so much for draining the swamp

[*wildcats forever*]

(11-12-2016, 08:12 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: You're right that Clinton lost because people stayed home, but let's keep in mind that the Democrats were the party of the working class for a long time. They don't feel like they are being represented by the Democrats any longer, that they aren't being listened to. They feel like the politicians elected to represent them are paying more attention to "special interests" (I hate that term, lobbyists are only special interests when they are lobbying for something a politician doesn't like) then they are to them. It's no coincidence that Michigan and Wisconsin, states that hadn't gone red since the 80s, went for Bernie in the primaries. That warning sign went ignored.

I'm not a Bernie fan. His anti-establishment rhetoric is ironic given that he is an old, white, cultural Jew that has been in politics since the New Deal (yes, I am being hyperbolic). But, we can't deny that his message was getting the Democratic party back to its roots. Back to what won over those union members in the industrial areas in the first place. Let's be frank, the Democrats have focused more on social issues than economic. I have been one avoiding looking at this election as a repudiation of anything, but if there were one I would agree with it was that it was a repudiation of that. Yes, it is extremely important that we work to ensure the rights and liberties of all of our people are protected. Civil rights is a hallmark of progress, but I think why so many people are sneering at the idea of it is because their economic concerns are being left behind in this push forward. We need to make sure that we focus our efforts on the economic concerns more.

We also need to stop lumping voters into groups. We need to focus on issues. There are issues that certain groups care about more, sure, but in all we need to stop courting the black vote, the Latino vote, the LGBT vote. We need to focus on the issues. We need to find the issues that all of the people care about and explain how we can help them.

You hit on the points about turning our backs to voters that I was referring to previously. Michigan is a prime example, in that HRC didn't even go there in the few weeks running up to the election. She took Michigan for granted, same as she did Wisconsin and likely Pennsylvania. Beyond that, to a point made by Dill, the Democrats did little to nothing about refuting the claims about a "weak military" etc. HRC's arrogance bit her in the ass, by acting like anything Trump said could not possibly be on target. She stopped listening.

I am a Bernie fan, and the main reason is he does bring forward issues. The policy list he presented was about the problems we all face in some varying degrees. He has some good comprehensive explanations for how some if his proposed solutions could work, while others needed some work. The main point with him was the passion he showed in conveying the belief in making things better for as many as possible. Make fun of his mannerisms if you must, but I don't think he deserves ridicule for the care and effort he has put in over his entire career, all for the betterment of the public. The rest of the clown show we've been exposed to pale in comparison. 

How long it will take for Democrats to regroup depends on how well they identify their problems, and who they pick to solve them. Plus who they choose to front the new and improved Party, which that in itself will take a good amount of time to establish the needed credibility to draw the majority back 'home'. I am not one to root for immediate GOP failure as a means to shorten this time span. I do hope that Trump does push for infrastructure programs right off the bat, then come up with a decent 'repaired' Obamacare plan. Neither of these two can be done quickly but ideally buys some time while things settle down.