Comments

2
How much of a complete douchebag is Trump going to be when he has to concede?
What are the odds of him being somewhat normal? or is he going to throw a yuuuge tantrum?
4
I don't think I have the stomach for this. I'll wait until tomorrow to find out how things have shaken out, assuming everything is not still ongoing. I'm hoping for Donald to have been crushed.
5
It's like watching a train wreck that occurs over several decades.
7
Fuck all of you who chose to support this terrible fucking candidate despite having a clearly better, less baggage candidate. I voted and supported this person, threw away any, "political purity", I had, and I caved. I voiced my support for her and now we have a monster winning the election.

Fuck. You. All.
8
Who ARE these people voting for that Orange Scourge?
13
Bye, Bye, Ms. American Pie...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ecvBaq…
14
And get ready to blame Jill Stein for Michigan and Wisconsin. Because all those Greens were really Hillary's until Stein stole them. It's that exact kind of reasoning that drove them away from the Democrats to begin with.

If you had known this was going to happen, wouldn't you have nominated any other Democrat? Al Gore, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, Howard Dean... any of these would have had a better shot than a candidate with negative favorability*. Even Bernie Sanders, who had worse chances than any of those other big name Dems. But even he wasn't in the negatives. If you had known this wouldn't work, wouldn't you have picked a better candidate?

But you *did* know, Democrats. The polls told you, two years ago, a year ago, yesterday. The polls back then even told you how many points would go to whoever the Greens put up there. Nader or whoever; didn't matter. Two years ago the polls told you how this was going to play out. But you Democrats did this to yourselves anyway.

But here we go. It's all Jill Steins fault. All those Green voters are stupid. It's *their* fault for being so stupid. Think about that. How can they be stupid ones? When you Democrats knew all along what was going to happen?

Kiss Roe v. Wade goodbye. All because yet another old white guy, Al or Joe or Bernie or Tim wasn't good enough for you. You had do have it this way.

* Not her fault. Not fair. The things they accuse her of are absurd. But it's a fact that she was and is unpopular, and unelectable. Or at least damn nearly so.
15
Bernie Sanders supporters... hold on, don't get angry/depressed.... you guys said if Trump wins, it'll bring "The Revolution" faster than if Clinton won.

So you should be happy at the news that Trump appears to be winning.

Right?

Because "The Revolution."

Right?
16
@15: This.
17
@15 Seriously, are you people that fucking pitiful. I stopped attacking Hillary and began defending her the second it became obvious she won the primary. I didn't want to, of course, but the fascist is the bigger threat to the environment, LGBT rights, and minorities so I sucked up and did my job. Or, the job you wanted from us actually decent human beings.

So fuck you.
19
All I can say is: OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT JESUS CHRIST.
21
My teen is trying to cheer me up. She said sometime we have to hit bottom before we can climb back up. Of course she also said, what is more terrifying isn't that Trump won, but that THAT many people in the United States agreed with him and voted for him!

She's right.

@11, glad this made your night. The ball is now in your court.

So people, get ready for religious test, pussy grabbing and the wall 'cause everything outside the wall goes to Putin. Rich people will get richer once the market recover (that wasn't going to change either way). More Ivanka clothes and big game hunting.

From the election, Trump will claim a mandate because the bitter truth is Congress went red. SC will go 5-4 conservative. We can bow to the new AG, Giuliani.

This is way bigger than Brexit. Kiss Obamacare goodbye. Canada immigration site just crashed BTW.

22
Isn't this really Dan Savage's fault? He's got incredible media presence, and he's great at shaping the culture--just look at It Gets Better and santorum. But instead of getting Trump tagged with something like Traitor Trump or Putin's Puppet, he spent his time writing copy for Walkinshaw--hell, I see the campaign ad on this very page.
23
JIM McDermott
24
Oh well..when you select shitty candidates you're gonna get shitty results. But may I advise a little less elitist snobbery from the regressive left next time around?
27
Jesus Holy Mother of God, the Rapture is upon us. Repent now!
28
This isn't Hillary's fault, or Bernie's fault, or Jill's fault, or even Trump's fault. This is the American people's fault because we are a stupid country. We elected Bush twice. Now we've elected someone so much more awful than Bush, it can't be even quantified. And we've thrown away a truly respectable, intelligent, experienced woman who did her damndest, while we believed that awful person's lies.
30
I thought I would be angry, but I'm just sad. I've seen it before. Nixon twice; Reagan twice; Bush twice and the other Bush once. That's a lot of losing. But nothing like this.

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. But we are running out of time. I weep for my country. I weep for my world. But most of all, I weep for the young.

31
Serious question: How many of you snarky anti-Clinton assholes aren't white dudes? Yeah, I thought so. Fuck all of you privileged white male assholes who still want to consider yourselves progressives. No progressive who actually has anything to lose would have let this happen, which is why white men should not be the spokespeople for modern progressivism.
32
@29, fuck off.

@30, yes. This is much worse. Or maybe it's just the buildup of sadness and disappointment over the years and the fact that we don't have as much time ahead to hope as we did after those losses.
33
@17, 18,
I'm not talking about Bernie Sanders supporters who swallowed their pride and supported Clinton when she beat him to the Dem nomination. I have no disrespect for them.

I'm talking to those who refused to vote at all when Bernie lost.

To those people, tell me when I can expect The Revolution. I'm waiting. I'll even help. But you'd better deliver.
34
A glimmer of hope. Voters in these states: WA, AZ, CO and Maine voted to increase their state minimum wage.

First Latina, Cortez Masto, is heading to the US senate.

A Somali-American woman, Ilhan Omar, will head to the Minnesota state legislature. What she said: "Our democracy is great, but it's fragile."

35
A federal government elected by a bigoted coalition of economic losers. Think hard about where you're spending your money these next four years. For me, not a fucking dime, if I can help it, to any red state or, for that matter, the eastern half of our own state. I'll be keeping it real local, thanks.
36
@31, except for Chris Reykdal. He's the real deal.
37
The circular firing squad that followed Gore's "defeat" was a big reason Dems lost 2004--it was a blame-fest that bruised friendships and alliances and distracted us from the work of vision and unity. Will we repeat the mistake? It seems likely.
39
I feel like I'm dreaming. And not in a good way. I had such high hopes for this country... that I love so much. @34 and @35, I'm moving from Wisconsin to Minnesota.
40
Fuck you guys complaining about third party candidates. And to note, I DID NOT VOTE FOR A THIRD PARTY CANDIDATE! I VOTED FOR FUCKING HILLARY! However, Hillary Fucked herself. Tim Kaine!? Not campaigning in Wisconsin. The third party votes are minuscule. Its ignoring the rage in the mirror. Surprised and depressed here, but not as surprised as I wish I was. The left is too divided. Get used to failure. And try, try, try again.
42
@31, For me as a Bernie Sanders supporter and Hillary voter, it was about the growing wealth inequality, monoplies and a country of oligarchs.

I thought Bernie and Elizabeth Warren were good starting point to counter this billionaire cartel. Those Trump supporters have no love for establishment Republicans or Democrats either. They believed Trump was going to give them back their American Dream. (He won't because he can't go against his self interest.) What he'll do is satisfy them with racism, sexism, and religious intolerance. He'll throw vulnerable, disenfranchised groups under the bus by trampling on their civil and constitutional rights.

The US economy may be recovering and wages going up slightly, but we still have wage stagnation and failing infrastructure in too many places where hope disappeared. Those people don't live in nice 'progressive' places like Seattle. They want their nice, white lives back. They want to be on top again. So if they can't beat the billionaires, they'll want a political and social hierarchy which will favor their fortune above others.

That's what this election was about.
43
@37

What f*cking circular firing squad? The Democratic Party STILL blames Ralph Nader for 2000. I've heard them say it! They've NEVER taken responsibility for abandoning the working class since 1972. The national Dems support a meritocracy, charter schools, "innovation" and "winners" on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley. They are the party of lawyers, doctors, professors, engineers, investment bankers and computer executives. The professional class that used to be Republicans.

[See Thomas Franks's "Listen Liberal: Or Whatever Happened to the Party of the People?"]

What's not to like if you're a teacher or fast-food worker? The Dems have been blind and deaf to the needs of the working poor. So the working poor don't turn out anymore because nobody represents them.
44
Liberal tears, sweeter than the finest cognac!
45
Alright. Republican executive branch. Republican legislative branch. Republican judicial branch.

Show us the jobs. Show us the economy. Show us how you're going to bring what you promised.

You can't blame anything. ANYTHING. on democrats for the next two years. It's all on you.

I'll be waiting.

I'll be waiting.
46
If the buck stops anywhere, it stops with HRC. That is what leadership is all about. Or are we cutting her a break because of her gender?

This is what happens when you nominate the Senator from Goldman-Sachs in an election that turns out to be about how much the working class is hurting.

This is what happens when the NAFTA chickens come home to roost.

This is what happens when your candidate spends her time in prior offices supporting stupid wars that do nothing to secure the country.

Above all, this is what happens when your candidate selection process is a coronation managed by party elites.

I'm not at all happy Trump won. I'm worried about what the future holds. But the silver lining is that Clinton lost. Maybe we can finally be rid of that family once and for all.

The other silver lining is the Democrats finally have the opportunity to purge their elitist globalist wing, now that they've failed so spectacularly and against such an opponent. I find it inconceivable that Trump will actually be able to deliver for his followers. That presents Democrats with an opportunity to return to being a party of labor and build a real coalition for the future. That's going to take some creativity and some willingness to stand up to the moneyed interests. I'm not at all sure that the current crop is up to the job.
47
News still reached me. I did my best. But everyone is talking about this, even in the video game I was playing to try to keep my mind completely off it. So I had to check the news. I caught up when he was at 259, I think. A couple minutes later, 269.

All we can hope for now is that the "punch in the face to Washington" works out like they dream. I have deep doubts that it will, but I can hope to be completely, utterly wrong.

@45: Yep.
48
FUCK YOU, Trump supporting IDIOTS. You'll find out when you're among the first he throws under the bus, and good riddance.
49
@41 David in Shoreline: You'll find out just how "great" it is as of January, 2017, asshole.
See @48, read it, and die. All other gloating idiots can join you.
@47 Knat, re @45 Urgutha Forka: I second that yep.
50
I predict that Canada is building a wall along all the continental U.S. states, and closing off the Alaskan border, as well.
51
@2
Looks like you must have meant Clinton when you said Trump.
52
If at first you don't succeed...SECEDE!

Time to get the petition out and start the ball rolling on Cascadia.
53
I too am so sad for my children. After the global havoc wreaked by the Bush years that we're currently dealing with, it is inconceivable how much more horrible the world's course will be now.
After all the talk of the fracturing/destruction of the Republican Party as we know it, they prevailed.
I blame the media.
He played them.
Why wasn't he successfully tagged as a billionaire elite who rips people off, as someone who is the opposite of what he claimed to be? Not in editorials but in loud clear pointed reporting?
His lying propaganda needed to be answered. Not just displayed on his stage. People (apparently) believe lies.
Liberal media went to sleep during Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld atrocities.
I hope they behave differently this time.
Not that it's not too late.
54
FUCK FUCK FUCK
55
Holy. Crap.

now look what you guys went and made us do.....
56
But seriously, thru the inky black night we see glowing out on the horizon....

is it The Revolution?!

Did they start without us?!?

No.

It is the sunrise.....

Cheer up.

It is time to start the National Reconciliation.

The line for hugs starts over there......

The line for folks wanting to be groped is over here.

BaDaBoom!
57
What @43 and @46 said.

Who'd have thought that the lower-middle class wouldn't show enthusiasm for the DNC's coronation of someone LITERALLY married to a Wall Street hedge fund, who's dynasty had gleefully presided over the effort to shove working-class jobs out of the country at the greatest possible rate? That worked out well, didn't it?
58
Rural, uneducated voters know that the Democratic party does not give a shit about them. They also know that the republican party does not care about them. I know you all need to believe that anyone outside of an urban core is a backwards yokel who does not know their ass from a hole in the ground, but it is not true.

But the democratic party goes out of their way to degrade, demean, and blame them for every problem under the sun. The republican party does not. Why do you think they vote GOP?

You guys are already doing in in this thread. Blaming those dumb, rural white devils for voting for the candidate they wanted. Maybe the democratic party should have done something, anything to get their vote. Maybe Clinton should not have told coal miners she wanted them not to have a job. Maybe the democratic party (and outspoken liberals) should drop the obvious disdain they have for rural people.

Because can you imagine if Clinton had not run against the second worst candidate of all time? An actual politician who knew what he was doing, who actually ran a campaign? It would have been a bloodbath.
59
Remember: we survived Reagan at the height of the cold war, we can survive this.
60
But, hey, we'll just offset the candidate's center-right economic baggage by harping on gun control! Working-class voters in "flyover states" LOVE gun control, right?

That worked out so well in 1980, and 1994, and 2000, and 2014. What could possibly go wrong?!?
61
Tell me again how taking a shit on swaths of the voting population by Clinton and her surrogates (like most anyone who has a media presence) wins you elections? Clinton and her minions engaged in a level of shit talking to the opposition that Obama never came close to doing in 2008 or 2012.

Relying on the promise of changing demographics doesn't win you elections when you actively decide to alienate large numbers of the population and especially when your candidate already isn't well liked.

But hey, I disagreed with a commentator on Slog a few weeks ago and that made me a "raging bigot" Enjoy the short end of inauguration day: THE LEFT LOST THIS ELECTION ALL BY THEMSELVES: TRUMP SURE AS HELL DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO WIN.
62
@58 Yeah, that would help.

@59 I keep thinking "Italy survived Berlusconi, we can survive this." But Italy has a lot fewer aircraft carriers than we do, which may limit their ability to get into deep shit...
63
@35 my vote, for Clinton, from the East side of WA state counted as much as your vote. This is a good example of the attitude called out in other comments (like @58) here that leads people to vote for candidates like Trump.
64
56

too soon?
66
@65: People are freaking out about the Dow, but that is really more about uncertainty than Trump himself. Wall Street had already assumed Clinton was winning, and they knew exactly what they would get from her, which was more of the same. They knew Clinton's administration would still be behind them 100%.

But they really don't know what they are getting from Trump. But they will rebound, just like they did after the equally unexpected Brexit vote.
67
I don't think it matters who was the Dem candidate. Hillary flogged Trump in the debates. She was rational and caring; he was crazy and flailing. Voters knew it, polls showed it. But general discontent always crept back stronger. Reason had less to do with this election than maybe any in history. Happy now Bernie or Busters and 3rd party paranoids? Because this election was lost to an epidemic of the cognitive bias that underwrites conspirtorial ideation. Mostly it overwhelmed reason on the right, but if you were a part of that vector a node in that network of infectious conspiratorial bias that crossed ideolgical lines - it's partly on you regardless of your politics. So flail your recriminations about our candidate was unelectable, but the reality is she certainly was but for people like you wanting to play Slackers-the-Movie conspiratorial thinking cool guy so much smarter that the rest of us sheeple. Nice fucking job, enjoy your president.
68
I certainly don't expect anyone at The Stranger to take any responsibility for anything but at the very least Hillary needed to reach out to working class and rural white voters: she may never have been able to win them but at least she could have demotivated them to vote for Trump in the droves that they did.

But sure, keep taking a shit on those voters and see how that helps you. It take years for the demographic changes the left is gambling on to really make a huge difference politically: it was never going to be overnight
69
66 no, Wall Street knows Trump is a dumbass isolationist loose canon we a history of colossal financial fuck ups. The market know what it got and is reacting rationally.
70
This election has been media-hyped against conservatives and particularly against Trump from the beginning and his campaign propaganda was set to win. Frankly, I don't believe he wanted the job which is why he was so honest and blunt - he was himself. I believe most of us understand the concept of checks and balances and the living document known as the U.S. Constitution. Half the schpiel he stated will be just like most campaigns of the past and never come to fruition because of those checks and balances. On the other hand this is a notice that our system works and has worked for years like it of not; that the people have spoken and "establishment politics" is a dying concept. He didn't need the establishment to win this race and he proved that last night. The middle class is falling, people who were born in this country are feeling and being made to feel like second class citizens by getting less opportunities than those coming off a boat or airplane. Men are accused and ostracized at the drop of a hat without due proces. The last ten years have been rife with income gaps, wage stagnation and racial inequality among its police forces and an explosive cost of living with promises of "progress" and "hope" - neither of which is paying the bills. This is going to a very exciting four years from a purely sociological standpoint where people are either going to pull together or scurry off like cowards. And the tell is already beginning. When a group of wealthy individuals who claim to be US citizens, who made their money and lived great lives and benefited from our system and societal standards that most could only dream of publicly declare that they will become willing ex-pats when times get tough is what is frightening, astounding and a bit telling of the hypocrisy of modern liberalism. We can cry for the fallen, but we aren't going to attempt to fight with them - we're going to run. Are they going to take you with them to Europe? Probably not. So in effect, this is an excellent societal example of what liberal thinking is when not handed everything they want - rats leaving the ship leaving the rest to cry over their spoon-fed delusion that theirs is the only voice that counts without giving the new president elect the benefit of the doubt first. These are the true patriots that won't stay and fight for their ideals even in the face of what many are already judging as a "dictatorship" (and a dictator who has had a past cozy relationship with the Clintons for hears). The writing was on the wall with Brexit. Nationalism is now the mantra, not globalism because - funny enough - globalism hasn't proven to benefit anyone in this country unless you own stock portfolios. With Russia you need fire to fight fire and you need a strong President that won't accuse another country of wrong-doing before the proof is in- something Clinton did incessantly since the democratic convention to take the email scandal off her. She screamed "Putin" and blamed Russia (an entire nation of people) without understanding the full concept of the damage she was doing economically to the U.S. Russia and China are already aligning their business strategies. Cars, electronics, clothing, and other imports could easily double or triple in price had Hillary won simply out of retaliation. Trump was smart and kept his mouth shut and now you may have a chance for an upgrade on that smart phone or tablet next time without exhausting your bank account. I understand that General Michael Flynn is being tapped for a cabinet position which is a good thing. He's highly respected and moderate as far as his social views. I don't think it will be as bad as the doomsayers predict because the doomsayers aren't in control anymore and neither is the establishment and that scares them. And if, for some reason the worse does occur, then this is where action will set apart the "proverbial" men from the boys and technology like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. will be moot because it will take action beyond the confines of the four walls of residences to stand up for what you believe in. As Thomas Jefferson said, . "Even this (sic) evil is productive of good. It prevents the degeneracy of government, and nourishes a general attention to the public affairs. I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical". https://www.google.com/amp/www.sfgate.co…
71
"She was rational and caring;"

Lip service. The Ds had a choice in the mid-90s: remain the party of labor and fight a rear-guard action against job loss to globalization (not stop job loss, but try to keep the brakes on) or go all in for "Wall Street, Wall Street Uber Alles." They chose the latter. and put Ron Brown on a plane to China every month, despite China being our biggest strategic and economic threat in that decade.

Yesterday the chickens of "triangulation" came home to roost.
72
@58: Slow clap.

Everyone wants to attribute Trump's victory to racism. Racism is a symptom, not a cause. The need for a simple scapegoat because the true causes of the suffering experienced are too complex to tackle.

The cause is poverty, is desperation, is a sense of being disenfranchised. The cause is people telling whites experiencing abject poverty to check their privilege.

The left has dived headfirst into Godwin's law, but completely ignored the conditions that led to Hitler's rise to power in the first place. The left failed to do anything to address the issues that large swaths of Americans face, instead doubling down on identity politics and insults toward rural America. Is it really any surprise that this was their response?

Maybe, just maybe, if Hillary had pretended to give a crap about the issues affecting rural America instead of smugly insulting them, the results would have been different.
73
@39 I moved from Madison, WI to California 4 years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. Feingold losing his last two elections to Ron Johnson is the most disheartening thing I have ever seen in politics. Well other than Bush getting elected the 2nd time and Cheeto Jesus becoming President.
74
@69: If you believe instantaneous market reactions are "rational" then you simply have no idea how large scale financial markets work. The largest parts of the drop happened before PA, WI, MI, or NC were even called, and were basically neck and neck.

Also, it is way too early to be drunk, take a nap. It looks like your post was banged out with your fists.
76
@33 Turnout was up 5% so I doubt many of those people didn't vote. If you gave all of Stein's votes to Hillary she still wouldn't have gotten to 270. Johnson outperformed Stein so you could make the case that more conservatives voted for a 3rd party than progressives. If it isn't the 3rd parties fault or low turnout who is at fault? At what point do we just say we picked a bad candidate? People laughed at the Republicans for completely disregarding their autopsy and it would be just as dumb for the democrats to write this off as racists and sexists idiots winning? The working class spoke loudly last night. The Rust Belt voted because of TPP. They did not believe Clintons flip flop on that. Her picking Kaine(also for TPP) only sealed her fate. When you make decisions that are a big FU to a large portion of the electorate don't be surprised when that electorate fucks you back. It made me sick when she picked Kaine because it was such an arrogant move. I got over it because I didn't think it was going to sink her in the end, but I should have went with my gut reaction.
77
@66 Banking is up because they know exactly what they will get, less regulation. By some stroke of luck the bulk of my investments were in US based pharmaceuticals which also happen to be up. I thought I was going to wake up to a 15% or more loss and somehow it turned into a 10% gain so the Trump news wasn't all bad. Well except for the fact that his Supreme Courts Justices will be making decisions for the country for the next 35 years.
78
@72, while that might explain Trump's (and Hitler's) rise, how is he going to open up shuttered factories in Ohio and coal mines in Kentucky, while cutting taxes for the wealthy? Will Ivana make her clothes here instead of Bangladesh? (I hope so.). By cutting back on social services, education funding, infrastructure building (because that takes taxes and the middle class can't shoulder it all)? What about wall street reform and closing tax loopholes? You know stuff that people living in rural areas or depressed Ohio towns
don't benefit from, but are more victims of!
He's got a mandate. He has Congress, the US Supreme Court and this nation's intelligence apparatus.

What will he do to deliver to the disenfranchised? And by focusing on the disenfranchised who voted for him, those white, working class voters, will he leave out the other disenfranchised folks because they are politically expedient? Is this nation going to embrace torture, religious test and misogyny as well?

I share some of the frustrations these voters have against both parties' establishment, but I take little heart in seeing the depth of resentment and hate I see right now. I didn't see anything from Donald Trump during the campaign about HOW he's going to make 'America great again'.
79
@74 the futures dropped, but the futures were wrong. The market overall is up today. The US market doesn't actually trade overnight when those futures numbers were coming in. They are just bets on what it was going to do. The currency markets were going nuts though.
80
@79: I know, but I am trying to keep it simple, and just outline how the whole "Market Crashes with Trump Win!" thing is being WAY overblown.
82
@77:
...how is he going to open up shuttered factories in Ohio and coal mines in Kentucky, while cutting taxes for the wealthy? . . . What will he do to deliver to the disenfranchised?

Never said that he would.

Those votes were acts of desperation and outrage. They picked the candidate who pretended to give a crap and have a plan over the one who openly and flagrantly wrote them off.

Not saying he's a savior by any means. Just saying I'm not terribly surprised.
83
@80 I misunderstood you. You are right the initial shock was way overblown.
85
@59: I'm with you there.
Will be interesting for us two to be on the same side of the divide.
86
I see Dan Savage and Sean Nelson are wasting no time in trying to shift the blame to third parties, so let's nip that lie in the bud right away.

With Trump taking Michigan and Arizona, and Hillary taking New Hampshire, it now appears that the final electoral count will be 306 - 232. There are only TWO states in which Jill Stein's votes exceed the margin of Trump's victory: Wisconsin and Michigan. If you make the assumption that if Jill didn't run all of her voters would have voted for Hillary (a false assumption -- exit polls indicate only a quarter of Stein voters would have voted Clinton in a two-person race), those are the ONLY two states where the electoral outcome would change. So for the sake of argument if you transfer Wisconsin's (10) and Michigan's (16) electoral votes from Trump to Hillary, the final electoral count still has Trump winning 280 - 258.

Jill Stein did not "spoil" the outcome, period. If you perpetuate that myth, you are a liar.

Did Gary Johnson throw the election to Trump? It's true that Johnson's votes exceed Trump's margins in several states. But did Johnson pull all of his votes from Clinton? Of course not. Whether Johnson pulled from both candidates equally or hurt one over the other may be impossible to say. But based on earlier polling a WaPo examination found, "on current evidence, the Libertarian ticket is having a largely neutral but slightly pro-Clinton effect on the race as a whole", while fivethirtyeight reported, "overall, including third-party candidates takes about 1 percentage point away from Clinton’s margin, on average". So if Johnson had any effect on the outcome, it was likely minimal.

In the end, you are grasping at straws if you put the blame on Johnson, and you are outright lying if you try to blame Jill. Third parties did not lose this election for Clinton. She did that by her damned self. The real question you need to be asking is why Hillary failed to inspire a winning majority. She lost so many voters a progressive candidate should have won:

According to CNN's exit poll data, Clinton won "union households" with 51 percent to Trump's 43 percent—a shockingly low number for such a historically Democratic base. Clinton lost independents 48-42 percent in favor of Trump (unfortunately, CNN doesn't list independent candidates in national data, offering only "Other/No Answer," which scored 10 percent of the independent vote).

Clinton was only able to win voters under the age of 30 with 55 percent to Trump's 37 percent, while 8 percent of young millennials went into the the all-encompassing "Other" category. While Clinton won the group overall, it is highly relevant that the Democratic nominee lost 10 percent of self-described "liberals" to Trump, with 6 percent responding "Other/No Answer."

But self-reflection is hard and blaming the deliberately marginalized voices of third party voters by the Democratic and Republican parties is easier.


The painful truth that you're going to have to come to terms with is that you put up a bad candidate. Robert Scheer and Gleen Greenwald cut straight to the heart of the matter in their pieces this morning.

Scheer:

What you have is a defeat of elitism. Clinton’s arrogance was on full display with the revelation of her speeches cozying up to Goldman Sachs—the bank that caused this misery more than any other—and the irony of this is not lost on the people who are hurting and can’t pay their bills. This is a victory for a neofascist populism—scapegoating immigrants and Muslims—and if Bernie Sanders had been the Democrats’ candidate, I feel confident he would have won. We were denied the opportunity of a confrontation between a progressive populist, represented by Sanders, and a neofascist populist.

It’s a repudiation of the arrogant elitism of the Democratic Party machine as represented by the Clintons, whose radical deregulation of Wall Street created this mess. And instead of recognizing the error of their ways and standing up to the banks, Clinton’s campaign cozied up to them, and that did not give people who are hurting confidence that she would respond to their needs or that she gave a damn about their suffering. She’s terminally tone-deaf.


Greenwald:

Put simply, Democrats knowingly chose to nominate a deeply unpopular, extremely vulnerable, scandal-plagued candidate, who — for very good reason — was widely perceived to be a protector and beneficiary of all the worst components of status quo elite corruption. It’s astonishing that those of us who tried frantically to warn Democrats that nominating Hillary Clinton was a huge and scary gamble — that all empirical evidence showed that she could lose to anyone and Bernie Sanders would be a much stronger candidate, especially in this climate — are now the ones being blamed: by the very same people who insisted on ignoring all that data and nominating her anyway.

But that’s just basic blame shifting and self-preservation. Far more significant is what this shows about the mentality of the Democratic Party. Just think about who they nominated: someone who — when she wasn’t dining with Saudi monarchs and being feted in Davos by tyrants who gave million-dollar checks — spent the last several years piggishly running around to Wall Street banks and major corporations cashing in with $250,000 fees for 45-minute secret speeches even though she had already become unimaginably rich with book advances while her husband already made tens of millions playing these same games. She did all that without the slightest apparent concern for how that would feed into all the perceptions and resentments of her and the Democratic Party as corrupt, status quo-protecting, aristocratic tools of the rich and powerful: exactly the worst possible behavior for this post-2008-economic-crisis era of globalism and destroyed industries.

It goes without saying that Trump is a sociopathic con artist obsessed with personal enrichment: the opposite of a genuine warrior for the downtrodden. That’s too obvious to debate. But, just as Obama did so powerfully in 2008, he could credibly run as an enemy of the D.C. and Wall Street system that has steamrolled over so many people, while Hillary Clinton is its loyal guardian, its consummate beneficiary.
88
@87: Trump delenda est!

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