And THIS is Why Trump Won!
Two kernels of wisdom to help us all understand what happened on Tuesday.
First, this story in the Boston Globe, “The red state no one saw coming.” A few things worth noting there. First, Hillary’s campaign has only themselves to blame for being complacent, for not shoring up a weak base in states, like Wisconsin, they took for granted.
When Sanders trounced her by 13 points in the Wisconsin primary, she didn’t see the warning signs. She didn’t see that people were hurt and angry and demanding change. She didn’t bother to campaign in Wisconsin, while Trump visited five times in the past few months. She didn’t even start running ads there until the final week. And a thin wisp of a margin lost her the state. Rinse and repeat in other places, and you see the pattern. The Globe article notes that some Sanders voters switched to Trump, and this pattern (in my very unscientific observation via Facebook and elsewhere) shows up all across the country. Others, of course, stayed home or voted third-party.
Yes, there were those who voted for Trump out of bigotry. But according to Elizabeth Warren, in a powerful post-election speech, more of his voters were voting for economic change. They supported (she claims) the liberal parts of his agenda, such as trade reform, restoring Glass-Steagall (which I don’t remember him supporting), and rebuilding our country’s infrastructure while creating jobs. Undeterred by the lack of specifics and in many cases holding their noses over his character issues, they voted for a Republican with an old-line Democrat domestic agenda and an appeal to the racist populism that propelled the Democratic Party even into the 1960s. The above link takes you to the video. Full transcript: https://www.elizabethwarren.com/blog/president-elect-donald-trump. Watch or read it; there’s much to learn about how we frame this election and where we go from here.
A lifelong activist, profitability and marketing specialist Shel Horowitz’s mission is to fix crises like hunger, poverty, racism, war, and catastrophic climate change—by showing the business world how fixing them can make a profit. An author, international speaker, and TEDx Talker, his award-winning 10th book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, lays out a blueprint for creating and MARKETING those profitable change-making products and services. He is happy to help you craft your messaging and develop profit strategies. Learn more (and download excerpts from the book) at http://goingbeyondsustainability.com
Regardless of what Trump’s supporters think, he will betray them. And we are fools to allow cart blanc to institute any draconian policies that will cause intense damage to the environment, to the poor, to every aspect of our commonwealth- up to and after the inauguration. With all indications that we are outraged by the unfolding of events, we should shake the walls, trumpet our disgust, get out in mass protests, bring the daily business of governing to a near standstill right up to and after his being sworn in. At the least, it will send a clear message to his neo fascist regime that they will have a difficult time indeed, when they begin screwing us all for the spoils, or if they attempt to do half of what they’ve already declared they’ll do. Then and only then, Trump and his cronies might come to their senses and negotiate compromises. That or a real shit storm.
Totally on point, Shel, and should have been clear to everyone who watched the primaries unfold. Everyone but the Wasserman-Schultz wing of the Democratic Party. It was there for all to see – the voters who championed Bernie Sanders were easy marks for Trump.
it’s interesting, i just got involved with the San Diego dems yesterday and this is exactly the story i heard–that her campaign absolutely didn’t pay attention, and didn’t do what it needed to do for the win. shocking.
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I knew that Shel, being born and raised in Wisconsin, and knowing they elected Scott Walker to shake things up. I’ve posted many warnings about that. No one listened.
I agree with the assessment. I may have written this in another post, but I was very moved by a documentary I saw a month ago. A reporter spent time in a small coal town in western PA, and sat down with a “typical” family. 30 year old guy laid off by the coal company as mines closed; his wife scrounging to get a job at Walmart. 2 small kids. They can’t afford an apartment, so they moved in with parents, and the dad laid off from the mine himself (but at least a small pension for being there 30+ years). They were asked who they would vote for. They were undecided. They understood and were bothered by Trump’s bigotry and crudeness,. But they felt that Clinton ignored them and did not care about their concerns (and people like them). She talked in general terms about infrastructure programs, but did not acknowledge their plight. They were wary of Trump, but admired that he at least acknowledged their plight. So dilemma: go with bigot who will advocate change and may help their economic status or the normal person who is not likely to help their lives. If I were in their shoes, a tough choice. As article said, Hillary took these people for granted.
HRC and surrogates would have been far better off spending time in the rust belt than in making repeated visits to NC. She came here 10 times. How many times did she go to Wisconsin or Michigan?
Embedded in the above post: links to video and transcript of an amazing speech by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. Giraffe Natan, this will give you the context for the remark you took issue with. Michelle Vandepas, this shows us how a master of framing can put out a positive message and agenda even under the strain of a Trump victory. Jacqueline Simonds Tony Lcsw Vazquez Walt Burnham Cate Woolner Stephen Zunes Dinah Kudatsky Bobby Cookie Hirtle Alana Horowitz Friedman