2016 Postmortem

Millions of people believe all sorts of utter nonsense. They live in an alternate reality from which there's no return. Democrats need to engage the disengaged (40% don't vote in presidential elections and 60% don't vote in mid-term elections) and outnumber the opposition, because they will never win over the likes of those who don't think white privilege and institutionalized racism are realities. Or those who think climate change is a hoax. Or those who think that Obama is a Muslim who was born in Kenya. Or those who think marriage equality infringes on rights, as opposed to expanding rights. And so on.

As I wrote below, at least 20% of eligible voters simply can't be reached by the Democratic Party without the Democratic Party completely abandoning its base. I don't know why that's such a hard thing to accept. After all, we live in a country where Young Earth Creationists have sat on the US House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. A country where, in the year 2016, the President-elect was endorsed by the KKK. Again, there are those living in an alternate reality. If one wants to spend the time and energy trying to pull such folks out of that reality, good f***ing luck.

Clinton offered far more substantive positions than Trump on economic matters and everything else, the Rust Belt is better off than it was pre-Obama, Trump is the most Wall Street-friendly candidate *ever*, Trump picked up steam as soon as he indicated that most Mexican immigrants are rapists and drug dealers, and Clinton did better than Trump among those most hurt by the recession. But I'm supposed to believe Clinton lost because Trump is the candidate of the working stiff? And not because of racism, sexism, xenophobia, voter suppression, FBI interference, etc.? Uh-huh.