...and us white folks that are as sickened and broken by this decision need to step up even more than we ever have and help.

It's not.white.supremacy.

For those frequent readers, don't worry, this will be the last time I post this.

Below is what I have been telling people who ask me what happened in regards to Trump, why he won.

The racism, sexism, homophobia, etc,. isn't primary for most people. It's a knock off effect.

In order to understand what happened you have to understand something about the democratic party throughout the 20th and 21st century.

For most of that time the Democrats were the party of minorities and labor. However, as of around 20 or 30 years ago the Democrats shifted away from labor and towards dot com types. App developers, that sort of thing. The problem was that labor was a HUGE constituency that nobody was speaking to.

Until Trump.

Another factor is that globalization was routinely marketed as having no real downside for decades, all the way back to NAFTA. The problem is that globalization actually does have a negative impact that is disproportionately felt by, you guessed it, labor, in particular labor in rural areas because most small towns depend on a single industry or institution unlike cities which, due to trade and a higher population, can absorb the impact of losing a factory.

Now, there are two more things on top of that.

The third thing is that around the late 90's there was a massive campaign on the part of drug manufacturers to market a new brand of pain medication, marketing it as non-addictive directly to doctors. Through a tragic set of circumstances that created an epidemic of opioid addiction that more often affects, you guessed it, white working class men in rural areas.

The last, and this is frankly the weakest reason, was the loss of respect. Most rural labor has felt disrespected and(honestly) kind of freaked out for decades now.
All of this has two effects.

The first is that non-college educated white men are dying deaths of despair at a rapid and increasing rate.

The second, is Trump.

Links available upon request.

@3: One thing I found very interesting is that in Michigan, union families voted overwhelmingly for Obama in 2008 and 2012, but in 2016, they switched parties to Trump.

Working class people seem like they are realizing that the Democratic party is not really doing anything for them, and are willing to roll the dice rather than accept 4-8 more years of the same. For better or for worse.

Trump's messaging on trade and jobs going overseas really spoke to those people and got to them in a way that Clinton was not able to. Her support of NAFTA and TPP really screwed her when it came to these demographics.

The story is also that Clinton was unelectable. Her voter turnout is 6m (almost 10%) less than Obama's.

On the flip side, Trump is only down 2m.

Currently, Clinton has more voters than Trump, but they're increasingly concentrated in liberal enclaves.

Congratulations Democrats, progressives, liberals, SJWs and triggered Millenials. Donald Trump has just saved you. No longer will you be shackled to the corpse of the Clinton Crime Family for the next 8 years. Now you are free to select a candidate who actually supports your agenda and cares about your values instead of someone who merely wishes to enrich herself financially by selling off America to her corporate cronies.

YOU'RE WELCOME!

@6 Just keep telling yourself that Clinton was totally electable while we sit here under a Trump presidency. It will make you feel better.

@5 Clinton supporters can't say they weren't forewarned about Clinton's 40% favorabillty rating and how it would affect turnout.

@3 Very urbane. My wife, a teacher in a southern school, just overheard a fellow staffer say to an other, "now we can get rid of the f*****g n*****s" not in a whisper, but in a loud proud voice. She would have reported them but she knows she would have been the one to get in trouble. You're kidding yourself if you don't think that was the driving force of the majority of Trump voters.

@8: What do you plan to do to try to mitigate the harm this president and republican house and senate will do to this country? That's the point right now. We all know you hated Clinton. She lost.
So now what Misanthrope. What is your plan?
Because it better not just be bullshit Monday morning quarterbacking and wrapping yourself in snugglie blanket of smug.
Put your money where your mouth was, get in line with the rest of us, and get to work.

Of course she was electable. She barely lost. This isn't 1972 or 1984. This one was damn close. Hell, she even got more votes than Trump! That has happened only twice in the last 100 years. The last time was the same as this time -- the country is not polarized by region, but by a mix of class, culture and race. This is precisely what this story was about. Dumb ass white people who fear "their world" is slipping away, and want to do anything to save it.

As to whether another candidate would have done a better job of appealing to those folks -- we'll never know. There are plenty of candidates that look great on paper, then crash and burn once the Karl Rove Republican machine gets hold of them.

One thing I won't accept is that it all the fault of one group of people who voted for Trump. Last week, the news reported that in the early voting in Florida, the numbers of black voters who cast ballots was down like 35% from when Obama ran.

Everyone who was registered to vote and didn't is also responsible for this outcome.

Clinton lost. Trump won. Pretending that a Clinton presidency would have been even remotely the shit show we are facing now is ludicrous and even discussing it is pointless.
Because right here, right now, we are facing that shit show.
So fuck all y'all's snotty shrugging this off as the inevitable consequence of an unlikable candidate, and fuck your rehashing of why you just couldn't bring yourself to vote for her.
It's too late. Your reasons don't matter. What matters is what we do now.
So let's get to it.

Republicans: Hmm ... the solution to poverty is making it easier to fire public school teachers.

Imagine being dumb enough to think Republicans oppose minimum wage hikes for any reason other than "they're assholes".

Ijeoma Oluo is nuts and crazy. Ijeoma Oluo tells lies and she stand for ignorance. Ijeoma Oluo is racist to whites. Go trump!

@14: Not to mention, Trump doubled the amount of votes Romney got from the black community (who still went 88% democratic, but whose total overall numbers were way down), and about 33%-34% of the Hispanic community.

I don't think anyone really saw that coming.

@16 A very well, thought out, reasoned set of comments.

Could it be that in a strange twist of fate, that the Republican, namely Trump actually listened to the middle class and their concerns.

Not that I agree with his proffered solutions and frankly I don't see us building the Berlin Wall around Mexico, but there can be no doubt the concerns expressed did indeed resonate with Joe Six Pack.

I also think we've had enough of the political correctness.....which Trump had clearly put on the table.

Don't fret, we still have two other branches of government...until the vacancy on the Supreme Court is filled. Thereafter we'll have one branch of government.....which still isn't bad.

No you'll have to get used to a different agenda.....hard work, tenacity and self sufficiency. Perhaps if Hillary had espoused those virtues she might have found herself a bit more popular or electable.

ps: Public teachers who don't teach well or do their jobs well should get fired....same as in the real world work place.

I had a feeling there was a silent group of Trump supporters that polls weren't catching. The emotional blackmail and public shaming by Shillary supporters towards those who wouldn't fall in line did keep people silent. The petty Fb "unfriending" tactic was already bad, surely worse today.

I've been a fan of politics for quite some time now and I can honestly say that I've never been more disappointed in, or scared for, America. Trump said he had a hidden army of supporters out there and no one believed him, myself included. He was right, we were wrong.

We'll find a way to move forward, we always do, but I feel like we'll have to find a way to do it severely crippled by all the haters out there who voted for Trump.

The enemy we all feared was already inside our borders, the house divided has just fallen.

I wonder if Bernie could have won. He certainly had more enthusiastic support.

@12 Get in line?

Some people never learn. I'm going to gloat for another day. You lost. Your free trade loving elitist candidate lost. Your rust-belt abandoning, super predator shouting, for profit prison candidate lost. "Get in line" doesn't work as a tactic.

What should we do tomorrow? Find candidates who differentiate themselves from Republicans on an economic level, and promote the shit out of them. Work to replace 2/3 of the DNC leadership who have no idea what's happening. And, promote social equality while also listening to the worries of rural working class.

@22 Remember the upset in the Michigan primaries when Bernie beat the polls by 20 points? Just a thought.

Ctrl f 'white supremacist patriarchy'

Fuck man we get it already. But never mind the sizeable number of black and hispanic votes Trump received. Don't wanna ruin the Narrative after all.

Call me crazy but continuing on the line that nearly 50% of the American voters are a bunch of racists isn't going to help your side win in 4 years. But hey: demographics was going to save Hillary this time except when it didn't.

Never take a group of voters for granted again and sure as hell don't take a shit on them when they disagree with you. All that does it motivates them to vote against your side

@22, 24,
I'm not so sure Bernie would have won either. I mean, obviously we'll never know and this is all conjecture, but Trump got elected by angry white rural men, yes? They weren't going to vote for the democrat regardless of who it was. And although Bernie's more of an outsider than Clinton, he's still establishment. He's been in office and in politics forever. The votes were against that.

Who knows though.

If the general election came down to an anti-establishment authoritarian who wants to drop bombs on muslims and an anti-establishment socialist who wants to raise taxes on the middle class, Bernie would have been toast. He is a much greater threat to the political and economic establishment in this country than the candidate of "law and order" who wants to cut taxes on the ultra-rich and ratchet up the police state. Trump represents everything the Republican establishment stands for, only he makes no effort to be polite about it.

Hillary's strength was the sense of familiarity and normalcy in the face of raging uncertainty, but it wasn't enough. Biden or another nationally known establishment Democrat would have probably outperformed her, but Bernie wouldn't have stood had a chance.

@23: I lost? I didn't lose shit. I'm a white middle class married lady past the age of reproduction. My life is not going to functionally change all that much.
Gay people lost. Poor people lost. Young woman lost. Immigrants and Muslims lost and oh my dear fucking God black people lost.
And we all lost the Supreme Court.
You knew that if you got your "anybody but Hillary" wish that these would be the consequences and it on you, as it is on all of us, clean up this mess.

I am right there with you as to your plan and I will see you in the trenches.

@9, there is not just one reason why people voted for Trump. Racism, sexism, economic anxiety, Hillary's baggage and perceived improprieties, or simply because she was just boring, nothing new. The "why" can also be a combination of them. These reasons are not unfounded.

@23: And to be clear I voted for Sanders in the primary. I'd also note that your choice to gloat is indicative, that like me, you never had a whole lot of actual skin in the game.
Real people are paying the price of this shit show. Maybe think about them rather than gloating about what put them in this position.

During his acceptance speech at the convention he flatly said that he'd protect the rights of gays and thanked the audience for applauding that. I think that took balls to go against the grain of the party like that. Right thing to do. He's not a monster. He just an unapologetic, noisy white male who won't apologize for being white and male. A deadly unforgivable sin to SJW types.

@31: Word.
@32: By protecting their rights, he means he'll stop ISIS from blowing them up. He's mostly paid lip service to the religious right, but I don't see him making much of an effort either way on queer issues. He'll follow the political winds on those.

@35: When you're done huffing all that nitrous oxide through your gym sock, I hope you saved your comment for future masturbatory interludes.

I have to quibble with "the vast majority" of white voters. 63% of white men voted for Trump; 53% of white women did. When you average that (assuming equal percentages of men vs women voting) you get 58% of white adults voting for Trump. While that is horrifying enough, I don't think it can be fairly characterized as a "vast majority." And as a white woman Clinton voter, I just want to say (and believe me, I am cringing as I say this) "not all white people!"

Bigot Ijeoma Oluo punked out by whitey again. Don't worry Bill Radke will soothe your angst...have a good cry on his shoulder.

Know what helped Trump in a big way? The new, NEW left. I am talking about the authoritarian-leftism of censorship, political correctness, and petty bullshit that says I can't even say the New "Ghostbusters" movie was shitty without being accused of being a "womyn hating, potential rapist."
I am not talking about real, progressive leftism that deals with real issues, but this whiny shit show that is SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORISM. You had a big hand to play in electing Trump, and shitty SJW, regressive-left articles like this just play into his hand. There was bound to be a backlash against SJW, and that is what helped launch Trump in the first place.

Blame whitey, blame patriarchy, call the millions of Americans who aren't as "enlightened" as you names and alienate big chunks of the working class. Yep, that will stop Trump!

@35: Don't worry, some day your balls will drop and you'll stop being so pissy.

@41: The backlash against PC culture wasn't so much of an issue as the backlash against globalization and advanced technology. Except they thought it was actually a backlash against trade. But they'll realize their mistake eventually, once the trade wars fail to improve their lot one iota.

@41 You're still here? I thought you were moving to AZ or something.

@37: And calling me an angry dyke doesn't really bother me so there you are.

@40: Oooo Lew! Look at you stalking Ijeoma's Facebook!

The root of the problem is that we white folks just can't contain our awesomeness.
even if we try it just comes busting out.
right there for everyone to see.
and envy.

we know it must be hard sharing the planet with us.
we feel your pain.

we are so sorry.
really.
we've got our best minds working on the problem.

I'm 72 and have fought all my life for women's and other's rights. I won't see it in my lifetime. You are younger and MAY have a chance - but don't count on it. I thought I had a chance 54 years ago in college, but things haven't changed that much.

Yeah, those union members in PA and WI who switched to Trump from Obama are racist white supremacist bigots. You are an extremist stuck in your little SJW universe, indirectly contribution to Dems failure (no need to do any rallies in Wisconsin, the solid blue wall state, cause there are no bigots there to vote for Trump, right? Let's go talk to old people in Florida. This whole campaign...)
I donated to Sanders and I support Hillary, but it's kind of embarrassing to be on the same side with you.