The Patriot Post® · Monday Short Cuts

For the record: “All the data points to a few things. Trump’s policies are broadly popular. The nation just ensured a Republican Senate can block President Biden. The nation rewarded Republicans who would advance the President’s agenda down to the state level. The President himself was a flawed and undisciplined messenger for his message, and the nation rejected him. Likewise, the nation rejected the progressive agenda that many Democrats want Biden to pursue.” —Erick Erickson

The bottom line: “There are a thousand pitfalls he could have avoided if he weren’t so self-involved and undisciplined. No single one of them made the difference, but cumulatively they blighted his presidency and made him radioactive in the suburbs. No one should want to repeat them, and the party should never again get behind such a flawed personal figure. Nevertheless, Trump points to a viable GOP future even if he comes up short. He posted startling gains among Latino voters. This shows it’s possible to imagine a working-class-oriented Republican Party that isn’t a demographic dead end, but genuinely crosses racial lines, even if this potential is still inchoate.” —Rich Lowry

Observations: “Perhaps it was inevitable that Donald Trump’s re-election campaign would end as his Presidency began: with the President claiming victory and his frenzied antagonists denouncing him as a would-be fascist.” —The Wall Street Journal

Exactly: “After enduring four years of corporate media and congressional Democrats peddling lies, half-truths, and false narratives, Donald Trump voters will never believe a Joe Biden victory was lawfully achieved.” —Margot Cleveland

Tongue-in-cheek: “If there is anything we can learn from this phenomenal run of good luck for Biden, it’s that there is no meritocracy in politics. So, never give up on that unearned confidence, no matter how often history proves you wrong. Never let your risible knowledge of the world or decades of blunders stop you from chasing that dream. Just keep cynically repositioning yourself. Keep saying things emphatically — it doesn’t matter what. And with a lot of luck, you, too, might become president someday.” —David Harsanyi

Non compos mentis: “I think Joe Biden has a big mandate. A bigger mandate than John F. Kennedy when I was in school.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Grand delusions: “The voters have spoken, and they have chosen @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris to be our next president and vice president. It’s a history-making ticket, a repudiation of Trump, and a new page for America. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.” —Hillary Clinton

Epic blunder: “Now we take Georgia and then we change America.” —Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer getting out the Republican vote in the Peach State

Partisan hack: “I’m going to be spending my next couple of months doing everything that I can to extend help and offer support to the work of fantastic leaders that we just heard from, like Stacey Abrams, to make sure that we don’t have a Republican Senate majority, that we win these races in Georgia, that we secure a Democratic Senate majority, so that we don’t have to negotiate.” —Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Trump Derangement Syndrome, Part I: “[Trump voters] have revealed themselves for the racists that they are, the tribalists that they are. … It’s almost a level of fanaticism that I’ve only seen in cult groups and Middle East terrorist groups.” —MSNBC contributor Malcolm Nance to Bill Maher

TDS, Part II: “F—k Donald Tromp [sic] and every American citizen, celebrity, white woman, black man, ETC who supported him burnnnnnnnnnn.” —Janelle Monáe

TDS, Part III: “Kind of terribly sad how close this election was. After this year and especially this summer it should’ve been a landslide. I don’t get it. Truly.” —Demi Lovato

TDS, Part IV: “The closeness of this election is showing just how many decided racism is ‘not a big deal.’” —Wesley Snipes

TDS, Part V: “Let’s remember that tens of millions of people voted for the status quo, even when it meant supporting lies, hate, chaos, and division. We’ve got a lot of work to do to reach out to these folks in the years ahead and connect with them on what unites us.” —Michelle Obama

And last… “Very excited to hear about unity from Joe Biden, the leader of the same party in which major figures now call for complete political acquiescence on penalty of being placed on an enemies list.” —Ben Shapiro