliefs. How could you vote for someone who is so ungodly? The same bunch gave us Dubya and now we've got someone who will be even worse than Dubya. What will you say, Mr. Dowd, when, for starters, the whole concept of "conflict of interest" is completely dissolved and, to take a purely random example, Mr. Trump's interest in Russia become the interests of our country? Will you still be railing against all the rest of us for supporting such an arcane notion? I wish there was a way to segregate the pain of his Presidency so that it fall upon only those who will stupid enough to vote for him. But unfortunately I am going to have to endure the horror of his election and figure out how my family and I can survive his lunatic governance. It is beyond my comprehensive how you can think this is a wise choice.
22
Kevin is quite correct that not all Trump supporters were Ku Klux Klanners. Simple math indicates that a large number of former Obama voters voted for Trump. That is a basket of inexplicables that we will be unpacking for years. But it is irrelevant to this little factoid--every Ku Klux Klanner voted for Trump. That is an albatross that he will wear for four years until it rots.
16
Maureen, you and your family obviously get along wonderfully. You all have a sense of humor. Which is more than I can say for most of the people who commented here. Sad!
12
Memo Mr. Dowd: You cannot get away with claiming that not all Trump voters are "homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists or any other 'ists'." Such a claim is as morally vacuous as it is intellectually fatuous.
You and your ilk knowingly supported a man who publicly, explicitly and repeatedly trafficked in racism, religious bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, etc., and you threw your lot in with his supporters who enthusiastically embraced the same enmities.
It is a non sequitur to posit that there are "bad" Trump voters and "good" Trump voters. All Trump voters shall, and should be, judged by the company they chose to keep.
You and your ilk knowingly supported a man who publicly, explicitly and repeatedly trafficked in racism, religious bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, etc., and you threw your lot in with his supporters who enthusiastically embraced the same enmities.
It is a non sequitur to posit that there are "bad" Trump voters and "good" Trump voters. All Trump voters shall, and should be, judged by the company they chose to keep.
15
"those of us taught to respect the office to the president and the vice president"!
You actually wrote that with a straight face, Kevin?
You actually wrote that with a straight face, Kevin?
18
Couldn't we find a Cersei in a blue pants-suit?
I could not bring myself to vote for either of these morally bankrupt candidates. Nonetheless, I was captivated by the election night drama. I have followed politics for five decades and never witnessed anything like it. It may be a curse, but we will live in interesting times. Right off the bat will be one of the most interesting Supreme Court confirmations in quite a few years. Buck up Mo, if HRC had won, it would have been a total snooze - now we have a reason to get up and watch Morning Joe.
I could not bring myself to vote for either of these morally bankrupt candidates. Nonetheless, I was captivated by the election night drama. I have followed politics for five decades and never witnessed anything like it. It may be a curse, but we will live in interesting times. Right off the bat will be one of the most interesting Supreme Court confirmations in quite a few years. Buck up Mo, if HRC had won, it would have been a total snooze - now we have a reason to get up and watch Morning Joe.
3
Okay, Kevin Dowd ... This is your time. Are you ready to own the results? What if Mitch McConnell gets the Senate to abolish the filibuster? This invites the question of whom you could blame if, heaven forbid, it all goes wrong. The levers of government would then be entirely at your disposal. But maybe you'd like the Democrats to retain the filibuster? You could then blame any Republican failures on that. Oh, about the filibuster ... I must have missed your gloating about how the Republicans absolutely smashed the old record for such obstructionism, during Obama's time. It worked great for you. Prescription: Use it once a week. No actual governing required, or even allowed. Nicely played by your side! Unfortunately, though, some of those sore losers you alerted us to saw what you did there. Now, the ungrateful swine think that's the way to go during the upcoming four years. And that seems most unsporting, since both Trump and McConnell have invited Democrats to four-years of joining hands and singing kum ba yah. Well, I kinda hope McConnell does take away the filibuster. Because, then, Kevin, you, will #HaveToOwnIt. We'll be checking this space every 365 days to discover what you've decided to own and what you've decided to blame on somebody else.
7
Brava, Maureen. You get it!
9
What is the limit of words I can use to straighten out brother Kevin who seems to have trouble seeing, hearing and remembering words from the "respected" president - elect?
Rather than spending time checking college courses, he might look..aha... at Trump University(?) for a course in analytical thinking.!.
Rather than spending time checking college courses, he might look..aha... at Trump University(?) for a course in analytical thinking.!.
7
Maureen -- your brother says that "The rudeness reached its peak when Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by attendees of “Hamilton” and then pompously lectured by the cast." If the polite request for fairness from Hamilton cast was the peak of rudeness, I wonder how your brother reacted to "you lie" from Joe Wilson? How did he react to Trump's lies about Obama's citizenship? Do you care to share in your next column?
19
This kind of just made me feel sick. So much pompousness. I truly wonder if your perception will last .
9
"If any of my sons had told me they were too distraught over a national election to take an exam, I would have brought them home the next day, fearful of the instruction they were receiving. Not one of the top 50 colleges mandate one semester of Western Civilization. Maybe they should rethink that."
If you don't recognize the non sequitur here you are blind to your own deplorable '-ist' status.
Nobody's going anywhere and neither are your agendas. The thing about hardliners in a country as flexible as this is that they tend to be brittle and break.
If you don't recognize the non sequitur here you are blind to your own deplorable '-ist' status.
Nobody's going anywhere and neither are your agendas. The thing about hardliners in a country as flexible as this is that they tend to be brittle and break.
3
Kevin, even if you want to say that Trump is a better economic steward, there is no way around the fact that his election gives people of color, like me, good reason to fear for our safety in the coming years (Is that what you meant by storm?).
This election was about race, and the highest stakes on the table this election were the civil rights of women/people of color. Trump supporters thought something else was more important. I'll leave that to you to defend, Kevin.
This election was about race, and the highest stakes on the table this election were the civil rights of women/people of color. Trump supporters thought something else was more important. I'll leave that to you to defend, Kevin.
13
Dear Maureen --
Your brother wrote a very gracious, adult and circumspect column.
Very generous Christmas wishes, as well.
You don't need to put yourself through another Thanksgiving dinner like this next year. You are welcome at my house!
Frank
Your brother wrote a very gracious, adult and circumspect column.
Very generous Christmas wishes, as well.
You don't need to put yourself through another Thanksgiving dinner like this next year. You are welcome at my house!
Frank
2
Maureen Dowd has spent years trashing Obama and the Clintons in tired and snarky language, not to further the conversation but to increase the height of her pedestal. I rarely read her columns anymore, since they are always mean spirited in tone. That's not how I want to spend my valuable time each morning in my efforts to learn what's happening in the world. Life is too short to read Maureen Dowd.
I did, however, read this column. Kevin Dowd is as mean spirited as his sister and is clearly a sufferer of cognitive dissonance, rejecting any facts that don't align with his core beliefs, even if those core beliefs are not supported by facts. Let's face it, Kevin, your candidate is unqualified and racist. He lies constantly. He does not pay taxes. He has no foreign policy experience. His views on women mark him as a sexual predator. On the personal front, he's had five kids with three women, with wife #2 being an affair before marriage #1 was over. But we know all this. You know all this, but for some strange reason, you can't accept it. That's the fascinating part to me--why did educated people vote for such a man? This article does nothing to answer that important question.
I did, however, read this column. Kevin Dowd is as mean spirited as his sister and is clearly a sufferer of cognitive dissonance, rejecting any facts that don't align with his core beliefs, even if those core beliefs are not supported by facts. Let's face it, Kevin, your candidate is unqualified and racist. He lies constantly. He does not pay taxes. He has no foreign policy experience. His views on women mark him as a sexual predator. On the personal front, he's had five kids with three women, with wife #2 being an affair before marriage #1 was over. But we know all this. You know all this, but for some strange reason, you can't accept it. That's the fascinating part to me--why did educated people vote for such a man? This article does nothing to answer that important question.
25
What a cruel and mean spirited family (all around). Since when did a basic sense of kindness and decency become weakness and political correctness? If your Thanksgiving dinner is any indication of the emotional climate of the home in which you all grew up, then no wonder you're all so bitter--and no wonder you need to project your hurt and weakness onto people you then condemn as "special snowflakes" and the like. I feel terrible for all of you. It hurt even reading this column.
29
After decades of contempt toward President Obama, Mrs Clinton. and Mr Gore, you now portray yourself as a dejected progressive. Can you take responsibility
for your part in this election's outcome? Can you begin to direct your venom now to the Empower who will fight you back?
for your part in this election's outcome? Can you begin to direct your venom now to the Empower who will fight you back?
15
If I wanted to read the thoughts of a T***p gloater, I'd go to an alt-right web site.
The NY Times should consider canning Dowd, as she doesn't seem to have and "op" of her own, preferring to channel T***p and her reactionary brother. Yeah I suppose I could just not click her name or stop reading halfway down.
The NY Times should consider canning Dowd, as she doesn't seem to have and "op" of her own, preferring to channel T***p and her reactionary brother. Yeah I suppose I could just not click her name or stop reading halfway down.
10
Rude is when you joyfully gloat in victory. And if Trump had lost? How would you wonderful folks have reacted? Remember your treatment of President Obama. Actually Trump did lose if the truth be told. But truth has never been part of this circus. We are sinking in the swamp.
10
Just remind these people that "their candidate" lost the popular vote, and he has no mandate to do anything other than protest against the establishment of both parties. In fact, if they are really Republicans, it's not even certain that Trump is "their candidate".
3
Ms. Dowd, your brother's gloating and complete blindness to the horrors of his man lead me to believe that perhaps all the people who voted for Trump are indeed misogynists and racists.
17
Really Maureen? You could do better then subject us to your brother's snarky and smarmy comments though the 'your airplane is waiting' did produce an LOL out of me, most amusing. Honestly, Kevin's patronizing and condescending tone in this piece mimics the worst predilictions of the progressive left of which the takes great pride in castigating. Tell him to lay off the AndroGel and come back down our GREEN planet Earth for as far as he's concerned he obviously doesn't have a friggin' clue as to the crucial and vital role E.P.A. plays in our collective well-being. As a matter fact, it sounds as if it were up to him there'd be no EPA, Department of Education, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and in the final analysis, a planet, to boast his destructive ethos from. The Republican Party does not possess a social conscience let alone an ecological awareness for all their love guns and hunting. And if it were up to them, after they've ripped-up every social contract and dignity of what it means to be human from the great American Experiment, they'd happily let the homeless die on the street and scoop them up with Caterpillar tractors into mass graves. Shame,, deep shame on him and I'm deeply sorry for you for having to live with it. I think I'll go take a shower now...)
9
Well, Maureen - you finally reveal your true colors, and join your brother Kevin.
Good luck to the both of you!
Good luck to the both of you!
10
Many of the conservative talking points are false, or a subset of the larger reality (documented here in Kevin's list of Obama-grievances).
Thank you Maureen for your work in trying to present the truth to your best ability. The NYTimes may not always correctly predict the future, but it is apparent that you and your colleges are actively trying to accurately represent the past.
Thank you Maureen for your work in trying to present the truth to your best ability. The NYTimes may not always correctly predict the future, but it is apparent that you and your colleges are actively trying to accurately represent the past.
2
I'm still laughing at 'Cersei'. It's, it's.... just sorta perfect.
I sit here watching what sadly has become the 'hometown crowd' moaning and groaning about the popular vote. Don't they ever stop to consider that both candidates strategized the entirety of their runs, beginning to end, towards winning the electoral college? Or is it that their beloved Hillary was secretly fooling us all along? I get it, she was never really interested in the electoral vote, she was secretly shooting for a popular vote win from the start. Thus, in this crowning (and quickly dying) neo-liberal bastion of distress, in reality SHE WON, SHE REALLY WON!! Or so they keep telling themselves. Is there a point where that peters out and reality sets in, or is this to be some endless loop a la 'Groundhog's Day'?
I read daily here the musings of the Krugman's and Blow's, massaging the wounded Clintonista's with apparently what is considered sweet nectar to the tastebuds of the distressed, surgically drawn from those columnists' never ending words of Trump disdain. For me it makes for one glorious day when Dowd finally rolls in.
Maureen, there's few here that got it and called it, but you certainly did. However don't expect thanks or a prize, because after all, don't you see Clinton really won? Wolfe was right, you can't go home again, not this election year, not to the NY Times at least.
I sit here watching what sadly has become the 'hometown crowd' moaning and groaning about the popular vote. Don't they ever stop to consider that both candidates strategized the entirety of their runs, beginning to end, towards winning the electoral college? Or is it that their beloved Hillary was secretly fooling us all along? I get it, she was never really interested in the electoral vote, she was secretly shooting for a popular vote win from the start. Thus, in this crowning (and quickly dying) neo-liberal bastion of distress, in reality SHE WON, SHE REALLY WON!! Or so they keep telling themselves. Is there a point where that peters out and reality sets in, or is this to be some endless loop a la 'Groundhog's Day'?
I read daily here the musings of the Krugman's and Blow's, massaging the wounded Clintonista's with apparently what is considered sweet nectar to the tastebuds of the distressed, surgically drawn from those columnists' never ending words of Trump disdain. For me it makes for one glorious day when Dowd finally rolls in.
Maureen, there's few here that got it and called it, but you certainly did. However don't expect thanks or a prize, because after all, don't you see Clinton really won? Wolfe was right, you can't go home again, not this election year, not to the NY Times at least.
11
Next time you have dinner with your brother, Ms. Dowd, you should have your colleague Charles Blow join you. Oh to be a fly in the soup at that meal!
4
Maureen, I so relate to your experience -- I've also got a brother on the other side of the looking glass.
And you're right -- it's not worth presenting facts, logic, the 2 million votes more that went to Hillary, or the failures of our government over the last 8 years directly attributable to the refusal of Republican representatives to take seriously their responsibility to engage in governing (as opposed to posturing), or to hold up a mirror demonstrating what rudeness really is.
Oops, I lapsed into facts again.
And it's interesting that Kevin considers himself and his ilk "taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants." I would have loved to have seen your face as that one came at you.
I used to have a friend I'd call whenever I left a family gathering where similar projections were propounded as indisputable facts. "I need a detox," I'd call and say.
I'd then repeat some of the pronouncements I'd been subjected to that evening, and listen to the increasing volume of my friend's laughter on the other end. After about a few minutes of him egging me on to tell more, I'd be less disoriented.
But I like your strategy better: let your readers take on your deplorables. There's no use in a sister telling a brother why he's wrong. It's kind of the same thing that happened on November 8th when Hillary was right. Hopefully, someone's making her laugh.
And you're right -- it's not worth presenting facts, logic, the 2 million votes more that went to Hillary, or the failures of our government over the last 8 years directly attributable to the refusal of Republican representatives to take seriously their responsibility to engage in governing (as opposed to posturing), or to hold up a mirror demonstrating what rudeness really is.
Oops, I lapsed into facts again.
And it's interesting that Kevin considers himself and his ilk "taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants." I would have loved to have seen your face as that one came at you.
I used to have a friend I'd call whenever I left a family gathering where similar projections were propounded as indisputable facts. "I need a detox," I'd call and say.
I'd then repeat some of the pronouncements I'd been subjected to that evening, and listen to the increasing volume of my friend's laughter on the other end. After about a few minutes of him egging me on to tell more, I'd be less disoriented.
But I like your strategy better: let your readers take on your deplorables. There's no use in a sister telling a brother why he's wrong. It's kind of the same thing that happened on November 8th when Hillary was right. Hopefully, someone's making her laugh.
21
The embodiment of tolerance i.e. the Democratic Party is exemplified by the following event: In my buliding, one of the conciegre, a gentlman from the DR who is dark skinned, who happens to often chat with me when I work late, told me how on election day the manager of the condo demanded that he change his red shirt (merely chosen for saratorial purposes) in fear of his job he did. After the election the residents furnished the following consolation: Oh, Jose (name changed to protect the innocent) we know how bad you feel we feel the same way, with Jose (fearful to express disent) politley responded thank you. However, Jose voted for Trump. It seems the consolation was based on the racist assumption that Jose had voted likewise based on his being a person of color.
8
Since my original comment didn't pass muster, I'll try to be a little bit nicer:
Ms. Dowd, you're welcome to come to our family fete for Thanksgiving next year. We often disagree, but we are polite and respectful of each other, and we realize that there are tender wounds that need to be healed. Salt usually doesn't help.
I wish you hadn't published your brother's work in this venue. Most of us already know what the arguments are, for and against.
Last, I think you should wear Trump's displeasure for you as a badge of honor, even though you, more than any other NYT columnist, contributed to the right's narrative about Hillary.
If Trump is displeased with you, I wonder what he thinks of Gail Collins!
Ms. Dowd, you're welcome to come to our family fete for Thanksgiving next year. We often disagree, but we are polite and respectful of each other, and we realize that there are tender wounds that need to be healed. Salt usually doesn't help.
I wish you hadn't published your brother's work in this venue. Most of us already know what the arguments are, for and against.
Last, I think you should wear Trump's displeasure for you as a badge of honor, even though you, more than any other NYT columnist, contributed to the right's narrative about Hillary.
If Trump is displeased with you, I wonder what he thinks of Gail Collins!
3
evidence to give me pause when considering
" tried by a jury of my peers"
there is a large percentage of the electorate that learn by doing
well, class is is session for the next 1461 days.
" tried by a jury of my peers"
there is a large percentage of the electorate that learn by doing
well, class is is session for the next 1461 days.
Why does Kevin get a column in the New York Times? I'm glad to pay my subscription fee for the careful reporting and thoughtful opinions (whether they coincide with mine or not) of writers who have been selected by a rigorous winnowing process. One would expect nothing less from America's "newspaper of record." If I wanted to get Kevin's opinion, I could just as easily get it from my reactionary brother-in-law, or my neighbor--the one who flies his Gadsden flag on a tall pole in the front yard--or the guy down the street who still hasn't taken down his Trump/Pence sign.
But I know you won't stop inflicting Kevin on me just because I ask you to. So, if I'm still alive in four years, and both you, Kevin, and the NYT are still going concerns, I'll be interested to read Kevin's Thanksgiving column one last time. My guess is that it's going to include plenty of crow and maybe some humble pie, and that the champagne--the label scraped off in a fit of embarrassment--is gonna be flat, sour, and rancid, just like Trump's presidency is bound to be.
But I know you won't stop inflicting Kevin on me just because I ask you to. So, if I'm still alive in four years, and both you, Kevin, and the NYT are still going concerns, I'll be interested to read Kevin's Thanksgiving column one last time. My guess is that it's going to include plenty of crow and maybe some humble pie, and that the champagne--the label scraped off in a fit of embarrassment--is gonna be flat, sour, and rancid, just like Trump's presidency is bound to be.
8
"...to all the foreign countries that contributed to the Clinton Foundation, there will not be a payoff or a rebate...."
So the supposedly "educated" Kevin Dowd claims that Hillary Clinton was planning to help the poor all over the world by selling out US interests. But Kevin Dowd -- who believes that Hillary Clinton would take money for the poor in exchange for committing treason -- believes with all his heart and all his might that Donald Trump's indebtedness to foreign banks, especially the Russian ones, will have absolutely no impact on his actions.
Because in Kevin Dowd's world, the people who try to do good can't be trusted, and the people who are only in it to enrich themselves are the ones they admire.
I fear for the country that Kevin Dowd represents how "educated" men view the world. I suggest Kevin Dowd start listening to his Pope. But I can only imagine the nasty things Mr. Dowd says about this Pope, too, at dinner, which Ms. Dowd no doubt doesn't want to repeat.
"...the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine..."
Spoken by Kevin Dowd, who just celebrated his vote for the man who told us all that Ted Cruz' dad conspired to kill JFK! But that's not rude to Kevin Dowd, or incivil -- that's just the President he idolizes telling it like it is.
So the supposedly "educated" Kevin Dowd claims that Hillary Clinton was planning to help the poor all over the world by selling out US interests. But Kevin Dowd -- who believes that Hillary Clinton would take money for the poor in exchange for committing treason -- believes with all his heart and all his might that Donald Trump's indebtedness to foreign banks, especially the Russian ones, will have absolutely no impact on his actions.
Because in Kevin Dowd's world, the people who try to do good can't be trusted, and the people who are only in it to enrich themselves are the ones they admire.
I fear for the country that Kevin Dowd represents how "educated" men view the world. I suggest Kevin Dowd start listening to his Pope. But I can only imagine the nasty things Mr. Dowd says about this Pope, too, at dinner, which Ms. Dowd no doubt doesn't want to repeat.
"...the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine..."
Spoken by Kevin Dowd, who just celebrated his vote for the man who told us all that Ted Cruz' dad conspired to kill JFK! But that's not rude to Kevin Dowd, or incivil -- that's just the President he idolizes telling it like it is.
16
I hope the New York Times enjoys what it helped to bring about with its incredibly biased "journalism." We could be talking about President Bernie Sanders now, but thanks to Clinton's election fraud in the nomination process and biased coverage by formerly respected media outlets, well, Times, thanks for Trump.
I must say that it is astonishing to see this stuff about a recount of some states in the general. Where were these people during the nomination process?
My fear about the current recount with Clinton people "participating," is that those crooks will find a way to tamper with the actual results and cook up a Clinton "victory."
I must say that it is astonishing to see this stuff about a recount of some states in the general. Where were these people during the nomination process?
My fear about the current recount with Clinton people "participating," is that those crooks will find a way to tamper with the actual results and cook up a Clinton "victory."
3
He's your brother. You love him. That is as it should be. He is also a vaguely articulate Neanderthal (I apologize if that is personally painful. I would never normally comment publicallynon a column of yours and disparage your ur family, but you - and he - served him up for this in the NYT, and so he is not only fair game, but a necessary object of repudiation and condemnation. His positions are repugnant. His support for the nativist, racist, misogynistic, religious-bigoted, climate-change-denying, white-supremacist-empowering, and unrepentant liar (as proven by...evidence) makes him morally complicate in absolutely everything that is going to happen as a result of the Trumpist victory. Obviously, I have no idea if your brother subscribes to any of the hateful ideologies of hate that Trump has espoused and promised to abet, but, even giving him the benefit of the doubt (on your behalf, Ms. Dowd)...even if he professes (and maybe even believes) that he voted for the man for reasons fire-walled off from the "hate stuff," he is not one iota less responsible for the empowerment, much less the enactment of that hate-driven (hate-as-goal) agenda. There is no separating the white-supremacist, "hate-everything-not-white-male-ruled" positions (explicit an implicit) of Trump from whatever else those who voted for him hoped to be accomplishing through him. Presidencies are not "parsable" that way. All the evils that are coming from Trump are your brother's to bear in full measure.
4
Your brother, my sister and the others who are now celebrating will need to take responsibility for their votes when Trump faces North Korea ICBMs, and his "diverse" group of billionaires works to privatize schools, open up unregulated drilling and mining on public lands, throw their health care into chaos all while reducing the taxes of the wealthiest Americans. The temper tantrum is not on the part of Trump's opponents but those who pulled the lever out of anger without understanding how they have been snookered in to putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.
7
Must be on the right track--
get blamed for making HRC lose (too hard on her)--
get blamed for making Trump win (not hard enough on him--except in his weak myopic eyes.)
Keep it up. Unless the recounts are miraculous, it looks like Obama and Sanders will joust for the soul the Party.
in retrospect maybe Obama will be forgiven for being too timid, too slow, too "incremental" --otherwise the whitelash may have been more shocking and destabilizing.
But obviously the country needs something more like Kennedy-Johnson to make clear that Yes indeed morality CAN be legislated.
That seems to be Sanders, not Obama.
get blamed for making HRC lose (too hard on her)--
get blamed for making Trump win (not hard enough on him--except in his weak myopic eyes.)
Keep it up. Unless the recounts are miraculous, it looks like Obama and Sanders will joust for the soul the Party.
in retrospect maybe Obama will be forgiven for being too timid, too slow, too "incremental" --otherwise the whitelash may have been more shocking and destabilizing.
But obviously the country needs something more like Kennedy-Johnson to make clear that Yes indeed morality CAN be legislated.
That seems to be Sanders, not Obama.
3
OK, now that he has finished his unattractive dance in the end zone, perhaps Kevin could offer a positive argument for why we should expect good things out of a Trump presidency. Ugh.
4
Dear Maureen,
I truly am sorry for you! I had NO idea the shame that you've had to live with for so long. I think you are SO brave to share your family situation in such an open and candid manner.
In the first place, what *I* find deplorable is that while your other family members dine on turkey, they expect you to eat crow.
But perhaps there is a silver lining, learning that there are TWO writers of some note in your family. I have a dilemma that I'd like Kevin to help me with, and you can chime in, too, if you care to.
I am looking for a pithy phrase that will characterize the anticipated (dreaded?) administration. I've narrowed my search down to two metaphors that I'd like help to choose between. Currently I'm leaning toward the second since it almost certainly will be appropriate throughout Trump's entire term of office (and likely more and more so as time goes by), whereas the first better captures just his reaction upon learning that he'd won:
(1) The dog that caught the car, or,
(2) High school day at city hall.
Please advise.
I truly am sorry for you! I had NO idea the shame that you've had to live with for so long. I think you are SO brave to share your family situation in such an open and candid manner.
In the first place, what *I* find deplorable is that while your other family members dine on turkey, they expect you to eat crow.
But perhaps there is a silver lining, learning that there are TWO writers of some note in your family. I have a dilemma that I'd like Kevin to help me with, and you can chime in, too, if you care to.
I am looking for a pithy phrase that will characterize the anticipated (dreaded?) administration. I've narrowed my search down to two metaphors that I'd like help to choose between. Currently I'm leaning toward the second since it almost certainly will be appropriate throughout Trump's entire term of office (and likely more and more so as time goes by), whereas the first better captures just his reaction upon learning that he'd won:
(1) The dog that caught the car, or,
(2) High school day at city hall.
Please advise.
4
I, for one am going to terribly miss the true gentleman we have had serving us in White House. Yep, he blew it many times. The man just elected is simply the opposite in character, temperament and ability. I now know how embarrassed Italians felt when I asked them about Berlusconi or when I ask the Filipinos about Duterte. We have another clown on the world stage. The trouble is he is playing the lead.
12
What a mean-spirited piece, in general. Hope you enjoy the slow motion train wreck you helped perpetrate, as it unfolds, by your boy, Trump. Make America Stupid Again. I have a bridge to sell you, Kevin.
It's not a new sheriff in town, rather, P.T. Barnum. Enjoy the circus.
See you in four years, or less.
It's not a new sheriff in town, rather, P.T. Barnum. Enjoy the circus.
See you in four years, or less.
7
In politics, what goes around comes around. If Kevin Dowd was half as shrewd as he is insufferable, he might reflect on that and consider extending a hand rather than pouring salt in a raw raw wound. We all must find a way forward, after all, Trump or not. As for the election, it was much closer than his puerile gloating allows, with the Cook Political Report giving Clinton over a two and a quarter million vote lead in the popular vote, while the swing states Trump flipped to take the election were all decided by around one percentage point. Trump must now attempt to govern a country under circumstances where a very clear majority of the voters are against him. Juvenile crowing as we see here from the likes of Kevin Dowd is not likely to improve his chances.
10
I like the serving dishes. Very authentic ceramic ware. As for Kevin's views, I hear it from my own brothers. Right down to the Eddie Murphy 48 Hrs quote.
Hmm! Or imagine someone pens this "Don't care who lost or won or if Obama didn't do much. We the poor jobless forgotten people voted for someone who promised us jobs. Given few more years Obama would have improved unemployment below 4% (an impressive achievement to reduce it to a single digit ain't it) but at what cost when no one supported him. The same would have been with Hillary. By the time all wrangling would be over we would be long gone - left for dead. Well we are waiting - the hungry and dispossessed white, blacks, browns, purple, reds, gays, women everyone. We took a mad plunge out of desperation and not because of your elitist theories Mr Kevin. So come down and help us after you are done with your celebrations "
1
Your brother is a closet racist, gift-wrapping it cleverly in phony "intellectual suburbansm."
He has elected a moron to the Oval Office and so he is in good company now.
He has elected a moron to the Oval Office and so he is in good company now.
12
Just hearing the EPA part is enough to know who Kevin is. These wannabe "old school" types, who tell it like it (seems to them) would fail basic science. If Kev wants to live in the world of facts, rather than political correct fiction, then he would will himself smart enough to understand that the planet is in crisis. Trump is the last thing we need now. Drink up, Kev.
8
Glad to read that you have a sane family, Maureen, which also "gets it."
I had to laugh reading Paul Krugman's tweet about educated "fools" voting for Trump. As if the only people who could be disgusted with Clinton corruption are the "uneducated." I am glad that the American people in whole are not as smart as Paul Krugman; it must be boring to always be correct and smug, and then lose an election.
But thanks again for insulting the half of America which does not attend Princeton.
Whether Trump turns out to be "good" for the country or not, it really was time to wave goodbye to four more years of Barack Obama.
I mean, how many "work accidents" can one country afford?
And get the Churchill bust back into the oval office.
There once was a politician who knew the real threats were not the bathrooms men use, or the challenging commencement speakers. He knew the real enemy to be conformity of thought, and the refusal to face the reality of tyranny on the march.
Welcome to the alt.Left; hate masked by political correctness.
Hope, if nothing else, that changes with Trump.
And nice table for Thanksgiving.
I had to laugh reading Paul Krugman's tweet about educated "fools" voting for Trump. As if the only people who could be disgusted with Clinton corruption are the "uneducated." I am glad that the American people in whole are not as smart as Paul Krugman; it must be boring to always be correct and smug, and then lose an election.
But thanks again for insulting the half of America which does not attend Princeton.
Whether Trump turns out to be "good" for the country or not, it really was time to wave goodbye to four more years of Barack Obama.
I mean, how many "work accidents" can one country afford?
And get the Churchill bust back into the oval office.
There once was a politician who knew the real threats were not the bathrooms men use, or the challenging commencement speakers. He knew the real enemy to be conformity of thought, and the refusal to face the reality of tyranny on the march.
Welcome to the alt.Left; hate masked by political correctness.
Hope, if nothing else, that changes with Trump.
And nice table for Thanksgiving.
6
Mo, your bro Kevin is eloquent, yes indeed. He says the cast of Hamilton did not respect the office of veep that Mr. Spence will soon occupy, and that we should respect those high offices and their occupants. Then, bro Kevin goes on with a thrashing litany of President Obama. Respect for the office and the occupant, Kevin?
5
So now we can shed a tear for Ms Dowd. Torn between her family and her new president elect what will she do? And what will the lovely brother Kevin do when this country is run by inexperienced buffoons. It's not what Trump says--he's got a variety of opinions on the same subject--it's who he's picked for his cabinet. Believe me I'm trying to be optimistic-- I have grandchildren.
And Kevin were you were very courteous to our current president? He was called unqualified--not born in this country. Forgetting his mother was American and no matter where he was born he would've been American--a la Ted Cruz. His wife--our First Lady--was called "a gorilla and heels". Oh yes you Republicans are very courteous.
I just returned from seeing Anna Deavere Smith's stunning performance. I couldn't help but shed my tears throughout the play. At the end, Ms. Smith offers us hope in the form of Congressman John Lewis--and the apologies expressed to Mr Lewis. I just wonder how many tears we will be shedding in the months to come when The Commander in Chief and his cabinet come to power. Looking forward to the Dowd family Thanksgiving in two more years.
And Kevin were you were very courteous to our current president? He was called unqualified--not born in this country. Forgetting his mother was American and no matter where he was born he would've been American--a la Ted Cruz. His wife--our First Lady--was called "a gorilla and heels". Oh yes you Republicans are very courteous.
I just returned from seeing Anna Deavere Smith's stunning performance. I couldn't help but shed my tears throughout the play. At the end, Ms. Smith offers us hope in the form of Congressman John Lewis--and the apologies expressed to Mr Lewis. I just wonder how many tears we will be shedding in the months to come when The Commander in Chief and his cabinet come to power. Looking forward to the Dowd family Thanksgiving in two more years.
5
While Kevin Dowd stated his points a bit more forcefully than I would have, what he said about differing views receiving no respect is very, very true. Illustrated by an advice column in the Times telling a Clinton voter the nice way they must instruct their Trump voting friend--as if only one type of viewpoint has any validity and all others must be "taught." And, yes, others acting as if only one opinion could be sanctioned in the past were equally convinced that "Yes, but we are actually correct."
6
Where were the Republican denunciations when Wilson shouted You lie to Pres. Obama? Where was the respect for the office of the president then? And where is the respect for the office of the president when the Senate won't even have a hearing for a presidential nominee for Supreme Court? You are mad because an audience- citizens who are guaranteed the right to free speech - booed Pence. You are mad under the guise of wanting to respect the office when it is the Republicans who have disrespected the office for the last 8 years. And now, as we usher in a man who refuses to place his assets in a blind trust, who has already shown disregard for the office, you denounce Democrats as rude. One word for you: chutzpah.
18
Hard to believe someone as smart as Maureen has a brother so ignorant of reality . It's painful to read his misinterpretation of the truth of how Obama was thwarted from day one by the republicans and now he blames obama for their treachery . They are not patriots or interested in the good of the country . I am afraid we are all lost now including Kevin . What a sad sad time for us all .
3
To Kevin, may I offer a primer on gloating. While it is merely bad manners to gloat when you win, it is bad strategy to gloat upon someone else’s loss. Bad strategy because, with little or no warning, you might find yourself among us losers. If Trump’s hubris catches up with him and his temperament is as unsuited to the office as we fear, we will all be losers.
6
I wish Ms. Dowd would expand her examinations, and sometimes tacit promotion of Conservative thought, beyond the scope of immediate members of her family. It was fun the first couple of times. However, it's long since gotten really Old.
Conservatives in this country can be far more far ranging in their thinking than her brother or ither family members - in both good and bad ways. She grossly trivializes issues by ultimately boiling isdues down to the "net-net" from someone like her brother, or other family members. If she wants theirpositions represented so badly, let them get theirown jobs as Right Wing pundits!
It boils down to "my family said so." This is about as valid as getting the entirety of Right Wing thought from one person on one segment of one show on Fox News... Perhaps worse in fact, as at least someone on Fox is likely to have been vetted, and shown to have views in line with at least some reasonable fraction of Fox viewership. They may be nutty, but at least it's represented nuttiness!
Dowd's method is about as valid as getting the national pulse from her neighborhood butcher. Is this really what the NYT pays her for?
The discussion where Trump directly singled her out for "information shutdown" is a far, far more important story, with critical implications regarding Press Freedoms and repression. Why not talk about this? She gets direct exposure to the press bullying tactics of our next President... and we get her family instead! Seriously?
Conservatives in this country can be far more far ranging in their thinking than her brother or ither family members - in both good and bad ways. She grossly trivializes issues by ultimately boiling isdues down to the "net-net" from someone like her brother, or other family members. If she wants theirpositions represented so badly, let them get theirown jobs as Right Wing pundits!
It boils down to "my family said so." This is about as valid as getting the entirety of Right Wing thought from one person on one segment of one show on Fox News... Perhaps worse in fact, as at least someone on Fox is likely to have been vetted, and shown to have views in line with at least some reasonable fraction of Fox viewership. They may be nutty, but at least it's represented nuttiness!
Dowd's method is about as valid as getting the national pulse from her neighborhood butcher. Is this really what the NYT pays her for?
The discussion where Trump directly singled her out for "information shutdown" is a far, far more important story, with critical implications regarding Press Freedoms and repression. Why not talk about this? She gets direct exposure to the press bullying tactics of our next President... and we get her family instead! Seriously?
5
Ms. Dowd, do us all a favor. The next time your brother wants to write a piece, tell him to submit it to the NY Post, or maybe Birebart News. His ilk would be more at home with these publications.
4
You should give your family the Make America Great Again Christmas ornament--the gift that keep on giving.
Today's Conservative voters are so blinded by rage and spite that they cannot see what their man Trump is; a dangerous, mentally ill, ignorant, immature, petty narcissistic sociopath. All they know is that they scored some points. They got their revenge. Revenge against the forces that defeated them in the civil war. Revenge against the forces that defeated them in the civil rights movement and the culture wars. Revenge against the smart kids who left their homes in the backwaters and went to good schools and got good jobs in the big cities.
They think they can wash away the shame and embarrassment of Nixon and Bush by winning the most recent election. But all they have done is elect another embarrassment. And this one doesn't even need time to develop. Trump is an embarrassment right out of the box. He was an embarrassment long before he descended the escalator, announced his candidacy, and called Mexicans rapists. He will only get worse. They have doubled down on ignorance, bigotry, belligerence and stupidity.
The GOP is not so much about policy or values. It's about hurt pride, vengeance and spite.
They think they can wash away the shame and embarrassment of Nixon and Bush by winning the most recent election. But all they have done is elect another embarrassment. And this one doesn't even need time to develop. Trump is an embarrassment right out of the box. He was an embarrassment long before he descended the escalator, announced his candidacy, and called Mexicans rapists. He will only get worse. They have doubled down on ignorance, bigotry, belligerence and stupidity.
The GOP is not so much about policy or values. It's about hurt pride, vengeance and spite.
18
ugh, what a nasty op-ed piece.
6
Maureen, You should've skipped the turkey and gone straight for the vodka and toasted your ethics. There are objectively moral rights and moral wrongs in human events. Lying, belittling, molesting, abusing and other similarly disgusting Trump conduct is morally indefensible. Although your brother is more concerned about the "incivility and bad manners" of democrats appalled by Trump's dishonesty and hypocrisy, he ought to be more concerned about the harm about to be inflicted on this country by its most successful con man.
6
Kevin, I get and actually share many of your feelings about your Democrat compatriots -- of which I am one. What I don't see here is why you like Trump. Are you keeping those positive thoughts in your back pocket for a future debate?
3
Maureen, your brother and his fellow conservatives were "taught to be respectful of the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants." Really?!?!?
12
Maureen Dowd is simply the best columnist in journalism. I disagree with her more often then not, but she is brilliant, witty and always a must read; in fact I force my college age kids to read her columns. Paul Krugman and Charles Blow - two angry, close minded leftists, could learn a lot about intelligent discourse if they followed Ms. Dowd's model.
7
There is nothing to gloat about Kevin. There is no mandate, no repudiation of Obama. Just the unfortunate and unlikely election of the whole basket of deplorables called Trump.
6
"...Democrats have ... become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion. "
Really? Who called Mexicans rapists and murders, dismissed Megan Kelly's professional acumen with references to female menstruation, and continuously interrupted and stalked Hillary Clinton during the Presidential debates? Who unapologetically stoked the birtherism fire, only disavowing that lie when he could no longer sustain it? Who tweets in childish anger at 3:00 AM when his lies and boorish behavior are recognized and challenged? Who claimed to never have asked God for forgiveness and believes that only the successful are "winners?" Who rates women on a ten point scale and publicly humiliates them with comments about their looks? Who comments on his daughter's breast size and talks of dating her (if he was not her father)? Who incredulously claims to have sacrificed as much as the Kahn family who lost their son while he was defending this country? (Considering the President-elect received 4 military deferments, no graver insult could be levied.) Who mocks former prisoners of war and elevates the CEO of an extremist, right-wing news tabloid (a news site that headlines humans having sex with trees and the belief that birth control makes women fat and ugly) to Chief Strategist to the President?
Sorry, Dowd family. There is only one answer: President-Elect Donald J. Trump.
Really? Who called Mexicans rapists and murders, dismissed Megan Kelly's professional acumen with references to female menstruation, and continuously interrupted and stalked Hillary Clinton during the Presidential debates? Who unapologetically stoked the birtherism fire, only disavowing that lie when he could no longer sustain it? Who tweets in childish anger at 3:00 AM when his lies and boorish behavior are recognized and challenged? Who claimed to never have asked God for forgiveness and believes that only the successful are "winners?" Who rates women on a ten point scale and publicly humiliates them with comments about their looks? Who comments on his daughter's breast size and talks of dating her (if he was not her father)? Who incredulously claims to have sacrificed as much as the Kahn family who lost their son while he was defending this country? (Considering the President-elect received 4 military deferments, no graver insult could be levied.) Who mocks former prisoners of war and elevates the CEO of an extremist, right-wing news tabloid (a news site that headlines humans having sex with trees and the belief that birth control makes women fat and ugly) to Chief Strategist to the President?
Sorry, Dowd family. There is only one answer: President-Elect Donald J. Trump.
16
To Kevin, the "affluent, educated suburbanite":
Is it not clear to you that Donald Trump is profoundly ignorant? Among other things he does not know what the "nuclear triad" refers to. Is it also unclear to you that he compliments this ignorance with arrogance, flippancy, and complete disinterest in learning anything? Are you comfortable that this man will soon control the nuclear codes?
Do you have kids whom you would like to see grow up?
Is it not clear to you that Donald Trump is profoundly ignorant? Among other things he does not know what the "nuclear triad" refers to. Is it also unclear to you that he compliments this ignorance with arrogance, flippancy, and complete disinterest in learning anything? Are you comfortable that this man will soon control the nuclear codes?
Do you have kids whom you would like to see grow up?
11
Maureen,
Your brother voted for the man who has spent the last 5 years telling his followers that President Obama was born in Kenya and that he had proof that it was so.
Your brother decided that a man riling up racists by lying about the nation's first African-American President FOR FIVE YEARS was perfectly fit to be President himself.
It's hard for me to understand why you approve of your brother's admiration and support for the man who has lied about President Obama for the last 5 years. Many of us believe that if you admire someone someone who panders to racists, you are no better than a racist. No doubt your brother and his family feel very smug believing that they didn't just endorse the man who lied about President Obama for 5 years, but they did. Truly disgusting in their smugness. I wonder if they'd approve of their own children lying like that, or if that is only something they approve in their leaders?
Your brother voted for the man who has spent the last 5 years telling his followers that President Obama was born in Kenya and that he had proof that it was so.
Your brother decided that a man riling up racists by lying about the nation's first African-American President FOR FIVE YEARS was perfectly fit to be President himself.
It's hard for me to understand why you approve of your brother's admiration and support for the man who has lied about President Obama for the last 5 years. Many of us believe that if you admire someone someone who panders to racists, you are no better than a racist. No doubt your brother and his family feel very smug believing that they didn't just endorse the man who lied about President Obama for 5 years, but they did. Truly disgusting in their smugness. I wonder if they'd approve of their own children lying like that, or if that is only something they approve in their leaders?
10
Well, Maureen, I guess we have finally come to a parting of the ways. It's been fun, kinda, but I've got better things to do. I'll check back with you at mid-terms and we can maybe talk about whatever happened to Medicare, or how hard it's going to be for the folks who never got the jobs that Trump promised them to buy groceries with their reduced Social Security.
And of course, the mystery of all mysteries - where are Trump's tax returns? La, la! Isn't it cute how he fooled all of us into thinking that he'd produce them, well, sometime . . . and the way he loves his family! Funny, I don't remember their being on the ballot. Many of us are surprised that they're
helping Daddy get settled and tending his affairs at the same time.
Can't wait to see how they're going to spend those millions to fix Trump Tower up as White House Number 2, although we all know it'll actually be Number 1, don't we? Ah, well - maybe they'll think of something for the traffic . . .
Keep in mind that the Talking Yam won an election that is now being seriously investigated for irregularities, and also that Hillary outperformed him by 2.1 million votes and still counting. So your victory isn't really that great after all, don't you agree? Too bad you and your brother don't get along. He sounds like a real turkey.
And of course, the mystery of all mysteries - where are Trump's tax returns? La, la! Isn't it cute how he fooled all of us into thinking that he'd produce them, well, sometime . . . and the way he loves his family! Funny, I don't remember their being on the ballot. Many of us are surprised that they're
helping Daddy get settled and tending his affairs at the same time.
Can't wait to see how they're going to spend those millions to fix Trump Tower up as White House Number 2, although we all know it'll actually be Number 1, don't we? Ah, well - maybe they'll think of something for the traffic . . .
Keep in mind that the Talking Yam won an election that is now being seriously investigated for irregularities, and also that Hillary outperformed him by 2.1 million votes and still counting. So your victory isn't really that great after all, don't you agree? Too bad you and your brother don't get along. He sounds like a real turkey.
10
Mike Pence getting lectured by the Hamilton cast who hurt his tender feelings and Papa Trumpy coming to his rescue. Gimme a break. I can't wait for a Latino or preferably an African American congressman to stand up publicly in front of Dirty Donnie at some press conference, point a finger and say, "you lie". The repubs deserve 4 years of condign punishment, they've set the standards and now they should live them.
7
His excellency scolded you and cast you out.
Keep up the good work! You are clearly on the right track!
Keep up the good work! You are clearly on the right track!
Rude to the office of the Presidency??? Ironic given the ascendancy of Trump grotesquely denying the very legitimacy of Obama's presidency. Take s look at the slogans on Trump shirts and the hate crimes committed in his name and defend that if you can twist your perspective to fit your snarky narrative. The fate of this great national is now in the hands of a narcissist unbalanced bully. You will own it. I'm with the majority of Americans who voted otherwise. We preferred facts to fiction and fanaticism. Counting the days til we get to fire him.
8
Careful Maureen...these times are fraught...best to speak less and think more for now. Just like the new administration, we need time to identify and chose our battles.
Maureen, I always enjoy your articles!! And your brothers "article" was just great!
6
I begin to suspect Maureen Dowd actually writes these tirades she atributes to her brother Kevin. She does treat every politician in sight "too rough," Trump included, which tends to obscure her own position. But where does she really stand? After all the vitriol she threw at Hillary over the last year, can we really believe she had to "drown her sorrows" with the Trump champagne her deplorables served her? And why do we need to read a summary of what we have been hearing Trump read from teleprompters for months?
4
It would have been more of a triumph for Trump if he'd actually won. Instead he lost by 2 million votes. Trump is a "loser." Only the Electoral College's thumb on the scale will make him President. Electoral College was inserted in the Constitution at the insistence of some of the founders who feared the will of the people and real democracy. The People have spoken. Hillary should be President.
5
Kevin,
Your arguments would be more credible if you called out errors and hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle. For you to be horrified by the "rudeness" of the cast of Hamilton but blind to the neo-nazi (I refuse to call it alt-right) gathering in a federal building speaks volumes.
Your party controls all the branches of government. Let's see how well you fix the problems facing our country. I wonder who you'll blame now when things don't go your way?
Your arguments would be more credible if you called out errors and hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle. For you to be horrified by the "rudeness" of the cast of Hamilton but blind to the neo-nazi (I refuse to call it alt-right) gathering in a federal building speaks volumes.
Your party controls all the branches of government. Let's see how well you fix the problems facing our country. I wonder who you'll blame now when things don't go your way?
5
Thank you Kevin Dowd.
6
Kevin, your rant pretty well proves Krugman's thesis. Just a couple of points: (1) The business about college campuses canceling midterms and provide crying rooms for distraught liberals is a bogus story promoted by Fox news. (Name me some campuses.) Kinda make you wonder what other falsehoods they've implanted in your mind over the years? No? (2) Re your concern for respect for the office of president and vice president: (a) Did you object when Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" during Obama's speech to Congress? If not, you're full of poo. (b) Can you really, with a straight face, deplore breach of manners while voting, without apology, for a man who has insulted — oh, we all know the list by now.
14
Perhaps you should just say goodbye to your family until they regain their senses. Moving to Oklahoma would be a good medicine for that or maybe they would be in heaven. But either way, I have not sympathy for you on this. I have taken my stand with the traditions of my parents as I was taught them and that does include your brother or my sister. I'm tired of their prayers for me to be like them when I am faithful to the traditions of my parents and people. So I've taken a respite from these proselytizing, one and only truthers and have enjoyed the bath. Maybe you should consider doing the same. This is America, it's traditions are diverse and it doesn't take kindly to people who tell them what or how to believe. They have discover it on their own, often in spite of rather than because.
3
Sorry, Kevin, but the election was not a 'complete repudiation of Barack Obama." Trump received the most electoral votes but did not garner a majority of citizen votes by a substantial margin. No repudiation, no mandate. A majority of voters wanted the Obama progress to continue.
7
Actually, the movie analogy is not 48 Hours, but Trading Places, where Kevin and the rest of your smug relatives need to trade places with poor people working at some big department store for minimum wage, with no medical. Like tens of millions of Americans do every day.
The arrogance, willfull ignorance and haughty deservedness of so many people like Kevin who happen to have picked the right parents to be born to is always amazing to experience first hand. But as Clint Eastwood said to the arrogant sheriff Gene Hackman in Unforgiven, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
It's not "fools" so much as being "stupid" and also shortsighted. Kevin, if things don't go your way sometime, like some poor desperate lower class person happens to pick on you or your loved ones, please think a moment about karma. What goes around, comes around. And there's plenty to come around very soon.
So, maybe it's Bonfire of the Vanities. Enjoy your vain glory my friend for it will not last.
The arrogance, willfull ignorance and haughty deservedness of so many people like Kevin who happen to have picked the right parents to be born to is always amazing to experience first hand. But as Clint Eastwood said to the arrogant sheriff Gene Hackman in Unforgiven, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
It's not "fools" so much as being "stupid" and also shortsighted. Kevin, if things don't go your way sometime, like some poor desperate lower class person happens to pick on you or your loved ones, please think a moment about karma. What goes around, comes around. And there's plenty to come around very soon.
So, maybe it's Bonfire of the Vanities. Enjoy your vain glory my friend for it will not last.
8
Now I get the line in the Trump NYT transcript, "It's not your fault, it's just your turn," or something close.
Trump's "turn" will come many more times in the next four years--Dowd is, after all, a NYT columnist, i.e., a free citizen of the Opinion Kingdom--, but this was a "bigly" bell-ringing wake up for all the DNC self-indulgent whiners: Time to accept reality and get to work. It wasn't like FDR or Eisenhower lost in a "surprise" upset: This was a self-absorbed "incrementalist" not known for making wise choices--e.g., appearance of State Department extortion and basement servers wiped clean with more than dusting rags--who was forever piling one Little Rock tag-team opaque half-truth onto another.
There's no question that the marching and stomping of Liberal Imperialism from the Sovietized mass-media of New York City will continue, but not under the Clinton Syndicate Flag--which seemed to fly over one disaster after another since the day Bill got his first box of Oval Office cigars.
Trump's victory was done with less than half the money, a tenth the army and against legions of trumpets and pollsters. The courage for Hillary's supporters is to accept the fact that some things are cosmic. This was one. The "spot" would not out.
Trump's "turn" will come many more times in the next four years--Dowd is, after all, a NYT columnist, i.e., a free citizen of the Opinion Kingdom--, but this was a "bigly" bell-ringing wake up for all the DNC self-indulgent whiners: Time to accept reality and get to work. It wasn't like FDR or Eisenhower lost in a "surprise" upset: This was a self-absorbed "incrementalist" not known for making wise choices--e.g., appearance of State Department extortion and basement servers wiped clean with more than dusting rags--who was forever piling one Little Rock tag-team opaque half-truth onto another.
There's no question that the marching and stomping of Liberal Imperialism from the Sovietized mass-media of New York City will continue, but not under the Clinton Syndicate Flag--which seemed to fly over one disaster after another since the day Bill got his first box of Oval Office cigars.
Trump's victory was done with less than half the money, a tenth the army and against legions of trumpets and pollsters. The courage for Hillary's supporters is to accept the fact that some things are cosmic. This was one. The "spot" would not out.
7
Out of morbid curiosity and (let's face it) an attempt to keep an eye on the opposition, I took a dip into the Basket of Deplorables and opened an account for myself over on the Fox News site a couple of days ago.
Brother Kevin's little essay is effectively a compilation of most of the comment section and doesn't skip a single talking point. All that's missing are the references to 'Killary', and although he forgot to sprinkle a few 'Benghazis' here and there, I'm sure it was just an oversight on his part.
We will give him credit for having a much better grasp of spelling and grammar than the folks at Fox but he's earned an F for originality. Maureen, you should have run it through turnitin.com before it went public; same old tired rhetoric, re-hashed.
Brother Kevin's little essay is effectively a compilation of most of the comment section and doesn't skip a single talking point. All that's missing are the references to 'Killary', and although he forgot to sprinkle a few 'Benghazis' here and there, I'm sure it was just an oversight on his part.
We will give him credit for having a much better grasp of spelling and grammar than the folks at Fox but he's earned an F for originality. Maureen, you should have run it through turnitin.com before it went public; same old tired rhetoric, re-hashed.
7
"...but is considered boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants." Mr. Dowd, what respect did you & your fellow Republicans give to President Obama & Vice President Biden? What a hypocrite.
12
Kevin says "Not one of the top 50 colleges mandate one semester of Western Civilization." Sounds like a good Fox News talking point, except it's not true. At Columbia College (#5, per US News), two semesters of "Contemporary Civilization" are required of all students, just as they were when I attended in the late-1970's. And don't let the name fool you. Contemporary Civilization = Western Civilization -- you can google the syllabus. I suspect that other schools among the top-50 also require something similar. It's a small point, but it speaks to a mindset of uninformed certainty that won't allow mere facts to get in the way. Should we be checking the rest of this screed too?
497
Gloating doesn't look good on anyone, but I'll give Kevin a pass because he's clearly inherited the snark gene. Yes, democrats look silly for all their pompous conceits because they tend to be every bit as hypocritical as the republicans and most of the human race. The main problem I have with all the media focus on the personality/popularity angle that the media's been taking to the bank, is that this melodrama takes the discussion away from the records of the two parties. Let's face it: we're a two party system and the democrats have the better overall record on jobs and the economy. Studies show that most people want the benefits the dems want. Everything else is a show. Don't believe the hype. Next time, let's hope a bigger majority votes for the reality-based party.
4
Mr. Dowd might start looking for a recipe for stewed crow. II might be his next Thanksgiving dinner.
7
I appreciate your brother's opinion from the alternate universe. I especially like the part about incivility which he should know well since his people spent the last 8 years disrespecting and attempting to deligitimize our president. The examples are too numerous to list here, but let us remember the birther-in-chief will soon be in the Oval Office.
8
I voted for democrat Hillary Clinton, and would again. However, I enjoyed Kevin's column. My own read on the election is that democrats have not learned to lose well. maybe some of them have, but I haven't met one.
My question to the "elites": When your softball team loses do you diminish your opponent's victory by claiming bad call, or bad luck...or worse--cheating? And, what do you teach your children about losing--to look their opponent in the eye, shake their hand and applaud the victory, or to whine?
I sat through a thanksgiving dinner where everyone took a turn at whining about Trump, the deplorables, and the unfairness of it all--the electoral college, the FBI, and...just how stupid "People" really are. Finally, someone noticed that i said nothing and asked me about it. I gathered myself, not wanting to prolong the topic of conversation, but wishing to mildly explain I found the democratic whining after the election as objectionable as republican whining prior to the election. But, as I paused, the woman seated next to me interrupted, obviously wishing to spare me the humiliation of explaining that I was a Trump supporter. (why else would I have paused just a second to long to address the question asked of me, right?)
The conversation moved back to movies and babies and sports. No one said anything further to me about the election. I'm sure they never will. But, I think they should all read Kevin's column.
My question to the "elites": When your softball team loses do you diminish your opponent's victory by claiming bad call, or bad luck...or worse--cheating? And, what do you teach your children about losing--to look their opponent in the eye, shake their hand and applaud the victory, or to whine?
I sat through a thanksgiving dinner where everyone took a turn at whining about Trump, the deplorables, and the unfairness of it all--the electoral college, the FBI, and...just how stupid "People" really are. Finally, someone noticed that i said nothing and asked me about it. I gathered myself, not wanting to prolong the topic of conversation, but wishing to mildly explain I found the democratic whining after the election as objectionable as republican whining prior to the election. But, as I paused, the woman seated next to me interrupted, obviously wishing to spare me the humiliation of explaining that I was a Trump supporter. (why else would I have paused just a second to long to address the question asked of me, right?)
The conversation moved back to movies and babies and sports. No one said anything further to me about the election. I'm sure they never will. But, I think they should all read Kevin's column.
79
Civility - what you get from a Democrat and not what you get from a Republican (at least now, different 30 years ago when Reagan and Tip O'Neill could drink beer and watch Notre Dame football together). The Democrats in my family have never held a "loss" up to my face whereas Republicans have...says a lot about someone's character.
The America I grew up with is disappearing, incivility is growing, unacceptable behavior is accepted, truth and facts are now relative. The really sad part is that the President should be a paragon of American values and not a punchline. The campaign Trump ran does not represent the best in us, rather just the opposite. And for many Republicans this seems to be the new normal.
The America I grew up with is disappearing, incivility is growing, unacceptable behavior is accepted, truth and facts are now relative. The really sad part is that the President should be a paragon of American values and not a punchline. The campaign Trump ran does not represent the best in us, rather just the opposite. And for many Republicans this seems to be the new normal.
10
So, why doesn't your brother get his own newspaper to publish his snarky "guide"?
8
the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion. - I don't know where your family lives but this sounds like drivel from typical, red state Whites who only know how to regurgitate Fox News. The more stories I read about Trump supporters, the more I believe progressives need to collectively divorce these individuals as the country cannot move forward with this level of ignorance, irrationality and hatred.
10
There is little point in arguing with Kevin. He seems to have made up his mind already. He appears to think he has all the answers for those who diasgree with him.
Kevin comes across as a teenager and what saddens me is that he is not.
Kevin comes across as a teenager and what saddens me is that he is not.
9
Maureen! I'm so disappointed in you. I left my basket of deplorables fifty years ago. Do you just go back again and again for mea maxima culpa and another article?
1
Ms. Dowd, why do you give your brother a forum? His letter is as ugly and snarky as Trump's campaign. And you give him a national forum he wouldn't otherwise have. To what purpose?
9
Whew. Your brother is angry. He needs to count to 10 and regain control of his emotions so he can realize what his petty annoyances with millennials will cost the country.
8
Maureen could've been heartened, as I was over Thanksgiving, that at least we don't have that "new sheriff" until January 20, 2017, and that he has apparently decided not to act on the frenzy to "lock her up" which he instigated in his minions. He also appears to be rethinking shredding the environment and instituting torture. The Republic may survive Trump after all, and in the meantime we still have our current intelligent, thoughtful, restrained sheriff, God bless him. Hang in there, Maureen.
5
Ah, the sheer hypocrisy of Maureen being the reasonable one in the Dowd family!
3
Denial will not move the country forward. To understand the Trump success and the near success of Bernie Sanders, one only needs to look at the world outside urban centers. If one gets a moment take a drive through the towns that lost the millions of jobs paying $18-$25 an hour to better understand the results of this election.
Tip O'Neil the former Speaker of the House representing Massachusettes was fond of saying that, "all politics is local." The Democrats and Republicans over the past 30 years have done a better job of representing the workers of Mexico, China, Indonesia and Vietnam to name a few, than the average American worker. In this case, the "local" Tip O'Neil referenced in politics was our American neighborhood.
Maureen Dowd, in this readers opinion continues to be an objective commentator, showing no favor to either side. You can look it up as Casey used to say.
Tip O'Neil the former Speaker of the House representing Massachusettes was fond of saying that, "all politics is local." The Democrats and Republicans over the past 30 years have done a better job of representing the workers of Mexico, China, Indonesia and Vietnam to name a few, than the average American worker. In this case, the "local" Tip O'Neil referenced in politics was our American neighborhood.
Maureen Dowd, in this readers opinion continues to be an objective commentator, showing no favor to either side. You can look it up as Casey used to say.
1
"Mr. Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists or any other “ists.”
A warped take on reality, Kevin. By voting for Trump, you endorse his "homophobia, Islamaphobia, racism, sexism, and misogyny" as well as his extensively shabby financial con-games like the phony Trump University scam that was just fined $25 million for fraud. His ethics are your ethics because that is what you voted for. Trump's moral corruption is to vast, extending over decades, to ignore or excuse as you do.
Trump is a bombastic egotist without any clear policies, only a series of insults and tweets unworthy of a 12-year old. That it all he offered - and that is what you voted for. Your words are on the same order. Sad.
A warped take on reality, Kevin. By voting for Trump, you endorse his "homophobia, Islamaphobia, racism, sexism, and misogyny" as well as his extensively shabby financial con-games like the phony Trump University scam that was just fined $25 million for fraud. His ethics are your ethics because that is what you voted for. Trump's moral corruption is to vast, extending over decades, to ignore or excuse as you do.
Trump is a bombastic egotist without any clear policies, only a series of insults and tweets unworthy of a 12-year old. That it all he offered - and that is what you voted for. Your words are on the same order. Sad.
19
Those who imbibe Trump White (how fitting) will wake up to a hangover of titanic proportions. Plutocratic elites wisely decant such swill down the sewer while reaping tax cuts: those in economic distress will drink the devil's brew, hoping beyond hope for something brighter than a four year headache.
Distillers of bathtub gin did not have a monopoly on causing blindness in those desperate enough to succumb to its temptations. Let us stay sober and judicious:
Our threatened Republic now more than ever needs clear minds and steady hands and good vision.
The future will not wait.
Distillers of bathtub gin did not have a monopoly on causing blindness in those desperate enough to succumb to its temptations. Let us stay sober and judicious:
Our threatened Republic now more than ever needs clear minds and steady hands and good vision.
The future will not wait.
5
This column makes me sad for the Dowd family, for the New York Times, and for the nation, none of which is well served by its publication.
11
Maureen, you are welcome at our holiday table anytime. Thanksgiving included sad faces and a few tears, quiet discussion and an overwhelming sense of impending catastrophe. On the upside, since no one had much of an appetite, there are a lot of leftovers.
5
Kevin, now you know how Democrats felt in 2012 when Romney thought he had won up to the last minute. Enjoy it while it lasts.
1
Well said Kevin. I love the demagoguery and sheer panic evidenced in the comment section by liberals that cannot handle or deal with the truth.
Trump has not even assumed office yet the loses are out in full force trying to assassinate his character. Someone mentioned Obama was the most decent, honest man we ever had in office. You must have been taking drugs during the 37 times (look it up on Politifact.com) Obama lied in public about Obamacare stating falsely you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan, on and on. For those that forgot, here :
http://www.politifact.com/obama-like-health-care-keep/ and he also knew it was a lie as evidenced by his comments at the 2010 Heath Care Summit at the 2 hour and 38 minute mark, see link below.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?292260-1/white-house-health-care-summit-part-1
Why is it that liberals and the far left pretend to be tolerant while behaving as bigots towards anyone with a different political view ? Their MO is preach tolerance, while simultaneously engaging in intolerance and bigotry. Also, be sure to accuse anyone that disagrees with you on policy of being racist, misogynist, homophobic, and xenophobic. If you believe in the rule of law and the sovereignty of our nation, the left will call you a white supremacist, lol. The left says Steve Bannon is anti-Semitic, yea right, he was close to Brietbart who happened to be Jewish, odd way of showing anti-Semitism don't you think ?
Trump has not even assumed office yet the loses are out in full force trying to assassinate his character. Someone mentioned Obama was the most decent, honest man we ever had in office. You must have been taking drugs during the 37 times (look it up on Politifact.com) Obama lied in public about Obamacare stating falsely you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan, on and on. For those that forgot, here :
http://www.politifact.com/obama-like-health-care-keep/ and he also knew it was a lie as evidenced by his comments at the 2010 Heath Care Summit at the 2 hour and 38 minute mark, see link below.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?292260-1/white-house-health-care-summit-part-1
Why is it that liberals and the far left pretend to be tolerant while behaving as bigots towards anyone with a different political view ? Their MO is preach tolerance, while simultaneously engaging in intolerance and bigotry. Also, be sure to accuse anyone that disagrees with you on policy of being racist, misogynist, homophobic, and xenophobic. If you believe in the rule of law and the sovereignty of our nation, the left will call you a white supremacist, lol. The left says Steve Bannon is anti-Semitic, yea right, he was close to Brietbart who happened to be Jewish, odd way of showing anti-Semitism don't you think ?
4
So the ultimate goal of the Trump revolution was a victory lap and a hectoring lecture?
I give this maybe six months before the spiders start consuming the carcass of their new sheriff.
I give this maybe six months before the spiders start consuming the carcass of their new sheriff.
4
So the Democrats are the party of incivility?
Years of birther nonsense from Trump and others. Rush Limbaugh and Hannity and Fox News constant stream of lies and insults. A senate majority leader whose response after the greatest financial debacle of our time was to announce his strategy was for the president to fail. And it goes on and on.
Kevin, you cannot expect anyone with a brain to take you seriously.
Years of birther nonsense from Trump and others. Rush Limbaugh and Hannity and Fox News constant stream of lies and insults. A senate majority leader whose response after the greatest financial debacle of our time was to announce his strategy was for the president to fail. And it goes on and on.
Kevin, you cannot expect anyone with a brain to take you seriously.
14
Donald Trump was mean to a lot of people simply before he was elected. Most humans don't like people who are mean and don't respect them. Mean people get eaten eventually. Maureen doesn't get it that Donald Trump won over the pessimists in society who responded to his shaming strategy. Nothing ever improves when you shame people. Maureen even reverts back to her upbringing of shame by trying to shame the artists for not being good little minnions who don't know their place. What does this elitist editorialist know from her Ivy League upbringing?
Hold your water and keep your powder dry, Ms Dowd. You may yet have the last laugh.
2
Krugman was right.
9
Ah, Kevin,
Be careful what you wish for. For you may surely get it. Let's talk again in three or four years, OK?
In the mean time, I'd advise you to firmly buckle your seat belt and ensure that both your seat and tray table are in their fully upright and locked positions. The Captain is a delusional megalomaniac with no flight training, the First Officer is blinded by Biblical myopia and the flight crew are all incompetent sycophants with no relevant experience. Pray they don't inadvertently disarm the exit doors at 35,000 feet.
And this flight (barring Constitutional catastrophes) is scheduled to last four years. The menu in First Class will be filet mignon, lobster and champagne. Passengers in Coach will receive a daily 3 oz. package of peanuts. The inflight movie will be endless reruns of "Citizen Kane".
Happy Landings! (assuming Air Traffic Control hasn't by then been privatized and subsequently subcontracted to some distant Trump cousin who owns the vending machine concession for the Peabody Coal Company).
Be careful what you wish for. For you may surely get it. Let's talk again in three or four years, OK?
In the mean time, I'd advise you to firmly buckle your seat belt and ensure that both your seat and tray table are in their fully upright and locked positions. The Captain is a delusional megalomaniac with no flight training, the First Officer is blinded by Biblical myopia and the flight crew are all incompetent sycophants with no relevant experience. Pray they don't inadvertently disarm the exit doors at 35,000 feet.
And this flight (barring Constitutional catastrophes) is scheduled to last four years. The menu in First Class will be filet mignon, lobster and champagne. Passengers in Coach will receive a daily 3 oz. package of peanuts. The inflight movie will be endless reruns of "Citizen Kane".
Happy Landings! (assuming Air Traffic Control hasn't by then been privatized and subsequently subcontracted to some distant Trump cousin who owns the vending machine concession for the Peabody Coal Company).
521
Maureen, your brother Kevin is a sore winner. While preening over Trump's victory he remains in high dudgeon about Hillary Clinton and all things liberal. His embittered scoffing is mean-spirited and full of resentment, he can't resist pouring poison even though his candidate has won, and wants you to drink it. Meanwhile he doesn't have much positive to say on Trump's behalf. and he doesn't seem to care much about what Trump will do. He prefers to fulminate about how rudely the Hamilton cast treated Mike Pence. He is addicted to being embittered, so it's hard to take seriously anything he says. Maureen, how do you put up with such a boorish ninny? And though he may be your brother, why do you feel it's ok to turn over your column to him and let him inflict his boorish rant on your readers?
15
"Not one of the top 50 colleges mandate one semester of Western Civilization. Maybe they should rethink that."
Mr Dowd - please do some fact-checking. Columbia College, from which the gracious an temperate Barack Obama graduated (after two years at Occidental) has been teaching its superb version oƒ "Western Civ," for decades. Take a look at David Denby's fine book on the subject.
As C.P. Scott the great editor of the Guardian used to say, "Comment is free, but facts are sacred."
Mr Dowd - please do some fact-checking. Columbia College, from which the gracious an temperate Barack Obama graduated (after two years at Occidental) has been teaching its superb version oƒ "Western Civ," for decades. Take a look at David Denby's fine book on the subject.
As C.P. Scott the great editor of the Guardian used to say, "Comment is free, but facts are sacred."
12
Ms. Dowd recently said on "CBS Sunday Morning" that she does not read the comments addressing her column. So, we can agree without her knowing [although it would be better if she did know] that many of us are tired of her version of "a pox on all your houses theme." This is a particularly ugly form of equivalency. The arch tone and the implication that she is above it all is really out of order in the current environment.
16
The Recount has started, Clinton will soon be in power, every thing will be
restored to normalcy, life will be good, ignore these columns
restored to normalcy, life will be good, ignore these columns
3
Maureen....I think your brother is a jerk. He appears impervious to facts, so why waste time arguing with him. But here goes: Under Obama things haven't gone so badly, unemployment is down and the stock market has done nothing but go up since 2009. Not bad considering where he started. Paying for two wars has caused a spike in national debt...but he didn't start those wars. If Trump can fulfill any of his highfalutin promises to his rust belters I'll be surprised. When all is said and done, The Trump Deal of the Century may be when he get's Mexico to agree to pay for the white paint....to paint a line instead of a wall on the length of the border.
9
Thanks Kevin I just vomited up all my turkey and spared myself all those unneeded calories. Then I made yet another contribution to Jill Stein and her recount. Thanks for reminding me why I'll never vote Republican again.
11
Interestingly, Kevin, no one is going anywhere. Not Jay Z, or Cher, or the two million more of your fellow Americans who voted for Hillary. So, enjoy your bragging rights while you have them. I suspect it won't take the country very many of those hundreds of 'days' you crow about to figure out what a mistake has been made.
9
I'm with Krugman.
Kevin confirms that nicely, if not succinctly.
Kevin confirms that nicely, if not succinctly.
15
AllI know is, more people in this country (a LOT more) votes for Hillary over Donald. Period.
6
Ms. Dowd,
Congratulations on being singled out at the Times/Trump discussion with the President-Elect, it is a badge of honor for any columnist to be told in advance that he won't take the call, because "she treats me too rough." I am sure this raised your worth to the publisher and hopefully your income in the next contract. Now you will have little choice but to discuss what the policies of the Trump Administration are doing to make the world a better place for all Americans, a.k.a. make America great again.
Your bother Kevin's "Election Therapy Guide for Liberals" falls far from your genetic tree. As I read his piece, it seems to be the same old hackneyed platitudes & homilies that have been issued for at least 40 years.
I don't know all the the roots of modern conservatism but there is evidence that the reaction of many to cultural disruptions such as the dismantling of school segregation, legalization of abortions, the 2nd Amendment and recently the list of "homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists", which Kevin listed, seems to have distracted enough voters attention away from the real issue, which is broader sharing of U.S. economic growth. Everyone knows that at least 80% of Americans have NOT flourished over the last 40 years. For the majority of us, real incomes have been flat or declining. Most of the income gap occured since the Reagan back-to-back recessions and since the big financial system blow-out in 2008. This is the issue.
Congratulations on being singled out at the Times/Trump discussion with the President-Elect, it is a badge of honor for any columnist to be told in advance that he won't take the call, because "she treats me too rough." I am sure this raised your worth to the publisher and hopefully your income in the next contract. Now you will have little choice but to discuss what the policies of the Trump Administration are doing to make the world a better place for all Americans, a.k.a. make America great again.
Your bother Kevin's "Election Therapy Guide for Liberals" falls far from your genetic tree. As I read his piece, it seems to be the same old hackneyed platitudes & homilies that have been issued for at least 40 years.
I don't know all the the roots of modern conservatism but there is evidence that the reaction of many to cultural disruptions such as the dismantling of school segregation, legalization of abortions, the 2nd Amendment and recently the list of "homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists", which Kevin listed, seems to have distracted enough voters attention away from the real issue, which is broader sharing of U.S. economic growth. Everyone knows that at least 80% of Americans have NOT flourished over the last 40 years. For the majority of us, real incomes have been flat or declining. Most of the income gap occured since the Reagan back-to-back recessions and since the big financial system blow-out in 2008. This is the issue.
247
Please, Maureen, did you have to inflict your brother on us? Okay, maybe it helps to share your familial burden with others, and maybe to suppress some regret for being so hard on Hillary for so long. A major consolation is that you will have a lot of fresh material for your columns in the coming years of the Trump administration. Should be fun, shouldn't it?
2
Maureen Dowd's brother, Kevin, is as big a pompous jerk, as the man-baby he voted for. I noticed when he mentioned the two women and the African-American, he left out the fact that the African-American was Ben Carson. He also left out the fact that the "too white and male" picks were Steve Bannon, Jeff Sessions, and Mike Flynn -- two known racists and a man who makes things up. And, a figurine of Cersei? Really? Maureen Dowd showed far more class than her brother did by, simply, not walking out.
15
Maureen's brother must suffer from SHS (small hands syndrome). To address just a few of his misguided points: 1)your faith in the president-elect is misguided. He will not be able to achieve his promises because he has backtracked on some of them, congress will fight him on many, and at some point reality will set in, that the government is not a construction company, and not every problem can be solved by pouring concrete. He will at some stage, have to have an attention span longer than 140 characters, and not poll his dinner companions on a decision he has to make. As for criticism expressed to the Hamilton cast, Pence is correct, that is what democracy sounds like. The criticism is just getting started. And where is the money for roads, airports, bombers and aircraft carriers coming from? A tax cut for the rich? Time for a true reality check for the president-elect and those who blindly support him.
14
Not much in there recommending Trump. Which is telling, since on the way to creating a fantasy about evil Obama and horribly offensive lefties, it would be easy enough to make up something about Trump that's not icky. Anything, really. Anything that would recommend him for a position where he has a responsibility for something beyond stuffing his own pockets and
feeding his own ego.
But that family member is so vested in a little hate letter to Americans he just plain forgot that it's about more than him making a list trying to explain why he is so intent on electing someone who will help with anything.
And that, folks, is a great deal of support for Trump. He exploited every hate of that portion of the country that expects nothing from electing Trump besides a big middle finger to the Americans they despise, and that was plenty of votes.
What is interesting is how the blue staters, dems, normal people have decided that they aren't going to be going the extra mile to keep the country together; Trump and his supporters broke every norm by demonizing opposition (literally, in case of Obama and Clinton) while refusing to respect the results if Clinton won, after 8 years of refusing to respect Obama's wins, and so many are saying we don't need y'all. When Garrison Keillor, Mr MN Nice, suggests CA secede, you're on your own, restates, and we have the money and we're fine.
So Yeah,Lena Dunham is sad Congrats. But Trump is handing her a tax cut. Enjoy it while it lasts
feeding his own ego.
But that family member is so vested in a little hate letter to Americans he just plain forgot that it's about more than him making a list trying to explain why he is so intent on electing someone who will help with anything.
And that, folks, is a great deal of support for Trump. He exploited every hate of that portion of the country that expects nothing from electing Trump besides a big middle finger to the Americans they despise, and that was plenty of votes.
What is interesting is how the blue staters, dems, normal people have decided that they aren't going to be going the extra mile to keep the country together; Trump and his supporters broke every norm by demonizing opposition (literally, in case of Obama and Clinton) while refusing to respect the results if Clinton won, after 8 years of refusing to respect Obama's wins, and so many are saying we don't need y'all. When Garrison Keillor, Mr MN Nice, suggests CA secede, you're on your own, restates, and we have the money and we're fine.
So Yeah,Lena Dunham is sad Congrats. But Trump is handing her a tax cut. Enjoy it while it lasts
5
Dear Maureen,
Sorry that you have to attend family dinners and hear this load of malarky and projection from your entitled brother, but could you spare the rest of us, please?
Thank you, and "Happy Holidays" to you and your family.
Sorry that you have to attend family dinners and hear this load of malarky and projection from your entitled brother, but could you spare the rest of us, please?
Thank you, and "Happy Holidays" to you and your family.
7
Ok, Kevin, if the Dept of Justice has been politicized [which is hasn't but whatever], I hope that it will now be free to prosecute whoever runs afoul of the law.
Lets start with trump and his tax returns and then enforce the conflict of interest laws. The president needs to be clean as a hounds tooth, yes? Clinton was impeached for lying about sex. Wonder what trump is hiding in his taxes? While we are at it, let the Senate loose to investigate any and all wrongdoing by the administration. Or would that result in gridlock, leaving nothing to get done? Right, what your GOP has done for 6 of the last 8 years. Whats good for the goose....
And get off your sister's back!!
Lets start with trump and his tax returns and then enforce the conflict of interest laws. The president needs to be clean as a hounds tooth, yes? Clinton was impeached for lying about sex. Wonder what trump is hiding in his taxes? While we are at it, let the Senate loose to investigate any and all wrongdoing by the administration. Or would that result in gridlock, leaving nothing to get done? Right, what your GOP has done for 6 of the last 8 years. Whats good for the goose....
And get off your sister's back!!
7
Enough already. Can't muster a column bashing the Clintons or Barry, so you give yet another column over to your hard right Trumpkin so he can spout his hateful and spiteful rhetoric.
What would your brother's hero say?
Sad
What would your brother's hero say?
Sad
9
I look forward to Kevin's column every year. Merry Christmas Kevin, not Happy Holidays.
3
Hi, Maureen!. You seem to enjoy being a gadfly only for the sake of a gadfly. Is this a joke?.
6
Unless I see a picture of "Kevin" next to Maureen, I doubt he exists.
15
Kevin sounds like an angry man, very angry at liberals. Apparently the liberals he runs into are despicable, rude, intolerant of religion and different opinions. Since
he is educated he couldn't be generalizing by one liberal he once met at a bar or could he?
Trump's incivility and rudeness and disrespect for minorities and Veteran's parents, etc. don't seem to bother Kevin a bit. Where was his sense of respect for the President Obama when Trump was questioning his citizenship?
Did Kevin notice how graceful the President has to been to President-elect Trump?
I think it is sad that Kevin is defending Trump part and parcel with such gusto. Kevin ignores all the Trump U. students, all the subcontractors, all the little guys who were ripped off by Trump.
I am assuming Kevin is very religious. I wonder how he reconciles Trump's massive moral shortcomings with his beliefs. Good luck, Kevin. I hope you will come out ahead under your beloved new President.
he is educated he couldn't be generalizing by one liberal he once met at a bar or could he?
Trump's incivility and rudeness and disrespect for minorities and Veteran's parents, etc. don't seem to bother Kevin a bit. Where was his sense of respect for the President Obama when Trump was questioning his citizenship?
Did Kevin notice how graceful the President has to been to President-elect Trump?
I think it is sad that Kevin is defending Trump part and parcel with such gusto. Kevin ignores all the Trump U. students, all the subcontractors, all the little guys who were ripped off by Trump.
I am assuming Kevin is very religious. I wonder how he reconciles Trump's massive moral shortcomings with his beliefs. Good luck, Kevin. I hope you will come out ahead under your beloved new President.
12
Beyond permanently soiling the reputation of the Democratic Party, one of the biggest disservices that Clinton Inc. has done for a quarter-century is stunt the growth of potential presidential aspirants, with the sole exception of the Obama anomaly. What else could be expected when it's constantly "her turn"?
Four years from now, Bernie Sanders will be 79, Joe Biden 78, Mrs. Clinton 73 and Elizabeth Warren 71. As for high-profile symbols legislatively, there would be the likes of Nancy Pelosi (if she can fend off challengers not yet eligible for Social Security) at 80 and Chuck Schumer at 70. No wonder the mouths of so many millennials are agape.
So if President Trump, at 74, decides to seek a second term, the age card certainly couldn't be played against him by any Democrats in this group. But unless there's some new blood, and relatively fast, rest assured that -- younger generations be damned -- it will be "Ready for Hillary," as in "It's STILL my turn," yet again in 2020.
And let's be honest: Does anyone really want a repeat of that?
As the Trump administration (Still so hard to say, isn't it?) stumbles around for direction and the Republicans search desperately for a compass, it would be wise for the Democratic Party to rediscover what used to be its soul.
Four years from now, Bernie Sanders will be 79, Joe Biden 78, Mrs. Clinton 73 and Elizabeth Warren 71. As for high-profile symbols legislatively, there would be the likes of Nancy Pelosi (if she can fend off challengers not yet eligible for Social Security) at 80 and Chuck Schumer at 70. No wonder the mouths of so many millennials are agape.
So if President Trump, at 74, decides to seek a second term, the age card certainly couldn't be played against him by any Democrats in this group. But unless there's some new blood, and relatively fast, rest assured that -- younger generations be damned -- it will be "Ready for Hillary," as in "It's STILL my turn," yet again in 2020.
And let's be honest: Does anyone really want a repeat of that?
As the Trump administration (Still so hard to say, isn't it?) stumbles around for direction and the Republicans search desperately for a compass, it would be wise for the Democratic Party to rediscover what used to be its soul.
5
Why does the New York Times subject its readers to the smug rantings of Ms. Dowd's brother every holiday season? There is something unseemly about providing him with the prestige of his sister's column as a platform for thoughts that do not rise to the level of a published comment, let alone an op-ed. Maureen, you're a smart woman and - sometimes - an excellent writer, but your weakest work tends to be about your family, which just isn't that interesting to anyone but you and them. Please earn what I can only assume is your generous salary by writing your own columns, and let your brother pontificate elsewhere.
16
You know Ms. Dowd one of the reasons I bought a subscription to this newspaper was for your writing, but that was many years ago. Starting with Obama's election it became clear you had nothing to really add to the conversation other than Obama was aloof and Hillary was some kind of mendacious nut case. Now my favorite columns by you all read the same..."Maureen Dowd is off this week."
19
Kevin, you will reap what you have sown.
As for myself, I am moving to Panama, not so much because of the election of a greedy fool but because of the unbearable rise of boors like Kevin.
Like most of the planet's population I can honestly say I dislike U.S. Americans.
As for myself, I am moving to Panama, not so much because of the election of a greedy fool but because of the unbearable rise of boors like Kevin.
Like most of the planet's population I can honestly say I dislike U.S. Americans.
11
Maureen, will you say good-bye as well? Will this be your last Clinton column? This vehemently anti-Trump voter is somewhat relieved that the Democrats are in the wilderness. What will Fox do now? What will Trump and Congress do now? Oh - right. Nothing!
9
So Maureen Dowd has nothing to write about anymore except to promote her conservative brother, who clearly has an ax to grind.
Hey Kevin, guess what? Hillary Clinton won the election. By two million votes.
Hey Kevin, guess what? Hillary Clinton won the election. By two million votes.
12
Another Kevin column. Not interested.
12
My goodness, Kevin, what a potpourri of bile! Tell you what: Please print a copy of your column. Seal it in an envelope and place it in your safety deposit box. Four years from now open that envelope and resubmit this complete essay to the Times. Instead of your sister's preface, use the space to apologize for everything you wrote back in the good ol' days of 2016.
8
My 19 year old nephew didn't vote in his first presidential election because both campaigns were so nasty. My neighbor's 2 year old yelled "Lock her up" election week and his mom stayed home to work on that. This was the ugliest example yet of mud wrestlers masquerading as presidential candidates. Voters stayed home because there was no best or better candidate. Tthere was a grandpa and a grandma nobody wants to see at the holidays.
5
P.S. Maureen, you played your part convincing people not to vote for Hillary.
19
Yes! Please give Lena Dunham a plane ticket to own up to her promises. She isn't welcome :)
8
By now, many of those who found the idea of a Trump victory beyond unbelievable, including myself, have had a chance to consider all the things they were so obviously blind to. I still believe, however, perhaps more strongly than ever, that Trump is the most spectacularly unqualified, emotionally immature and generally ignorant presidents in our history. I would love to be proven wrong, but I don't think I will be. I also believe that those who are voted for him the hope that he will somehow deliver on even a few of his campaign promises will be sorely disappointed.
10
Did Kevin happen to talk about the graciousness and civility with which conservatives greeted the elections (two of them, I recall) of President Obama? Did the conversation include the broken promises of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly to move overseas if President Obama were elected?
12
Columbia University's core curriculum requires an entire year-long course called "contemporary civilization," one semester each of Art humanities and music humanities, and another year of Literature in the humanities. In other words, Western Civilization. Last time I checked, it was a top 50 school. What parallel universe does this man inhabit?
9
Can someone explain to me why we are reading what Maureen dowd's brother thinks? Who cares?
22
"Donald Trump pulled off one of the greatest political feats"
-By lying ,insulting .tweeting ,exaggerating & saying whatever was expedient insulting the electorates intelligence & disgracing the office.
"The election was a complete repudiation"
-To less than half of the electorate.
There is no mandate having lost the popular vote by 2 million.
I thought it more boorish & unacceptable to yell out "you lie" by a congressman
during Obama's State of the Union speech.
The women & African-American that he offered cabinet position were picked
because of their identity & have no experience in their chosen fields.
When asked about his campaigning his response was "i won" as as an excuse for deplorable behavior.
He is our president & our responsibility to respect the office. I don't have to respect the man.
-By lying ,insulting .tweeting ,exaggerating & saying whatever was expedient insulting the electorates intelligence & disgracing the office.
"The election was a complete repudiation"
-To less than half of the electorate.
There is no mandate having lost the popular vote by 2 million.
I thought it more boorish & unacceptable to yell out "you lie" by a congressman
during Obama's State of the Union speech.
The women & African-American that he offered cabinet position were picked
because of their identity & have no experience in their chosen fields.
When asked about his campaigning his response was "i won" as as an excuse for deplorable behavior.
He is our president & our responsibility to respect the office. I don't have to respect the man.
9
So bad it's almost funny. I relish the paragraph about Dems "preaching and pandering", being a party where "incivility has become routine," etc. This from a group whose rallies became hate fests, where the alt-right was not merely tolerated but encouraged, where the politcal opponent was regularly threatened with imprisonment!
Ms Dowd, I've read ebough of your columns this pas year to know that you must have felt right at home there, in every sense.
Ms Dowd, I've read ebough of your columns this pas year to know that you must have felt right at home there, in every sense.
24
Kevin has serious logic disabilities.
"...one of the greatest political feats in modern history"
W Bush beat Gore; and was reelected. Where did that get us?
"...complete repudiation of Barack Obama..."
Remember the popular vote? "Repudiation", maybe; "complete" hardly.
"...fantasy world of political correctness."
The ideal world is always a fantasy.
"Political Correctness" is language fit for court--courteous; fit also for the Times. To be taught in schools- Otherwise it's barbarism--and gets worse from there.
"...politicization of the Justice Department and the I.R.S"
The military is still in civilian--i.e. political--control--so too police and IRS--regardless of party.
"nonsupport of the police"--because black lives didn't seem to matter?
"his party has lost 63 House seats, 10 Senate seats and 14 governorships.
True--the "whitelash" was immediate--deliberate and orchestrated.
"The country had signaled strongly...they were not happy."
All? Most? Many? How many? This is gibberish due to lack of a quantifier.
" with a message of inclusion...religion is mocked "
Get it straight--inclusion means basic tolerance for all law abiding religions. Outlaws are are intolerable. Otherwise polity itself is impossible.
"This did not go down well in the Midwest..." where intolerant religion rules the roost.
"Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists."
How many?--ONE? More quantifier gibberish.
"...one of the greatest political feats in modern history"
W Bush beat Gore; and was reelected. Where did that get us?
"...complete repudiation of Barack Obama..."
Remember the popular vote? "Repudiation", maybe; "complete" hardly.
"...fantasy world of political correctness."
The ideal world is always a fantasy.
"Political Correctness" is language fit for court--courteous; fit also for the Times. To be taught in schools- Otherwise it's barbarism--and gets worse from there.
"...politicization of the Justice Department and the I.R.S"
The military is still in civilian--i.e. political--control--so too police and IRS--regardless of party.
"nonsupport of the police"--because black lives didn't seem to matter?
"his party has lost 63 House seats, 10 Senate seats and 14 governorships.
True--the "whitelash" was immediate--deliberate and orchestrated.
"The country had signaled strongly...they were not happy."
All? Most? Many? How many? This is gibberish due to lack of a quantifier.
" with a message of inclusion...religion is mocked "
Get it straight--inclusion means basic tolerance for all law abiding religions. Outlaws are are intolerable. Otherwise polity itself is impossible.
"This did not go down well in the Midwest..." where intolerant religion rules the roost.
"Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists."
How many?--ONE? More quantifier gibberish.
9
This column is New York values. Starts off strong but boils down to ranting. It talks down to everyone. Ms. Dowd is so great at identifying problems, but seems to lack the ability to propose solutions. Ms. Dowd may be correct but the tone is ALL WRONG.
5
Trump pulled off "one of the greatest political feats in modern history" by being the greatest con man and populist demagogue of all time. He has Father Coughlin, Huey Long and George Wallace beat by a long shot. And you sound thrilled! I'm not surprised, Maureen. I assume that like your brother, the affluent and educated suburbanite, you are also delighted with Trump's promised tax cuts for high income earners. So, while the white working class, to whom he promised so much and will deliver so little, continues to suffer, Trump's thriving upper middle class and upper class supporters can aspire to achieving the success of their so very "smart" winning candidate - paying no taxes at all while living the high life.
8
What I find interesting about the rant from Kevin, is that it reflects a right wing media fantasy world rather than reality. To believe this viewpoint, you really have to somehow accept that students everywhere in the USA were being excused from tests because of the election results (there was maybe one quiz at an Ivy League school that was postponed), that a group of celebrities who might have been unhappy about Trump's winning the electoral college has some central meaning that carries any importance and that Trump getting millions of fewer votes than Clinton represents a repudiation of Obama's policies.
Instead, this screed shows the flimsy perspective from which many right wing folks view their small world -- a world populated by Fox talking heads and immersed in a reality-TV type of distorted mental bubble. Well, congratulations. Now you've got your TV reality-star president. Here, outside of your little bubble, this is a frightening prospect.
Instead, this screed shows the flimsy perspective from which many right wing folks view their small world -- a world populated by Fox talking heads and immersed in a reality-TV type of distorted mental bubble. Well, congratulations. Now you've got your TV reality-star president. Here, outside of your little bubble, this is a frightening prospect.
575
Preaching — and pandering — with a message of inclusion, the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion. This did not go down well in the Midwest, where Trump flipped three blue states and 44 electoral votes..
Ms. Down, one could say this about the Rep Party also. Islam was mocked, Hispanics were portrayed as rapists and drug dealers etc. Statements like these from Trump were not repudiated by the Electorate who voted for him, the Rep leaders who endorsed him and even those leaders who 'did not endorse him but voted for him.' Room for differing opinion? Not by Trump.
And I bet if you asked those who voted for him, many would say they have buyer's remorse.
Furthermore, your op- ed piece is a mean piece of work, following in your family's tradition (as you've pointed out).
Ms. Down, one could say this about the Rep Party also. Islam was mocked, Hispanics were portrayed as rapists and drug dealers etc. Statements like these from Trump were not repudiated by the Electorate who voted for him, the Rep leaders who endorsed him and even those leaders who 'did not endorse him but voted for him.' Room for differing opinion? Not by Trump.
And I bet if you asked those who voted for him, many would say they have buyer's remorse.
Furthermore, your op- ed piece is a mean piece of work, following in your family's tradition (as you've pointed out).
8
"So let me bid farewell to ..."
How many of those folks have state they will move to Mexico?
Only in a liberal's mind would moving to a county that has less than a 3% Black population be considered a progressive move.
Right up there with Bernie in Vermont or Hillary in Chappaqua.
How many of those folks have state they will move to Mexico?
Only in a liberal's mind would moving to a county that has less than a 3% Black population be considered a progressive move.
Right up there with Bernie in Vermont or Hillary in Chappaqua.
5
Maureen Dowd, spare us your pain at the result of this election. You certainly didn't spare us your voice in making the result what it was. "A Media Matters analysis of Dowd’s columns found that 72 percent of her work between November 1993 and June 2014 included negative tropes against the Clintons, including regularly portraying Hillary Clinton as an unlikeable, power-hungry phony. In the year following, all 17 of Dowd’s columns with significant mentions of Clinton were negative. Dowd regularly relies on sexist tropes to describe Clinton, including that she is a “granny” who “can’t figure out how to campaign as a woman” and suggesting she “should have run as a man” during the 2016 election. Hypocritically, Dowd has also accused her of “cry[ing] sexism too often.” "
Even Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, mocked Dowd’s column, tweeting, “Congratulations! This is the 7,673rd time Maureen Dowd has written this column! What a gig!”
Even Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, mocked Dowd’s column, tweeting, “Congratulations! This is the 7,673rd time Maureen Dowd has written this column! What a gig!”
16
The arrogant hostility here will never topple the cause of justice, freedom, good will, or civility under the last eight years of modernized global thinking. Shame on all who would exalt in bigotry, exclusion, and denial of rights, constitutional and human.
13
Is there really such a person as Ms. Dowd's brother Kevin? Somehow his writing style sounds a little like hers.
11
Wow, your brother has all the Fox News story lines down pat.
14
Two whole women and one male African American. Such inclusivity! How can they stand all that diversity?
12
This is a ridiculous column for so many reasons.
7
Paul Krugman was right about your brother Maureen. You have my condolences.
15
As usual, the loser is talking vote recounts, eliminating the electoral college, etc. After the hand wringing ends, and articles like this get old, we can get to work again.
6
1. “The rudeness reached its peak when Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by attendees of “Hamilton” and then pompously lectured by the cast. This may play well with the New York theater crowd but is considered boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants.”
Two words: you lie.
2. “Here is a short primer for the young protesters. If your preferred candidate loses, there is no need for mass hysteria, canceled midterms, safe spaces, crying rooms or group primal screams.”
Gee, and all the Trump supporters and your hero himself suggested was that if Trump lost there could be a bit of that ol’ ultraviolence. So much more couth.
And if you don’t like crybaby sore losers, remember Rush Limbarugh started every show after Bill Clinton became president with “America held hostage. This is day …. of American captivity” (or something like that). Maybe he needed a crying room.
3. OK, you got your wish, your boy got elected. Just remember you own this guy. If he screws us like he has so many others, I don’t want any blaming the media or Obama or Senate Democrats. And things go well, I guess I have to keep my mouth shut. Believe it or not, I’d rather be wrong, but I think that you, like so many others have been conned, and I’m not sanguine about our future.
Two words: you lie.
2. “Here is a short primer for the young protesters. If your preferred candidate loses, there is no need for mass hysteria, canceled midterms, safe spaces, crying rooms or group primal screams.”
Gee, and all the Trump supporters and your hero himself suggested was that if Trump lost there could be a bit of that ol’ ultraviolence. So much more couth.
And if you don’t like crybaby sore losers, remember Rush Limbarugh started every show after Bill Clinton became president with “America held hostage. This is day …. of American captivity” (or something like that). Maybe he needed a crying room.
3. OK, you got your wish, your boy got elected. Just remember you own this guy. If he screws us like he has so many others, I don’t want any blaming the media or Obama or Senate Democrats. And things go well, I guess I have to keep my mouth shut. Believe it or not, I’d rather be wrong, but I think that you, like so many others have been conned, and I’m not sanguine about our future.
14
At least in this instance Krugman is right; your brother is a fool. I don't know how you can sit through a meal listening to such shallow, uninformed drivel.
13
For MoDo's brother, Kevin,
*My* basket of deplorables - on Facebook - have posted this over and over with a photo of a cowboy sitting in a bar:
"You elected a billionaire who's appointing billionaires to fix the system that made them billionaires? You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?"
And here we are!
*My* basket of deplorables - on Facebook - have posted this over and over with a photo of a cowboy sitting in a bar:
"You elected a billionaire who's appointing billionaires to fix the system that made them billionaires? You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?"
And here we are!
26
Once again Maureen broadcasts--disingenuously--her trollish and reactionary views under the guise of 'Kevin". When she could no longer apologize for Trump she reluctantly took him on. But her true animus, malice and deceit are reserved for the Clintons and Obamas. Wish I could believe you didn't vote for Trump, Maureen. But I don't.
13
Such ill will even when they win. Stoked by fake journalists, fake news sites and fake news (Hannity, Breibart, and a random Russian trying to earn a few Google Ad bucks), Trump voters' resentment continues. But with control of all branches of government, who will be left for them to blame? Oh, right -- immigrants, minorities, democrats, anyone but themselves, everyone but themselves. Good luck uniting the country.
15
I love Maureen's witty honesty and I see that trait runs in the family. Mo relies on him to have say the things her bosses won't let her say. The electoral college is all that counts. Besides all the ballots aren't going to be counted, so the popular vote totals that people are referencing aren't accurate.
Poor little snowflakes can't take losing. And they did lose...
Poor little snowflakes can't take losing. And they did lose...
4
Interesting column. Reading the comments it still seems there is a huge disconnect with Democrats and the non-elites. The party has changed and moved away from regular folks. From the comments so far I think the current coastal Democrats either don't care or are still in denial about their relevance to historic Democratic voters.
4
Hint to those who disagree with Maureen Dowd on the flaws by the Democrats in this election cycle and the last eight years: Had you actually read the emails available to all of us and never had any media exposure, the choice of Mr. Trump would have been clear as a bell.
2
The Dowd family is perfectly comfortable voting for a man who spent years raving that our first African American president is in fact a secret Kenyan. That is all we need to know about this family.
24
Sounds like Maureen Dowd lost a bet.
4
A very sobering commentary. Hopefully, the first (in the new tone) of many to come.
America will survive and thrive as it has for nearly 225 yrs.
America will survive and thrive as it has for nearly 225 yrs.
2
" the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine,"
Apparently you had blinders on and earplugs inserted whenever Trump appeared for the entire campaign. Did you even have a moment of pause when writing those words? Yes, liberals can behave in an elitist and boorish manner, but those sins pale in comparison to the demagogic manner in which Trump ran this campaign. Anyone who contributed to his victory either by voting for him or by spewing derogatory columns towards his opponent should take a good close look in the mirror. Much like Glen Close did in the ending scene of "Dangerous Liaisons".
Apparently you had blinders on and earplugs inserted whenever Trump appeared for the entire campaign. Did you even have a moment of pause when writing those words? Yes, liberals can behave in an elitist and boorish manner, but those sins pale in comparison to the demagogic manner in which Trump ran this campaign. Anyone who contributed to his victory either by voting for him or by spewing derogatory columns towards his opponent should take a good close look in the mirror. Much like Glen Close did in the ending scene of "Dangerous Liaisons".
10
I increasingly have had the nagging suspicion that someone who will remain nameless decided to run for president in the first place because he concluded that if a man who wasn't white could beat Hillary Clinton, any man alive could.
3
Thanks for the "therapy." I'd rather lie down weekly and dig up painful memories from my childhood than be exposed to this derisive gloating that merely reinforces the toxic polarization within our country, and offers no hope or insight into how we might work together to address some of the major issues on our plate -- especially with a very reactive and inexperienced leader.
10
I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. Can Kevin Dowd please explain to me why my vote as a 78 year old white NJ woman, very well educated and reasonably secure economically should count less than that of my counterpart in Montana? And Mr. Dowd would do well to contrast the tweet of our PEOTUS with the statement issued by President Obama. I don't know how many years I have left, but I do know for sure that I won't be following the tweets of President Trump. Time to take to the history books. Oh how I am going to miss the civility, intelligence and decency of President Obama. It was always such a pleasure to listen to him and oh by the way Kevin, (and Maureen) didn't I see that his approval ratings are approaching 60%?
17
Yes Kevin, the Democrats are the party of incivility and bad manners. What can one say, except "You lie!"
www.newyorkgritty.net
www.newyorkgritty.net
21
"And finally, to all the foreign countries that contributed to the Clinton Foundation, there will not be a payoff or a rebate."
So, Kevin, sounds like you're fine with Putin, Wikileaks, and our own FBI undermining our Democracy. Cool, dude. Good luck with that. Now that they've all gotten their payoff - Trump in the White House - wonder what we US citizens will have to give them in return?
So, Kevin, sounds like you're fine with Putin, Wikileaks, and our own FBI undermining our Democracy. Cool, dude. Good luck with that. Now that they've all gotten their payoff - Trump in the White House - wonder what we US citizens will have to give them in return?
458
Note to Kevin Dowd: paying taxes is the mark of a civil society and the republican lynching of the IRS is going to drown your children in debt. The elimination of estate taxes and the reduction of rates will beggar us all and we will be just another banana republic.
But as long as you get to keep yours..that is all that maters
Deplorable
But as long as you get to keep yours..that is all that maters
Deplorable
18
On the other hand, Kevin should know that Trump lost the popular vote by more than 2M votes. Nevertheless, I knew Trump would win when I saw a man wearing a " I'm a deplorable...and proud of it." tshirt in a super market in a working class area of suburban Phoenix. This happened before the FBI leaks started about more HRC emails.
5
Maureen, your brother really does belong in the basket of Deplorables.
14
I subscribed to the Times years ago, in part, to have access to Dowd's column. I have long since lost interest in what she has to say with her relentless bashing of the Clinton said and the president. Have even less interest in her brother's thoughts.
12
Well, Ms. Dowd, your brother is a very kind and gentle winner.
6
Maureen, where is your response?
6
I've been lectured to by Kathleen Parker, Tom Hanks, Thomas Friedman, David Brooks, and now Kevin Dowd, all along the lines of, "This, too, shall pass," or "Get Over It."
Never mind the horrible treatment I've received at the hands of my gloating right-wing, fake-news-believing, e-mail-obsessed relatives.
And never mind all the fun waiters, desk clerks and others will continue to have for another four years because they know from my credit card that my first name is "Donald" and my surname rhymes with "Trump."
I still have this reed to cling to: Donald J. Trump is not as yet the president-elect, merely the presumptive president-elect. No one was elected Nov. 8 but the electoral college, and they don't elect anybody till December 19. There's still time. Come on, faithless electors. Your country needs you.
Of course, Susan Sarandon may turn out to be right after all. After four years of Trump, maybe we'll all be voting for Jill Stein.
Never mind the horrible treatment I've received at the hands of my gloating right-wing, fake-news-believing, e-mail-obsessed relatives.
And never mind all the fun waiters, desk clerks and others will continue to have for another four years because they know from my credit card that my first name is "Donald" and my surname rhymes with "Trump."
I still have this reed to cling to: Donald J. Trump is not as yet the president-elect, merely the presumptive president-elect. No one was elected Nov. 8 but the electoral college, and they don't elect anybody till December 19. There's still time. Come on, faithless electors. Your country needs you.
Of course, Susan Sarandon may turn out to be right after all. After four years of Trump, maybe we'll all be voting for Jill Stein.
4
I came out of an Irish neighborhood in the Bronx so this sounds very familiar. I wonder if Kevin would be surprised if some of of his fellow Trump supporters called for him and his family to be packed off to the Auld Sod, especially given his familial connection to the liberal media?
What might he do if he was forced to choose between his green tie and a white sheet? All in the name of the Red, White, and Blue, of course.
What might he do if he was forced to choose between his green tie and a white sheet? All in the name of the Red, White, and Blue, of course.
8
Hey, Kevin, I'm glad you're speaking out.
I hope you enjoy President Trump.
Good luck.
By the way, I'm with you on the Hamilton stuff. It was rude.
But are you seriously complaining about protesters? How much do you want from these people? You want them to smile, too?
Last time I checked (and I'll be checking frequently), we had a First Amendment -- you know, free speech and all that stuff. I may favor giving Trumppy a pass for a week or two, but that's just me. Applying political pressure to him is well within bounds. He knows next to nothing, except how to stuffing it to working stiffs when it coes time to pay them. Of course, maybe the way to influence him on, say, the environment is to protest in favor of illegal toxic-waste dumping and more coal-buring, the health of our children be damned. Yes, let's confuse the Republicans into caring. And guess who'll complain the loudest about the government when sea levels rise -- a bunch of Trump-alikes with oceanfront property in Florida.
Meawhile, I hope our brilliant Democratic Party feels some pressure, too. Only in comparison to Trump could HRC be a better choicet.
So, protesters -- go for it while you still can.
I hope you enjoy President Trump.
Good luck.
By the way, I'm with you on the Hamilton stuff. It was rude.
But are you seriously complaining about protesters? How much do you want from these people? You want them to smile, too?
Last time I checked (and I'll be checking frequently), we had a First Amendment -- you know, free speech and all that stuff. I may favor giving Trumppy a pass for a week or two, but that's just me. Applying political pressure to him is well within bounds. He knows next to nothing, except how to stuffing it to working stiffs when it coes time to pay them. Of course, maybe the way to influence him on, say, the environment is to protest in favor of illegal toxic-waste dumping and more coal-buring, the health of our children be damned. Yes, let's confuse the Republicans into caring. And guess who'll complain the loudest about the government when sea levels rise -- a bunch of Trump-alikes with oceanfront property in Florida.
Meawhile, I hope our brilliant Democratic Party feels some pressure, too. Only in comparison to Trump could HRC be a better choicet.
So, protesters -- go for it while you still can.
9
There is no "Kevin. ". This is Maureen Dowd talking.
17
Mr. Dowd's in-your-face, bullying final two paragraphs remind me of many of my gleeful—and obnoxious—neighbors. Maybe I was napping, but I don't recall Democrats taking that attitude when President Obama won.
11
Maureen's political opinions are anything but rare. Her brother's, by contrast, would leave audiences coming back hungry every week.
Maureen's crisis matches those of the heavily politicized old media. When personality and differences are shunned so you can become part of a gray collective, the few others daring to be independent and fresh walk away with all the new interest and profits.
So does the declining NY Times stand up for individuality and dare disappoint its commissariat, or does it show spunk and liveliness, and survive in the marketplace?
Maureen's crisis matches those of the heavily politicized old media. When personality and differences are shunned so you can become part of a gray collective, the few others daring to be independent and fresh walk away with all the new interest and profits.
So does the declining NY Times stand up for individuality and dare disappoint its commissariat, or does it show spunk and liveliness, and survive in the marketplace?
3
Maureen Dowd deserves considerable blame for so regularly piling on Hillary as dishonest. Dowd had seemingly bottomless reserves of vitriol for Clinton that was so personal, so frequent that it was as Dowd were the mean girl in High School. Nothing was ever right with Clinton and there wasn't all that much to talk about in the world (Trump didn't seem to get nearly the column space over time). I don't blame her for being unhappy with the results of the election. I do blame her for doing her full-throated part to make it so.
26
Dear Kevin,
In sizing up Mr. Trump’s record as a human being, businessman and political candidate it ought not to be forgotten that, among his many other
accomplishments, he is a world class coward and thug who avoided the draft, keeps his lifetime of nefarious business activities hidden behind phalanxes of lawyers and lawsuits, grabs women by their genitals because he can get away with it and routinely threatens his enemies, real and imagined, with retaliation and harm; who will now be in charge of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard; so if you wanted a thug and coward running things, you got one.
Your pal, Stanton
In sizing up Mr. Trump’s record as a human being, businessman and political candidate it ought not to be forgotten that, among his many other
accomplishments, he is a world class coward and thug who avoided the draft, keeps his lifetime of nefarious business activities hidden behind phalanxes of lawyers and lawsuits, grabs women by their genitals because he can get away with it and routinely threatens his enemies, real and imagined, with retaliation and harm; who will now be in charge of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard; so if you wanted a thug and coward running things, you got one.
Your pal, Stanton
16
I guess you chewed and swallowed your Thanksgiving dinner. I hope you had enough beverage to choke it down. Welcome to the basket.
6
Why does Maureen feel it is necessary to inflict her smarmy brother on the rest of us? Perhaps he'll recalibrate in few months when the vast majority of our citizens realize that Trump and his family are a perpetual conflict of interest and that everything Donald touches is primarily for his self interest and aggrandizement.
11
Your Thanksgiving meal and all its trimmings sound as flavorful as days-old turkey left out to dry. Not even rich gravy can bring it back to life. At the family Thanksgiving I attended - a gathering of 100 in the formerly blue state of Pennsylvania - there were at least informed discussions about the election results among the crowd in which Trump votes outnumbered the rest of us. As well. it was generally acknowledged that the company of Hamilton wisely seized on a moment that was not likely to have passed their way again. Would people in high places have thought the gesture rude had the cast stepped forward and told Mr Pence they were excited that he was on the winning side? One suspects not.
5
Well, thank you for airing your family's gloating to the public! What good does that serve?
Also who told you Cersei is over? You are underestimating the stupidity of American politics.
Also who told you Cersei is over? You are underestimating the stupidity of American politics.
3
The letter by her brother explains a lot to me about Maureen Dowd. Who is Ms. Dowd now going to cut to shreds now that Hillary lost? And I could picture how Trump said that about Dowd being mean to him. I could see it as a teasing thing between two old friends.
8
Is Kevin the character from "Home Alone"? He sure sounds like him.
5
On the campaign trail Trump was undeniably crude and awful. No one would hold up his behavior as a role model for their children. No one could say that he was dignified, thoughtful, public-spirited, or admirable in any civic way. How can anyone be happy he will be out president?
12
Wellsir, you went and took back 'your' country, Brother Kevin. Now, let's see you and the true patriots do something awesome with it. Yes, indeed, make it great again. But first--tell us what made it great to begin with.
8
Kevin,
While your anger at the cultural arrogance of the so-called elites is understandable (and somewhat justifiable), you are, in fact, a fool.
Didn't you notice that over the past 40 years, the partially completed "conservative" revolution has progressively pumped the wealth of the country into the hands of a very small group of people, including Trump and some of his appointees?
Well, now the revolution is complete. All branches of the government are now, or soon will be, in the hands of people who wish to continue that pumping action.
Dedicated to the proposition that "government isn't the solution. It's the problem?"
Trump's a true innovator: he's appointing people who are almost guaranteed to mis-manage the departments he'd like to see fail (UN, Housing and Urban Development, and Education). And they are his "diversity hires" to boot!
If your pride didn't make you so fragile, you'd see that you've been conned. The Clinton Dynasty wasn't anything to be happy about, but what's coming will wipe the smile off of nearly everyone.
One thing is for certain: the Republicans will find some way to twist the blame onto others, but that's just standard operating procedure.
While your anger at the cultural arrogance of the so-called elites is understandable (and somewhat justifiable), you are, in fact, a fool.
Didn't you notice that over the past 40 years, the partially completed "conservative" revolution has progressively pumped the wealth of the country into the hands of a very small group of people, including Trump and some of his appointees?
Well, now the revolution is complete. All branches of the government are now, or soon will be, in the hands of people who wish to continue that pumping action.
Dedicated to the proposition that "government isn't the solution. It's the problem?"
Trump's a true innovator: he's appointing people who are almost guaranteed to mis-manage the departments he'd like to see fail (UN, Housing and Urban Development, and Education). And they are his "diversity hires" to boot!
If your pride didn't make you so fragile, you'd see that you've been conned. The Clinton Dynasty wasn't anything to be happy about, but what's coming will wipe the smile off of nearly everyone.
One thing is for certain: the Republicans will find some way to twist the blame onto others, but that's just standard operating procedure.
12
this is pretty much the same tiresome, madhatters speech we heard when W got elected..how did that go? This time a minority of the electorate has doubled down on ignorance, arrogance, and know nothingness, aided and abetted by the likes of Dowd who furthered the Fox/Limbaugh projection of every single one of Trump's traits onto Hillary. Briliant,.. but now you have collectively put the presidency in the hands of a crotch grabbing, mentally unstable, liar and narcissist of the highest order and as a result the entire country and by extension the world at risk,...But I'm sure it's worth it for your 5 minute dance in the end zone.
13
Maureen, have to hand it your brother - he writes like Trump talks. Are you sure your brother wrote this piece, and not just did a cut and paste job with Trump's speeches clipping's and generous liftings of select verbiage from the gloatings of right wing talk radio and that honorable of all honorable mouth pieces on TV. You know, who I allude to. The one whose very name conjures to mind such honorable qialities, as honesty and truthfulness.
Sorry, your brother missed a great chance to do some real good for his party and its new President-elect. Had he penned a similar paen a few days earler in Trump's praise with a special mention of his high level of grabbing and grubbing prowess, Pope Francis might have tossed a red cap Trump's way, too. Or, maybe the Vatican may have invited your tell-it-like-it-is brother to come pick it up personally and have an audience with the Holy Father for himself. Ah, shucks, bad timing.
Sorry, your brother missed a great chance to do some real good for his party and its new President-elect. Had he penned a similar paen a few days earler in Trump's praise with a special mention of his high level of grabbing and grubbing prowess, Pope Francis might have tossed a red cap Trump's way, too. Or, maybe the Vatican may have invited your tell-it-like-it-is brother to come pick it up personally and have an audience with the Holy Father for himself. Ah, shucks, bad timing.
3
Perhaps Kevin Dowd should be writing a column for the NY Times.
Perhaps Hillary will pull it out via recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
And Cersei will find herself on the throne she has so long desired to occupy.
In the meantime may we all admit the following:
a) Everyone who voted for Trump is not a fool nor a racist.
b) While New York/Washington/LA may be "Cosmopolitan" most of the
US of A is not.
c) If we don't produce a better Primary System this country is in for one
disaster after another.
d) The "Self-Proclaimed Experts" really do not fully understand what they
claim to know. The sooner the Media questions their theories and credentials
the better off we will all be.
Perhaps Hillary will pull it out via recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
And Cersei will find herself on the throne she has so long desired to occupy.
In the meantime may we all admit the following:
a) Everyone who voted for Trump is not a fool nor a racist.
b) While New York/Washington/LA may be "Cosmopolitan" most of the
US of A is not.
c) If we don't produce a better Primary System this country is in for one
disaster after another.
d) The "Self-Proclaimed Experts" really do not fully understand what they
claim to know. The sooner the Media questions their theories and credentials
the better off we will all be.
7
Fools indeed. I'm tempted to say they deserve what they get, but they're taking the rest of us down with them.
22
If The Complainer in Chief thinks you are too tough on him, he is in for a very rough time. For starters, he has no idea of how many Americans yearn to tell him - and his cesspool of contemptibles - where to really go and what to do when they get there. And that may be okay as therapy for some of us, but it'd be all the more satisfying if he takes some of us to court. Here's to the citizen who can get him to file that first lawsuit! Just think - when some of our international friends or foes get tough on him, what is he going to do - file a lawsuit, complain via twitter, pout and scowl at a camera, summon his already betrayed followers to a rally?
But given this fellow has certified you as too tough an interviewer, how about you take on some VIPs who are not so thinned skinned?
For example, the speakers of the House and Senate.
But given this fellow has certified you as too tough an interviewer, how about you take on some VIPs who are not so thinned skinned?
For example, the speakers of the House and Senate.
8
Maureen, take all of the vitriol that you aimed at the Clintons and the Obamas for years and multiply it by a trillion. Trump, the Republicans and people like your family of Deplorables are going to get ripped, skewered, battered, beaten and made the butt of endless jokes by far more talented people than you.
By January 20th, half the people who voted for your Trump will already be regretting it.
By January 20th, half the people who voted for your Trump will already be regretting it.
13
I tried to get tickets for the Chicago "Hamilton"-- $500 each. No way! But I am just one of those folks the Obama's call "middle class," making what I thought was a good income, $240k a year. So, if the "middle class" can't afford "Hamilton" tickets, and the second tier Chicago ones at that, what does that make the NewYork "Hamilton" audience-- the ones who booed Pence?
Not my demographic.
Not my demographic.
7
On the plus side, Maureen, it looks like you are the only person at the Times who Trump respects and takes seriously.
11
Wow- angry dude. So Obama's very Christian policies of helping the poor and treating everyone with respect don't resonate? And a member of Congress yelling out "you lie" shows respect for the office? Please. Keep your sanctimony to yourself.
56
The real problem is the right wing media.
People listening to Fox and Rush live in an alternative reality.
We can't have a conversation about how to solve problems because we can't agree on the facts.
People listening to Fox and Rush live in an alternative reality.
We can't have a conversation about how to solve problems because we can't agree on the facts.
15
Ms. Dowd, I hope you are happy for helping bring this cretin into office. Tough on him - ha. That's a good one.
27
Hey Kevin, how about that guy who yelled "you lie" at Obama's Inauguration? I would say he had no respect for the office of President, but I heard not a peep from Republicans about it. From the very beginning of Obama's Presidency Republicans refused to cooperate with his administration, in fact they risked worsening the U.S. Economy, by unsuccessfully trying to make Obama a one term President. When a black man is President it's OK to disrespect the office, but not when it's a white man. I guess for some people your skin colour automatically makes you a better man. We will see who is the better man - Obama or Trump.
43
All I can say in response to the smug tone of Kevin's little lecture is: wait and see. We Democrats obviously did a bad job of making our case, but that doesn't mean we don't have a case to be made, and I promise you we'll be back. In the meantime, keep in mind that you Republicans owe your current good fortune to someone who owes you exactly nothing.
You and your 62 million peers just rolled the dice, but no one knows what numbers are eventually going to come up.
You and your 62 million peers just rolled the dice, but no one knows what numbers are eventually going to come up.
27
This is no clear victory for Mr. Trump as Kevin Dowd seems to imply. Clinton won the popular vote, just as Al Gore had done 16 years ago. Only, Clinton's margin was three times (and counting) as large as Gore's. Those of us with memories better than Kevin's remember what happened during the Bush administration. Let us hope that a Trump administration will fare better for the sake of our country and all its citizens.
14
I can see the fawning over Trump columns coming hot and heavy after Trump conned Ms. Dowd here.
Out on the golf course they have these things called golf ball washers. Ms. Dowd, meet Mr. Trump.
Out on the golf course they have these things called golf ball washers. Ms. Dowd, meet Mr. Trump.
7
Maureen, I hope you're happy now - your hated Clintons and Obamas are gone (or leaving), and you got your way. You are as responsible for T#%*p as anyone else.
Happy now?
Happy now?
16
During the past 18 months, I have long suspected that there is no "Kevin," it is just Maureen Dowd using a convenient "alternate" voice. Please, Ms Dowd, explain your anti-Hillary rhetoric and pro-Donald columns you "wrote" for the past 18 months.
18
Thank God I am not in Maureen's family. Kevin is a tough cookie. Rub it in kevin, rub it in. Something went wrong in Hillary's campaign. I am reading some good explanations. Richard Rorty wrote in 1998 about how Democrats were not playing to and working for the common man. Michael Moore, who often has a finger on the pulse of the working class said something similar.
How did Obama win so well? Something does not add up. My brother said he voted for Donald Trump too, and he is not a reactionary and a conservative like Kevin. I am very dispiritied about the whole thing. I am afraid for the future. I cannot laugh about it yet.
How did Obama win so well? Something does not add up. My brother said he voted for Donald Trump too, and he is not a reactionary and a conservative like Kevin. I am very dispiritied about the whole thing. I am afraid for the future. I cannot laugh about it yet.
8
"Mr. Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists or any other “ists.” Certainly. But everyone who voted for Mr. Trump was willing to countenance the homophobia, Islamophobia, racism, sexism, misogyny and tacit acceptance of white supremacists that were a regular feature of Mr. Trump's discourse. No matter what witty apologias Mr. Dowd might offer, I remain appalled, and fearful for our communal future.
39
The sub zero anger that I read in every one of your brother's lines chills me to the bone. Why so much anger? I though Trump won. Even I, an ardent Clinton fan and the loser, can't muster up a lot of anger at the opposition. Partly because anger is useless. It doesn't change a thing unless it is to make it worse. Second, because my effort has been to understand why the Trump supporters voted as they did. The closer I come to understanding, the greater my compassion and the more strongly I feel that we must find some way to come together. Like it or not, we are all on the same boat. We are all Americans.
4
Kevin, how can you support a man who publicly mocked a handicapped person? He has no decency. I don't care about his politics. In the Irish Catholic neighborhood I grew up in, along with my 10 brothers and sisters, he wouldn't be able to show his face.
26
Sorry Kev, voting for T***p nullifies any claim you may otherwise have had to lecture anyone on either "civility" or "manners."
41
The Democrats got convincingly trounced, so I suppose we deserve your brother's sneering contempt.
5
Does Kevin have an opinion on all the lobbyists involved in the transition?
9
I find the reference to the Clinton Foundation pathetic, given Trump's dance with new found power and business first mentality, as he attempts to figure out this thing called governing.
11
The tears in this comment section are amazing. Thanks for proving his point about your participation trophies and special treatment.
6
‘I ask you what food does Caesar eat that has made him grow so great? Our era should be ashamed! Rome has lost the ability to raise noble men! When was there ever an age, since the beginning of time, that didn’t feature more than one famous man? Until now, no one could say that only one man mattered in all of vast Rome. Now, though, in all of Rome, there’s room for only one man. You and I have heard our fathers talk of another Brutus—your ancestor—who would’ve let the devil himself reign in his Roman Republic before he let a king rule.
“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men
walk under his huge legs and peep about
to find ourselves dishonorable graves.”
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
--- Cassius in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
I wonder whatever happened to all the Trump signs that the people of ancient Rome had up on their front lawns.
“Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men
walk under his huge legs and peep about
to find ourselves dishonorable graves.”
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
--- Cassius in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
I wonder whatever happened to all the Trump signs that the people of ancient Rome had up on their front lawns.
6
Yes, the election is over and I have no interest in Kevin's post mortem. I was hoping to get a "Maureen Dowd" column on the state of the United States post election as we become a kleptocracy. Instead we get a diversion. The more important story is the erosion of our democratic norms. Please, Maureen, we need you to treat him rough. For the sake of the country, for the sake of the world. There really is no time to waste.
9
Years ago, Dowd at least occasionally had things of value to say. I have found nothing of value in any of her comments for a number of years now. This piece reinforces that view.
16
It is nice to read an actual conservative viewpoint in NYT, even if it is just once or twice a year. I do think that Kevin's article during primary season was a bit better.
I am still upset that there was no decent investigative journalism in response to the leaked Podesta emails. The "Pied Piper" strategy, the bullying of Tulsi Gabbard for endorsing Sanders... Why didn't someone at least *attempt* to interview Clinton and/or Podesta on these things? While Russia may have played a role in the leaks, I think it is very unlikely that these emails were "made up" by the Russians... The media let the country down in this last election, big time.
All they did was eat up the bread crumbs thrown by Trump and Clinton and incessantly report on things like Trump's childish remarks, debate whether Trump should reference Bill's affairs, etc. Guess what? Conservatives and liberals all know that Trump is a childish narcissist, Bill had a bunch of affairs, etc. Voters can look past a candidate's faults for policy they like. They also care about too much money in politics and extremes of dirty politics, which both candidates engaged in. I don't ever want to hear anything about the sexuality, sexual comments or sexual affairs of another politician ever again. Not ever. If they have escapades with 10 people who are not their spouse on the weekend - I don't care. Many great leaders were also quite imperfect, e.g.- MLK Jr...
I am still upset that there was no decent investigative journalism in response to the leaked Podesta emails. The "Pied Piper" strategy, the bullying of Tulsi Gabbard for endorsing Sanders... Why didn't someone at least *attempt* to interview Clinton and/or Podesta on these things? While Russia may have played a role in the leaks, I think it is very unlikely that these emails were "made up" by the Russians... The media let the country down in this last election, big time.
All they did was eat up the bread crumbs thrown by Trump and Clinton and incessantly report on things like Trump's childish remarks, debate whether Trump should reference Bill's affairs, etc. Guess what? Conservatives and liberals all know that Trump is a childish narcissist, Bill had a bunch of affairs, etc. Voters can look past a candidate's faults for policy they like. They also care about too much money in politics and extremes of dirty politics, which both candidates engaged in. I don't ever want to hear anything about the sexuality, sexual comments or sexual affairs of another politician ever again. Not ever. If they have escapades with 10 people who are not their spouse on the weekend - I don't care. Many great leaders were also quite imperfect, e.g.- MLK Jr...
8
Maureen, while you bask in the glory of being the one NYT reporter called out by Trump, let me remind you that your position in this election was to hate everyone, especially HRC. You're in no position to complain about someone you were complicit in helping to elect by continually spewing nonsense about HRC and the Clinton family during this cycle. And to your brother: your candidate handily lost the popular vote and maybe some day you can understand the hypocrisy of deriding the cast of Hamilton because they "were not taught to respect the office" with your apparent solution of electing a guy like Trump who wouldn't even release his tax returns. And to his argument that this is some huge repudiation of Obama: HRC would have won this election if not for Comey and the ACA premium increases. Trump won the election and he deserves the chance to govern, but he has no broad mandate.
30
Maureen, please know that Kevin and those who voted as he did will need plenty of that Trump wine in the months and years to come. I hope it is at least 80 proof to mask the emotional, political, and intellectual, and economic disappointment they are sure to experience with Trump.
16
Kudos to Maureen for elegantly translating "Kevin's" column from the original Russian. Now he can hide the champagne and break out the vodka and Beluga caviar from home.
24
Ms. Dowd, how does your brother justify voting for an avowed racist? That this was just a bug in Mr. Trump's campaign, not a feature? That he was voting for the fiscal policy, not the hate that Trump catered to and inflamed? How does your brother feel about a man who has promoted white nationalism now being the chief strategist for our president? Everyone who voted for Trump had to tell themselves that he didn't mean most of what he said. To me, that makes them very foolish indeed.
20
Thanks Maureen for the only voice we flyover deplorables west of the Hudson will ever have within the NYT.
7
Complete repudiation. Except for the 2 million plus more US citizens who voted for her. Really Kevin, I gave up after one sentence. Enjoy your nuclear winter. You deserve it. We don't.
41
I understand Maureen's point here. Over the past months, I've read with interest her family's alternative viewpoints. She is trying to explain the mindset of Americans who voted for Trump (<2,000,000 people compared to Hillary and counting)
So, let's dissect her brother Kevin's tome, the "affluent, educated suburbanite" as she describes him.
"His neutering of the military"
Let me remind you sir that it was the Republicans that voted for sequestration under the Budget Control Act of 2011, which significantly cut defense spending.
"The rudeness" as you describe the cast of Hamilton's post curtain speech to VP Elect Pence grossly pales in comparison to POTUS Elect Trump's disgusting and INHUMANE statements about Mexicans, women, veterans, Gold Star families, and his self descriptions of "grabbing women by the ____."
Sir, your cortical blindness is truly laughable.
And Maureen,your sister's Trump champagne? Was that champagne, similar to Trump's clothing line, made in foreign countries produced by non-American workers?? Maybe that will Make America Great Again as well.
Maureen, you have given your brother a voice and pulpit to defend a man child who is a sexual predator, defined by his own words. Billy Bush lost his job over listening, and yes, laughing, to such words, and "affluent, educated suburbanites" like your brother Kevin voted Trump into office. I hope you don't have daughters Kevin, because you voted for a man that committed sexual assault.
So, let's dissect her brother Kevin's tome, the "affluent, educated suburbanite" as she describes him.
"His neutering of the military"
Let me remind you sir that it was the Republicans that voted for sequestration under the Budget Control Act of 2011, which significantly cut defense spending.
"The rudeness" as you describe the cast of Hamilton's post curtain speech to VP Elect Pence grossly pales in comparison to POTUS Elect Trump's disgusting and INHUMANE statements about Mexicans, women, veterans, Gold Star families, and his self descriptions of "grabbing women by the ____."
Sir, your cortical blindness is truly laughable.
And Maureen,your sister's Trump champagne? Was that champagne, similar to Trump's clothing line, made in foreign countries produced by non-American workers?? Maybe that will Make America Great Again as well.
Maureen, you have given your brother a voice and pulpit to defend a man child who is a sexual predator, defined by his own words. Billy Bush lost his job over listening, and yes, laughing, to such words, and "affluent, educated suburbanites" like your brother Kevin voted Trump into office. I hope you don't have daughters Kevin, because you voted for a man that committed sexual assault.
46
Please tell Kevin that he is a deplorable whether he has taken a course in Western Civilization or not. The election of DJT does not change this either.
Also, if he has not, please advise him to enroll in the Trump University right away before it goes out of existence. No need to send any transcripts, just a picture of him with the Trump 'champagne' will do to get him admission.
Also, if he has not, please advise him to enroll in the Trump University right away before it goes out of existence. No need to send any transcripts, just a picture of him with the Trump 'champagne' will do to get him admission.
25
Dowd and Trump are two peas in a pod. I'm sure she just HATED being singled out by Trump as too tough on him, when in fact she's spent the last two decades promoting the baseless Hillary vilification that has now propelled this reality TV star with Narcissistic Personality Disorder to the White House. They can spend the next four years criticizing each other like two professional wrestlers hyping a big show. And who knows? Maybe Trump will make it through an entire term without starting a nuclear war and/or destroying our last chance to do something about climate change ... it could still work out just fine. I do hope that Ms. Dowd's brother is appropriately grateful for the undeniable contributions his sister made towards getting his hero elected.
32
Kevin, don't quit your day job. You're no Maureen Dowd.
Some of us committed liberals do accept the election, and think we will survive a Trump presidency. But please don't talk to us about incivility, bad manners, rudeness, or mocking religion. You must know, even as you supported our president-elect, that his campaign was based on all of the above.
Also, don't be so sure that this election was a repudiation of the last eight years - Clinton did win the popular vote convincingly.
Still, many of us liberals will root for Trump to succeed and surprise us; a little unlike how the current president has been treated. We'll now eagerly await your party's ideas for health reform, cleaning up the mess in the middle east, renegotiating international trade and treaties, and helping to revive the middle class. We've heard we did a terrible job, and you won the whole enchilada, so have at it - the world will be watching.
Some of us committed liberals do accept the election, and think we will survive a Trump presidency. But please don't talk to us about incivility, bad manners, rudeness, or mocking religion. You must know, even as you supported our president-elect, that his campaign was based on all of the above.
Also, don't be so sure that this election was a repudiation of the last eight years - Clinton did win the popular vote convincingly.
Still, many of us liberals will root for Trump to succeed and surprise us; a little unlike how the current president has been treated. We'll now eagerly await your party's ideas for health reform, cleaning up the mess in the middle east, renegotiating international trade and treaties, and helping to revive the middle class. We've heard we did a terrible job, and you won the whole enchilada, so have at it - the world will be watching.
31
This column was a waste of my time and the NY Times's resources except that it served as a bit of a reminder about the sort of nepotism we can expect to be normalized by our next President.
11
"Mr. Trump received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists..."
Mrs. Clinton received more than 64 million votes. And if you're so sure Trump has a supporter who is not homophobic, Islamopjobic, racist, sexist or mysogynist, name him. Every one of his voters was willing to give Trump a pass on the vile talk, lies and hatred he spewed, and didn't turn a hair when they learned Russia had tilted the election for him. Maybe they're not all traitors in their hearts, but they don't seem to understand the definition of treason. It's Trump!
Mrs. Clinton received more than 64 million votes. And if you're so sure Trump has a supporter who is not homophobic, Islamopjobic, racist, sexist or mysogynist, name him. Every one of his voters was willing to give Trump a pass on the vile talk, lies and hatred he spewed, and didn't turn a hair when they learned Russia had tilted the election for him. Maybe they're not all traitors in their hearts, but they don't seem to understand the definition of treason. It's Trump!
30
One question: who wrote this: Kevin Dowd or Maureen Dowd?
15
Wow threats. The sheriff is already walking a fine line between what is legal and what is not. What is chauvinism and what is not. What is cronyism and what is not. What is Machiavellian and what is not. What is self-aggrandizing and what is not. What is gauche and what is not. What is constitutional and what is not. If he crosses the line he will most likely lose popular support or be impeached.
6
Maureen, Heed your brother Kevin for he speaks the truth. Beware of Cercei and her fire for she may seek revenge for her run of shame. The long winter is receding and the wall will be built to keep out the wildings. I know this to be true as it was told to me by Millisandra. Your friend, High Sparrow
2
Kevin is right that the Democratic Party did not heed the warning signals, especially the 2014 elections, the rise of Bernie and Trump, even Brexit. At the end Clinton was surrounded by well meaning loyalists who sought to "make history." They forgot the job was to win an election with a strong candidate, not a woman who spent her time shaking down her rich Hanptons and Hollywood friends. A truly incompetent campaign and candidate.
8
This proves there is not necessarily abt correlation between affluence and intellect.
21
Maureen,
You, as much as anyone, contributed to Trump winning with your constant sniping and snarky columns about Hillary. So please don't act as though your brother and family belong to some foreign tribe that you explore for anthropological purposes.
After the election, John Oliver implored people to start paying for newspaper subscriptions so the newspapers could, in turn, pay decent wages to writers and editors.
I took John Oliver's request to heart, and subscribed to half a dozen publications: The Washington Post, the LA Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic Monthly, and so on. I did not subscribe to the NY Times, and that was mainly because of your column. I say "mainly" because I think the Times lost its bearing in others ways, too. But your column really seems to represent a lot of what I think is wrong in journalism.
You, as much as anyone, contributed to Trump winning with your constant sniping and snarky columns about Hillary. So please don't act as though your brother and family belong to some foreign tribe that you explore for anthropological purposes.
After the election, John Oliver implored people to start paying for newspaper subscriptions so the newspapers could, in turn, pay decent wages to writers and editors.
I took John Oliver's request to heart, and subscribed to half a dozen publications: The Washington Post, the LA Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic Monthly, and so on. I did not subscribe to the NY Times, and that was mainly because of your column. I say "mainly" because I think the Times lost its bearing in others ways, too. But your column really seems to represent a lot of what I think is wrong in journalism.
14
I truly hope you and your family enjoyed Thansgiving. Fortunately the US has had a lot more Thanksgivings than presidents.
Your brother may be right about this election being a "complete repudiation of Barack Obama," but not in the way he thinks it is. First, Obama's approval rating is about as high at this stage of his presidency as Reagan's was. Second, however, he put his finger on the nominating scale in favor of another first (this time a woman) and a woman whom he knew had lots of baggage. Two firsts in a row are very difficult to accomplish in a country this large. So in that sense I agree with your brother.
Your brother may be right about this election being a "complete repudiation of Barack Obama," but not in the way he thinks it is. First, Obama's approval rating is about as high at this stage of his presidency as Reagan's was. Second, however, he put his finger on the nominating scale in favor of another first (this time a woman) and a woman whom he knew had lots of baggage. Two firsts in a row are very difficult to accomplish in a country this large. So in that sense I agree with your brother.
3
The election is over and Donald Trump has won.
I challenge Kevin Dowd to write a column in support of Trump's character and policies, without any juvenile references to Clintons, Obamas or the Democrats.
I challenge Kevin Dowd to write a column in support of Trump's character and policies, without any juvenile references to Clintons, Obamas or the Democrats.
27
You attack media , public servants and democrats. Many individuals oppose Trump because they feel he is indecent and does not show a microgram of concern about anyone, let alone white middle class voters. Many voters care about the plight of the poor, the disenfranchised, the sick . I'm one of these individuals. I ache for the suffering of refugees and the agony of those who suffer from the violence that we sometimes promote or commit. I am sad that many children in our country have little chance for a safe, comfortable , long life because of our inability to try and improve education, health, and opportunity for the most disadvantaged. I would love to see both sides of the aisle work toward solutions to the problems faced by the neediest.
Your words are insulting to the tens of millions that feel the way I do and to those who work hard to make a difference in the lives of those in need. Politics is a game for so many, but the impact that this game has on policy is real.
Your words are insulting to the tens of millions that feel the way I do and to those who work hard to make a difference in the lives of those in need. Politics is a game for so many, but the impact that this game has on policy is real.
19
Kevin, if you channel all that goodness from the Electoral election of 70 year old vile, pathological lair, con artists with the temperament of a three year old, you must believe in the Easter bunny and Santa Claus. No one said you cannot be stupid and fleeced with a college degree. Take a look in the mirror and see the sucker looking back at you. You've been had by a NY con artist as Bloomberg warned. The Donald went after the easiest marks, the Republicans.
17
Had Kevin and his beloved conservatives accorded Barack Obama the respect of the office at any level, his whining about Mike Pence being booed would be less hypocritical. The fact that Pence behaved like a President and Trump didn't is all the more prescient as to the deterioration of the dignity of the office when Obama leaves. Regrettably the snotty remarks about participation trophies and whiny liberals ring true a bit -- there's a wake up call for the Democrats there, but bottom line, it's a mirror reverse of Ms Dowd's columns except they were all overburdened with Clinton derangement snark.
So maybe it's genetic -- given an NYT column, the Dowds' devotes no more than half to truth while lecturing from positions of breathtaking hypocrisy. Incivility and bad manners justified voting for Trump? Seriously? Only if you are committed to incivility and bad manners. The brutal reality is that hard core Republicans are more committed to their party than civility or manners or decency -- both the Kevin Dowds of the world and frustrated working class voters supporting Trump are understandable -- for the likes of Kevin Dowd the morality of it -- not so much.
So maybe it's genetic -- given an NYT column, the Dowds' devotes no more than half to truth while lecturing from positions of breathtaking hypocrisy. Incivility and bad manners justified voting for Trump? Seriously? Only if you are committed to incivility and bad manners. The brutal reality is that hard core Republicans are more committed to their party than civility or manners or decency -- both the Kevin Dowds of the world and frustrated working class voters supporting Trump are understandable -- for the likes of Kevin Dowd the morality of it -- not so much.
12
Couple of things;
The president-elect has a thin skin indeed I'd he thinks Ms. Dowd is too hard on him. This may be as close to irony as he will get. The esteemed NYT columnist pretty much gave the man-child a school-girl pass even as she savaged "Barry." She was kind of late to recognize Mr. Trump as the dangerous man that he is.
And why would I give a rip what her brother says in his oft-quoted musings? Could it be that he says what she is reluctant to say?
I don't even get angry with her any more. I will keep reading to see if she writes about Trump with the same energetic vitriol she heaped on the Clintons for decades or if she gets caught up in his brilliant media scamming by which, for example, he managed to prod the "media elite" into hysterics by a tweet about an actor in a Broadway show to successfully divert our gnat-like attention from the somewhat more complicated implications of the settlement in a convincing fraud case.
The suspense is killing me.
The president-elect has a thin skin indeed I'd he thinks Ms. Dowd is too hard on him. This may be as close to irony as he will get. The esteemed NYT columnist pretty much gave the man-child a school-girl pass even as she savaged "Barry." She was kind of late to recognize Mr. Trump as the dangerous man that he is.
And why would I give a rip what her brother says in his oft-quoted musings? Could it be that he says what she is reluctant to say?
I don't even get angry with her any more. I will keep reading to see if she writes about Trump with the same energetic vitriol she heaped on the Clintons for decades or if she gets caught up in his brilliant media scamming by which, for example, he managed to prod the "media elite" into hysterics by a tweet about an actor in a Broadway show to successfully divert our gnat-like attention from the somewhat more complicated implications of the settlement in a convincing fraud case.
The suspense is killing me.
23
Maureen, maybe Kevin can answer this question for me and the 62 million people who voted for Hillary: how could you vote for someone who lied all the time, treated women with overt misogyny, related to his daughter in very creepy ways, was in cahoots with Putin, refused to show us his potential conflicts of business interests and openly encouraged racism by hiring a known racist (Bannon) and accepting a KKK endorsement? It seems that none of these things (and so many others) mattered to your brother and sister. But for some of us it did and does matter and that's why we are not going away.
25
Kev - Dude, how great is it not to have to put up with political correctness any more. Free now, to moan the loss of white power under that Kenyan fraudster (thank goodness for Trump, who called him out over and over) and to celebrate its return, together with Richie Alexander, Dave Duke and the gang. And what nerve Obama had, getting unemployment down below 5 percent, getting the stock market back from the abyss, securing the auto industry and trying to prevent the banks (yup, those globalist conspirators) from doing it all over again. Now, let's get on with draining the swamp and replacing the establishment with people like our guy's 35 year old son in law, who got into Harvard with only a $2.5 million donation by his jailbird dad. And your great veep, who will restore conversion therapy to its rightful place. My gay friends are so relieved that they will have this available and won't have to worry about an eternity in hell. Oh, and the "diverse candidate, Dr. Carson, who is qualified for HUD because he grew up in the inner city. Brilliant!
Kev - you got the President you deserve. Too bad I have to suffer.
Kev - you got the President you deserve. Too bad I have to suffer.
44
To all the Trump supporters - tell me how you feel if Paul Ryan gets his way and privatizes Medicare.
Watch deficit the next four years and let me know.
Watch deficit the next four years and let me know.
10
Ms. Dowd,
I couldn't give a fig what your brother Kevin has to say; I don't care what your family said and did on Thanksgiving. All I care about is the preservation of our great republic, and having our President represent the best of America to its citizens and to the rest of the world.
Your unwarranted hatred for Clinton and Obama aside, you have just aided and abetted the least qualified person ever to be elected to the office of the President of the United States. This is a man who has no intellectual depth, no knowledge of policy, no class or decorum. He is a dangerous, ignorant vulgarian. Good luck to you and to all of us for the unfolding disaster awaiting us.
I couldn't give a fig what your brother Kevin has to say; I don't care what your family said and did on Thanksgiving. All I care about is the preservation of our great republic, and having our President represent the best of America to its citizens and to the rest of the world.
Your unwarranted hatred for Clinton and Obama aside, you have just aided and abetted the least qualified person ever to be elected to the office of the President of the United States. This is a man who has no intellectual depth, no knowledge of policy, no class or decorum. He is a dangerous, ignorant vulgarian. Good luck to you and to all of us for the unfolding disaster awaiting us.
80
Maureen, don't you worry, Donald Trump is going to crash and burn. It's only a matter of time. Unfortunately, he may take our parents medicare and social security with him. As well as our health care, our friends will be deported or be under suspicion, Russia will be taking over more of eastern Europe, the middle east will be a bigger mess than it is now, our allies around the world will find other friends, imports will cost more, exports will be down, inflation will increase, pollution will increase, sexual harassment will be the norm, the rich will get richer and the poor will stay poor. Then the democrats will have to pick up the pieces, just like they did after Bush got us into an unwinable war and crashed the economy. Then we can say I told you so. If there are any of us left standing. Keep up the good work.
19
How many fewer would have voted for Trump - in primaries and in November- had they not been lied to with every breath?
And, re Trump's comment on you, if you do ever get through to him, please tell the Very Smart Person the difference between an adjective and an adverb.
And, re Trump's comment on you, if you do ever get through to him, please tell the Very Smart Person the difference between an adjective and an adverb.
10
What a delight to hear a Trump supporter talk about nothing but Hillary and the Dems. I'm not hearing Kevin's applause for the 40-ft. wall along the entire border with Mexico; or the prosecution of Hillary for . . . whatever; or the repeal of Obamacare, including loss of insurance for those with pre-existing conditions and kids under 26; or the Muslim registry; or the glories of water boarding; or the return of thousands of coal-mining jobs and steel-mill jobs and manufacturing jobs . . .
I guess poor Kevin was so excited about voting to defeat Hillary that he has forgotten what he voted FOR. But it's a post-fact, post-promise political world, who cares that thin-skinned Donald has backtracked on what he said he would do? All that matters is that we didn't buy what the Clintons were selling. Not sure what we DID buy, Kevin, but it's gotta be better than what HRC was offering. Right, Kevin? RIGHT?!?
I guess poor Kevin was so excited about voting to defeat Hillary that he has forgotten what he voted FOR. But it's a post-fact, post-promise political world, who cares that thin-skinned Donald has backtracked on what he said he would do? All that matters is that we didn't buy what the Clintons were selling. Not sure what we DID buy, Kevin, but it's gotta be better than what HRC was offering. Right, Kevin? RIGHT?!?
20
I suspect if the trickle-down policies are re-started eventually our economy will suffer. But, at the moment what disturbs me is the social melt down. Bullying has increased and I doubt it will lessen as young people feel free to pick on everyone too different from them. No, I do not think every Trump voter is homophobic, racist, sexist, etc, but apparently you do tolerate it in your leaders which eventually transfers down to many followers - call it social trickle down.
19
I'm sorry, Maureen, but you should have sent Kevin's column back for edits, starting with a note asking him to be more original. His entire piece is a litany of the same memes you see in conservative social media feeds, right down to the complaints about participation trophies and safe spaces. If only he had used this opportunity to shed some light on the true reasons why wealthy suburbanites would vote for Trump. He's either too embarrassed to admit the truth, or he actually doesn't have an original thought.
38
I'm a little confused by Maureen Dowd. She clearly dislike both Trump and Clinton, so what did she think was going to happen? No matter who won the election, she was bound to be unhappy. It's ironic that as much as she hates Clinton, that she would have appropriated 'deplorables' from her.
It appears that Trump accomplished what he wanted when he visited the Times--
he intimidated her so she would become another one of his lackeys.
It appears that Trump accomplished what he wanted when he visited the Times--
he intimidated her so she would become another one of his lackeys.
11
Your brothers point on Western civilization is wrong, Columbia University's Core Curriculum taken by all students in the college has two semesters of Western Civilization, two semesters of masterpieces of Western Literature, one semester of art humanities (western art) and one semester of music humanities (western music). I doubt too many Columbia grads voted for Trump & I doubt there are any Columbia grads who have less knowledge of Western Civilization than the president elect.
42
Somehow I don't think even Kevin Dowd is comfortable with Trump once employing Roy Cohn, or with the $900 million loss that ended up a personal tax credit, with the tight relationship with Russia and Putin, or with a loan from the Bank of China. Or with Melania Trump receiving payment while on a B1/B2 visa.
17
Maureen, where does your brothers hate emanate from?
26
As someone who in in in better days had his IQ measured by a professional at 140, (I was hung over and slightly drunk at the time, so who knows?), although white on my birth certificate have olive skin and green eyes, never owned slaves, (my people were actually serfs before they came here after slavery ended), and never voted republican in his life, can't we all admit we had two real stinkers running for president (and one crazy person with the initials JS) and that we all lost no matter who won.
By the way Democrats are beer drinkers not people who brag they are wine conisoirs. You wonder why we lost?
By the way Democrats are beer drinkers not people who brag they are wine conisoirs. You wonder why we lost?
3
I'll trade "disrespectful" Broadway performers for white racists harassing minorities and immigrants anyday. That's a very shiny house you live in Kevin!
54
Ah, Kevin, enjoy the next 1400 days. Just dont choke on them, when the worm turns.
25
62 million voted for Hillary. All must be "elites" and not "real Americans." The "REAL AMERICANS," the "working class Americans" all voted Trump. Hillary's 62 million voters did not work. They are elitists. Zillionaires all. The Dems didn't understand the working class. Did not understand how to tell them coal would again be king and manufacturing jobs would not be automated in the future.
Obama was so busy fixating on"things like transgender bathrooms" he did not manage to address middle class needs like health care, the largest issue threatening the US budget and the most devastating risk– financial and health– to "working class" families. That bathroom fixation kept him from addressing the pesky problem of nuclear proliferation- especially in Iran– and that climate change thing. Luckily, those issues, world peace and stability and the US economy were so ably addressed by his predecessor he could just coast.
And those senate seats? Nothing to do with gerrymandering. That's why the 40% who voted for Republican senators secured a Republican senate majority and the 60% who voted Democratic achieved a senate minority.
Trump was elected because people believed the same silly and simplistic rhetoric promoted in this column. Hope the NYTimes can have serious discussions rather than just infusing paragraphs with bumper sticker slogans. Serious journalism is required for the difficult times to come.
Obama was so busy fixating on"things like transgender bathrooms" he did not manage to address middle class needs like health care, the largest issue threatening the US budget and the most devastating risk– financial and health– to "working class" families. That bathroom fixation kept him from addressing the pesky problem of nuclear proliferation- especially in Iran– and that climate change thing. Luckily, those issues, world peace and stability and the US economy were so ably addressed by his predecessor he could just coast.
And those senate seats? Nothing to do with gerrymandering. That's why the 40% who voted for Republican senators secured a Republican senate majority and the 60% who voted Democratic achieved a senate minority.
Trump was elected because people believed the same silly and simplistic rhetoric promoted in this column. Hope the NYTimes can have serious discussions rather than just infusing paragraphs with bumper sticker slogans. Serious journalism is required for the difficult times to come.
37
Your brother is full of it - and he has a lousy memory. When Barack Obama was elected by a majority of the voters AND the more electoral college votes than MR Trump, the Republicans vowed to make obstructing him their number one job - this at a time that our country was in TWO wars and undergoing the worst financial threat since the Great Depression.
He can talk about political correctness but he voted for a man that spent FIVE years rallying racists - yes racists - to question the legitimacy of the first African American President.
I accept the results of the election - something Donald Trump was only going to do if he won (let your brother talk more about Liberals behaving like babies). I have no respect for the people who voted for Donald Trump - a man who lied to them, who had zero experience for the job and spent precious little time preparing for it.
He can talk about political correctness but he voted for a man that spent FIVE years rallying racists - yes racists - to question the legitimacy of the first African American President.
I accept the results of the election - something Donald Trump was only going to do if he won (let your brother talk more about Liberals behaving like babies). I have no respect for the people who voted for Donald Trump - a man who lied to them, who had zero experience for the job and spent precious little time preparing for it.
66
Hi, Kevin -
Right you are, but there is a price to pay for being right. The entire federal government is now in the hands of the Republican Party, which has many aliases, including: 1) the gang that can' think straight: 2) the Party that can't govern; 3) the domestic enemies of which the Constitution warns; and 4) the rebels without a clue.
Your guys have it all, and your guy made some promises that will be hard to keep, especially the one about creating millions of good-paying manufacturing jobs.
If history has taught us anything, it's that the modern GOP, when not working to undermine a Democratic president, will thoroughly screw up everything it touches. We'll see you in two years when we take back the Senate and put a huge dent in your House majority.
In the meantime, I'll be out here in California, the least Republican state in the country, sipping lattes and making goat-cheese omelets.
Right you are, but there is a price to pay for being right. The entire federal government is now in the hands of the Republican Party, which has many aliases, including: 1) the gang that can' think straight: 2) the Party that can't govern; 3) the domestic enemies of which the Constitution warns; and 4) the rebels without a clue.
Your guys have it all, and your guy made some promises that will be hard to keep, especially the one about creating millions of good-paying manufacturing jobs.
If history has taught us anything, it's that the modern GOP, when not working to undermine a Democratic president, will thoroughly screw up everything it touches. We'll see you in two years when we take back the Senate and put a huge dent in your House majority.
In the meantime, I'll be out here in California, the least Republican state in the country, sipping lattes and making goat-cheese omelets.
17
"She treats me too rough"!! Hard to believe he was serious. Maybe he was pulling a Brer Rabbit "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me in the briar patch"
And champagne is a geographical indication and cannot be used in the US for sparkling wines produced outside of the Champagne region in northern France. You will note that the Trump Winery itself does not use the term on its label or in advertising. (See the US Patent & Trademark Office explanation at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-policy/geographical-indi...
And champagne is a geographical indication and cannot be used in the US for sparkling wines produced outside of the Champagne region in northern France. You will note that the Trump Winery itself does not use the term on its label or in advertising. (See the US Patent & Trademark Office explanation at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-policy/geographical-indi...
3
A wonderful column both by Ms. Dowd and her brother. As a moderate Republican I disagree with many of Ms. Dowd's opinions, but her writing is witty and eloquent. Always entertaining.
9
The CRISPR geniuses might want to drill down into the Dowd family DNA for some insight into what lies behind the family's widely shared phenotype for pomposity and general insufferableness. Holy Toledo, I imagine their dog is even a yappy terrier from a long line of other yappy terriers.
12
This is scary. Kevin seems angrier than in the past. It's the anger of some one returning to the bar after 11 pm, with a crow bar or a gun or a knife, to settle a score, someone whose ego was injured earlier in the evening, who has had time to develop a full head of steam/bile/hatred/spleen/adrenaline, coming in hot and heavy, ready to get his revenge. Scary.
16
Kevin says: "The rudeness reached its peak when Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by attendees of “Hamilton” and then pompously lectured by the cast. This may play well with the New York theater crowd but is considered boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants."
So, Kevin, you mourn the loss of political correctness. And we remember the respect you and your crew showed toward the office of the president during the past 8 years.
And, btw, there's a rumor making the rounds that the whole Hamilton thing was a set-up because anyone with half a brain knew that Pence would be boo-ed at a B'way theater.
So, Kevin, you mourn the loss of political correctness. And we remember the respect you and your crew showed toward the office of the president during the past 8 years.
And, btw, there's a rumor making the rounds that the whole Hamilton thing was a set-up because anyone with half a brain knew that Pence would be boo-ed at a B'way theater.
22
Kevin: What seems to be disturbing the anti-Trumpists most is the cognitive dissonance (and what it portends)—an incoherent carnival barker, vulgarian and ignoramus (they say), who managed to outwit, expose and dethrone the "intelligentsia" and Clinto-klepto-plutocracy, in one fell swoop and under budget, to pull off the most brilliant political upset and realignment in modern American history.
Their fear may have more to do with efficacy than idiocy…
I predict the Trump presidency will be a great one.
Trump's mindset is one of a builder with big ideas, pragmatic—not ideological, empirical—not academic, who identifies and realizes hidden potential.
Look for revitalized and reimagined inner cities, inventive infrastructure, and a safer, wealthier America and world…A Pax Americana.
Their fear may have more to do with efficacy than idiocy…
I predict the Trump presidency will be a great one.
Trump's mindset is one of a builder with big ideas, pragmatic—not ideological, empirical—not academic, who identifies and realizes hidden potential.
Look for revitalized and reimagined inner cities, inventive infrastructure, and a safer, wealthier America and world…A Pax Americana.
10
"Out of control EPA." So I guess Kevin is OK with a climate-change denier at the head of it.
14
Maureen, I love your family!!
3
There is no need to spike the ball! Besides, that's not what you do when you are an amateur. It's unsportsmanlike.
How easy to gloat! How simplistic to sneer!
Such certainty portends peril.
When one is without a conscience, the harm that may well be done to millions of our fellow Americans should elicit concern, compassion, and care.
However, it merely seems to lead to another vicarious victory voter awkwardly chasing after the ball just spiked to spike it, again.
Four years of that?
The past is prologue: there was no political conversation during the campaign, and there will be none to speak of for quite a while it seems.
Hey Dowd brother, when they start the next war, please send your kids first!
How easy to gloat! How simplistic to sneer!
Such certainty portends peril.
When one is without a conscience, the harm that may well be done to millions of our fellow Americans should elicit concern, compassion, and care.
However, it merely seems to lead to another vicarious victory voter awkwardly chasing after the ball just spiked to spike it, again.
Four years of that?
The past is prologue: there was no political conversation during the campaign, and there will be none to speak of for quite a while it seems.
Hey Dowd brother, when they start the next war, please send your kids first!
13
Every Trump supporter I have encountered appears to still be angry, Kevin included. You won. Now settle in to accepting the fruits of a sanctimonious tantrum. No time for taunting, boys. You have to take the field.
33
Have fun hanging out with the squares. Their worldview would never have invented "Game of Thrones" (or anything else with imagination) in order to make the joke with in the first place.
One needs a liberal mind to imagine such things.
If they need to "consume" the distractions, served up by more liberal minds, in order to give some sort meaning and zest to their privilege, then "drink up deluded Bro". Your world is gonna be boring.
One needs a liberal mind to imagine such things.
If they need to "consume" the distractions, served up by more liberal minds, in order to give some sort meaning and zest to their privilege, then "drink up deluded Bro". Your world is gonna be boring.
7
How ironic--Trump voters get what they want, but they are still hateful, ignorant, inchoate--and only happy when they have their boots on the necks of those not like them. Laugh while you can, Kevin--you're a fool to think you will be immune to the disaster Trump is going to unleash on all of us.
50
I did not need therapy or cry ins. I did not like Hillary and certainly I do not think Trump is going to be anything but a regular unscrupulous demagogue that will suck money via the presidency faster than Kevin can say eulogies to his, and our rights.
13
Could you be more condescending? It is mighty presumptuous of you to assume that this was a complete repudiation of Barack Obama since Ms. Clinton got 2 million more votes than Mr. Trump. And you are falling for all the fake news and conspiracy theories that have been pushed during Mr. Obama's presidency.
17
The DNC was commandeered by the Clinton's to make ready the way for Hillary and that's just the way it was going to be. In doing so it drove any competition away other than Bernie who was considered no competition until he was. I'm a Democrat so I got on board with Hillary knowing her weaknesses. I wasn't happy but I got on board. Hillary lost because she was a weak candidate that was easily beatable. End of story Maureen, are you happy now?
12
Such anger and resentment. It makes me sad for Ms. Dowd's brother. He accuses "liberals" of being rude and pompous...is he kidding? He's describing his candidate.
54
Maureen Dowd, are we supposed to thank you for this? Think it is therapeutic to have Kevin's ice water of reality thrown in our faces? Thankfully, you need to live with your brother not us. Hope you enjoyed his right-wing rant up close and personal. It seems to have influenced your thinking quite a bit. What bothers me a lot more than what you brother thinks was your abiding disrespect of President Obama, even extending to your mocking of his name. That contempt for a good man was served up weekly. I guess now you won't have to worry about a president who excessively cerebral. Bon appetite.
46
I have never once read a kind word from Ms Dowd about Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or any other Democrat. She always seems to feel superior to anyone she writes about. At least her brother is an unapologetic Trump supporter. Ms Dowd seems to have no loyalty to anyone, not to her family, not to her party (which I assume to be Democrat), not to anyone. Quite honestly she has grown quite tiresome.
47
Hey, MD. Now that you've kissed Trump's ring, perhaps he'll now let you call him. So transparent.
14
"...a complete repudiation of Obama..."
Hillary won the popular vote by 2 million votes. Not sure how that squares with a "complete repudiation," but it does seem to contest any imagined mandate by 45 or any of his surrogates.
Hillary won the popular vote by 2 million votes. Not sure how that squares with a "complete repudiation," but it does seem to contest any imagined mandate by 45 or any of his surrogates.
24
Kevin = HYPOCRITE. Calling out the the theater attendees for boorish behavior would be laughable if not so serious. He belongs to the party that routinely denigrated President Obama, sat by while party members yelled liar and other crudities, and have now supported and elected the very man that called into question the President's birth and background with lies and racist chatter. And if Kevin decides he wants to deal with truth, rather than truthiness, then let him admit his membership in a party that invaded Iraq on the basis of WMDs that did not exist, and created a financial tsunami that still grips much of the world. If anyone created ISIS, his party did. No need for hysteria? How about states that ring the dog whistle of voter fraud as an excuse for limiting voter rights even when fraud is unproven. As to the media losing credibility, it's hard to be credible in a sea of fake news. And who is one of the foremost perpetrators of fake news? Steven Bannon of Breitbart, now the chief strategist and counselor to the unpopular president-elect. What led to the downfall of the "liberal" media are the falsehoods perpetrated by Vlad and his hackers, the alt-right, our failing public education system, and social media that only tells its members what the algorithm decides they want to know. There is a lot to be afraid of, to be angry about, to be in fear of, and to resist. So keep on with your smugness Kevin as many of us do what we can to wipe that smirk off your face.
95
Maureen, ask your wealthy and privileged brother if he is confident enough of his words to come to my home and read them to my face.
31
Snowflakes and participation trophies.
This Thanksgiving I forgot to give thanks to all the generous people in my life, like Kevin, who have and continue to, enlighten me about how the world works. I can't even tell you what a news flash it has been to learn that the world is unfair. Or that, evidently, ends do justify means... mind blown. When you explained to me that it wasn't how the game was played that mattered, just that you won the game? I needed to sit down for that one. And when I looked at you, with my wide eyes, and asked, "gee, but if I work real hard I'll still get ahead, right?" you were there with a warm smile and a gentle pat on my head.
Thank you Kevin, because without you I'd still be living in this little bubble where I could never melt, and where every non-achievement would be met with the everlasting praise of a Chinese-made plastic trophy.
This Thanksgiving I forgot to give thanks to all the generous people in my life, like Kevin, who have and continue to, enlighten me about how the world works. I can't even tell you what a news flash it has been to learn that the world is unfair. Or that, evidently, ends do justify means... mind blown. When you explained to me that it wasn't how the game was played that mattered, just that you won the game? I needed to sit down for that one. And when I looked at you, with my wide eyes, and asked, "gee, but if I work real hard I'll still get ahead, right?" you were there with a warm smile and a gentle pat on my head.
Thank you Kevin, because without you I'd still be living in this little bubble where I could never melt, and where every non-achievement would be met with the everlasting praise of a Chinese-made plastic trophy.
14
Maureen, please tell your brother that his message would be tolerable if the man he elected had not bragged about so many horrible acts.
11
Funny that in the end you appear to have wished a democrat had won this election. I had to stop reading your columns for some time as they all seemed to be hit pieces on Hillary. I am sure she that you for your support. As for Kevin, make sure he keeps this column and reads it again in 4 years, if President elect makes it that long. In the mean time I suggest he hit some history books.
15
To all those who think Trump is a winner and they celebrate his election- just read this that Trump did as a neighbor-- would you want him for that? Only sorry that this did not appear in the NYTimes before the election - would have won over more votes than the disrespectful lockerroom talk-
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/world/europe/donald-trump-scotland-wal...®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/world/europe/donald-trump-scotland-wal...®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
10
•
Trump didn't have to do a thing.
I knew Trump would win after Hillary maligned most of his supporters as "deplorables."
With those words she dug her own grave.
Here's what I predicted would happen:
We can learn from Japan why Trump won.
We quote WW II Japanese Admiral Isoroju Yamamoto, the engineer of the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 that caused a neutral U.S. to declare war on them:
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
We can apply his quote to the "deplorables" and many other Americans who may never have voted but have been made to realize that Hillary is contemptuous of them. Hillary’s disparaging comment calling half of Trump’s supporters “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic"—an worse—has hardened their resolve to vote against her.
Hillary has awakened the "sleeping giant" of these "deplorable" hard-hats, waitresses, ditch diggers, sanitation workers, etc., (who may never have voted before) who will turn out in droves on election day to put her back into the gutter of White Trash whence she came.
The Democrats, despite their big money backing, should tremble at their power to elect Donald Trump.
He will be president.
By a landslide of "deplorables."
•
Trump didn't have to do a thing.
I knew Trump would win after Hillary maligned most of his supporters as "deplorables."
With those words she dug her own grave.
Here's what I predicted would happen:
We can learn from Japan why Trump won.
We quote WW II Japanese Admiral Isoroju Yamamoto, the engineer of the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 that caused a neutral U.S. to declare war on them:
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
We can apply his quote to the "deplorables" and many other Americans who may never have voted but have been made to realize that Hillary is contemptuous of them. Hillary’s disparaging comment calling half of Trump’s supporters “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic"—an worse—has hardened their resolve to vote against her.
Hillary has awakened the "sleeping giant" of these "deplorable" hard-hats, waitresses, ditch diggers, sanitation workers, etc., (who may never have voted before) who will turn out in droves on election day to put her back into the gutter of White Trash whence she came.
The Democrats, despite their big money backing, should tremble at their power to elect Donald Trump.
He will be president.
By a landslide of "deplorables."
•
11
Boy what a scathing diatribe— and that's from the wining side. Why are Trumpets such sore winners? They sound so bitter and angry that you would think they had lost. I noticed today that Trump's sidekick Kellyanne Conway was still throwing shade at Obama today by tweeting that his remarks on Castro were to wishy-washy. Message to all Trumpets including Kevin and Kellyanne, you no longer have to campaign or fight for your fascist strong man, he won. Have you ever heard of being a gracious winner? The losers are supposed to be angry and bitter not the winners.
62
First, I'm not a Dem. I'm an indepent. And I wish the Dems had run someone other than Hilary, or even Bernie.
If Rush Limbaugh, etc. could stay for 8 years of Obama. . .after promising they would see to it that there would be only 4 years of Obama, I suspect that Beyonce and company will survive 4 years of Trump - or less, who knows how long Trump will manage to stay focused enough to stay in office. I guess it will depend on how long and loudly the media point out that Pence is running the show.
I'm willing to accept that not everyone who voted for Trump is racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, misogynistic, etc. However, I do believe that they threw their support behind someone who willing pandered to people who are all of most of those things. And I believe that they believed that even if he implemented some of his red-button divisive policies that they themselves didn't agree with, it wouldn't matter because it was only happening to "other people". And that's what scary to me. And to all of those people who were offended by what they Hamilton cast said to Mike Pence. ..how many of you were offended when a Congressman yelled "you lie" to Obama.. .and when Trump demanded to see Obama's birth certificate. . .where was the respect for the office of president?
And by the way, winning 2M votes more than your opponent should entitle you to the VICTORY. It's the person who had 2M votes LESS than the opponent who should get the participation trophy. I believe that would be Trump.
If Rush Limbaugh, etc. could stay for 8 years of Obama. . .after promising they would see to it that there would be only 4 years of Obama, I suspect that Beyonce and company will survive 4 years of Trump - or less, who knows how long Trump will manage to stay focused enough to stay in office. I guess it will depend on how long and loudly the media point out that Pence is running the show.
I'm willing to accept that not everyone who voted for Trump is racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, misogynistic, etc. However, I do believe that they threw their support behind someone who willing pandered to people who are all of most of those things. And I believe that they believed that even if he implemented some of his red-button divisive policies that they themselves didn't agree with, it wouldn't matter because it was only happening to "other people". And that's what scary to me. And to all of those people who were offended by what they Hamilton cast said to Mike Pence. ..how many of you were offended when a Congressman yelled "you lie" to Obama.. .and when Trump demanded to see Obama's birth certificate. . .where was the respect for the office of president?
And by the way, winning 2M votes more than your opponent should entitle you to the VICTORY. It's the person who had 2M votes LESS than the opponent who should get the participation trophy. I believe that would be Trump.
52
So funny! What I wouldn't have given to be a little mouse at, your house. Gotta love brothers! I will have to say, as a little mouse from Hooterville, it's getting quite entertaining watching both sides. However, I am more than a little worried about your colleague. Your brother doesn't mince words --- and he didn't miss a thing when he wrote, "The Dems' answer was to give them more of the same from a person they did not like or trust."
10
Like his sister, who does it better, Kevin writes with immature glee and a kind of embarassing malice. We are all, after all, Americans, a majority of whom seem to have voted for Hillary.
That seems to send a signal, even to the orange one, that governing for all the people might be the best way forward, not just pandering to the most extreme voters. It probably is a good idea also to think about governing all those who have given up and didn't bother to vote. How do we bring them back into the mainstream of those who want our country to function well?
The great American experiment will surely fail without an informed citizenry, and sadly we are well on the way to that state. Loud and inaccurate media and snide columnists and their relatives don't contribute a lot either.
That seems to send a signal, even to the orange one, that governing for all the people might be the best way forward, not just pandering to the most extreme voters. It probably is a good idea also to think about governing all those who have given up and didn't bother to vote. How do we bring them back into the mainstream of those who want our country to function well?
The great American experiment will surely fail without an informed citizenry, and sadly we are well on the way to that state. Loud and inaccurate media and snide columnists and their relatives don't contribute a lot either.
36
Where did 12 months of juvenile campaign rhetoric, empty promises, racist pronouncements, intimidation of voters, misogynistic comments and actions by Trump disappear? Just because Trump won the electoral college, does not indicate that those voters are smart and Trump is correct. More people voted for Hillary. If the rules were different and Hillary had won, would that have translated to a total repudiation of Republican platform? The hyperbole of 'winner takes all' is misleading.
25
Even though much of what Kevin wrote is stupid and sounds like something he might have copied from a FOX "news" transcript, I'm glad that someone can feel joyful about the outcome of the election.
6
"This may play well with the New York theater crowd but is considered boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants."
Remember "Liar!"? In the Capitol building, no less. Not in a theater.
I'm sure I'm not going to be the first to point out this hypocrisy, as it's glaring. It's laudable to represent more right wing perspectives, but please this one isn't compelling enough to revisit next year.
Remember "Liar!"? In the Capitol building, no less. Not in a theater.
I'm sure I'm not going to be the first to point out this hypocrisy, as it's glaring. It's laudable to represent more right wing perspectives, but please this one isn't compelling enough to revisit next year.
68
You take great pride in having Trump scold you. Is that supposed to be some kind of vindication for you slamming Hillary and consequently helping to elect- what? We'll find out, but it probably won't be good. But as you portend: don't blame me.
21
Miss Dowd: You have to listen to your brother Kevin's rants, but why should we, the readers of your column? Really.
94
He has a point, Mike Pence is VP elect and we treated him poorly. There should be respect for the office if not the man.
I wonder where people would get such a notion that they could treat someone like that.
Not like shouting "You lie!" at the President during the state of the union is any indication of what kind of party the republicans have. Or that such a foul action could actually turn into a fundraising boom doesn't portray a party of people with the single minded purpose of being obstructionists.
Where was your brother when republicans vowed to not work with Obama and stop him at every turn?
Just more evidence of being quick to point out what they don't like about the other side but blind to their own issues.
I wonder where people would get such a notion that they could treat someone like that.
Not like shouting "You lie!" at the President during the state of the union is any indication of what kind of party the republicans have. Or that such a foul action could actually turn into a fundraising boom doesn't portray a party of people with the single minded purpose of being obstructionists.
Where was your brother when republicans vowed to not work with Obama and stop him at every turn?
Just more evidence of being quick to point out what they don't like about the other side but blind to their own issues.
52
"Preaching — and pandering — with a message of inclusion, the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion."
That entire sentence is just patently false. It's a fabrication of the right and pure propaganda, Dowd. It is the full version of what is meant by "political correctness", which will now be wielded like a fist quite literally because we will not submit to the dominance of white christian extremists that will now feel empowered to impose themselves on us. But I know, it is liberals that are intolerant. What's black is white, up is down, day is night.
And, Dowd, it's just entirely sad you have bought into that in your bizarre brand of mushy "politics". Do us all a favor and a long break in a quiet room and reflect. Ask yourself why you have this soapbox and if you deserve it. Maybe there's a chance you can actually snap out of it and help SAVE the country. We do need all the help we can get - even from folks that have aided and abetted us getting into the pickle we are now it
That entire sentence is just patently false. It's a fabrication of the right and pure propaganda, Dowd. It is the full version of what is meant by "political correctness", which will now be wielded like a fist quite literally because we will not submit to the dominance of white christian extremists that will now feel empowered to impose themselves on us. But I know, it is liberals that are intolerant. What's black is white, up is down, day is night.
And, Dowd, it's just entirely sad you have bought into that in your bizarre brand of mushy "politics". Do us all a favor and a long break in a quiet room and reflect. Ask yourself why you have this soapbox and if you deserve it. Maybe there's a chance you can actually snap out of it and help SAVE the country. We do need all the help we can get - even from folks that have aided and abetted us getting into the pickle we are now it
30
You must have thought your brother's "Election Guide for Liberals" was positive, useful, erudite, an exemplar of suburban conservative ideas. All I read was a more finessed version of Trump rhetoric. How sad and inglorious.
However, it does suggest that Kevin's type Republican will never invest in finding common ground. It will always be "them" and "us" and never "WE" as in all the American people. The apple seems to have fallen so far from the tree that it's seeds will sow bitter fruit.
However, it does suggest that Kevin's type Republican will never invest in finding common ground. It will always be "them" and "us" and never "WE" as in all the American people. The apple seems to have fallen so far from the tree that it's seeds will sow bitter fruit.
17
"Preaching and pandering with a message of inclusion, the Democrats have instead become a party where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion."
President Obama was repudiated when the Republicans leaders met for a steak fry after the 2009 inauguration, taking a vow to refuse to work with him. The goal set forth was Mitch McConnell's proclamation "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one term president." How's that for inclusiveness, Kevin?
As for incivility, look no further than Republican Representative Joe Wilson shouting out, "You Lie!", during Obama's first State of the Union before a joint session of congress. But you've conveniently forgotten this, eh Kevin?
Making a mockery of religion? Look no further than Donald Trump at the Al Smith dinner saying about Hillary, before the Catholic enclave, "Here she is, pretending not to hate Catholics." Should Hillary had said this about Trump, Kevin and the Deplorable Dowds would be screaming about this injustice from the roof tops.
Kevin's accusations of Obama's "politicization of the Justice Department and the I.R.S., an out of control E.P.A. or accusing the president of not supporting our police is just that-accusations unsubstantiated. There just catchphrases gleaned off Breitbart or Drudge.
Your right about one thing Kevin, I don't respect your differing opinion.
President Obama was repudiated when the Republicans leaders met for a steak fry after the 2009 inauguration, taking a vow to refuse to work with him. The goal set forth was Mitch McConnell's proclamation "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one term president." How's that for inclusiveness, Kevin?
As for incivility, look no further than Republican Representative Joe Wilson shouting out, "You Lie!", during Obama's first State of the Union before a joint session of congress. But you've conveniently forgotten this, eh Kevin?
Making a mockery of religion? Look no further than Donald Trump at the Al Smith dinner saying about Hillary, before the Catholic enclave, "Here she is, pretending not to hate Catholics." Should Hillary had said this about Trump, Kevin and the Deplorable Dowds would be screaming about this injustice from the roof tops.
Kevin's accusations of Obama's "politicization of the Justice Department and the I.R.S., an out of control E.P.A. or accusing the president of not supporting our police is just that-accusations unsubstantiated. There just catchphrases gleaned off Breitbart or Drudge.
Your right about one thing Kevin, I don't respect your differing opinion.
73
Sure you did ...
Nobody believes your little "I'm a liberal" routine. Seriously. Nobody.
Nobody believes your little "I'm a liberal" routine. Seriously. Nobody.
32
Oh, for pete's sake! "...and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion"??
Which party, which ideology is he talking about? The "Fake News" press on the Internet has shown nothing but disrespect for our President for eight years. Their opinions haven't just been "differing", they've been a potpourri of lies and distortions designed to reduce to our President and his party as a bunch of all-in socialists, anti-Americans, fools and dupes.
There has been NO respect from the alt-right "press". It lives on false headlines, distortion and outright lies. It doesn't really take all that much critical thinking to pierce their thin veil of grotesque partisanship, but its followers wait with 'bated breath for each new pronouncement, setting aside even common sense.
We don't HAVE to live in a post-truth world. It exists only to the extent that we make it so by dignifying it with readership. I, for one, don't even bother with it. I have better things to do with my time.
Which party, which ideology is he talking about? The "Fake News" press on the Internet has shown nothing but disrespect for our President for eight years. Their opinions haven't just been "differing", they've been a potpourri of lies and distortions designed to reduce to our President and his party as a bunch of all-in socialists, anti-Americans, fools and dupes.
There has been NO respect from the alt-right "press". It lives on false headlines, distortion and outright lies. It doesn't really take all that much critical thinking to pierce their thin veil of grotesque partisanship, but its followers wait with 'bated breath for each new pronouncement, setting aside even common sense.
We don't HAVE to live in a post-truth world. It exists only to the extent that we make it so by dignifying it with readership. I, for one, don't even bother with it. I have better things to do with my time.
21
Ms. Dowd, you have it backwards. The likes of the president-elect, Stephen Bannon, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Rush Limbaugh, and Fox News are the personification of incivility, bad manners, rudeness and disrespect. This did go down well, not just in the Midwest, but in the entire country where the Republican nominee's supporters flipped not only reliably blue states but the big birdie as well to civil discourse and common courtesy.
36
Your brother seems to have all the answers. Even if they are wrong.
41
I wouldn't have allowed my stupid brother to highjack my column.
30
Be careful what you wish for, Kevin. You might get it.
13
Wow. This column could have been written by Ann Coulter. The only thing I would have added was the classified materials on a private server which would have landed anyone else in the civil service or the military in jail. Anyway, welcome aboard, Maureen.
14
Dems "have no respect for a differing opinion." That is rich coming from a republican. Remember when criticizing the Bush administration was considered at best unpatriotic and at worst treasonous? Those were good times weren't they, Kevin?
To your point about midterms, didn't Dems receive more total votes for house seats in this and the last midterm? I may be mistaken, so correct me if I am wrong. Facts don't scare me as they do do many in the GOP. Gerrymandering DOES scare me, because it is another undemocratic bug....err...feature of our system.
One last thing. I am not sure why, but brother Kevin brought to mind cousin Kevin from "Tommy."
To your point about midterms, didn't Dems receive more total votes for house seats in this and the last midterm? I may be mistaken, so correct me if I am wrong. Facts don't scare me as they do do many in the GOP. Gerrymandering DOES scare me, because it is another undemocratic bug....err...feature of our system.
One last thing. I am not sure why, but brother Kevin brought to mind cousin Kevin from "Tommy."
12
Ms. Dowd, please do not be intimidated by Trump. Speak your mind and your heart about him. I'm sure your words will be more truthful than anything he says or tweets or whatever. Don't care about what's past but only the truth will set us free from this tyrant.
3
You know what? I don't think there is a Kevin. I think it's you, Maureen, your outside of the city alter-ego.
33
Hey Kevin,
Did you watch the Hamilton cast's address to Mike Pence? If you had, as opposed to just reading about it on Bretibart, you would not have called it a "pompous lecture". It was an impassioned plea for the incoming administration to treat ALL citizens with respect, as opposed to Trump's anti-American scapegoating and denigration of non-white, non-Christian Americans.
Trump may have "received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists", but all of those voters decided that racism, misogyny, homophobia etc were not deal breakers. They were ok with voting of someone who makes fun of disabled people. Defend that, Kevin, if you can.
And Hillary received more votes - at least 2 million more - if we were a democracy - and we are not - she would be the President-Elect.
Did you watch the Hamilton cast's address to Mike Pence? If you had, as opposed to just reading about it on Bretibart, you would not have called it a "pompous lecture". It was an impassioned plea for the incoming administration to treat ALL citizens with respect, as opposed to Trump's anti-American scapegoating and denigration of non-white, non-Christian Americans.
Trump may have "received over 62 million votes, not all of them cast by homophobes, Islamaphobes, racists, sexists, misogynists", but all of those voters decided that racism, misogyny, homophobia etc were not deal breakers. They were ok with voting of someone who makes fun of disabled people. Defend that, Kevin, if you can.
And Hillary received more votes - at least 2 million more - if we were a democracy - and we are not - she would be the President-Elect.
40
Wow, this is the worst piece I've seen in the NY Times in awhile.
Here's the deal: There were people who didn't vote for the last Bush, people who didn't particularly like him, but had no problems or fear of his presidency. You might disagree with him, but you knew he probably wouldn't do something stupid and unnecessarily endanger the country's security. Yes, he invaded Iraq, which was deplorable, but our national security was never really at stake (which is why it was deplorable, but that's another story).
On the other hand, Trump is dangerous to our national security. I would bet the house that at least 90% of the people who voted for him do not know that he can take unilateral military action without any approval or check from Congress. They think he can be harnessed before he would do any real danger. Of course. that idea of accountability is pure fantasy. He can bomb anybody he wants to just because he can (including using nuclear weapons to do it).
I would appreciate it if the NY Times would conduct a poll of the people who voted for Trump to find out how many knew that he can take unilateral military action without any accountability from anyone, until after the fact.
And no more lectures from Maureen Dowd. This guy is seriously scary.
Here's the deal: There were people who didn't vote for the last Bush, people who didn't particularly like him, but had no problems or fear of his presidency. You might disagree with him, but you knew he probably wouldn't do something stupid and unnecessarily endanger the country's security. Yes, he invaded Iraq, which was deplorable, but our national security was never really at stake (which is why it was deplorable, but that's another story).
On the other hand, Trump is dangerous to our national security. I would bet the house that at least 90% of the people who voted for him do not know that he can take unilateral military action without any approval or check from Congress. They think he can be harnessed before he would do any real danger. Of course. that idea of accountability is pure fantasy. He can bomb anybody he wants to just because he can (including using nuclear weapons to do it).
I would appreciate it if the NY Times would conduct a poll of the people who voted for Trump to find out how many knew that he can take unilateral military action without any accountability from anyone, until after the fact.
And no more lectures from Maureen Dowd. This guy is seriously scary.
31
I find it interesting that Kevin feels a display of free speech in a theater is disrespectful of the office of the vice president. Where is the respect for the office of the presidency when a member of congress shouts 'you lie' in the middle of the State of the Union address? I find Kevin's comment to be totally hypocritical.
75
If only the people who hated Barack Obama so virulently had turned their own congressmen and senators out who bear the lion's share of responsibility for keeping the 'swamp' filled. We are poised to enter 4 years of even grander corporate cronyism and corruption, destruction of our ailing planet, and misogyny, racism and xenophobia of unmatched virulence. I'll grant that many Dems at the top had not been listening sufficiently, but Trump is a dangerous scam artist who has proved many times that he is incapable of listening to anyone. The republic I love is in great peril.
33
Your brother is delusional about the Dem agenda. Let's just say Republicans got all hot and bothered about transgender people and bathrooms, not Obama.
25
It's bad enough that I have to listen to Donald Trump, a big nothing, for the next 4 years telling me everything he thinks about at every moment, I have to also listen to your brother's Thanksgiving rants? It must be nice to have a platform in order to malign and dismiss such terrifying phenomenon as Cher and Katy Perry. And if you don't think those very same foreign countries will not be cozying up to our deal-maker-in-chief for offers they can't refuse, then perhaps you need to check the planet you're on.
19
With any luck, Trump will not be able to stay "clean" for the next 1,461 days. He will stumble outside the law and take a fall that will be "one for the history books." Trump is the greediest man that I've ever read about and I'm 84 years old. His life has been one of cheating everyone he has ever been in business with. His womanizing days may be over, but Wisconsin voters will soon be sick of hearing about his ignorance in the role of President.
27
Thank you Maureen (and the NYT). I appreciate the opportunity to read from several points of view, from the same family - especially if one or more of the opinions is from a non-professional journalist. It reminds me of a gathering around the coffee machine in my office, but with less interruption and mumbling under breath.
I don't think there is any benefit in gloating. It feels like Kevin has been building up to this for some time. If the election had turned out differently, and the 200K or so votes in several key states were different, then I wonder what Kevin's reaction would be. Would having a new female Sheriff be a complete repudiation of the populist message of Donald Trump. No. I don't think so.
Frankly, I believe there is more to this election than disillusioned white working class voters from several key states.
I do agree, strongly, that we need to emphasize and educate our (young) people on the importance of how the government works.
Roughly 125mm people voted. With the stakes so high for all Americans, this is really the part of the story that is deplorable. In 2008 just under 130mm Americans voted. According to Wikipedia the population grew over 17mm people yet the number of people who voted dropped by more than 5mm.
We need to make voting as socially important posting on Facebook and commenting on NYT articles. I think passively not voting is the same as actively giving up your voice and the voices of those who have no voice who are counting on you.
I don't think there is any benefit in gloating. It feels like Kevin has been building up to this for some time. If the election had turned out differently, and the 200K or so votes in several key states were different, then I wonder what Kevin's reaction would be. Would having a new female Sheriff be a complete repudiation of the populist message of Donald Trump. No. I don't think so.
Frankly, I believe there is more to this election than disillusioned white working class voters from several key states.
I do agree, strongly, that we need to emphasize and educate our (young) people on the importance of how the government works.
Roughly 125mm people voted. With the stakes so high for all Americans, this is really the part of the story that is deplorable. In 2008 just under 130mm Americans voted. According to Wikipedia the population grew over 17mm people yet the number of people who voted dropped by more than 5mm.
We need to make voting as socially important posting on Facebook and commenting on NYT articles. I think passively not voting is the same as actively giving up your voice and the voices of those who have no voice who are counting on you.
7
Ms. Dowd, not so fast with the eulogizing. Jill Stein and Clinton operatives are challenging the vote count in key states. Hanging chad redux for a while. If, If they succeed in swinging key states then we truly will relive this nightmare again. Two Yogisms: " It's deja vu all over again" and"It aint't over till it's over"
Ponder that deep philosophy over jar of Trump Brut
Ponder that deep philosophy over jar of Trump Brut
5
Reagan had his day too. Everything goes in cycles. The majority will work its way back. In the meantime, we'll be ruled by a nasty minority.
This country is beginning to resemble a 3rd world country: ruled by an autocrat (if not in deed yet, at least in psychology), and a minority much as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and other countries have been ruled by minorities. Their minorities are in place due to idiosyncrasies of their governmental structures (or lack thereof), just as ours is now: the electoral college.
This country is beginning to resemble a 3rd world country: ruled by an autocrat (if not in deed yet, at least in psychology), and a minority much as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and other countries have been ruled by minorities. Their minorities are in place due to idiosyncrasies of their governmental structures (or lack thereof), just as ours is now: the electoral college.
10
"but is considered boorish and unacceptable by those of us taught to respect the office of the president and vice president, if not the occupants."
Seriously?
"You lie!"
“Our No. 1 priority is to make this president a one-term president,”’
Who exactly is "those of us?"
Seriously?
"You lie!"
“Our No. 1 priority is to make this president a one-term president,”’
Who exactly is "those of us?"
47
This made me laugh out loud. I don't think that Kevin Dowd intended to be funny when he referred to the incivility, bad manners, rudeness, and disrespect of Democrats. But what a hoot! I'm sure he'll enjoy the next four years with our civil, polite, respectful president-elect.
55
Ms. Dowd - Bravo. First Dem media figure I have seen to concede even slightly that the Trump win shows there are competing views in the U.S. Trump like Obama will overplay his hand. PC is a fantasy - People say mean things and strong people learn to ignore it and move on. Safe space equals your family your church and your school.
5
Well stated Ms. Dowd. The real impact of the Trump presidency is his clear cut ability to name Supreme Court Justices...one for Scalia's slot and others who are predicted to vacate the premises (rumors of Clarence Thomas and Bader Ginsberg). Trump's impact as a president, if he nominates highly conservative judges for the SCOTUS, will be with us for a generation or more, long after he is out of office. and that can and would change the direction of the country.
5
It is rich to hear guys like Kevin whine about the supposed disrespect shown to VP-elect Pence by the audience and cast of Hamilton. Where were those of you "taught to respect the office of the president and vice president" when Trump was promulgating his "birther" lie or when Republicans like Joe Wilson were heckling Obama?
36
Kevin is simply hashing together old stereotypes, misconceptions and lies.
And he is not well educated.
Anyone with any intelligence knew that Trump was completely full of it. For example, Kevin said that Obama neutered our military. Our military spending is greater than the aggregate of all military spending of the next twenty nations in the world. In other words, our military spending is greater than the military spending of Russia, China, England, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and at least 14 other countries combined.
But when Trump made absurd points about our obscenely depleted military, the press NEVER CHALLENGED HIM. Yeah, the system is rigged. It's rigged in favor of the Right Wing.
And he is not well educated.
Anyone with any intelligence knew that Trump was completely full of it. For example, Kevin said that Obama neutered our military. Our military spending is greater than the aggregate of all military spending of the next twenty nations in the world. In other words, our military spending is greater than the military spending of Russia, China, England, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and at least 14 other countries combined.
But when Trump made absurd points about our obscenely depleted military, the press NEVER CHALLENGED HIM. Yeah, the system is rigged. It's rigged in favor of the Right Wing.
53
This is disappointing column and frankly, a bit ridiculous. Why oh why is your column turned over to your brother? This election was not a complete repudiation of Obama. It is very odd that someone would write that after seeing the numbers in the vote. There are many people who feel differently than your brother and in fact, it is a majority of people living in this country. To discount all the miserable things that Donald Trump has said in his campaign and pretend that they don't matter is the real tragic fantasy world that Trump voters are living in. If your brother is an affluent, educated suburbanite, he is privileged enough to maybe not have a Trump presidency have much of an impact on you, but I will pray for all the others.
58
It breaks my heart to see the Democrat Party commit suicide like this. We can't insult Trump voters as "deplorables," and "idiots," and then expect their votes in the 2018 midterm and the 2020 Presidential elections. It just won't work. If this is the route we're going to take, then we might as well just give up as a party and go our own ways as independents.
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Don't misunderstand me. There is absolutely nothing normal about Donald Trump's Presidency. We cannot "wait and see" with this man. From his lack of experience to his thin skin to his questionable cabinet picks; to his refusal to take a forceful stance against the alt-right: Donald Trump is terrifying as a President. But we won't win in our fight against him by continuing to belittle the Americans who voted for him.
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Our energy would be far better spent working with local DAs to prosecute hate crimes. Working with groups like the ACLU and the SPLC, and what's left of the Democrats in Congress to protect our Country from this most dangerous President. And of course building good will at the local level is a must, too (you do that with right-minded Mayors and City Councilmen doing brass tacks things like fixing roads and attracting jobs).
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For your part- Ms Dowd - how about some investigative reporting, instead of mudslinging against Trump voters? Trump's business interests are a rabbit hole of corruption and conflicts of interest. These are stories that must be investigated.
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Don't misunderstand me. There is absolutely nothing normal about Donald Trump's Presidency. We cannot "wait and see" with this man. From his lack of experience to his thin skin to his questionable cabinet picks; to his refusal to take a forceful stance against the alt-right: Donald Trump is terrifying as a President. But we won't win in our fight against him by continuing to belittle the Americans who voted for him.
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Our energy would be far better spent working with local DAs to prosecute hate crimes. Working with groups like the ACLU and the SPLC, and what's left of the Democrats in Congress to protect our Country from this most dangerous President. And of course building good will at the local level is a must, too (you do that with right-minded Mayors and City Councilmen doing brass tacks things like fixing roads and attracting jobs).
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For your part- Ms Dowd - how about some investigative reporting, instead of mudslinging against Trump voters? Trump's business interests are a rabbit hole of corruption and conflicts of interest. These are stories that must be investigated.
399
Yawn.........yet ANOTHER column about Maureen's family? Please get some new material. Your family really isn't that interesting to devote article after article on them.
70
Kevin, you grab on to the typical hack conservative meme by going at celebrities. Yawn. Admit it, it's really not a cool thing that there is not one single artist of note that supports Trump. You can take your Rob Schneider, Clint Eastwood, and the struggling Baldwin brother. And you can have Scott Baio. Who else do you got? Country singers? Kayne West? Paula Dean? The Boss sang for Hillary, and you know that is cool, deep down. Elton John just had to confirm rumors that he will NOT be performing at Trump's inauguration, probably embarrassed that rumor even was floated. Who will be the Trump inaugural poet? Ted Nugent?
26
There is something really creepy about these conservative Irish Catholic men of a certain age, like Kevin and my brother, who yearn for a return to the 1950s when they were firmly atop the food chain (least when smarmy WASP boys like Donald Trump weren't ridiculing them and excluding them from their colleges, companies and clubs). Back then these men ruled their families, often with a fist, and were given unquestioned social deference with support of their Church, while their wives obediently bore baby after baby, and cleaned and cooked themselves into an early grave. Yup! Those were the days. Now, these same men deeply resent all the really smart women and minorities who surpassed them along the way, upending their white male entitlement. Strange, since only a generation earlier their parents were viewed as immigrant trash and told "No Irish Need Apply". And their answer to all this angst is to elect a thrice-married raging bigot and sexist who cares not a whit for their well-being. Rock on, fellas!
123
As I, a Gen X-er, recently heard a Millennial point out, "Why do people always rag on us for 'participation trophies?' We weren't the ones setting trophy policy."
That'd be the Baby Boomers. And Gen X-ers, I suppose. But mostly Baby Boomers.
That'd be the Baby Boomers. And Gen X-ers, I suppose. But mostly Baby Boomers.
14
I love my Saturdays with Maureen.....you are so gifted with the word.
Your thoughts regarding the Hamilton incident are wrong, specifically
when you stated "rudeness reached its peak". Now that the "bully at the bus stop" is our president elect .....all respect for the both offices are
off the table. His tweets have reached their peak! And we have only
just begun!
Your thoughts regarding the Hamilton incident are wrong, specifically
when you stated "rudeness reached its peak". Now that the "bully at the bus stop" is our president elect .....all respect for the both offices are
off the table. His tweets have reached their peak! And we have only
just begun!
13
Fair Enough. Our candidate: unlikable, untrustworthy. Our message: lacking the acceptance different opinions in direct contrast to our theme of inclusion. Hypocrites, to be sure, we assumed moral high ground through an assumption of identify liberalism, and as such, alienated the electoral votes needed to break the glass ceiling.
Got it. Accepted. I accept the second premise as well, house seats were lost, senate and governorships as well; a data point that speak to a decline in support for Democratic party candidates.
To be clear though: your summary of President Barack Obama and the features defining his Presidency, echoes the sentiments of an adolescent book report; overly exaggerated statements spoken in absolutes with a stream of hot button "issues" listed, mixed into metaphors, lacking in substance, all puff.
On the contrary, President Obama changed the lives of my family, my friends and my students and while faced with an irrationally stubborn Congress, achieved what he could for the remainder of her Presidency. Though assuming lame duck status early can exist as a factor to support the conclusion you make, the voters were dissatisfied.
That being said, you want us to admit the evironment wasn't what we thought it was and our candidate, was not either, though that this still leaves this question? Why did you vote for Trump? What's your one issue? Because 1461 days is a long time to hold on to the satisfaction with a choice for sheriff. Way too long.
Got it. Accepted. I accept the second premise as well, house seats were lost, senate and governorships as well; a data point that speak to a decline in support for Democratic party candidates.
To be clear though: your summary of President Barack Obama and the features defining his Presidency, echoes the sentiments of an adolescent book report; overly exaggerated statements spoken in absolutes with a stream of hot button "issues" listed, mixed into metaphors, lacking in substance, all puff.
On the contrary, President Obama changed the lives of my family, my friends and my students and while faced with an irrationally stubborn Congress, achieved what he could for the remainder of her Presidency. Though assuming lame duck status early can exist as a factor to support the conclusion you make, the voters were dissatisfied.
That being said, you want us to admit the evironment wasn't what we thought it was and our candidate, was not either, though that this still leaves this question? Why did you vote for Trump? What's your one issue? Because 1461 days is a long time to hold on to the satisfaction with a choice for sheriff. Way too long.
20
The Thanksgiving behavior of your Republican family, Maureen, seems well-described by your brother's statement, "... where incivility and bad manners are taken for granted, rudeness is routine, religion is mocked and there is absolutely no respect for a differing opinion." Seems to not just be a Democrat thing, then?
I can report that the students in my biology course at the community college carried on as usual the day after the election and nobody missed the mid-term exam, despite many of my students being in at least one or more of the groups repeatedly denigrated by the President-elect: Muslims, immigrants, women, the disabled...to name a few. Underestimating the opposition is the same mistake the Democrats made, to some extent, in this election and I would recommend against it.
I think the Democrats will be listening now to those they didn't hear before. On the other hand, I think Republicans will continue to ignore at least two of the groups they have always ignored: the scientists and the poor, both which convey messages the Republicans don't want to hear.
Early days, Kevin, early days. Two women and one black guy (who is still "thinking about it" and hasn't signed on yet) does not make a diverse administration, which has at least 3,997 other people. I'm betting, in the end, that this administration will be as white and male as all the group photos of the campaign staff were, and that the "coming storm" is not going to be what you think it will be.
I can report that the students in my biology course at the community college carried on as usual the day after the election and nobody missed the mid-term exam, despite many of my students being in at least one or more of the groups repeatedly denigrated by the President-elect: Muslims, immigrants, women, the disabled...to name a few. Underestimating the opposition is the same mistake the Democrats made, to some extent, in this election and I would recommend against it.
I think the Democrats will be listening now to those they didn't hear before. On the other hand, I think Republicans will continue to ignore at least two of the groups they have always ignored: the scientists and the poor, both which convey messages the Republicans don't want to hear.
Early days, Kevin, early days. Two women and one black guy (who is still "thinking about it" and hasn't signed on yet) does not make a diverse administration, which has at least 3,997 other people. I'm betting, in the end, that this administration will be as white and male as all the group photos of the campaign staff were, and that the "coming storm" is not going to be what you think it will be.
35
Well Maureen the current group of protesters are no different than when I protested the Vietnam War. I was told love America or leave it. Protest is American as Apple Pie.
It amazes me that we are the only democracy that uses electors to decide our elections rather than popular votes. Hillary still won by the same percentage points as was predicted in the polls just before election day. About 1.5% The Republicans probably won't agree to change this relic in our Constitution because they realize that they can't win in a straight up vote so they cling to this vestige of history that arose out out of the 3/5 counting of black persons to give the south more clout with electors. The other reason for their existence, the need to travel great distances to communicate the vote of individual states dried up ages ago with the dawn of telegraphic communication. If Lincoln could communicate with his far off generals by telegraph, the need for the electors dried up by 1864. What a travesty we have.
It amazes me that we are the only democracy that uses electors to decide our elections rather than popular votes. Hillary still won by the same percentage points as was predicted in the polls just before election day. About 1.5% The Republicans probably won't agree to change this relic in our Constitution because they realize that they can't win in a straight up vote so they cling to this vestige of history that arose out out of the 3/5 counting of black persons to give the south more clout with electors. The other reason for their existence, the need to travel great distances to communicate the vote of individual states dried up ages ago with the dawn of telegraphic communication. If Lincoln could communicate with his far off generals by telegraph, the need for the electors dried up by 1864. What a travesty we have.
5
That is an interesting point of view!
However, the reason for the victory of Trump over his establishment-ordained primary campaign opponents from the Republican party and the establishment-chosen Clinton (over Bernie) in the final election is quite simple really. Many among the 99% have had it with both parties (aka the establishment), who take care of their rich donor class and ignore common folk, who are suffering economically. It is still "The Economy Stupid." Greedy corporations have shipped entire factories abroad to make more profit for their owners (usually the 1%) and have deprived the middle class of decent-wage jobs, through unfair trade policies that enrich only the 1%. Both parties have facilitated that, while distracting the nation with cultural issues. No wonder Trump's focus on "Jobs and Trade" resonated so well.
It remains to be seen if Trump keeps his promises. After all, he will be opposed by the establishment (aka both Democrats and Republicans) every step of the way. In spite of that, if he manages to disentangle us from needless wars and enemies abroad, and bring back decent-wage jobs by following through on infrastructure spending, fair trade etc., he will go down as a good President. If not, he will be branded a "loser." The establishment will triumph again, but that will make way for someone in the future to try and succeed again!
We really need to get money out of our politics and restore the government at every level back to the common folk!
However, the reason for the victory of Trump over his establishment-ordained primary campaign opponents from the Republican party and the establishment-chosen Clinton (over Bernie) in the final election is quite simple really. Many among the 99% have had it with both parties (aka the establishment), who take care of their rich donor class and ignore common folk, who are suffering economically. It is still "The Economy Stupid." Greedy corporations have shipped entire factories abroad to make more profit for their owners (usually the 1%) and have deprived the middle class of decent-wage jobs, through unfair trade policies that enrich only the 1%. Both parties have facilitated that, while distracting the nation with cultural issues. No wonder Trump's focus on "Jobs and Trade" resonated so well.
It remains to be seen if Trump keeps his promises. After all, he will be opposed by the establishment (aka both Democrats and Republicans) every step of the way. In spite of that, if he manages to disentangle us from needless wars and enemies abroad, and bring back decent-wage jobs by following through on infrastructure spending, fair trade etc., he will go down as a good President. If not, he will be branded a "loser." The establishment will triumph again, but that will make way for someone in the future to try and succeed again!
We really need to get money out of our politics and restore the government at every level back to the common folk!
2
Kevin Dowd: "Donald Trump pulled off one of the greatest political feats in modern history by defeating Hillary Clinton and the vaunted Clinton machine. The election was a complete repudiation of Barack Obama ..."
2016 National Presidential Vote (as of 11/26/2016)
64,637,503 - 48.2% - Hillary Clinton
62,409,389 - 46.6% - Donald Trump
Sec. Clinton leads in the popular vote by more than 2.25 million votes. When all the Congressional votes are counted, it is likely to show that Democrats won the popular vote for the Senate, and possibly for the House as well. One wonders, when, if ever, was the last time the Presidency and both branches of Congress were controlled by a party that lost the popular vote in all three branches?
The American people did not repudiate Barack Obama or Democratic values.
Donald Trump did not win the Presidential election with the support of the American people. He won it by manipulation of the Electoral College.
Donald Trump will not govern with the support of the American people, the majority of whom voted for someone else.
Donald Trump will not govern by the will of the American people, whose expressed will in the popular vote was clearly for a Democratic President.
Kevin Dowd's entire column was nothing but gloating and lies from someone whose obvious pride in undermining American democracy is belied by him insisting it was the will of the people - despite vote totals that fairly scream the will of the people has been ignored and trampled.
2016 National Presidential Vote (as of 11/26/2016)
64,637,503 - 48.2% - Hillary Clinton
62,409,389 - 46.6% - Donald Trump
Sec. Clinton leads in the popular vote by more than 2.25 million votes. When all the Congressional votes are counted, it is likely to show that Democrats won the popular vote for the Senate, and possibly for the House as well. One wonders, when, if ever, was the last time the Presidency and both branches of Congress were controlled by a party that lost the popular vote in all three branches?
The American people did not repudiate Barack Obama or Democratic values.
Donald Trump did not win the Presidential election with the support of the American people. He won it by manipulation of the Electoral College.
Donald Trump will not govern with the support of the American people, the majority of whom voted for someone else.
Donald Trump will not govern by the will of the American people, whose expressed will in the popular vote was clearly for a Democratic President.
Kevin Dowd's entire column was nothing but gloating and lies from someone whose obvious pride in undermining American democracy is belied by him insisting it was the will of the people - despite vote totals that fairly scream the will of the people has been ignored and trampled.
16
Kevin is not correct. Obama's popularity is a an all time high and the election was not about policy. Trump tapped into the emotion in the electorate that wanted to send a change message about politics as usual. That coupled with the unfavorable view of Hillary Clinton created this anomaly where someone like Trump could win. Yes, he flipped many who were not among the far right and were independents. However, he is truly a despicable person. All you have to do is read about him and it is obvious. He should never be president.
Trump and the Republicans need to be careful, they do not have a mandate. Remember Hillary won the popular vote by over 1.5 million votes. Taking the election as a far right mandate will be a disaster. Because Trump won, does not mean that a majority of people want Obama Care overturned, medicare privatized, a voucher school system, The Paris climate accord abandoned, the EPA dismantled, more drilling on public lands, tax cuts for the wealthy and on and on. Kevin may believe in all these things and read the message he desires from the election but that was not the message.
I am dismayed that a man like trump with very few redeeming qualities is president-elect of the United States. All I can do now is watch the show as he and the Republicans battle and try to do all the things they have been talking about for years. I personally feel they will be facing quite a backlash in the next election cycles.
Trump and the Republicans need to be careful, they do not have a mandate. Remember Hillary won the popular vote by over 1.5 million votes. Taking the election as a far right mandate will be a disaster. Because Trump won, does not mean that a majority of people want Obama Care overturned, medicare privatized, a voucher school system, The Paris climate accord abandoned, the EPA dismantled, more drilling on public lands, tax cuts for the wealthy and on and on. Kevin may believe in all these things and read the message he desires from the election but that was not the message.
I am dismayed that a man like trump with very few redeeming qualities is president-elect of the United States. All I can do now is watch the show as he and the Republicans battle and try to do all the things they have been talking about for years. I personally feel they will be facing quite a backlash in the next election cycles.
11
We're all so tired, aren't we. I am. The first election I remember following at all was the contest between Ike and Adlai Stevenson in 1956. I was a kid. I don't think I'm exaggerating in the least when I say the no major-party nominee, much less President-Elect, all the intervening years has been so bereft of basic human decency as our current President-Elect. He is the rich-kid bully from middle school, the 14-year-old in the 70-year-old body. As far as I'm concerned, we never reach the shamelessly misleading provocations of Kevin's second paragraph, because there shouldn't be any room in an advanced Western polity for rejecting what one sees as the conventional shortcomings of the incumbent party by electing someone who truly is deplorable.
6
The very close election result did not force all of us to accept the new standard bearer as acceptable to everyone. Similar to Obama in 2008. The election is not a national social club deciding who is in or out. It is not a champaign review. It is a not mandate deciding whether the fantasy world of MSNBC, or of fantasy world Fox News is a better fantasy for all of us to totally accept.
The importance of election result tells us which person has the most raw power in the world for four years. It gives him control of economic policy, military policy, foreign policy, and legislative policy. He has immense power over everyone on the planet during that time.
Yes, it allows the new President a bully pulpit to try to set a role model for social discourse and national identity. That could upset many groups. That will not please all individuals. Politics will grind him down like every occupant of the White House before him. We did not elect an absolute king. We need to constantly remind ourselves of that. And, I am sure that his advisors, political opponents, foreign leaders, dangerous external forces, and the world media will remind him of that.
The importance of election result tells us which person has the most raw power in the world for four years. It gives him control of economic policy, military policy, foreign policy, and legislative policy. He has immense power over everyone on the planet during that time.
Yes, it allows the new President a bully pulpit to try to set a role model for social discourse and national identity. That could upset many groups. That will not please all individuals. Politics will grind him down like every occupant of the White House before him. We did not elect an absolute king. We need to constantly remind ourselves of that. And, I am sure that his advisors, political opponents, foreign leaders, dangerous external forces, and the world media will remind him of that.
3
Kevin says that none of the top 50 colleges require at least one semester of Western Civilization. I am not an expert on education but both Columbia College and the College of the University of Chicago require the same materials as part of their core requirements. I think they're both in the top 50. And I suspect that this is true of many other colleges in the top 50.
Evidently Kevin doesn't mind seizing on a fine point about course names to promote a factually incorrect claim. In that regard, he seems perfectly suited to the Trump team.
Evidently Kevin doesn't mind seizing on a fine point about course names to promote a factually incorrect claim. In that regard, he seems perfectly suited to the Trump team.
11
There is so much wrong with this column that I cannot address all of the points within the word limit. While I am, and will continue to be a Hillary supporter, I do understand those who are suspicious of her motives and who never felt that she understood their plight. Hillary was late in addressing the devastation caused by globalization and resulting loss of jobs across so many parts of the country. However, this is not what Maureen (or her brother) are referencing. Bringing up Obama, who by the way tried to implement many of the same types of programs that Trump proposes such as the massive infrastructure projects, is beyond uninformed. Republicans have thwarted Obama’s efforts to provide jobs, healthcare, and educational enhancement to millions. Many of the forgotten may have been forgotten by Democrats, but they have been forgotten by Republicans, too. It remains to be seen if the same Republicans who refused to even discuss a budget with Barack Obama will be willing to discuss large infrastructure projects with Trump.
Kevin/Maureen reference “political correctness” (also known as civility and respect for those who are different from us) as something to be rejected. “Out of control EPA” is a problem when trying to address clean air and CO2 emissions to help mitigate climate change? What? I managed to avoid the landmines at my own Thanksgiving celebration. Thanks, a lot for dragging me through the insanity I have been working so hard to avoid.
Kevin/Maureen reference “political correctness” (also known as civility and respect for those who are different from us) as something to be rejected. “Out of control EPA” is a problem when trying to address clean air and CO2 emissions to help mitigate climate change? What? I managed to avoid the landmines at my own Thanksgiving celebration. Thanks, a lot for dragging me through the insanity I have been working so hard to avoid.
5
Some see feckless political correctness and military castration. Others saw a more thoughtful level of discourse and an unwillingness to bomb our way out of every international problem we find ourselves in. (Although some of us were quite pleased with flying robots that never made the headlines.)
It’s quite obvious that Hillary was a flawed candidate. More important, the super-delegate railroad that guaranteed her nomination has got to go. However, if we seem boorish or rude, it really only pales in the shadow of the all-time Insult King. He obviously wrote the book on dummies and losers and “neurotic dopes”. (You recall that one.)
Minions of the Grabber-in-Chief should admit that he was quite ready to call the election rigged and that wide-spread voter fraud would have been his only reason for losing. Even HE didn’t expect to win, even though in hindsight it all seems so crystal clear now. As you rightly point out, President “John Miller” received 62 million votes. Hillary will get around 64. Barrack Obama was around 69 million. So please, forgive us if we never could envision a race-bating, tax-cheating, fraud-peddling arm-twister as gaining the moral pulpit of the country. It’s still a bit of a shock that he conned all of you and still seems to be doing so. Quite well.
It’s quite obvious that Hillary was a flawed candidate. More important, the super-delegate railroad that guaranteed her nomination has got to go. However, if we seem boorish or rude, it really only pales in the shadow of the all-time Insult King. He obviously wrote the book on dummies and losers and “neurotic dopes”. (You recall that one.)
Minions of the Grabber-in-Chief should admit that he was quite ready to call the election rigged and that wide-spread voter fraud would have been his only reason for losing. Even HE didn’t expect to win, even though in hindsight it all seems so crystal clear now. As you rightly point out, President “John Miller” received 62 million votes. Hillary will get around 64. Barrack Obama was around 69 million. So please, forgive us if we never could envision a race-bating, tax-cheating, fraud-peddling arm-twister as gaining the moral pulpit of the country. It’s still a bit of a shock that he conned all of you and still seems to be doing so. Quite well.
10
Brother Kevin, I suspect, is sufficiently affluent not to fear that his own self-interest will be negatively affected by the coming of President Trump. He is also probably convinced that Mr. Trump's self-interest and the GOP's pro-plutocratic agenda will converge. Trump's pseudo-populism will be jettisoned. Further, that the consequent bacchanal of deregulation, privatization and tax-breaks for the rich will benefit Kevin personally.
He doubtlessly serenely believes that the GOP establishment grandees will hold Mr. Trump in check. They will guarantee that Mr. Trump will not embark upon any military adventures that do not have the full support of Cheney, Flynn, Bolton and other neoconservatives. Their hawkish spirit has already done so much to make America great and respected throughout the world, so what is to fear? What possible threat to our national security could result from having an impulsive, vindictive, short-attention-span know-nothing like Mr. Trump as Commander in Chief? He will be surrounded by those who have already proven themselves ever so competent in the foreign affairs department.
In short, I suspect Brother Kevin is your typical affluent Republican--one of those who, having never learned the lesson of history (he probably has forgotten the Cheney-Bush years, including the financial meltdown or, he opines, it was in no way due to deregulation) prefers that only a sanctimonious, hagiographic version of Western Civilization be taught to all others.
He doubtlessly serenely believes that the GOP establishment grandees will hold Mr. Trump in check. They will guarantee that Mr. Trump will not embark upon any military adventures that do not have the full support of Cheney, Flynn, Bolton and other neoconservatives. Their hawkish spirit has already done so much to make America great and respected throughout the world, so what is to fear? What possible threat to our national security could result from having an impulsive, vindictive, short-attention-span know-nothing like Mr. Trump as Commander in Chief? He will be surrounded by those who have already proven themselves ever so competent in the foreign affairs department.
In short, I suspect Brother Kevin is your typical affluent Republican--one of those who, having never learned the lesson of history (he probably has forgotten the Cheney-Bush years, including the financial meltdown or, he opines, it was in no way due to deregulation) prefers that only a sanctimonious, hagiographic version of Western Civilization be taught to all others.
10
The day is young. The Kevins of this world will tire of government by Tweet. Of a crime family running the show, a First Lady no where to be found. A president who gets full time pay for part time work.
We've been through this exact same thing before, including the upside down election results (Hillary won more intermountain west states than Gore and Kerry combined and outperformed Gore, Kerry and Obama in AZ and TX). ) And the Kevins of this world tired of the nonsense then, and that was with a much more reasonable and rational (i.e. grown up) administration.
The problem is with the Kevins of this world who flip flop about every time their white cultural approbation is not sufficiently respected by the dark hordes.
The Kevins of this world almost make me feel sorry for those soon to be duped Trump coal miners who are waiting for their jobs to come back. At least those hard luck deplorables are too strung out on booze and pot to know any better.
Of course, I wonder how much of this is really Kevin's.
We've been through this exact same thing before, including the upside down election results (Hillary won more intermountain west states than Gore and Kerry combined and outperformed Gore, Kerry and Obama in AZ and TX). ) And the Kevins of this world tired of the nonsense then, and that was with a much more reasonable and rational (i.e. grown up) administration.
The problem is with the Kevins of this world who flip flop about every time their white cultural approbation is not sufficiently respected by the dark hordes.
The Kevins of this world almost make me feel sorry for those soon to be duped Trump coal miners who are waiting for their jobs to come back. At least those hard luck deplorables are too strung out on booze and pot to know any better.
Of course, I wonder how much of this is really Kevin's.
12
While many of us believe the election results were terrible for the country, we also accept that Trump is now the next President.
But if I were a Kevin, I would not gloat. Instead, I’d remember Richard Nixon and maybe hedge my bets a bit.
Like Nixon, Trump has deep character flaws and a secret nature that may well prove to have concealed something he knew would kill his changes politically. With Trump, in manifested itself in his refusal to release his tax returns, the repeated lies and intentional misstatements, the daily reversals of positions, the narcissistic behavior, the insults, and the compulsive tweeting of incorrect information.
With the election over, the bad news keeps coming. Serious investigators are uncovering a high-tech Russian propaganda campaign that coordinated itself with the Trump campaign. Trump flat out rebuffs any effort to address conflicts of interest with himself as President and businessperson dealings overseas. And in Wisconsin there is an indication that hundreds of votes were mysteriously miscounted in Trumps favor in one county.
This is far more than was known about Nixon in 1972, two years before he resigned in disgrace. What was true for Nixon is true today: winning doesn't remove the flaws that stain a person.
I have a message for Kevin: even money says Trump will resign or be impeached before the end of his term, that is, he doesn't get us all killed beforehand.
But if I were a Kevin, I would not gloat. Instead, I’d remember Richard Nixon and maybe hedge my bets a bit.
Like Nixon, Trump has deep character flaws and a secret nature that may well prove to have concealed something he knew would kill his changes politically. With Trump, in manifested itself in his refusal to release his tax returns, the repeated lies and intentional misstatements, the daily reversals of positions, the narcissistic behavior, the insults, and the compulsive tweeting of incorrect information.
With the election over, the bad news keeps coming. Serious investigators are uncovering a high-tech Russian propaganda campaign that coordinated itself with the Trump campaign. Trump flat out rebuffs any effort to address conflicts of interest with himself as President and businessperson dealings overseas. And in Wisconsin there is an indication that hundreds of votes were mysteriously miscounted in Trumps favor in one county.
This is far more than was known about Nixon in 1972, two years before he resigned in disgrace. What was true for Nixon is true today: winning doesn't remove the flaws that stain a person.
I have a message for Kevin: even money says Trump will resign or be impeached before the end of his term, that is, he doesn't get us all killed beforehand.
15
This is an ugly, mean spirited and completely disgusting commentary from your brother. Please don't do this again. What he seems to want most is to rub the rest of America's face in Trumpism for the sake of...rubbing America's face in Trumpism. This is not an enlightening or insightful commentary. It shines no light but rather embraces the darkness in the heart of what must be an angry, disappointed man with life in general who, momentarily, feels a freakish joy in his ability to put down the thoughts and hopes of others.
In the presence of such a person, I would not care about family ties and the desire for some faked harmony around a dead turkey and moldering side dishes. I would run from the room and then the house as fast as my feet would carry me and not look back.
The 62 million+ who voted for Clinton, 2 million+ more than Trump, means nothing to him. The more than 9 million votes over and above what Trump received by Clinton and all the other candidates merits no respect, nor do the sincere desires of the rest of America. All he seems to care about his himself and his petty pleasure.
This commentary, since he likely reflects the triumphalism of many millions, is one indication that America is headed for a dark period bordering, if not actually in, hell. We should refrain from making noises that indicate we hate each other. We should understand that democracy is not a zero sum game, unless we make it such.
In the presence of such a person, I would not care about family ties and the desire for some faked harmony around a dead turkey and moldering side dishes. I would run from the room and then the house as fast as my feet would carry me and not look back.
The 62 million+ who voted for Clinton, 2 million+ more than Trump, means nothing to him. The more than 9 million votes over and above what Trump received by Clinton and all the other candidates merits no respect, nor do the sincere desires of the rest of America. All he seems to care about his himself and his petty pleasure.
This commentary, since he likely reflects the triumphalism of many millions, is one indication that America is headed for a dark period bordering, if not actually in, hell. We should refrain from making noises that indicate we hate each other. We should understand that democracy is not a zero sum game, unless we make it such.
43
Typical of the contempt for what Trump supporters imagine the educated liberal elite to be -- a bunch of hot house flowers who receive "undeserved" grades and participation trophies galore. Such claims are bolstered by claims that not one of the top 50 universities mandates instruction of Western civilization. (This is proof that millennials are coddled and delusional. A bunch of big babies who march through city streets whining about election results. But like so much of the phantasmagoric world conservatives paint, this simply isn't true. A cursory search of graduation requirements for such universities as UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSD, Columbia, Univ. of Chicago, Northwestern, etc., show a deep commitment to the foundational teaching of Western civilization, political thought, American history, humanities, and philosophy, stretching from the Greeks and Romans to modern Europeans and Americans. But, hey, thanks for playing.
10
It's more than a bit unseemly for Kevin to decry the lack of civility and respect for the office after 8 years of truly unprecedented trampling of those time-honored traditions--starting with a Republican member of congress shouting "you lie" during the President's First State of the Union Address.
Yes, Democrats need to get over it, stop the "not-my-president" foolishness and abandon the obstructionist parliamentary pretzel-bending strategy so brilliantly employed by Mitch McConnell to render Obama's popular mandates legislatively futile.
But even if they do so, they'll be accused anyway of disloyalty and subversion by the other party that has chosen to portray them as less than "American" since FDR's time.
And the media and current government will still be floating the "Alt-Left" meme, replete with crazy-conspiracy theory "spokespeople" by re-tweeting every individual troll's trope, and Facebook posting.
I would submit though, that it's a little too soon for a sanctimonious fire-safety lecture from the people who burned down the house. As they stumble through the charred wreckage to actually try and govern they will inevitably bring on more self-inflicted disasters such as Iraq--the result of abandoning consensus, international rule of law and the construction of an insulated "truth-bubble".
I take no solace in the disasters yet to come--
Yes, Democrats need to get over it, stop the "not-my-president" foolishness and abandon the obstructionist parliamentary pretzel-bending strategy so brilliantly employed by Mitch McConnell to render Obama's popular mandates legislatively futile.
But even if they do so, they'll be accused anyway of disloyalty and subversion by the other party that has chosen to portray them as less than "American" since FDR's time.
And the media and current government will still be floating the "Alt-Left" meme, replete with crazy-conspiracy theory "spokespeople" by re-tweeting every individual troll's trope, and Facebook posting.
I would submit though, that it's a little too soon for a sanctimonious fire-safety lecture from the people who burned down the house. As they stumble through the charred wreckage to actually try and govern they will inevitably bring on more self-inflicted disasters such as Iraq--the result of abandoning consensus, international rule of law and the construction of an insulated "truth-bubble".
I take no solace in the disasters yet to come--
14
I too come from a very large family (I'm the oldest of 8) with a wide range of political and religious views. Our Thanksgiving was lively but respectful. Where we may differ from you family Maureen is in understanding that family and love of family transcends politics-Presidents come and go but family is family regardless. Donald Trump is not going to be at my death bed but family will be there.
So while I hope your brother and sister did what they did in jest, I hope all of you will stop putting so much credence on one man or one party. Yes, they may be in power for a while but just as President Obama's "regime" as Rush Limbaugh loves to refer to it was in power and W. was in power before. But humanity is in a constant state of change and neither "W" or Obama created the I-Phone, social media or Uber and yet on a daily basis those have much more impact on my daily life than Trump or Obama ever will. The homemade cookies that my sister (whose politics I am 180 degrees from) mean more to me than a President Trump or Clinton ever would-so I say put it all in perspective while remembering that the laws of nature ultimately level arrogance, gloating, hubris, narcissism,self-importance, demagoguery and smugness.
Politicians come and go but family and unconditional love endure over time immemorial.
So while I hope your brother and sister did what they did in jest, I hope all of you will stop putting so much credence on one man or one party. Yes, they may be in power for a while but just as President Obama's "regime" as Rush Limbaugh loves to refer to it was in power and W. was in power before. But humanity is in a constant state of change and neither "W" or Obama created the I-Phone, social media or Uber and yet on a daily basis those have much more impact on my daily life than Trump or Obama ever will. The homemade cookies that my sister (whose politics I am 180 degrees from) mean more to me than a President Trump or Clinton ever would-so I say put it all in perspective while remembering that the laws of nature ultimately level arrogance, gloating, hubris, narcissism,self-importance, demagoguery and smugness.
Politicians come and go but family and unconditional love endure over time immemorial.
15
Ms. Dowd, please do not forget to print your brother's reaction to the upcoming election in 2020 when:
1. The country's economy is in the toilet.
2. This so-called president has personally insulted our allies' leaders who don't goose-step to his marching orders.
3. Racist incidents are being perpetrated on a daily basis in his name.
4. China has surpassed us has the largest economy in the world.
5. Our men and women are dying in wars that he began through pettiness.
6. Russia has invaded and annexed large chunks of eastern Europe.
7. His family is getting richer by using the oval office has a business center.
8. Public education is minority neighborhoods is extinct because all money for those districts has been pulled to give to for-profit "schools".
9. Governments agencies are a mess because the people he's putting in charge have no experience whatsoever in government work.
Honestly, the list is endless. I could go on forever, but what's the point?
1. The country's economy is in the toilet.
2. This so-called president has personally insulted our allies' leaders who don't goose-step to his marching orders.
3. Racist incidents are being perpetrated on a daily basis in his name.
4. China has surpassed us has the largest economy in the world.
5. Our men and women are dying in wars that he began through pettiness.
6. Russia has invaded and annexed large chunks of eastern Europe.
7. His family is getting richer by using the oval office has a business center.
8. Public education is minority neighborhoods is extinct because all money for those districts has been pulled to give to for-profit "schools".
9. Governments agencies are a mess because the people he's putting in charge have no experience whatsoever in government work.
Honestly, the list is endless. I could go on forever, but what's the point?
37
The Press helped the Administration avoid having to talk cogently and honestly about:
1) Real unemployment is higher as Labor participation rates touch historic lows.
2) Income declines year after year as income disparities grow.
3) Dodd-Franks stifling rules are ineffective.
4) The IRS was used politically.
5) Taxes zoomed, deficits increased, debt doubled while infrastructure crumbled.
6) Military was hollowed out while disability and food stamp rates zoomed.
7) Climate change became the new religion.
8) Fracked oil and gas was bad even as it saved the planet's climate and our finances.
9) Obamacare was crafted on quixotic assumptions, sold dishonestly and crumbled financially.
10) Immigration is too high.
All Trump, and Bernie, had to do was pick an item and state with great oratory (Bernie) or vernacular pragmatism (Trump) what everyone felt was true.
The alternative media (Breitbart, Drudge, etc.) surfaced enough credible authors to confirm there was a disconnect between the Press' portrayal of reality and reality.
This is why Bernie (except for the Dems rigged system which flipped it to Hillary) and Trump won their party's nominations.
The American people called a halt once they were sure "The Emperor had no clothes."
1) Real unemployment is higher as Labor participation rates touch historic lows.
2) Income declines year after year as income disparities grow.
3) Dodd-Franks stifling rules are ineffective.
4) The IRS was used politically.
5) Taxes zoomed, deficits increased, debt doubled while infrastructure crumbled.
6) Military was hollowed out while disability and food stamp rates zoomed.
7) Climate change became the new religion.
8) Fracked oil and gas was bad even as it saved the planet's climate and our finances.
9) Obamacare was crafted on quixotic assumptions, sold dishonestly and crumbled financially.
10) Immigration is too high.
All Trump, and Bernie, had to do was pick an item and state with great oratory (Bernie) or vernacular pragmatism (Trump) what everyone felt was true.
The alternative media (Breitbart, Drudge, etc.) surfaced enough credible authors to confirm there was a disconnect between the Press' portrayal of reality and reality.
This is why Bernie (except for the Dems rigged system which flipped it to Hillary) and Trump won their party's nominations.
The American people called a halt once they were sure "The Emperor had no clothes."
13
Good Lord Maureen, did you leave room for dessert?
1
On January 20,1981 the Ayatollah released the American hostages thus ending Walter Cronkite's nightly recitation of the number of days they were kept in Iranian captivity. Thus began the "Reagan Era", the end of that "dreaded" 70 percent top tax rate, and with the firing of the air traffic controllers, the beginning of the end for unions and the start to a new era of income inequality as the forces that favored labor over capital began to wane. And it was also the start of massive number of heretofore blue-collar Democrats voting Republican, buying into the premise that somehow the benefits of massive tax cuts for the wealthy would "trickle down" to them.
I had somehow believed that one day those blue collar voters would realize they'd been hoodwinked for the past 36 years and they would finally realize that trickle down economics never worked for them. How in the world would they be taken in by a smarmy con man who no more had their interests in mind than P. T. Barnum. Yet it has happened again. Well, maybe Maureen will be able to find some solace at next year's Thanksgiving dinner with the arrival of Tyrion and Khaleesi coming to her rescue. Remember, Cersei burned it all down. Trump will do no better.
I had somehow believed that one day those blue collar voters would realize they'd been hoodwinked for the past 36 years and they would finally realize that trickle down economics never worked for them. How in the world would they be taken in by a smarmy con man who no more had their interests in mind than P. T. Barnum. Yet it has happened again. Well, maybe Maureen will be able to find some solace at next year's Thanksgiving dinner with the arrival of Tyrion and Khaleesi coming to her rescue. Remember, Cersei burned it all down. Trump will do no better.
4
What you wouldn't know from this article is that Hillary at this moment received 2, 228,000 more votes then Trump. What you wouldn't hear is that this was after an unprecedented intervention by the FBI in the two weeks before the election. You also wouldn't know that even today Obama's approval rating is much higher then Trumps. Mostly what you would never know, since it all gets hidden behind "Kevin" ( as if we could possibly care about your family) is that this is just a clever way for Ms Dowd to rejet responsibility for playing her part in the dirtiest and most dishonest hack job ever seen in her 20+ year attack on Hillary Clinton. Of course what we might have gotten here is something about policy of the president elect ...but alas here is the thing, Ms. Dowd's career has been built on personal attacks on Democratic politicians because 1) She doesn't really have practical progressive ideas that might have challenged the lack of ambition of Democratic policies 2) She would lose her more righteous then thou attitude if she had to acknowledge a well balanced policy from Obama or the Clintons and 3) She never had the guts to honestly tell us that the views of the mythical "Kevin" are really her own. So Maureen, besides your naughty boy winking at a Alt Right bully, and telling us where you went to eat in the 14th Arrondissements and an occasional attack on Hilary's home decoration....just what are you going to do?
10
In just a few short months, none of this will matter much because Donald Trump will be busy defending himself against impeachment and conviction, and folks like Kevin will be scratching their heads wondering where they went wrong...and who else to blame for the massive disaster. Then Pence will take over and it'll all likely get even worse. By the way, Maureen, you're welcome to join my family next Thanksgiving; we promise you an extremely warm welcome far away from all the "fools."
8
I'm disheartened by the content and tone of this letter. As if the last 8 years were some kind of hell on earth for this gentleman. The candidate of his choice has won and all he can manage is a letter crowing like a cock of the walk while a significant segment of our our collective community fears for its rights. I compare this letter to the one written by R.Derek Black. Clearly our country holds diverse views on best ways forward. Let's hope people like Kevin can muster up some compassion as we go about this important work.
12
I love it. My thoughts exactly - or almost. Maureen's brother Kevin ought to write the column more often, especially now that the ultra-left media can't seem to right its course, and maybe never will. I plan to copy this column to revisit it when the Trump government hits speed bumps.
3
Maureen, Please feel free to join us at our holiday table next month! It's a long trip to California, over all those red states, but we're much relaxed about politics and we'd love to hear more of the inside scoop about the conversation you had with Trump. Once again, singling out a woman for being too tough? Maybe your brother should be defending your honor instead of defending the man who dishes out disrespect of woman like so much turkey and mashed potatoes. You might also want to gently suggest to your brother that college students are at an age when expressing themselves is actually a good thing and informed and educated young people taking politics personally should be a cause of hope for the future.
8
Well at least Ms Dowd did not find a way in this piece to trash Hillary as she had managed to do in every other article regardless of the topic.
9
The Democrats still have issues on their side. Immigration? Reproductive rights? Gay rights? Women's rights? Affordable and universal health care? I could go on. The arc of history is still bending in these directions.
But the Democrats lost this election because they tried to shame their opposition into defeat. It is a grand episode of hubris.
To an outsider who knew nothing of US politics, I can imagine this election season seemed like one long exercise in mass bullying. And this bullying attitude was not coming from the Right. Trump masterfully baited the Democrats into appearing -- to a non-believer -- as sanctimonious and prudish. Hillary, for all her alleged smarts, apparently could not see this. Perhaps that is a genuine expression of the blindspots of the view of domestic politics she herself is beholden to.
Americans, no matter their political beliefs, do not like to be looked down upon. Trump baited that trap, and now we have to live with the fact the Clinton campaign did not see it.
But the Democrats lost this election because they tried to shame their opposition into defeat. It is a grand episode of hubris.
To an outsider who knew nothing of US politics, I can imagine this election season seemed like one long exercise in mass bullying. And this bullying attitude was not coming from the Right. Trump masterfully baited the Democrats into appearing -- to a non-believer -- as sanctimonious and prudish. Hillary, for all her alleged smarts, apparently could not see this. Perhaps that is a genuine expression of the blindspots of the view of domestic politics she herself is beholden to.
Americans, no matter their political beliefs, do not like to be looked down upon. Trump baited that trap, and now we have to live with the fact the Clinton campaign did not see it.
3
Maureen you sound shell shocked. Beaten up, cowed, put in your place, bullied. It's not pretty to see you like this. Your family are just white, that's all. Really. Nothing to worry about.
5
Well your brother is right in that Trump did not so much win the election, more so that Clinton lost it. But his obnoxious patronizing tone betrays that he hasn't learned from the Dem's mistakes. And of course now the Republicans are in perfect position to lose it all.
Looking forward to Thanksgiving 2020.
Looking forward to Thanksgiving 2020.
2
Maureen Dowd's use of her "affluent suburban" brother Kevin in a column bearing her name is irritating---and lazy. I don't turn to her space to read
etiquette lessons from some guy I don't know who pompously lectures anti-Trump protestors for their lack of manners towards one of the most boorish candidates this country has ever known. Hard to swallow over a holiday weekend.
etiquette lessons from some guy I don't know who pompously lectures anti-Trump protestors for their lack of manners towards one of the most boorish candidates this country has ever known. Hard to swallow over a holiday weekend.
25
To Maureen's brother and those who echo his pronouncements:
Gloat at your own risk.
Those who gloat must prepare to accept responsibility for the consequences. Because there will be consequences. An ignorant president, who feeds on fear and lies, whose only policies are greed and self-promotion, and whose world view is being shaped by a Russian Dictator, risks the security and the very heart and soul of the United States of America.
Gloat at your own risk.
Those who gloat must prepare to accept responsibility for the consequences. Because there will be consequences. An ignorant president, who feeds on fear and lies, whose only policies are greed and self-promotion, and whose world view is being shaped by a Russian Dictator, risks the security and the very heart and soul of the United States of America.
20
It would be enlightening to know how many of my (much more affluent) neighbors lied to their kids about their vote for a serial insulter and thin-skinned bully.
9
Why does she reprint this? It doesn't deserve the audience she gives it.
16
MD should tell us what she really thinks in her own voice, not borrowing someone else's.
An elaborately rhetorical form of "just sayin'"
An elaborately rhetorical form of "just sayin'"
9
Tell Kevin "don't worry. We plan on treating President Trump with the same respect and spirit of cooperation that Mr Trump and you conservatives showed president Obama over the past 8 years. "
We can start with a polite request for his birth certificate and college transcripts...
We can start with a polite request for his birth certificate and college transcripts...
13
Your brother, Kevin, raises a few good points. The constant refrain of hurting Muslim feelings didn't play well in Peoria.
But tell Kevin that someday he will wake up to find a collapsed economy, unbreathable air, contaminated water, and all the other 'liberal' issues that Republicans like to ignore. He won't have to remove his son from college; there won't be much left to salvage.
But tell Kevin that someday he will wake up to find a collapsed economy, unbreathable air, contaminated water, and all the other 'liberal' issues that Republicans like to ignore. He won't have to remove his son from college; there won't be much left to salvage.
5
The election is over and your family is enjoying its diet of spleen. No doubt the Republicans now have complete control of the government at every level and complete responsibility. Now let's see what they do with it. It is that alone which will determine whether electing Mr. Trump and putting the Republican's in power is or isn't a grave mistake.
Trump is a great salesman and we've bought what he was selling. Let's see if it works for his customers or is a lemon.
Trump is a great salesman and we've bought what he was selling. Let's see if it works for his customers or is a lemon.
199
Wow. This column makes me even more thankful for my family.
11
"Respect the office of the president." Like when you question whether or not he's foreign born? Or shouting "You lie!" during the state of the union? Or meeting immediately after the election to plan obstructionism? Gimme a break....
29
Kevin has won the confirmation of his own hate and prejudice, not mine. I would like to see him stand in front of the thousands of high schools students who experienced fear and confusion at school these past weeks. When a President elect speaks, kids listen, and so do their teachers. It was awful; explaining that what this President-elects says about groups of people in derogatory terms is not what we say or do at this school, or in our nation. We are better. You may feel victory now, Kevin, but it is hollow and brief. Again, please go speak at a high school. Talk with them about Western Civilization anytime. Each student will be exceedingly polite while you tell them to board a spaceship.
10
So attractive when the winners gloat and tell the losers to get over it. The losers are not going to get over it. When our current president won, we celebrated. The majority of us thought we had a chance to come together. Now the majority of us are freaking out because what we have just gotten is the antithesis of what half the country believes. Fair play, an even playing field, respect for a patchwork quilt nation, decency in actions and deeds.
I agree that every single person that voted for trump is not a racist sexist misanthropic Islamaphobe. But you got most of them. Happy Thanksgiving.
I agree that every single person that voted for trump is not a racist sexist misanthropic Islamaphobe. But you got most of them. Happy Thanksgiving.
14
Advising Clinton supporters to pull up their boot straps and they aren't special snowflakes is just as rude as booing poor Mike Pence at the theater. I guess the entire country is deplorable, then.
So will trump let you call him now? Or will he only let your boss and your brother call him?
So will trump let you call him now? Or will he only let your boss and your brother call him?
Consider how many people voted twice for Obama and then provided Trump with his margin of victory; consider, too, Obama's continued popularity.
Maybe that has something to do with Obama's vision of "no White America, no Black America." Obama didn't lecture his countrymen about "privilege"; he wears his skin color as an existential fact, not as a rebuke.
The entire Clinton campaign was run as a rebuke -- of the "Bernie bros," of the "cis-gendered," of America as the land of "institutional racism," of the unschooled "deplorables," and so forth, ad nauseum.
Now we'll have hell to pay. Thanks, but no thanks -- to the Kevins AND the Hillary-bots!
Maybe that has something to do with Obama's vision of "no White America, no Black America." Obama didn't lecture his countrymen about "privilege"; he wears his skin color as an existential fact, not as a rebuke.
The entire Clinton campaign was run as a rebuke -- of the "Bernie bros," of the "cis-gendered," of America as the land of "institutional racism," of the unschooled "deplorables," and so forth, ad nauseum.
Now we'll have hell to pay. Thanks, but no thanks -- to the Kevins AND the Hillary-bots!
1
Wait 4 years. They'll be sorry but they probably won't blame it on Trump. I'm sure they never blamed the decline of the middle class on REagan.
4
My condolences for your Thanksgiving. Please keep us posted on future Thanksgivings as your little basket of deplorables rationalize Trump's litany of horrors.
11
It appears now that the Clintons would rather there be an internal Civil War, a Constitutional Crisis (Gore re-boot) or another Cold War (WWlll) instead of letting Trump try his rather un-neoliberism/ conservative form of Government. This recount thing, as it unravels in the news, it beyond belief. Hopefully the real Republicans are better at being Republicans than the new Left is.
If HRC is Cersei - who is Trump? Ponder that before you spend too much time gloating. Winter is coming......
3
Mo. just wait and see what Kevin is saying in 6 months or a year. We have a lot to look forward to and from my perspective, not a very bright future. You do know don't you that when either party gets a majority in both houses and the White House, they usually - in their gloating - overreach and go bananas with bad legislation and get in al kinds of trouble with the non entities they have put in high office. And who knows how Trump will act when the full weight of the office hits his shoulders? He apparently listens and makes decisions from the last person he talks to or listens (??) to and then flip flops all over the place before landing on an answer. You will have plenty of time to deal with your brother. But I hope you don't cave to Trump. You just about used up all your snark on Obama and Hillary - do you have anything left to evaluate a real doofus?
6
Your brother, like so many Americans, are exasperatingly two-faced and misinformed. He projects almost as much as Trump does. Incivility, rudeness, lack of respect for the office, etc - the hallmarks of Gingrich, Guiliani, McConnell, Trump rallies... I could go on. The GOP runs on disrespect.
The upset of this election is not that the Dems lost, it's that the bad guys won. The biggest crook con won by calling his opponent a crook. And he largely won because guys like your brother believe fake news and don't bother to fact check if it feeds their views. The only consolation I have is that if it had gone the other way, the protests would involve guns and probably a lot more violence.
The upset of this election is not that the Dems lost, it's that the bad guys won. The biggest crook con won by calling his opponent a crook. And he largely won because guys like your brother believe fake news and don't bother to fact check if it feeds their views. The only consolation I have is that if it had gone the other way, the protests would involve guns and probably a lot more violence.
20
He trivializes everyone on the left in exactly the way he derides liberals for their scolding.
4
Can we please stop with the hate for Millennials? "[Young protestors] You might understand this better if you had not received participation trophies, undeserved grades to protect your feelings or even if you had a proper understanding of civics." Kevin (and others like him) do realize that the Millennials did not grow up in a vacuum, right? Who gave out those "participation trophies"? Who dolled out those "undeserved grades"? Who taught us "a proper understanding of civics"?
A part of me wonders if the election of Trump is a bit of a backlash against the Millennials. The Baby Boomers and Generation X screwed up the Millennials and now Trump, the strongman, is their attempt to "fix" us.
Good luck.
A part of me wonders if the election of Trump is a bit of a backlash against the Millennials. The Baby Boomers and Generation X screwed up the Millennials and now Trump, the strongman, is their attempt to "fix" us.
Good luck.
4
Meanwhile she criticises liberals for being upset that the winning candidate, who confessed on tape to molesting women, immediately appointed the leading mouthpiece of the alt-right movement as his right hand man. Her con-man in chief is already exploiting his newfound power to cash in as quickly as possible, sweeping aside conflict of interest as a quaint, irrelevant concept. (And she accuses Hillary of corruption?!). Supposedly we liberals only care so much because we received participation trophies as kids? Dowd slops around the insults like gravy.
Yes Maureen, we are upset, and no Maureen we won't just be quiet and go away. Many of us view this outcome as more than a win by a political party we don't support, we view it as a dangerous moment in history, during which we mean to resist descending any further into hate and authoritarianism. Maybe you'd like to join the fight, Maureen. Because history will judge us by whether we stand up to the likes of Bannon and the alt-right nazis or not.