But how else has it been? The Trump supporters are still defending their future president because of his moves. And they still are having fun making fun of the "sore losing" Hillary Clinton supporters are stilled called names
But how are the Democrats handling this? Frankly, they majorly screwed up. Epic boom. And they aren't taking responsibility for it.
There are many reasons for the loss and is not just the standard protest voter or the voters that turned Republican after voting for Obama twice.
So let's start with Hillary. Personally, I like her. I think she is a warm, funny woman who is also extremely intelligent and has a great sense of humor. However, that is not the persona she presented to her electorate. In the middle of the email scandal, she said she was sorry, and I'm sure she meant that. But it didn't come across. The email "conspiracy" was basically a non-starter. It was a bad choice and those emails should not have been deleted. No, it was not a very smart thing to do, but it wasn't illegal either. In fact, both Colin Powell (who used an AOL account on a laptop for his emails,) and Aides to Condoleezza Rice both used private accounts with what was later considered to be classified material on them. The only difference? The first two were not Hillary Clinton. Really, in the grand scheme of things, this whole thing was ridiculous. The Benghazi Committee found out about it and went gleefully went running to the media. She deleted the emails allegedly knowing that there was a subpoena coming from the Committee. They were positive she deleted something on Benghazi. However in July 2016, Trey Gowdy "accidentally" admitted on Fox that there was nothing that could have been done militarily to save Ambassador Chris Stevens, Information Officer Sean Smith, and CIA Operatives Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. In all actuality, he was repeating what his former Chief Counsel Army Lieutenant General Dana Chipman had said almost from the beginning, Everything they have investigated her or Bill for has produced no evidence, since back when Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas. As if that weren't bad enough, there are the conspiracies against them...the funniest (if people didn't actually believe this was true) is the list of people allegedly killed because they were a 6th degree removed from the Clintons. These investigations stuck to Hillary Clinton like Gorilla Glue. Despite the fact that there is no evidence that she ever did anything wrong.
Trey Gowdy Admits That There is Nothing on Benghazi
Then there was how she presents herself in public, granted a lot of that she probably couldn't control. She's a lawyer. To me, it makes sense that she is analytical. And as a lawyer, it makes perfect sense that she be prepared and know the facts. However, she wears a mask that makes it difficult to see who she is. I don't believe it's intentional. It was created as a result of her experiences and perceptions subconsciously, just like everyone else. But to see what kind of woman she is all you have to do is look back on her accomplishments to see who she truly is. She was a top graduate at Yale, and she probably could've worked in any big firm. Instead, she moved to Arkansas to be with Bill and among her many accomplishments were co-founding the Arkansas Advocates of Families and Children, was staff attorney at the Children's Defense Fund, former director of the Arkansas Legal Aid Clinic, first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation, created Arkansas' Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth, lead a task force that reformed Arkansas's Education System, supported nationwide immunizations...and I could go on. Her cause is clear. She is an advocate for the poor, children, and women. Why the campaign never emphasized this remains a mystery.
Hillary Clinton's List of Accomplishments
There is one video that sticks out in my mind of Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. She was in Hawaii talking with Hong Kong's Chief Executive during a photo op. A man in what appeared to be a loincloth ran by holding a lit torch. When the press corp starting laughing she turned around to look and started laughing really loud and clapping. That was her true self and I can't help but think if she had been more unguarded, it would've made a difference.
Then there was the campaign. Instead of campaigning on her strengths, accomplishments, and policies, she was out there talking about what an evil person Trump was and how she wasn't him. That's it..basically, that's it. There was no discussion of her policies, what exactly she would do as president and an explanation of how her policies were going to work. It was "He's evil, I'm not. Vote for me." That strategy worked well for Trump. He was charismatic, knew what the people needed to hear and was "anti-establishment."
The campaign completely blew off an entire demographic. By concentrating only on urban centers, the campaign thought that they were pretty smart. Who needed rural when you can go to the big cities. The problem with that is she failed to consider the people that live in the rust belt, or any other state that has lost manufacturing and mining jobs. The last two elections they had voted for Obama. I can only guess that they took for granted that they would also vote for her. However, she represented all that was wrong with America and Trump promised to "Make America Great Again." So she didn't reach out to the blue collar workers who have either had their jobs outsourced or are desperately trying to keep on to their job. She also didn't reach out that much to minorities. You can't campaign by characterizing your opponent as a monumental [insert to add whatever names you feel safest calling Trump] and expect to win. In the grand scheme of things, people needed to know how she was going to be president, not how bad her opponent was.
I'm not saying she didn't have policies that would help out these demographics. She did. She had excellent policies. However, she never talked to them about it. She never presented it to America. You had to go to her site and read them yourself.
Which brings me to the media. Trump received 70% of coverage compared to 30% for Hillary. Trump was able to run his Primary by using the media rather than putting out money for ad buys. He said and did so many outrageous and disgusting things that they hung on his every word then spent days talking about the latest controversy. When did Hillary get media coverage? When James Comey said there wasn't enough to prosecute her regarding her emails (and it is unprecedented for an FBI Director to hold a press conference to announce what they found in an investigation and what they were recommending,) when she almost fainted on 9/11, and when James Comey announced, just days before Election Day, that there were emails found on Huma Abedin's soon to be ex-husband Anthony Weiner's laptop and they needed investigating. Nothing was on there that was incriminating, as was Comey said in another announcement a week later, but the damage had been done.
Then the election came and a major shock occurred. The Democrats were devastated from local to federal positions. And they saw the mistakes. I don't know if they will be addressed necessarily, after electing the same people for Congressional leadership roles. Chuck Schumacher might get it. But I no longer have faith in Nancy Pelosi. Sixty-two seats have been lost under her tenure and I simply think she is too out of touch with what people are going through or what young people think. Our leadership has an average age of being in their 60s. The Republicans have an average of age of being in their 40s. So who do you think is going to connect more? I'm just praying that they can get their act together before the mid-terms.
Now the problem is Democrats. Not the Democratic Party leaders. I agreed with the protests after he won. The outrage and shock were warranted. But at some time, people have to come to grips that Trump won. That he will be the leader of the country and we don't wish him to fail at the expense of our country. We need to wait and see what he does and act appropriately at the time. Truthfully, I don't think he's going to do well. But that is no excuse for how Democrats are reacting in the aftermath.
Hillary Clinton campaigned on comparing herself to Trump. And her supporters took that to heart. It was true. So it is no surprise that they are shocked anyone COULD vote for Trump with all things considered. They never took into consideration that people might have been looking at something else Trump represented and Hillary did not.
And please note, that though I am a Democrat, I don't hold myself to these views, and therefore do not include myself. That explains why I'm using "they" and not "we."
The result of the "I'm not him." campaign created supporters that feel that way too...except they aren't them. They have decided to judge all Trump voters as having the same attributes that Trump has. They have taken the "moral high ground" and pointed at every single Trump voter and judged them as being too stupid to know who they were voting for. That they purposely kept themselves ignorant of who Trump was, bought into fake news, etc. etc. I reject this. There are reasons why a person voted for him that aren't racially motivated...or anything else that Trump is. They ARE intelligent, informed, and as nice and nondiscriminatory as any Hillary Clinton supporter. And a person shouldn't be judged - period. There is only one "person" that can do that, and He does not walk on this earth yet, as far as I know.
So now blame is being thrown around to everyone except the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's campaign. First were the Trump voters. They deny that Trump won the Electoral College. They want to do away with the Electoral College, which was meant to protect the country from the very thing they are upset about. I realize that this will never happen - it's just a faint glimmer of hope. The Founding Fathers didn't trust in complete 100% democracy. They were leery of over 50% of people being charmed by tyranny. So to prevent this, the came up with the Electoral College. In theory, if an Elector thinks that the wrong person was elected and will be detrimental to the country, they can cast their vote for someone else. It needs to be reformed, with more Electors representing populous states. The Electors should be more bipartisan when casting their vote. And I can understand why people believe it should be gone. Hillary Clinton would be President-Elect if we had counted the popular vote. The purpose of the Electoral College needs to be seriously considered as to why it was included in the Constitution before getting rid of it. The people who voted for him has their reasons for doing so. Holding it against them will accomplish nothing. In fact, it hurts us. It only contributes to the division this country has. The allegedly racist (remember that they voted for Obama both times,) are looking towards the Democrats and thinking that they were right. The Democrats really are that arrogant and it wasn't just Hillary Clinton who treated them like that. This kind of thinking leads to 8 years in office, not four.
The other victims? The third party protest voters who voted for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein...or wrote someone in. Personally, I don't agree with the 3rd party voters who voted simply because they couldn't stand either Hillary or Trump. Either Hillary or Trump was going to win, and it was important to vote for the one that would best represent the country. Does that mean they should be blamed for a lost election when there were a lot of demographics that were affected by the campaign's inattention? Certainly not.
Another factor is that there was at least 50% of registered voters that didn't vote. How many stayed home out of protest? I'm sure there were a lot. Clinton did not have the kind of grassroots campaign that got Obama the win. Nor did her campaign really court it either. In 2012 both my Mom and I volunteered for Obama, and within a week we were set up. Mom was calling people and I was entering data. It was extraordinarily prepared. This election? Mom tried to volunteer, and first, she talked to someone from the campaign who had her fill out something online, which she did, and never called back, and then she actually got a call from the Democratic Party. She met someone for lunch and never got a callback. Hey, their loss. No one should beg to be a volunteer. What is really astonishing is that we live in a Republican county in a major swing state that did eventually contribute to Clinton's loss. She needed volunteers on the ground, knocking on doors and calling in the neighborhoods that didn't vote for her. She needed people to talk about her policies. She needed people to register people to vote, volunteer to help people get to the polls. She needed a ground game and she didn't have it.
I've also heard that it was "the Christian's fault." And that they "needed to get their house in order." First of all, what house? Christianity is a religion, not a political party. Which means that there are just as many Christians who are Democrats. Really? Get over yourselves.
Who's to blame for Clinton's loss? Her campaign. Those that advised her and her. The only coalescing of Bernie supporters came from Bernie himself. I don't recall her reaching out to them. Other than Bernie's message of "Trump can't get in the White House," there were no efforts to show what she stood for. Or the white working class people. Trump reached out to them, but not her. It was a cascading series of mistakes on her side that caused her loss. The people voted based on the candidates and how they would help them. She didn't pay any attention to what they needed to hear. It was her job to court voters and get them to vote for her. She failed at that. Trump didn't. Granted he spewed lie after lie in order to get votes, but he gave the voter something. Frankly, there is no one else to blame.
So to the Democrats who are still on their moral high ground. Get off your high horse and re-enter reality. Stop thinking you are better than Trump voters because you're not. In essence, there are no liberals, conservatives, Democrats or Republicans. There are only Americans. Start acting like one, please. You can't ignore every Trump voter, or stop talking to them. It's ridiculous.
Things to live by, in my humble opinion, as a Democratic Christian:
The Greatest Commandment
Marks of a True Christian
On Love
On Judging
On Arrogance
On Leadership
The campaign completely blew off an entire demographic. By concentrating only on urban centers, the campaign thought that they were pretty smart. Who needed rural when you can go to the big cities. The problem with that is she failed to consider the people that live in the rust belt, or any other state that has lost manufacturing and mining jobs. The last two elections they had voted for Obama. I can only guess that they took for granted that they would also vote for her. However, she represented all that was wrong with America and Trump promised to "Make America Great Again." So she didn't reach out to the blue collar workers who have either had their jobs outsourced or are desperately trying to keep on to their job. She also didn't reach out that much to minorities. You can't campaign by characterizing your opponent as a monumental [insert to add whatever names you feel safest calling Trump] and expect to win. In the grand scheme of things, people needed to know how she was going to be president, not how bad her opponent was.
I'm not saying she didn't have policies that would help out these demographics. She did. She had excellent policies. However, she never talked to them about it. She never presented it to America. You had to go to her site and read them yourself.
Which brings me to the media. Trump received 70% of coverage compared to 30% for Hillary. Trump was able to run his Primary by using the media rather than putting out money for ad buys. He said and did so many outrageous and disgusting things that they hung on his every word then spent days talking about the latest controversy. When did Hillary get media coverage? When James Comey said there wasn't enough to prosecute her regarding her emails (and it is unprecedented for an FBI Director to hold a press conference to announce what they found in an investigation and what they were recommending,) when she almost fainted on 9/11, and when James Comey announced, just days before Election Day, that there were emails found on Huma Abedin's soon to be ex-husband Anthony Weiner's laptop and they needed investigating. Nothing was on there that was incriminating, as was Comey said in another announcement a week later, but the damage had been done.
Then the election came and a major shock occurred. The Democrats were devastated from local to federal positions. And they saw the mistakes. I don't know if they will be addressed necessarily, after electing the same people for Congressional leadership roles. Chuck Schumacher might get it. But I no longer have faith in Nancy Pelosi. Sixty-two seats have been lost under her tenure and I simply think she is too out of touch with what people are going through or what young people think. Our leadership has an average age of being in their 60s. The Republicans have an average of age of being in their 40s. So who do you think is going to connect more? I'm just praying that they can get their act together before the mid-terms.
Now the problem is Democrats. Not the Democratic Party leaders. I agreed with the protests after he won. The outrage and shock were warranted. But at some time, people have to come to grips that Trump won. That he will be the leader of the country and we don't wish him to fail at the expense of our country. We need to wait and see what he does and act appropriately at the time. Truthfully, I don't think he's going to do well. But that is no excuse for how Democrats are reacting in the aftermath.
Hillary Clinton campaigned on comparing herself to Trump. And her supporters took that to heart. It was true. So it is no surprise that they are shocked anyone COULD vote for Trump with all things considered. They never took into consideration that people might have been looking at something else Trump represented and Hillary did not.
And please note, that though I am a Democrat, I don't hold myself to these views, and therefore do not include myself. That explains why I'm using "they" and not "we."
The result of the "I'm not him." campaign created supporters that feel that way too...except they aren't them. They have decided to judge all Trump voters as having the same attributes that Trump has. They have taken the "moral high ground" and pointed at every single Trump voter and judged them as being too stupid to know who they were voting for. That they purposely kept themselves ignorant of who Trump was, bought into fake news, etc. etc. I reject this. There are reasons why a person voted for him that aren't racially motivated...or anything else that Trump is. They ARE intelligent, informed, and as nice and nondiscriminatory as any Hillary Clinton supporter. And a person shouldn't be judged - period. There is only one "person" that can do that, and He does not walk on this earth yet, as far as I know.
So now blame is being thrown around to everyone except the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's campaign. First were the Trump voters. They deny that Trump won the Electoral College. They want to do away with the Electoral College, which was meant to protect the country from the very thing they are upset about. I realize that this will never happen - it's just a faint glimmer of hope. The Founding Fathers didn't trust in complete 100% democracy. They were leery of over 50% of people being charmed by tyranny. So to prevent this, the came up with the Electoral College. In theory, if an Elector thinks that the wrong person was elected and will be detrimental to the country, they can cast their vote for someone else. It needs to be reformed, with more Electors representing populous states. The Electors should be more bipartisan when casting their vote. And I can understand why people believe it should be gone. Hillary Clinton would be President-Elect if we had counted the popular vote. The purpose of the Electoral College needs to be seriously considered as to why it was included in the Constitution before getting rid of it. The people who voted for him has their reasons for doing so. Holding it against them will accomplish nothing. In fact, it hurts us. It only contributes to the division this country has. The allegedly racist (remember that they voted for Obama both times,) are looking towards the Democrats and thinking that they were right. The Democrats really are that arrogant and it wasn't just Hillary Clinton who treated them like that. This kind of thinking leads to 8 years in office, not four.
The other victims? The third party protest voters who voted for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein...or wrote someone in. Personally, I don't agree with the 3rd party voters who voted simply because they couldn't stand either Hillary or Trump. Either Hillary or Trump was going to win, and it was important to vote for the one that would best represent the country. Does that mean they should be blamed for a lost election when there were a lot of demographics that were affected by the campaign's inattention? Certainly not.
Another factor is that there was at least 50% of registered voters that didn't vote. How many stayed home out of protest? I'm sure there were a lot. Clinton did not have the kind of grassroots campaign that got Obama the win. Nor did her campaign really court it either. In 2012 both my Mom and I volunteered for Obama, and within a week we were set up. Mom was calling people and I was entering data. It was extraordinarily prepared. This election? Mom tried to volunteer, and first, she talked to someone from the campaign who had her fill out something online, which she did, and never called back, and then she actually got a call from the Democratic Party. She met someone for lunch and never got a callback. Hey, their loss. No one should beg to be a volunteer. What is really astonishing is that we live in a Republican county in a major swing state that did eventually contribute to Clinton's loss. She needed volunteers on the ground, knocking on doors and calling in the neighborhoods that didn't vote for her. She needed people to talk about her policies. She needed people to register people to vote, volunteer to help people get to the polls. She needed a ground game and she didn't have it.
I've also heard that it was "the Christian's fault." And that they "needed to get their house in order." First of all, what house? Christianity is a religion, not a political party. Which means that there are just as many Christians who are Democrats. Really? Get over yourselves.
Who's to blame for Clinton's loss? Her campaign. Those that advised her and her. The only coalescing of Bernie supporters came from Bernie himself. I don't recall her reaching out to them. Other than Bernie's message of "Trump can't get in the White House," there were no efforts to show what she stood for. Or the white working class people. Trump reached out to them, but not her. It was a cascading series of mistakes on her side that caused her loss. The people voted based on the candidates and how they would help them. She didn't pay any attention to what they needed to hear. It was her job to court voters and get them to vote for her. She failed at that. Trump didn't. Granted he spewed lie after lie in order to get votes, but he gave the voter something. Frankly, there is no one else to blame.
So to the Democrats who are still on their moral high ground. Get off your high horse and re-enter reality. Stop thinking you are better than Trump voters because you're not. In essence, there are no liberals, conservatives, Democrats or Republicans. There are only Americans. Start acting like one, please. You can't ignore every Trump voter, or stop talking to them. It's ridiculous.
Things to live by, in my humble opinion, as a Democratic Christian:
The Greatest Commandment
Marks of a True Christian
On Love
On Judging
On Arrogance
On Leadership
No comments:
Post a Comment