I came out ahead on a gentlemen’s wager this week. I made it more than a year ago, right after the first Republican debate. Mr. Trump won and so did I. I was nervous near the end, but…

Not that I take a great deal of credit for the insight; rather, my insight came from two different lines of thought.

The first was via a retired Navy friend – Rob. Several years ago, years before Mr. Trump’s candidacy, Rob made an observation about Jesse Ventura’s election as governor of Minnesota.

His observation was that there’s an incredible amount of anger and frustration among the people of the US, that’s been growing slowly for decades, that they’re willing to elect a whole host of people to office if they show just a smidgeon of honesty, integrity and loyalty to the citizens as a whole, not to some ‘political machine.’ He further offered that voter turnout was routinely low because the people “out there” – the 100 million who don’t vote – feel they are going to get “taken to the cleaners” no matter who’s elected.

My own observations over the last 6 years confirm this; since 2010 I’ve made it a rule to drive everywhere (partly because of the chore air travel has become; partly because I love to drive around and meet people.) What I’ve observed is this: the citizenry’s discontent with the “establishment” – and their truly abysmal performance over the last 25 years (or more) – is approaching critical mass. Something had to give.

On Tuesday, November 8th, it did.

The Washington crowd doesn’t understand this. That’s why we hear them mutter: “Mr. Trump’s Bench is Weak,” inferring of course, that he needs to pick “smart, in-the-know Washington insiders” (i.e. them) as the key people in his administration.

But that’s precisely the point: it’s these same “brilliant people” who have created the $20 trillion debt, and dysfunctional departments that make nothing better, while spending inordinate amounts of money and creating thousands of regulations that make everyday living a chore: Agriculture, Education, Energy, EPA, the Fed, Interior, etc. Name one that is representative of the creativity, industriousness, efficiency and effectiveness of the American people?

There are numbers that tell the same story.

Pat Caddell, a Democrat pollster, who correctly called the election, has likened what is happening to the Jacksonian revolution of the 1820s (Jackson: our 7th President, 1829 – 1837). Caddell’s been tracking this ‘revolution’ for several years, and has copious numbers to support his conclusions:

Americans who are ‘in revolt’ (peacefully, but in revolt) against the system? 80%

Americans who feel we’re in decline; that our children will be worse off than we are? Almost 70%

Americans who believe there are different rules for those on top? 84%

An exit poll by Reuters/Ipsos this last week (taken from 10,000 voters) showed:

75% agree: “America needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful.”

72% agree: “the American economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful.”

68% agree: “traditional parties and politicians don’t care about people like me.”

76% believe: “mainstream media is more interested in making money than telling the truth.”

The power of the supremely arrogant in-crowd in Washington and in academia, who regard Mr. Trump as a rube and a poltroon, a deplorable ninny elected by deplorable ninnies, is based on a simple lie, the lie of their expertise. The truth is the vast majority of these incredibly credentialed folks in Washington aren’t really experts in a damned thing. The citizenry now know this.

So, here’s what happened: the citizenry sent a message they want their country back.

For the average American, there’s hope that Mr. Trump will do exactly what he said he would, and that we’ll get our country back. If he doesn’t, if he is seduced by the power and the horrible corruption of the halls of government, then someday our nation may come apart at the seams. Let’s pray that doesn’t happen, pray Mr. Trump remembers who he works for, pray he remembers why he was sent to Washington.

For now, the 80% have won; the country has a president who isn’t part of the mess and incompetence that is Washington. He has a few years to start to make some changes. But he needs to remember two things: 1) he needs to stick to his promises; and 2) the ‘brilliant people’ with all the ‘experience’ are the people who got us into this mess; they are NOT part of the solution.

Copyright 2016 Arrias
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