Amid all the crying and handwringing and finger pointing over the election results, certainly there's been a few things for Democrats and progressives to find pleasure in. I'm going to list three and invite readers to add their own silver linings in the comments below.
1. Chris Christie's exit from the national stage, at least for now, brought to us by Gail Collins
If you want to look on the bright side, remember that however horrific you feel about what’s happening in Washington, Chris Christie feels worse.
Farewell, Chris Christie, farewell. We’ve said goodbye to his political career so many times — Bridgegate, the ever-plummeting New Jersey credit rating, the time he chased a heckler down the boardwalk waving an ice cream cone. The doomed presidential race. The humiliating stint standing behind Trump at press conferences, looking as if he’d been hit on the head with a mallet. Then he was exiled to the Trump transition when nobody actually imagined there was going to be one. Now it’s here, and he’s toast.
2. Bathroom guv Pat McCrory's desperation
The outcome of North Carolina's gubernatorial was still unclear at the time of this writing, but nothing has been more enjoyable than watching Pat McCrory—who signed legislation specifically designed to suppress black voters and hailed the repugnant HB2 law in his re-election bid—sweating bullets to deny the ostensible outcome of the election.
Really, no one is more deserving of his just desserts than McCrory. And nothing would be sweeter than watching him lose in a state that Donald Trump won by four points. Even lackluster campaigner GOP Sen. Richard Burr retained his seat in the Tar Heel State. McCrory's defeat amid Republicans' massive state gains nationally would be a stunning rebuke of his leadership after he specifically targeted people of color and transgender individuals for discrimination.
3. Alec Baldwin's four-year slot on Saturday Night Live
I wish it weren't so, but if we have to have Trump as president, we may as well have Alec Baldwin flaying him over the next four years. Baldwin couldn't be better as Trump, rivaling Tina Fey's brilliant portrayal of Sarah Palin in 2008. Also, love Kate McKinnon’s Kellyanne.
And better yet, Trump can't stand it—"nothing funny at all"!!!
So what say you, dear readers? Go ahead, take it away—lighten our collective load. ...