Letter #161... Dear Mr. President...It wasn't even close... it was a Landslide!

Dear Mr. President,

This morning while I was in the shower I couldn’t help but feel it was one of the best showers I’ve ever felt… it felt like I was washing off four years of racism, bigotry, homophobia, birtherism, and hate… washing away the divisiveness, ugliness, and anger that has raged through our country for the last two years.

The People have spoken... again.

As we head into this season of Thanksgiving, I’m extremely grateful to the over 60 million people that voted to re-elect you as our 44^th President. I’m grateful that the big money of Citizens United, the Koch Bros., the Adelson’s, the Trump’s and many like them, learned that the American people cannot be bought and the White House is not for sale. I’m grateful that the haters like Trump, Rove, Limbaugh, and Fox viewers learned that over 60 million people are not buying their relentless messages of lies, cynicism and divisiveness. I’m grateful that the 30 states that tried to impose voter ID laws and that they too were rebuffed by the voters. I’m particularly grateful to all those people who stood in long lines just to vote and send a clear message that those un-American tactics will not be tolerated, and are not acceptable in this country.

People say that this election isn’t a mandate, but it is… it’s a mandate for women’s rights, it’s a mandate against Citizens United, it’s a mandate for everyone paying their fair share in taxes, and that the very rich should pay a little more. It’s a mandate that discrimination will no longer be tolerated, and that includes a persons right to love and marry whom they choose. The State of Wisconsin proved this with Tammy Baldwin being the first female Senator and the first openly gay candidate ever elected.

I’m grateful that you opened the door and emboldened so many women by setting an example and appointing two women to the Supreme Court, one of them being the first Latino ever appointed. I’m grateful that you will make the next two or three appointments to the Supreme Court, ensuring the protection of women’s rights and the ACA. I’m grateful that you are using drones to help fight al qaeda, saving the lives of our men and women. I know it is not a popular position, and that innocent lives are lost, many of them women and children, and I know you do not make these decisions lightly, but that is what a great leader and the Commander and Chief is supposed to do... make the tough decisions that protect American lives.

My granddaughter came home from school yesterday visibly upset, upset because only 11 people in her 4^th grade class voted for you, and she thought that you’d lose the election. Her mom assured her that they lived in a neighborhood that was mostly Republican and that the kids would vote like their parents, but that because we live in California, she had nothing to worry about… you would win. I wish I could have gone to school with her today, I wish I could see the pride on her face and the faces of the other kids that voted for you, even though the majority of their friends didn’t. I hope the teacher explained what a meaningful election this truly is.

In closing, I want to thank you for always taking the high road, never stooping to the level of those detractors that have tried so hard to delegitimize your presidency. You have truly been an inspiration to many of us who have not always been on the same high road with you, myself included. To push back and respond to the ugliness and rancor was easy enough to do, but not necessarily the right thing to do, because it just added fuel to the fire… you never did that. This country is so fortunate to have you remain as our President, you lift us all, you lift the poor, the sick, the weak, the disenfranchised… you in fact, lift the whole world by your example.

Congratulations Mr. President, we’re fired up and ready to go… ready to go forward and raise this country back to its former greatness… we can, and will, do it together.

Most Respectfully,

Marcia Reimers

Your Gadfly Granny