10 November 2016

Notes From Norm: We Are All On The Same Team

“We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.   –  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 11/9/2016

President-Elect Donald Trump.

Barely forty eight hours ago the notion that those words would be put together in a single sentence seemed far-fetched.

Yet, despite the prognostications of the “experts” and the near unanimous belief among the chattering political class that a “miracle” would need to take place for it to happen, Donald Trump has been elected to be America’s next President.

Perhaps the only person in America who was certain he would be elected President was Donald Trump himself.

Which, given his life journey and travels, seems appropriate.

It is not a secret that I declared many months ago that I would not cast my vote for Trump, or for Hillary Clinton.

Today, as a Republican, and more importantly, as an American, I congratulate Donald Trump on his victory.

The people of America have spoken.  I accept their verdict.

Donald Trump will be my President.

I stand ready to work with President-Elect Trump and a GOP Senate and House in moving America forward into the future.

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama stepped forward in accepting his victory and offered the gracious and generous remarks necessary for healing in America to begin.

Our President, Barack Obama, made it clear that he was committed to a peaceful transfer of power from his Administration to that of the Trump Administration just weeks from now.

Donald Trump tapped into a reservoir of unsettled American anxiety, fear and concern about the future of our country.

A reality that Democrat and Republican politicians have failed to understand and address.

The danger in continuing to do so will be a further unraveling of the confidence of Americans in their public institutions, particularly their government, at a time when the challenges facing our nation at home and abroad are growing more urgent every day.

The danger for Democrats is passing the results of this election off as nothing more than the disgruntled pleadings of angry, disaffected white Americans.

Or, worse yet, suggesting that the end result of the vote for President that elected Donald Trump was the sum total so-called “deplorables” who voted with hate in their hearts and vengeance in their souls.

If that is the take-away for Democrats, they will find their party further isolated from the American people and more likely than not to find themselves cast into the political wilderness for years to come.

The danger for Republicans is embracing Trump’s election, and the concrete hold on power in Washington with majorities in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, without doing what was promised to the American people.

Repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with a market driven affordable, accessible and effective health care plan is top on the list of many Americans.

So, too, is finding a comprehensive immigration reform policy that begins with securing America’s borders.

Unburdening America’s employers from massive regulations implemented over the past eight years will be a critical step to getting our stalled economy back into high gear – creating new jobs and elevating millions of Americans out of poverty.

Of course, filling a vacant Supreme Court vacancy with a nominee that will respect and uphold the Constitution will need to be a top priority of our new Republican President and Congress.

If Republicans fail to use the immense power they have gained at the ballot box they will not likely hold that power two years from now when Americans go to the polls in the mid-term elections.

The next few weeks will be busy ones for President-Elect Trump and his transition team as he pulls together his Administration.

Perhaps in these weeks the American people – those who cast their votes for Trump and those who cast their votes for Clinton – can catch their breath, reflect on our shared national priorities and commit to moving America forward.

And we can do so by reflecting on the powerful words shared by President Obama today in calling for Americans to come together and to get behind President-Elect Donald Trump.

“We’re not Democrats first, we’re not Republicans first. We’re Americans first, patriots first.”

“We’re all on the same team.”