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Home US Election American Uprising

American Uprising

(This article first appeared at Front Page Magazine during the night of the election.)

This wasn’t an election. It was a revolution.

It’s midnight in America. The day before fifty million Americans got up and stood in front of the great iron wheel that had been grinding them down. They stood there even though the media told them it was useless. They took their stand even while all the chattering classes laughed and taunted them.

They were fathers who couldn’t feed their families anymore. They were mothers who couldn’t afford health care. They were workers whose jobs had been sold off to foreign countries. They were sons who didn’t see a future for themselves. They were daughters afraid of being murdered by the “unaccompanied minors” flooding into their towns. They took a deep breath and they stood.

They held up their hands and the great iron wheel stopped.

The Great Blue Wall crumbled. The impossible states fell one by one. Ohio. Wisconsin. Pennsylvania. Iowa. The white working class that had been overlooked and trampled on for so long got to its feet. It rose up against its oppressors and the rest of the nation, from coast to coast, rose up with it.

They fought back against their jobs being shipped overseas while their towns filled with migrants that got everything while they got nothing. They fought back against a system in which they could go to jail for a trifle while the elites could violate the law and still stroll through a presidential election. They fought back against being told that they had to watch what they say. They fought back against being held in contempt because they wanted to work for a living and take care of their families.

They fought and they won.

This wasn’t a vote. It was an uprising. Like the ordinary men chipping away at the Berlin Wall, they tore down an unnatural thing that had towered over them. And as they watched it fall, they marveled at how weak and fragile it had always been. And how much stronger they were than they had ever known.

Who were these people? They were leftovers and flyover country. They didn’t have bachelor degrees and had never set foot in a Starbucks. They were the white working class. They didn’t talk right or think right. They had the wrong ideas, the wrong clothes and the ridiculous idea that they still mattered.

They were wrong about everything. Illegal immigration? Everyone knew it was here to stay. Black Lives Matter? The new civil rights movement. Manufacturing? As dead as the dodo. Banning Muslims? What kind of bigot even thinks that way? Love wins. Marriage loses. The future belongs to the urban metrosexual and his dot com, not the guy who used to have a good job before it went to China or Mexico.

They couldn’t change anything. A thousand politicians and pundits had talked of getting them to adapt to the inevitable future. Instead they got in their pickup trucks and drove out to vote.

And they changed everything.

Barack Hussein Obama boasted that he had changed America. A billion regulations, a million immigrants, a hundred thousand lies and it was no longer your America. It was his.

He was JFK and FDR rolled into one. He told us that his version of history was right and inevitable.

And they voted and left him in the dust. They walked past him and they didn’t listen. He had come to campaign to where they still cling to their guns and their bibles. He came to plead for his legacy.

And America said, “No.”

Fifty millions Americans repudiated him. They repudiated the Obamas and the Clintons. They ignored the celebrities. They paid no attention to the media. They voted because they believed in the impossible. And their dedication made the impossible happen.

Americans were told that walls couldn’t be built and factories couldn’t be opened. That treaties couldn’t be unsigned and wars couldn’t be won. It was impossible to ban Muslim terrorists from coming to America or to deport the illegal aliens turning towns and cities into gangland territories.

It was all impossible. And fifty million Americans did the impossible. They turned the world upside down.

It’s midnight in America. CNN is weeping. MSNBC is wailing. ABC calls it a tantrum. NBC damns it. It wasn’t supposed to happen. The same machine that crushed the American people for two straight terms, the mass of government, corporations and non-profits that ran the country, was set to win.

Instead the people stood in front of the machine. They blocked it with their bodies. They went to vote even though the polls told them it was useless. They mailed in their absentee ballots even while Hillary Clinton was planning her fireworks victory celebration. They looked at the empty factories and barren farms. They drove through the early cold. They waited in line. They came home to their children to tell them that they had done their best for their future. They bet on America. And they won.

They won improbably. And they won amazingly.

They were tired of ObamaCare. They were tired of unemployment. They were tired of being lied to. They were tired of watching their sons come back in coffins to protect some Muslim country. They were tired of being called racists and homophobes. They were tired of seeing their America disappear.

And they stood up and fought back. This was their last hope. Their last chance to be heard.

Watch this video. See ten ways John Oliver destroyed Donald Trump. Here’s three ways Samantha Bee broke the internet by taunting Trump supporters. These three minutes of Stephen Colbert talking about how stupid Trump is owns the internet. Watch Madonna curse out Trump supporters. Watch Katy Perry. Watch Miley Cyrus. Watch Robert Downey Jr. Watch Beyonce campaign with Hillary. Watch. Click.

Watch fifty million Americans take back their country.

The media had the election wrong all along. This wasn’t about personalities. It was about the impersonal. It was about fifty million people whose names no one except a server will ever know fighting back. It was about the homeless woman guarding Trump’s star. It was about the lost Democrats searching for someone to represent them in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It was about the union men who nodded along when the organizers told them how to vote, but who refused to sell out their futures.

No one will ever interview all those men and women. We will never see all their faces. But they are us and we are them. They came to the aid of a nation in peril. They did what real Americans have always done. They did the impossible.

America is a nation of impossibilities. We exist because our forefathers did not take no for an answer. Not from kings or tyrants. Not from the elites who told them that it couldn’t be done.

The day when we stop being able to pull of the impossible is the day that America will cease to exist.

Today is not that day. Today fifty million Americans did the impossible.

Midnight has passed. A new day has come. And everything is about to change.





Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article previously appeared at the Center's Front Page Magazine.

Thank you for reading.

Comments

  1. Ah! Ah, I love you again and again, Daniel!
    There are so many quotes in this to share!

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  2. Anonymous13/11/16

    Beautiful piece, Mr. Greenfield! Thank you. Thank you. Thank YOU!

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  3. They told this white suburban college educated woman that I was voting for Hillary Clinton. I repeatedly said, "NO, NO, NO!" And I prayed! I prayed God's sovereign will, whether it was going to be Hillary or Trump and then I said, please God have mercy on us, don't let Hillary win! And He didn't!

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    Replies
    1. You said it, sister! I agree 1000%

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  4. All I can say after reading this incredible article is "Wow".

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  5. I’m stunned!!! It said exactly what I would write if I had talent and patience to write it!!! Amazing, unbelievable and very talented.
    Love it!!!

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  6. Anonymous13/11/16

    The entire media, celebrity, preaching class have blasted counter to common sense and decency for decades, even the lifetime of many. How could a parent's or isolated teacher's voice count against "everybody says"? This steadfast resolve, unreported and uncredited, pushed the courageous to victory.

    The smug liars whose faces still besmirch the screen think we'll come back to them. We've been gone for years, and their levers of power lie in splinters. Nobody that counts believes, or even listens to the prettyboys and prettygirls on teleprompter.

    America has already begun being great again.

    ABSJ1136

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  7. Anonymous13/11/16

    I remember the smell of oil as I drove through Pennsylvania for the first time years ago, upon arrival from Ireland. I remembered it again when I visited Oil City years later while helping to integrate Quaker State Oil and Pennzoil, from Texas. I remember many amazing normal Americans I worked with and who I hoisted a bevy or two with through all the hard work.

    I remember the West Virginian coal miners I rubbed shoulders with at a football game or three. I remember the unholy in Green Bay, Wisconsin while fulfilling one of my life’s dreams of attending a Packer game and I know my fiancé’s family in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the time I attended my only Buckeye game in Columbus, Ohio and again looked true Americans in the eye and shared a joke or four.

    You all reminded me of myself and I knew it was because my Irish antecedent’s blood was present in many of you. Through the unnaturally un-American Barry Soetoro plantation of the White House I wondered why y’all y’all tolerated the most pathetic excuse that masqueraded as an American leader, with so little protest.

    The states I’ve emphasized were the backbone of American industry along with a few others and I couldn’t fathom why they voted Democrat so often thus contributing to the ever-worsening decimation of American manufacturing and energy production and subsequently the welfare of the Christian American nuclear family – the platform on which America achieved its greatness. Couldn’t y’all see that Barry was hell bent on replacing you with his own ilk, an ilk that hates American and Americans, just like he and Mooch do? I just couldn’t fathom it. I just didn’t understand it. It all changed last Tuesday though. You came to the rescue of America, when she needed it the most – Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and folk from Appalachia. You forgotten Americans.

    Better late than never. It was y’all y’all that turfed “Dodging Bullets” Clinton and shone the light of retribution on Barry and dragged his true legacy into the sunlight – finally. There was a crack in his posture, which I recognized every time I saw his tele-prompter act - a crack that let the light shine in. I hope all true Americans understand how close you all were to the precipice and say “Never Again” to electing another fraud of Barry’s proportions. You are not forgotten any longer.

    I love America every bit as much as I love my own country and I love Israel; I will spill my blood for you as quickly as I will for my own. The collapse of Europe under the weight of islamic invasion portends horrible things for Ireland. Israel, against incredible odds has held it at bay despite Barry’s treachery and Trump’s promise of support will strengthen the incredible courage she displays in the face of stupendous odds every day. I hope we Irish can manage the same. We survived a famine that halved our population, through starvation and enforced emigration, in the middle of the nineteenth century and we survived the Brits – it will be tougher repelling the moslim hordes.

    Another brilliant piece, Daniel.

    The Irishman.

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  8. Brilliant article

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  9. Anonymous14/11/16

    The day when we stop being able to pull of the impossible is the day that America will cease to exist.

    "Of" should be "off".

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  10. Yes, it was done by the grace of God and must keep going by the grace of God. Pray.

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  11. Anonymous14/11/16

    Great article...I enjoyed reading it and would love to share it on FB...thank you...thank you!

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  12. Anonymous14/11/16

    I was amazed Trump won. What I'd like to know is what percentage of the Democrack vote was fraudulent. Hopefully a Justice Dept. and F-I-B purged of Democrack and moslem collaborators will be able to conduct a real investigation not only into Shillariah's various crimes, but Democrack voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election.
    BTW, Mr. Greenfield, here in Caliphornia, we had the choice of two US senators in the 2016 election -- both of whom were Democrack. We could vote for any US senator to represent Caliphornia -- as long as they were Democrack. Stalin would be proud.

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  13. Infidel14/11/16

    It could be that the object of the protests is to create an excuse for a declaration of martial law.

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  14. Y. Ben-David14/11/16

    Another beautiful peace, However, there are a couple of important points to add. First of all, it must be remembered that Trump only got half of the vote. As many people opposed him as supported him. It is true that a revolution does not need, or often receive majority support. I recall hearing that John Adams said that, regarding the beginning of the American Revolution "one-third were for, one-third against and one-third neutral. The loses are not going to take their defeat lying down so those of us who support the new Republican administration must be on guard against allowing internal splits to weaken it and to intelligently, and compassionately, bring at least part of the opposition around to supporting our positions.
    Secondly, are perhaps more importantly, the malaise that is afflicting the US and EUrope is NOT primarily political and economic. It is really a spiritual and moral crisis. Simply throwing money at the problems will not solve them.
    The whole idea of the American Revolution was that the government will no longer tell people what to do and try to control, people will have to control themselves. In the modern, morally relativistic society we live in where "anything goes" and the ultimate purpose of life is to have as much money, leisure time and entertainment as possible, the rot throughout society will continue, no matter who is sitting in the White House and on Capitol Hill. Ultimately, people have to take control and responsibility for their own lives and understand that there is a transcendent realty that goes beyond meeting basic needs like food and clothes. A person is also responsible for his or her character. The breakdown of family life, as Charles Murray points out in his book "Coming Apart" which everyone is now quoting leads to a now new generation of young people growing up without moral guidance into a world without hope. Strong two-parent families, a father and mother are VITAL to raising a new generation of responsible and HAPPY adults. We see all the time that this view is ridiculed by the elites. Thus, America needs a new SPIRITUAL leadership that will reach out to everyone with a message they can understand and which will give them the motivation to take charge of their own lives and not rely on the government and its handouts, or celebrities to be the source of sustenance and guidance. America has had such apiritual awakenings in the past, and is sorely in need of another one today if any real change and hope for the future is in the offing.

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  15. Anonymous14/11/16

    Absolutely spot on! Thank you for your work.

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  16. Daniel, you ought to be thrown a ticker tape parade! Of course, they'd need to use the NYPD to fend off all the shouting SJWs. But I think every cop would volunteer to cordon off the rioters and protesters.

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  17. I am sending this to all my friends. Beautifully written and completely evokes the spirit of this new American movement.

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  18. Anonymous14/11/16

    I just stood up in my computer room and said The Pledge of Allegiance! I have chills. This article is everything I want to say, but I couldn't find the words! I am so pumped right now and I am so thankful! God Bless America! Thank you for encouraging me!

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  19. As a grandparent I supported Trump from day one as I knew we had to change the direction this country was going. I knew that my life would be good and my children are well off, but what of the grandchildren should this country continue on it's downward path? We are at a decisive period in our history with the colleges turning out angry robots who need safe spaces instead of robust debates. These young people cannot stand against the forces that are changing our country. Thank God for Trump.... to at least slow things down while we try to toughen up our grandchildren.

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  20. Anonymous14/11/16

    The article was great. This is the beginning of what can be a great move in the right direction as long as the people of our great nation do not lay back down and allow themselves to be run over again. We have to provide support to the country's leadership and require they do their jobs as they represent "We the people" and not themselves. The same people who made this change allowed this to happen 8 years ago by refusing to vote for what ever reason they gave then. Having voted every time the polls opened for the last 40 years I have reserved the right to openly voice my likes and dislikes about the administration in office and those elected to represent us.
    My prayers are with our new President elect and his family as they work to heal our great nation. May they remember that a great many answered prayers got them into this position. And for those who prayed daily for God to provide a deliverance from this evil we have endured over the last many years, don't forget to pray for God to provide guidance and will to Mr. Trump and the new administration and they work to heal the great riff in our country.
    Mr. Greenfield A great article as always.

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  21. I'm from Western-Europe and I'm so happy. I have the feeling this is so essential for the survival of the West. And the people I can't stand are in absolute despair, such a nice bonus!

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  22. As a grandparent I was for Trump from day one. I was very upset to see what was happening to my country, not for me, as I am well situated, nor for my children as they are doing well. It is my grandchildren's country that will be unrecognizable and so the slide must be slowed if not stopped. The colleges are turning out rabid robots who must have safe spaces to be spared any differing opinions. We used to look forward to debating any subject in the college I attended. It is sad and scary that these children will be running our country in the future. Thank God for Trump, perhaps we can change some minds in the next four years.

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  23. Anonymous14/11/16

    I agree with Mr. Ben-David. We will have either an exoskeleton (the Uber-State) or an endoskeleton (strong moral fiber).

    And Mr. Greenfield, you are eloquent as always. I would add, though, that the Trump supporters also include a heck of a lot of middle and upper middle class suburbanites who are fed up to the back teeth with the radical leftist schemes to herd all of us into their Socialist Ant Farm, ruled over, of course, by Them. Many of us are over forty and were actually educated about America's true past, not the grotesque and savage caricature that the Zinnites are now selling.

    We all need to cultivate a taste for combat, and relish our battles: the Left, like cancer, is relentless, but our heavenly Father rules the world, not them.

    Yours in the ranks of life!

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  24. Anonymous14/11/16

    Winning Trump was really the easy part.
    Enacting change will be the very difficult part.
    We are not done yet. Keep praying and stay in touch with your CONgresscritters. They are still the same dishonest creatures they were before the election.

    Thank you David for your all your efforts!

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  25. I would like to see some thumbnail photos to accompany your articles. In my experience, I have found that most people do not stop to read those articles that do mot have them. Just a suggestion, and thank you for the great articles.

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  26. We did it together. Brunell Donald-Kyei, Diamond & Silk, David Clarke, Ben Carson, Alex Castellanos, Mary Ann Mendoza, Shannon Estes, and on and on. We are not a white blob. We are not a brown blob. We are Americans.

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  27. Jeanettesca14/11/16

    I have read this article probably a dozen times and it gives me chills and a few tears every time. So well said, Daniel! Thank you for writing such a thoughtful piece.

    And to the people in those impossible states ... Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Florida, and more ... THANK YOU! I am in a very red state and I voted knowing that casting my vote was a great privilege, but probably wouldn't count for much. But yours changed history. A thousand thanks.

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  28. Anonymous14/11/16

    Congratulations freom Belgium to the American white working class.

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  29. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU for your complete ability to pin down the goings on inside so many of us.

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  30. Loved the article. Believe me I prayed for months for this miracle to happen. We were on the verge of total destruction, and I truly believe the 50 million who voted against insanity were ready to rise up and end it with firearms. I have never seen so much anger from people. The country would have totally collapsed if Clinton had won. We would now be in step with Venezuela. Too many people died for our flag and country. I once again have faith in my people. Semper Fi from a United States Marine.

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  31. David M14/11/16

    Brilliant! I have goosebumps sir. Thank you.

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  32. Thank you...again.

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  33. I read this gorgeous essay on Front Page Mag and forwarded it to lucky friends. Brilliant, passionate, and inspired writing, Mr. Greenfield!
    Obama came out of NOWHERE, massively marketed with hip artwork by Banksy, wannabe subversive artist living it up on his Soros paycheck. Obama was a nobody senator notable mainly for voting for partial birth abortions.

    Intellectuals and artists used to champion free speech and liberty at grave risk of imprisonment and death but today are replaced by pop singers such as Katy Perry (planned parenthood supporter) sporting t-shirts or comediennes crying and posting "selfies." Obama resided snugly in the pockets of corrupt banks and corporations. Obama signed the executive order forever protecting Monsanto from future lawsuits involving any Monsanto product. Hello, environmentalists! Hillary Clinton was the globalists' heir apparent eager to award government contracts and favors to the highest paying donors, willing to start a new World War for financial gain all around. To quote a favorite comment: "CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE JUST ISSUED A STATEMENT: 'NO REFUNDS!'"
    I heard a great idea: How about we elect congressmen, senators and the president from candidates selected by a lottery, thus eliminating career politicians, lobbyists, special interests, cronyism, everything presently defiling and rotting our current system of government? All the drama and nonsense, lies, corruption and violence would be eliminated.

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  34. Just a common 'tater15/11/16

    An inspiring post. Thank you!

    Let's not forget that many other that white people were both openly and quietly supporting Trump. However, it was the rust belt worker, watching their jobs and farms disappear that turned this election upside down. The media refused to acknowledge and tried to disrupt the Trump rally turnouts. It also appeared that many Democrats did not vote for HRC, either.

    Now, as someone else pointed out, the work begins. We have suffered under not just two terms, but under every term of every president since Reagan left. He was not perfect, but in retrospect, Reagan was closer to what the US needed than what we got from RINO's and Donkeys since 1988. We are fed up.

    Unfortunately, I suspect that the DC insiders will do everything possible to stymie Trump. The major blessing that should come out of this is the appointment of one or more conservative Constitutional SCOTUS justices.

    There were many of us praying for Trump's success. As tarnished and imperfect as he is, he is a far better choice than HRC. However, we are still not out of the danger zone.

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  35. Anonymous15/11/16

    Most excellent article!

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  36. Thank David for a superb article. Well done! And may God bless you for many years to come!

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  37. Anonymous15/11/16

    This is the read of the day - written be Daniel who writes like no other! Thank you!

    Yet - these schmucks refuse to accept the truth including that Hillary did NOT win the popular votes either. As Drudge reported 3+ million illegals voted as encouraged by this departing president who never had any respect for the traditions and/or laws of this country. He promised these illegals that their votes illegally cast will have no consequences.
    The msn knew their candidate had no chance despite their propping her up - manipulating polls to make it appear that she was destined to win and yet - the rallies alone told the story.
    As we can thank God for this awakening the elites continue to attempt to overthrow this result. George Soros hiring these agitator via Craigslist while providing untold number of luxury buses to chauffeur them around to riot and attack innocent americans. They are convinced they can force the electoral college to throw out DT's win and give the win to Hillary. Soros and the Obama/Hillary alliance promise to pay all costs or fines that arise for switching their votes in favor of Hillary.
    Imagine that - even more when considering that voters are watching!

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  38. Terry Peters15/11/16

    David......best article I have read regarding Mr. Trump's win. Like others who commented....I too prayed for God's guidance to make this happen should it be his will. We are not out of the woods yet. Let's not let our support fall by the wayside. Stay alert, pay attention, and get involved. If not our Freedoms are in trouble. There is evil in the world and most of us know who these people are. We all want to return to American values for all Americans, but we cannot be asleep at the switch.

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  39. Thank you, David. You are brilliant. I am emailing this link and it's contents to all my friends and enemies. Love to you!

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  40. THIS IS THE BEST ARTICLE EVER WRITTEN. DANIEL YOU NEED TO SERIOUSLY PLACE THESE WORDS ON A POSTER WITH A PICTURE OF THE MASSES WITH THIER HANDS UP STOPPING the wheel of oppression over their heads. IT WOULD SELL. YOU ARE A GENIOUS. I THOUGHT I WROTE WELL. YOU ARE A GREAT TALENT AND PATRIOT. GOD BLESS.

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  41. Best article I have ever read in my life. Daniel you really need to put these words on a poster with a picture of the masses holding up thier hands to stop the wheel of oppression. It would truly sell. You are a genious and patriot. Thank you so much. GOD BLESS you sir.

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  42. This is the first time I have read your blog BUT NOT THE LAST!!! Your words are spot on. I always felt there were others who felt as I did and it was proven. Thank you for a beautifully written article!!!

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  43. Anonymous19/11/16

    Great article... but I also know that it was not just the white working middle class that rose up... it was doctors, nurses, medical staff, insurance agents...who had enough of Obamacare!! It was the Veterans and Military who had enough of horrible treatment. It was the teachers, principles, educators, parents who had enough of Commoncore. It was the police, sheriffs, prison guards, and lawyers who had enough of illegals committing crimes. America finally had ENOUGH!!!!

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  44. My Goodness Daniel! Someone sent me a link to your blog with the article from Front Page magazine. WOW! This is one of the best I've seen. I loathed Barry and his band of losers, I tried to do what I could to make people understand. I live in "small town America" We still say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing The Star Spangled Banner at sporting events but most of all, we go to church as a community, we help each other out and we love our country. Thank you for writing this, thank you for being here and carrying the torch another step forward. We are in dire straits right now as a country and this election just showed that there are still Americans who have read the Constitution and the Declaration and understand what our Forefathers meant by it in their "language simple enough that any man can understand it." The people have had enough. I have had enough. I want change, I want for everyone to be able to have a job and go to school and college and learn what this country is about, not have left wing propaganda shoved in their face and be told how to live and how to vote and what "they" need. The left lost for many reasons but one thing I learned from this election is that American still knows a traitor and a liar and a thief when they see one. People still want to live good lives and help others. God bless you Daniel and God Bless America!!

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  45. Anonymous21/11/16

    Leftists like priests in any church are fundamentally impotent, their power is only symbolic, in other words they are posturing like some small butterflies displaying their wings to look fierce.

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  46. I just found this because a friend sent me the link. It made me cry. They are good tears. Thanks for the beauty of this essay, which uplifts and reminds us what we can do, and to always have hope.

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  47. In boot camp, my Drill Instructor got in my face and asked me if I was willing to Die for my Country? My reply, "Sir, Yes Sir!". The huge Bastard grabbed me by the neck and raised me off my feet. His eyes got huge, things got quiet in the barracks, and he said in a soft and calm voice, "NO! I'm going to teach you how to LIVE for our Country!" That Drill Instructor had 50 million students on Election Day, following his lessons... Go ahead, keep poking the Bear...

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