I’m starting to have a complex view about the 2016 election. I really wanted Clinton to win. But, in hindsight, I’m seeing our reality versus the one where she wins.

1. In the reality she wins, Democrats are not in charge of the House or Senate. Republicans spend all of the time investigating Clinton. Due to apathy and the general disappointment that Democrats always feel after accomplishing something historic (the election of the first woman), Democrats get hammered in 2018, losing half of the 25 Senate seats they have to defend, pushing Republican majorities over 60. They get hammered again in 2020, leading to a Republican president with large majorities in both chambers.
2. In our reality, Trump wins, finally waking people the fuck up about what’s at stake. Even through gerrymandering, Democrats take one chamber, in part due to the large number of Republicans retiring. Democrats also reclaim a number of state governorships and legislatures. Investigations of Trump lead to further Republican losses in 2020, including the presidency.

There’s a growing part of me that thinks we needed this shitshow, and we got lucky that the asshole on top couldn’t think his way out of a paper bag, though he’d tell everyone he escaped easily.