What a ride...what are we learning? think back to the horrors of 2000 and 2004.

[NRaleighLiberal]

Contrast it with the unabashed joy of 2008 (especially) and 2012 (not quite as joyous because we knew of the right wing platform - obstruct everything, make Obama fail).

Some of my takeaways:

When they show the blue/red voting maps, it is shocking to me - the huge swaths of drown the government red out there, area-wise.

Advertising works (I seem to say that a lot here on DU) - but it does. If you have infinite money to scream lies in ads, enough people will believe it to make them vote against their own interests. Hence Citizens United was absolutely toxic.

It is just amazing to believe that many candidates can possibly be elected - I guess people see what they want to see, or the whole "one issue voter" thing is extremely powerful.

We live in an age of media driven constant fear - and that fear drives behavior, including politics. We seem to be a scared shitless country right now. The irony is that if they want to be safe, they are putting the wrong people in power, for the most part.

For the most part, TV news - the MSM - is utterly useless, and simply tools that are only there to make money. They act like they are above it all - because at their income level, it really doesn't matter who wins or loses - they are insulated. Of course, most media is right wing owned, so there is that extra delight and twinkle in the eye of the right wing wins.

Overt or covert racism. It is there. It impacts elections.

That's just a few things that come to mind as I try to process how this election is shaking out.

But we've felt this before - we've experienced these lows, just as in the future, we will experience more highs.

But, still, it really sucks, doesn't it?

[k8conant]

1. Yes, it really sucks.

I have a hard time wrapping my mind around what leads people to vote for most of the Republicans I see out there. There must be a lot of folks voting who have never even looked at the issues.

Here in West Virginia it's amazing how many people vote against themselves and their own best interests.

[world wide wally]

2. Education is the key and for America, we get our education from TV

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. So true.

[nc4bo]

4. It does indeed........

just damn it.

Citizens United? That's gotta go. It is at the root of so much of this chaos.

[adirondacker]

5. I'm only into season 2 of Mad Men

streaming on Netlflix, but can deduce the parallels fairly easily.

Corporate $ is the bottom line of how are government is operating. It needs to change drastically.