Their position, their platform and their pomposity may make them believe that they have some special powers to divine truth, justice, or even what the American way should be. However, the truth is that they put their pants and pantsuits on just like you or me.
We heard from politicians from both parties, political pundits, so-called journalists, pollsters and celebrities for almost two years that it wasn't possible for Donald Trump to be elected President. You even heard it from me at the beginning of his quest. I praised the message but questioned the messenger and his methods. I saw the error of my ways as the Primary season ended. The results were hard to argue with.
This is an entertaining video retrospective of some of those who laughed at the prospects of a Trump presidency. Who is laughing now? It is worth the three minutes...for a laugh...or two...or three.
Click here if you cannot open the video in your browser.
If you did not know it before, you should know it now. The Establishment Elite is a myth.
Two other examples of why it is a myth are found in two gentlemen who I follow on Twitter. Neither would be considered to be part of any definition of the Establishment Elite. However, both have proven just how big the myth of the establishment elite is These guys have proven wiser and more resourceful than anyone that I can think of. And both of them did it without even leaving their home.
@phillyrich1 (Rich Weinstein)
Most people in the United States had never heard of Professor Jonathan Gruber, the self-professed architect of Obamacare, until Rich Weinstein became upset when he lost the health plan he liked and found that the replacement plan cost twice as much. Weinstein was a "nobody" investment advisor living in Philadelphia who decided to do his own research on the "architects" of the law.
He found a treasure trove of material on statements that Gruber made in conferences about how some aspects of the law were purposely manipulated and cited "the stupidity of the American voter" as a key element in getting the law passed.
“This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure the CBO did not score the mandate as taxes,” said Gruber. “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. Call it the stupidity of the America voter, or whatever.”
Was this story broken by anybody from the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN or the major networks---the so-called media elite? No. It was Rich Weinstein who described himself this way to Bloomberg Politics back in 2014.
“I’m an investment adviser,” Weinstein tells me from his home near Philadelphia. “I’m a nobody. I’m the guy who lives in his mom’s basement wearing a tinfoil hat.” (He's joking about the mom and the tinfoil.)
Make no mistake, The Affordable Care Act is a terrible piece of legislation. It has failed and fallen due to its own inadequacies. However, were it not for Rich Weinstein we would not have the full measure of the back room contortions, concealments and conniving that led to its passage.
Thank you, Rich.
The myth of the establishment elite.
@mitchellvii (Bill Mitchell)
The arc of Bill Mitchell's story is not much different. Mitchell has his own executive recruiting firm that he runs out of his home in Charlotte, NC.
Mitchell decided very early that he was on the Trump Train and he never looked back. I became aware of Bill early in the primary season as I came across his optimistic and unrelenting tweets about the power of the Trump candidacy. I was skeptical at first but I came to see that Mitchell was not often wrong. This was despite taking increasing incoming barrages from political pollsters and pundits that trolled him continually that he did not know what he was talking about.
All the while, Mitchell never wavered and never waffled. Witness this tweet from September.
Charley Warzel of BuzzFeed.com did a profile of Mitchell three weeks before election day that catalogues what many of the naysayers were saying about him. Frank Luntz was one of those that seemed to take particular pleasure in telling Bill he did not know anything about statistics or polling.
Of course, that is that same Frank Luntz who also tweeted this out early on Election Night.
To his credit, Luntz ate a little humble pie the day after the election. However, I don't believe that Michael Moore had exactly figured this out the same way that Bill Mitchell did.
Donald Trump may have won without Bill Mitchell's tweetstorm of support. However, he was an indispensable and consistent beacon of hope to those Trump supporters who were deluged with biased reporting and unbalanced polls throughout the campaign.
Thank you, Bill.
The myth of the establishment elite.
God bless people like Rich Weinstein and Bill Mitchell.
They make me proud to be an American.
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