Editorials from around New England

Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from New England newspapers:

The (Waterbury) Republican-American (Conn.), Nov. 9, 2016

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, forecast to defeat Republican Donald Trump handily, found the road to Election Night victory unexpectedly bumpy Tuesday night. At press time, the presidential outcome - usually resolved by then - remained undetermined.

But there was good news for Republicans nonetheless. By 9:15, the GOP had secured two more years of control of the House of Representatives, though they may have lost at least 10 seats.

It also appeared they would retain control of the Senate, with some races yet to be called. Victories by Republicans Todd Young in Indiana, Marco Rubio in Florida, Richard Burr in North Carolina, Ron Johnson in Wisconsin and Rob Portman in Ohio - all viewed as vulnerable - narrowed the Democrats’ path to Senate control.

If Republicans come away from this hard-fought election with majorities in both houses of Congress, they’ll control the president’s purse and force her - or him - to practice ideological moderation in choosing nominees for Cabinet posts, judgeships and U.S. Supreme Court seats.

To the surprise of no one in the real world, all six Democratic Congress members from Connecticut - Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and Reps. John B. Larson, Joseph Courtney, Rosa L. DeLauro, James Himes and Elizabeth H. Esty - won re-election without a nail-biter in the bunch. So, for at least two more years, Connecticut’s entire congressional delegation will endure minority status, which limits members’ ability to serve constituents.

The Republican-American endorsed two of the Democratic incumbents, Rep. Esty in the 5th District and Rep. Himes in the 4th, and declined to endorse in two other races, citing inadequate preparation and effort by GOP nominees.

Meanwhile, the state Republican Party focused on putting strong candidates on the Connecticut House and Senate ballots this year, and the effort yielded some gains - and increased GOP representation in the Senate by as many as three members, pending final results.

A similar effort in the U.S. House and Senate contests in 2018 has potential to bring similar results, especially if some of the delegation’s aging incumbents decide to call it a career.

More than a few analysts predicted the angry, intemperate campaign waged by Mr. Trump would pull down congressional and state Republicans. That seems not to have come to pass, and has to encourage GOP leaders as they begin to map their strategy for 2018.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2fFBHHK

The Portland Press Herald (Maine), Nov. 10, 2016

Sometimes important moments in history can be seen only in hindsight. It can take time to know just when the tide turned and to identify the decisive factor.

We hope that this election will prove to be one of those moments when we tell the story of women in American politics. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s race for the White House did not succeed, but it could make the path easier for the next woman who tries to become the first female president.

At the very least, this campaign exposed deep divisions over gender politics in this country that will not be forgotten when the last votes are counted.

Being a woman didn’t have anything to do with Clinton’s success. Her life in the political arena, as a lawyer, first lady, senator, secretary of state and two-time presidential candidate, gave her an unmatched resume in modern times. She has worked harder, studied more deeply and fought through more adversity than any other figure on the political scene.

But there is no question that being a woman has made her struggle much harder. Starting with her law school entrance exam, where she was heckled by male students who accused her of taking a man’s place, Clinton has had to overcome hurdles only faced by women.

As a public figure she has been held to standards that her male opponents didn’t face. Her hair and clothing are analyzed as intensely as her policy proposals. She is called “shrill” when she raises her voice, while men are described as “passionate.”

This is partly a problem of novelty. We have a clear image of how powerful men are supposed to look and act, but we don’t have the same experience with a woman, at least not on this level. After this election, that will not be true anymore.

It’s sometimes hard to determine how much of Clinton’s difficulties came from her own missteps in decades of public life. But a clear double standard was in evidence when she was compared to Donald Trump during this campaign.

He repeatedly makes provably false statements while still getting higher poll ratings than her for trustworthiness. His history of demeaning and exploiting women, including a tape where he bragged about sexual bullying, was put out to the public, but it did not cost him the election. Clinton’s use of a private computer became the focus of unprecedented public speculation by investigators that clearly hurt her, even though no wrongdoing has been uncovered.

Clinton did not break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling, but her historic campaign still matters. For the last year, every boy and girl has been able to look at a woman and see a plausible occupant of the world’s most powerful office.

It will take time to see how Clinton’s near miss will affect the next woman who shoots for this goal. We hope that we can look back at this election as the moment when things finally started to change.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2eWgLsa

The (Lynn) Daily Item (Mass.), Nov. 10, 2016

The crying and cheering over Tuesday’s election results has barely faded away but it’s time to take a breath and remember veterans and the significance of pausing even for a few minutes on Friday to salute them.

The outcry and consternation that defined the presidential election season fittingly starts to fade in time for Americans to remember the sacrifice made by thousands of men and women serving overseas and stationed in military bases around the country.

There are a lot of reasons why people end up in the military. Some need the discipline the military provides to instill direction and discipline in their lives. Others come from a long line of family members who served and fought, and still others look at the American flag and ask, “Am I doing my part to keep it flying?”

The reasons may vary but the sacrifice service entails does not change. Fourteen years of war have taken the lives of America’s veterans and consigned others to lifetimes of crippling injuries, including ones not immediately obvious to the casual eye.

Servicemen and women who fought for their country half a world away because they recognized the threat of global terrorism are now looking for jobs, searching for housing and trying to consign the pain and terror they experienced while serving to a remote corner in their psyche.

America has not always treated its veterans with respect. It answered the Bonus Marchers’ pleas for recognition with military force and it spat on Vietnam veterans when they came home from Southeast Asia.

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have fared better. But their real needs, the ones that need to be met when these men and women are in their 60s and 70s, represent an obligation the country must be prepared to shoulder.

Individually and as a nation, we entrust into the hands of military personnel a huge obligation. We charge them with responsibility to protect us from enemies intent on our destruction and the end to the freedom the United States represents. Implicit in that charge is the understanding that they may make the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

We pledge to help them once their service ends but our history is riddled with instances in which we paid lip service to this promise. Friday is Veterans Day, a day to relegate the election season to memory and concentrate on the service and sacrifice made by American veterans and their comrades currently serving in the military.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2fUQsI0

The Portsmouth Herald (N.H.), Nov. 10, 2016

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be well within their rights to feel bitter after the brutal 2016 presidential campaign.

Both were savaged by their political opponents and neither hesitated to fight back and fight back hard.

And yet, in their final campaign speeches, both candidates struck conciliatory notes and both called for unity.

We greatly appreciate their calls for calm, mutual respect and unity at a time when so many Americans are feeling deep unease about the state of the nation.

In his victory speech at around 3 a.m. Wednesday, President-elect Trump congratulated Secretary Clinton for her hard fought campaign and for her years of public service.

“Hillary has worked very long and vary hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country,” Trump said.

In turn, during her concession speech a few hours later Clinton noted: “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”

In his victory speech Trump indirectly referenced Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, when he said: “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division . to come together as one united people.”

Lincoln gave his second inaugural address in the waning months of The Civil War, four years of bloody massacre in which brother took up arms against brother and the nation was nearly destroyed. In that same address Lincoln also uttered the profound phrase: “With malice toward none, with charity for all ..” to describe his approach to the Confederacy.

If we live the phrase “with malice toward none, with charity for all,” we have a shot at restoring some semblance of unity among the American people.

Many will suggest that it is naïve to think that President Trump will behave differently than candidate Trump.

But in her concession speech Secretary Clinton gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans,” Clinton said.

Trump vowed to do just that.

“Ours was not a campaign, but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their families,” Trump said. “It’s a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs who want and expect our government to serve the people.”

“The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” Trump said.

The American people have chosen their next leader. It is our deepest hope that under President Trump, “Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential,” as he vowed in his victory speech.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2fFZ1kY

The Providence Journal (R.I.), Nov. 9, 2016

It has been hard to believe from the start that Donald Trump, a reality TV star and real estate mogul known for his absurd bragging and gossip-magazine lifestyle, could be a serious candidate for president. He entered the race with zero experience in elected politics and little knowledge of policy details. And his impulsive and deeply offensive pronouncements would have doomed anyone else.

The former Democrat’s astonishing takeover of the Republican Party, shoving aside far more experienced candidates who had demonstrated significant success as governors and senators, was shocking enough. But his unexpected run of the table in key states Tuesday night, propelling him into the presidency, is a sign that the United States has come unmoored from its traditions.

Indeed, his rise in the face of intense opposition from the political establishment represents one of the most staggering events in American history.

What this outcome means for us as citizens has yet to be seen.

One thing is clear. Mr. Trump tapped into the feelings registered by a large majority of Americans that the country is going in the wrong direction. His candidacy presented an opportunity for many in key states to kick the table over, expressing their anger and disgust with those in charge.

The unexpected force of the Trump movement says something about America in 2016 that we all would be wise to consider. Large numbers of citizens are hurting. The middle class - battered by international economic trends that no one can stop - feels under attack. Many believe that special interests and wealthy elites have usurped the system to serve their own ends. To some, the end of long-held traditions in the world’s greatest republic seems frightening and disorienting. A large enough number of voters in key states were willing to gamble on a TV celebrity who at least articulated their concerns.

The electoral map shifted markedly, as Rust Belt states won recently by Democrats went to the Republican. Mr. Trump essentially recaptured the Reagan Democrats, middle-class working people who have had enough.

The results are disappointing and disturbing for those of us who strongly supported Hillary Clinton, not only for her exceptional skills, temperament and experience but also as a symbol of a changing world. She would have been the first woman president, something that would have had an influence well beyond politics. With a woman occupying the highest political office, girls everywhere would recognize that there are no limits to their professional ambitions.

Though she appeared to narrowly capture the popular vote, her victory was not to be.

Much of what Mr. Trump has flamboyantly promised shows little or no chance of becoming a reality - not just because of opposition from Democrats in Congress, but from Republicans as well (who captured control of both the House and Senate Tuesday night). Mr. Trump will have to woo both sides of the aisle. More than half the country’s voters rejected him. But he will enter office with the support of Americans frustrated with the status quo.

There will be little public appetite for continued partisanship, vitriolic rhetoric and the excessive use of executive orders that have marked recent presidencies. The incivility he showed during the campaign would not wear well in the presidency, something he seemed to recognize in delivering a comparatively humble and inclusive victory speech.

It is important to remember that the founders created a system that frustrates power and makes it difficult for any demagogue to act independently. The public still rules through the ballot box and through its elected representatives, who have powers to thwart unjust or un-American conduct. The courts still have a say on rule of law.

We’ve been through many challenges in this country’s history. Though we are disappointed, we wish Mr. Trump and the new Congress well in dealing with some of the greatest difficulties America has ever confronted.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2fAL6hc

The Bennington Banner (Vt.), Nov. 9, 2016

What would have happened if Alabama Gov. George Wallace had won the White House in 1968?

We’re about to find out.

Wallace and Donald Trump have a lot in common, after all. Populists? Check. Bigots? Check. Loved by underemployed, angry middle-aged white males who saw them as truth-telling outsiders? Check.

It seems inexplicable that a man such as Trump, who campaigned his way to the White House by impersonating a professional wrestling heel, should have defeated a candidate as smart and capable as Hillary Clinton in 2016. But that’s exactly what has happened. Trump bullied his opponents and the media and played to the xenophobia, bigotry, misogyny and anger of his base. And they voted for him with both hands.

But before we write the obituaries for the Affordable Care Act, the Environmental Protection Agency, several amendments to the Constitution and the social safety net, among other things, it’s time for people who think that’s the wrong direction for this nation to start doing some hard work. It starts now.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who might have defeated Trump had he won the Democratic nomination, will be in Manchester on Nov. 22. One can only imagine how fired up he will be given this turn of events.

In two years, when the next round of federal elections take place, it will take a monumental effort to change government where it matters most and where it has failed most spectacularly — in Congress.

There are a lot of people feeling abandoned by their country following the election - Latinos, Muslims, African-Americans, labor unions, moderate and mainstream Republicans who saw through Trump’s populism, and certainly women. They all share at least one thing: They’ve all been targeted by Trump and the angry, ugly “alt-right” movement that put him in power and even horrified many notable Republicans.

As a nation, we have shamefully allowed ourselves to tune each other out, narrow casting our lives and our social media feeds to reflect how we feel, how we think, what we look like, who we love, what music we listen to, etc. It’s easy. It’s comfortable. And it’s a recipe for disaster, as we now know all too well.

On the nation’s Great Seal are the words “E Pluribus Unum” — Latin for “out of many, one.” That was what the founders had in mind when they based the Declaration of Independence on the self-evident truth that all are created equal.

The politics of “them” has won this round, but we know better. We know there can be no “them” if this nation is to live up to its potential. And until we realize there is no “them,” only us - as in U.S. - then our troubles are just beginning.

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Online:

https://bit.ly/2fUZOU7