The Trump Landslide
Presidential
landslides traditionally require a ten-point margin of victory in the
popular vote, but this year, political traditions don't matter.
President-Elect Trump has carried at least 28 of the 50 states, and if
the leads hold, he will have carried 30 of the 50 states, or 60
percent. This landslide includes states Democrats assumed were
reasonably solid for Hillary like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin.
Republicans will control the Senate without needing the tie-breaking vote of Vice President-Elect Pence, although the margin of control will depend upon the final count in New Hampshire. It will not matter, though, whether the majority is 52 seats or just 51, because in 2018, Democrats face the prospect of losing as many as a dozen seats because of the composition of the Senate class that year. This election required Republicans to defend seats in difficult states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, and New Hampshire. In 2018, not a single Republican Senate seat will be in jeopardy, which will give President Trump and the Republican Senate breathing room to act boldly.
The loss of only six seats in the House leaves House Republicans with 235 seats. Because Louisiana will have runoffs in two districts and Republicans are running ahead in two California districts still undeclared, it is likely that Republicans will end up with 237 seats, or a loss of only four. Reapportionment and redistricting after the 2020 election will almost certainly have Republicans even more firmly in control of redistricting of House and state legislative districts than ever before, which means that Republicans in the House will see their numbers grow after Trump wins re-election in 2020.
Republicans also gained governorships – either two or three, depending upon the North Carolina race, which is still undeclared. The leadership of state governments is overwhelmingly in Republican hands, and that advantage might well grow in the next general election.
State legislative races, which generally fall under the radar, also favored Republicans, who came out of the 2016 presidential election with more seats nationally than they had going in. In some instances, Republican gains in state legislatures are stunning. Republicans gained seats in both houses of the legislature in historically Democrat states like Illinois, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Washington. What these two electoral facts mean together is that Republicans have more dominance in state legislatures than at any time since the end of the Civil War.
The landslide is clear and complete. President Trump will have a Congress to implement his agenda; a Department of Justice that can now actually investigate the vast, corrupt sludge left by Obama and Hillary; a defeated establishment media whose hissing threats Trump can shrug off and even turn back on them; and state governments that can work hand in hand with him to reform American government and politics.
Perhaps, most of all, the Trump landslide is final proof that most Americans strongly dislike the tired, embittered relics of old, prune-faced feminism and the dull, repetitive parrots of the so-called "Civil Rights" movement. Indeed, this is the clearest repudiation imaginable of political correctness generally in America.
What ought we to hope of President Trump? Actually, it is quite simple: President Trump ought to do what he promised to do. He must appoint Supreme Court justices off the lists he announced. He ought to investigate fully the insidious machinations of corrupt federal agencies that have been used to defend guilty leftists and harass innocent conservatives. Those two actions are vitally important to the survival of our political system.
In terms of national policy, Trump ought to unleash the vast energy reserves of our nation and create good jobs and prosperity. He ought to enact immigration reform guided by our national self-interest first. President Trump should rebuild the military and use it wisely. He ought to seek improved relations with Russia, which could become a de facto ally in many areas. Trump should reform the tax code so that it is simpler and encourages economic activity.
The vistas are vast, and Trump has a chance to do precisely what his campaign slogan professes as its goal: make America great again. We all ought to pray that he does just that.
Republicans will control the Senate without needing the tie-breaking vote of Vice President-Elect Pence, although the margin of control will depend upon the final count in New Hampshire. It will not matter, though, whether the majority is 52 seats or just 51, because in 2018, Democrats face the prospect of losing as many as a dozen seats because of the composition of the Senate class that year. This election required Republicans to defend seats in difficult states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, and New Hampshire. In 2018, not a single Republican Senate seat will be in jeopardy, which will give President Trump and the Republican Senate breathing room to act boldly.
The loss of only six seats in the House leaves House Republicans with 235 seats. Because Louisiana will have runoffs in two districts and Republicans are running ahead in two California districts still undeclared, it is likely that Republicans will end up with 237 seats, or a loss of only four. Reapportionment and redistricting after the 2020 election will almost certainly have Republicans even more firmly in control of redistricting of House and state legislative districts than ever before, which means that Republicans in the House will see their numbers grow after Trump wins re-election in 2020.
Republicans also gained governorships – either two or three, depending upon the North Carolina race, which is still undeclared. The leadership of state governments is overwhelmingly in Republican hands, and that advantage might well grow in the next general election.
State legislative races, which generally fall under the radar, also favored Republicans, who came out of the 2016 presidential election with more seats nationally than they had going in. In some instances, Republican gains in state legislatures are stunning. Republicans gained seats in both houses of the legislature in historically Democrat states like Illinois, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Washington. What these two electoral facts mean together is that Republicans have more dominance in state legislatures than at any time since the end of the Civil War.
The landslide is clear and complete. President Trump will have a Congress to implement his agenda; a Department of Justice that can now actually investigate the vast, corrupt sludge left by Obama and Hillary; a defeated establishment media whose hissing threats Trump can shrug off and even turn back on them; and state governments that can work hand in hand with him to reform American government and politics.
Perhaps, most of all, the Trump landslide is final proof that most Americans strongly dislike the tired, embittered relics of old, prune-faced feminism and the dull, repetitive parrots of the so-called "Civil Rights" movement. Indeed, this is the clearest repudiation imaginable of political correctness generally in America.
What ought we to hope of President Trump? Actually, it is quite simple: President Trump ought to do what he promised to do. He must appoint Supreme Court justices off the lists he announced. He ought to investigate fully the insidious machinations of corrupt federal agencies that have been used to defend guilty leftists and harass innocent conservatives. Those two actions are vitally important to the survival of our political system.
In terms of national policy, Trump ought to unleash the vast energy reserves of our nation and create good jobs and prosperity. He ought to enact immigration reform guided by our national self-interest first. President Trump should rebuild the military and use it wisely. He ought to seek improved relations with Russia, which could become a de facto ally in many areas. Trump should reform the tax code so that it is simpler and encourages economic activity.
The vistas are vast, and Trump has a chance to do precisely what his campaign slogan professes as its goal: make America great again. We all ought to pray that he does just that.
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