In Trump ....We Trust

[Jack Dracula]

I don't think all of the ramifications have sunk in with just how unusual and significant this was. Time will tell but in a single election, he may have stopped cold both the Clinton and Bush political dynasties. His 5 year ban on lobbying and purge of Chris Christie establishment picks has already had a positive effect on the swamp. He is ahead of naming cabinet positions compared to the same time in the Bush, Clinton or Obama administration and Ford has even announced they are keeping their plant open even if moving small car production. It makes this observation from Joe Scarborough seem even more truthful.

You can't polish a turd.

[MidTierHero]

Or maybe they were shocked because the state polls gave Hillary a MUCH higher chance of winning, and Trump had lost all three debates, and he had sex scandals, admitted to sexual assault, was caught trying to violate the sanctions against Cuba, had ties to the Russians, refused to release his taxes - basically did all the things that should have destroyed his chances to win.

Meanwhile. Hillary didn't use the government E-Mail server, same as her predecessors.

How can one NOT be shocked?

It's their job not to be shocked. It's their job to understand the moods of the country - all of the country, not just the East and West Coasts. It's their job not to rely on polls, especially when people have been made too afraid to voice their true opinions. It's their job to go out and actually talk to people of all political beliefs, and not make the ones whose views they don't agree with look like cranks or hicks.

And while we're at it, it's their job to not sandbag Sanders, who had a much better chance of beating Trump, a fact that is driving the Left absolutely nuts right now.

But yeah, keep pretending like Clinton's only flaw was her E-mail server issues.

[ouroboros]

Honestly, the idea that poor (white) people elected Trump doesn't bear out. That it was rural white people doesn't, even.

His votes seem to have mostly come from upper middle class, according to polls. This wasn't farmers and sales clerks and guys driving wreckers for the city.

It wasn't a coastal vs inner thing. It isn't North vs South. West vs East. As fun as it is to pick a group of people you don't ID with and decide because of their accent or favorite sport that they are inferior hate-mongerers, this election did not bear that out.

But, it's easy to blame poor people for a rich city boy (&#*ing up our country. Easier than blaming the rich city boy and his rich city boy friends and allies. Because that would be wrong, and judgmental of us. Lots of good rich city people, after all.

OK, so last week's theory of the rural vote's importance has been exploded. Well and good. But that doesn't answer a more pertinent question.

If Trump won a significant portion of the upper/middle white vote-- regardless of what the electoral college did afterward-- then doesn't that mean that there was a massive crossover to Trump of many of the upper/middle white voters who helped put Obama in office twice before?

I wonder if some events transpiring after Obama's second election could have turned that voting bloc against the Democrats?

What O what could they have been?

[numberthirty]

Or maybe they were shocked because the state polls gave Hillary a MUCH higher chance of winning, and Trump had lost all three debates, and he had sex scandals, admitted to sexual assault, was caught trying to violate the sanctions against Cuba, had ties to the Russians, refused to release his taxes - basically did all the things that should have destroyed his chances to win.

Meanwhile. Hillary didn't use the government E-Mail server, same as her predecessors.

How can one NOT be shocked?

If one was saying HRC was weak in the general for months, I'd be willing to bet that guy wasn't particularly shocked.

[numberthirty]

That said, maybe the media were discounting some incredibly obvious realities.

[Jeanpaul123]

can someone name ONE progressive or forward thinking platform the GOP has contributed in the past 20 or so years?

Define what you consider to be progressive, because one could say they have helped the american economy to progress thanks to some of their platform.

[Jeanpaul123]

Or maybe they were shocked because the state polls gave Hillary a MUCH higher chance of winning, and Trump had lost all three debates, and he had sex scandals, admitted to sexual assault, was caught trying to violate the sanctions against Cuba, had ties to the Russians, refused to release his taxes - basically did all the things that should have destroyed his chances to win.

Meanwhile. Hillary didn't use the government E-Mail server, same as her predecessors.

How can one NOT be shocked?

You said it, the media focus more on reporting on Trump that in Hillary, you could argue that by doing they helped or not Trump but by the end of the day, Trump received more coverage than Clinton, allowing Trump ideas to spread more than Clinton ideas.

[Mark Thrust]

He also exposed the echo chamber that is American media, both on the Right and Left. The reason why the NY Times and other similar venues were so shocked after the election is because they had stopped being an organ of journalism that reports and investigates, and became a mouthpiece for the DNC and the Left. Every media company has biases, this is expected, but they were just making things up out of whole cloth. They abdicated their responsibility to at the very least talk to people who didn't fit their ideological orthodoxy, and instead thought they could just insult people into agreeing with them. They have completely lost touch with an enormous segment of the country's population, which is why they were flabbergasted when reality came crashing in.

This is very true. You had both the Right and Left scrambling for narrative.
The regular, hard working people decided enough was enough and voted for change, and to be honest, when a privilege white college student screams "While Privilige" and "Racist" at a blue collar worker that is working hard and living paycheck to paycheck, what did the Alt/Regressive think was going to happen?
It's a wake up call for the Democrats and Liberals to take back the reigns from the children and work towards inclusion, not division.

[Totoro Man]

Ok, so that's a NO then.

why, yes, go ahead and pat yourself on the back. ;-)

when people deliberately ask an exclusively framed question to confirm their personal bias then... of course.

a less politically biased question would be "what has the GOP done for America?" in the last 20 years. then it's not framing the question so that the GOP is required to adhere to political ideals they don't hold to to 'win'.

it's actually a better question because it allows the author to 'look completely neutral'. then they can attack the accomplishments of the GOP because they don't reflect the author's personal values. it's a win/win scenario.

asking the question in the way that theInvisibleMan does simply makes it look like usual partisan screeching. it's little more than the garden-variety "come at me, bro!"

[Jeanpaul123]

Also i would like to add that this election allowed to see how much power the extreme right and left have over the information, which is scary.

[t hedge coke]

a less politically biased question would be "what has the GOP done for America?" in the last 20 years.

What has the GOP done (that's "good") for America in the last twenty years?

Earnest question, phrased - I hope - to your standards.

[Mark Thrust]

The funny thing, in the past election cycle, true Liberals are being considered Conservatives.
It's a weird, strange thing to see.

[t hedge coke]

The funny thing, in the past election cycle, true Liberals are being considered Conservatives.
It's a weird, strange thing to see.

Do you mind walking us through that? How you came to such a conclusion?

[Kusanagi]

The funny thing, in the past election cycle, true Liberals are being considered Conservatives.
It's a weird, strange thing to see.

I'd like to know the definition of 'true' liberal in this case. Not trying to start anything, just curious.

[Mark Thrust]

Do you mind walking us through that? How you came to such a conclusion?

Well, I make a mention on another site that I don't like the policies and that I consider HIllary to be fairly corrupt and a career politician, and beholden to Wall Street.
I am called a 'misogynist', an Alt Right shill.
I mention that maybe banning speakers from College campuses isn't the best thing to do..it smacks of the Authoritarian tactics that the Right wing has utilized at their worst.
Somehow, I am automatically on the side of the speaker (when I am not). I believe in free speech. Let them talk..whether you agree or not, this is the fundamental foundation of our American democracy.
Screaming "White Privilige" at someone for questioning some of the tactics of BLM and threatening to shut them up is, to be honest, straight up bullshit.
The Alt Left is just as regressive as the Alt Right.