Donald Trump’s upset presidential victory could be the result of the “pendulum” nature of U.S. politics, a San Diego State University political science lecturer said Wednesday.
“We’ve got this sort of pendulum thing going in American politics where we elect a progressive or liberal Democrat and then swing back on the other end of it a few terms later and elect a polar opposite,” James Ingram of SDSU told City News Service.
“There’s a pattern of electing people and not letting them accomplish anything, and then kicking them out of office because nothing got done,” Ingram said.
The U.S. presidency has swung in eight-year cycles from Democrat Bill Clinton to Republican George W. Bush to Democrat Barack Obama, who will hand over power to Trump in January.
Ingram said Hillary Clinton probably didn’t deserve blame for the country’s problems, but her timing may not have been good after having served as secretary of state in Obama’s first term.
“It was probably going to be difficult for her to run as a candidate who was going to change things at a time when there were a number of people who felt as if the country was on the wrong track,” he said. “Wrapping herself in Barack Obama might not necessarily have been the ideal thing to do, although it probably would have been difficult for her to run against that.”
Many of the votes cast in the “negative-based” election were likely against the candidate from the other major party, Ingram said. He said with moderates being drummed out of both the Democratic and Republican parties, you get candidates acceptable to one side and an “anathema” to the other.
Via Twitter, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said, “America has given us our next president. When the president is successful our country is successful, and I sincerely hope that President-elect Trump will now act as a unifying force that brings our nation together.
San Diegans want Washington to focus on supporting our local defense industry, innovation sectors and binational economy,” Faulconer said. “It is now time to move past the divisive rhetoric that defined this election and work together for the good of the American people.”
San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate, a Republican, told CNS that he was shocked by Trump’s victory.
“I didn’t expect this type of victory from him, and I think people need to start coming to terms with a President Trump and figure out the best way to get things done through the legislative process in (Washington,) D.C.,” Cate said.
His Democratic colleague, Todd Gloria, called the presidential result “disappointing.”
“We’re a better country than Donald Trump,” Gloria said. “I’m just grateful we live in California, which I think will continue to lead on progressive issues, which will become more important now than ever.”
Gloria won an Assembly seat Tuesday night.
Alliance San Diego, which advocates on immigrant rights issues, issued a statement that said the time has come “to put aside the empty rhetoric and promises and begin the serious task of working together for the betterment of the country. The president is not a king, and Alliance San Diego stands ready to work with the three branches of government to create policies that reflect the values of a 21st-century society, where all people are treated with dignity and respect.
That change starts in San Diego, where we have the opportunity to bring about meaningful change that affects our daily lives,” the statement said. “We are committed to working with all of our elected officials to build a San Diego — and a nation — where everybody can live to their full potential in an environment of harmony, safety, equality, and justice.”
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly called for a wall on the U.S. southern border to keep people from entering the country illegally, tighter enforcement of immigration laws and deporting undocumented migrants.
–City News Service
