Editorials & Other Articles

bemildred

(90,061 posts) Wed May 11, 2016, 10:09 AM May 2016

The Daily 202: West Virginia results show disaffection, not ideology, fuels Sanders and Trump

THE BIG IDEA: The success of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders is really not about ideology. It’s about disaffection.

Americans, collectively, are not as angry as watching cable TV would lead you to believe. But many poorer, less-educated folks who have been left behind in the 21st century—the ones who have seen their wages stagnate, their opportunities for upward mobility disappear and their life expectancies shorten—are looking to disrupt a status quo that has not worked for them.

That’s what Sanders and Trump are both promising to do.

And that’s the main reason why Bernie beat Hillary Clinton in yesterday’s West Virginia Democratic primary by 15.4 points. He carried every single county in the Mountaineer State, which by every metric has been left behind. (Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, won 77 percent of the vote in the uncontested GOP primary.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2016/05/11/daily-202-west-virginia-results-show-disaffection-not-ideology-fuels-sanders-and-trump/57322d0b981b92a22d72af0d/

I'm new to this politics thing. Explain how @SenSanders got 62% of the votes from W Virginians who want LESS liberal policies than @POTUS
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) May 10, 2016

11 replies

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Highlight:

The Daily 202: West Virginia results show disaffection, not ideology, fuels Sanders and Trump (Original Post) bemildred May 2016 OP

It's easy to explain Paul Begala. Anybody But Hillary. Autumn May 2016 #1

Wow, voters are more interested in personality than policy. malthaussen May 2016 #2

Yeah, it's a stunner, US voters are not that deep into policy. bemildred May 2016 #5

As I have been stating for over a year now,"THIS IS A CHANGE ELECTION." Kip Humphrey May 2016 #3

Key Statement in the Article: KPN May 2016 #4

#732 in our continuing series.... catnhatnh May 2016 #6

I am kinda surprised at the results hfojvt May 2016 #7

Trump has it wrapped up...no need for turnout. Bernie polled to hear vlintonnin WV. nt Lucky Luciano May 2016 #10

exactly, so why not vote in the Democratic Primary? hfojvt May 2016 #11

Begala, as a useless skin tag on the party, can't understand that policies that 70-90% MisterP May 2016 #8

I am pretty sure Begala intends sarcasm there. bemildred May 2016 #9

Autumn

(45,120 posts)

1. It's easy to explain Paul Begala. Anybody But Hillary.

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Wed May 11, 2016, 10:14 AM

May 2016

malthaussen

(17,217 posts)

2. Wow, voters are more interested in personality than policy.

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Wed May 11, 2016, 10:20 AM

May 2016

Who'd a thunk it?

Not Mr Begala, apparently.

-- Mal

bemildred

(90,061 posts)

5. Yeah, it's a stunner, US voters are not that deep into policy.

Reply to malthaussen (Reply #2)

Wed May 11, 2016, 10:43 AM

May 2016

How can that be?

Kip Humphrey

(4,753 posts)

3. As I have been stating for over a year now,"THIS IS A CHANGE ELECTION."

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Wed May 11, 2016, 10:22 AM

May 2016

As for the stupidity, Bernie has for many, many years garnered support from wingers because of his INTEGRITY, HONESTY, and AUTHENTICITY - three qualities that seemingly are foreign character traits to many Hillarians since they are repeatedly bewildered by the effects of those traits on the electorate.

KPN

(15,662 posts)

4. Key Statement in the Article:

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Wed May 11, 2016, 10:36 AM

May 2016

West Virginia may be an outlier in some ways. It will not be in play during the general election, and Clinton is still marching toward the Democratic nomination. But this sense of disaffection cannot be ignored by the elites in either party any longer.

We shall see how the DNC, Hillary camp (if she is nominated) and broader Democratic Party establishment respond to the 45% of registered Dems who represent the disaffected -- very soon.

catnhatnh

(8,976 posts)

6. #732 in our continuing series....

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Wed May 11, 2016, 01:07 PM

May 2016

"Why whatever Bernie won most recently doesn't matter".

hfojvt

(37,573 posts)

7. I am kinda surprised at the results

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Wed May 11, 2016, 01:43 PM

May 2016

210,000 votes cast in a primary election compared to 238,000 for Obama in 2012.

That's kinda shockingly high turnout.

On the other side Trump got 156,000 votes compared to 417,000 for Romney.

Much lower turnout, which makes more sense to me.

I suspect West Virginia had an open primary and a few tens of thousands of Republicans voted in the Democratic Primary trying to undermine our nominee.

Lucky Luciano

(11,261 posts)

10. Trump has it wrapped up...no need for turnout. Bernie polled to hear vlintonnin WV. nt

Reply to hfojvt (Reply #7)

Wed May 11, 2016, 09:29 PM

May 2016

hfojvt

(37,573 posts)

11. exactly, so why not vote in the Democratic Primary?

Reply to Lucky Luciano (Reply #10)

Wed May 11, 2016, 11:59 PM

May 2016

Consider Wisconsin, when both races were still going (vs. now when they are both wrapped up).

Bernie won Wisconsin 567.9 to 432.8 or about a million votes, compared to Obama's 1.6 million in 2012. 62.5% turnout compared to 88% for West Virginia.

Then Republicans in Wisconsin. 531 for Cruz, 386 for Trump and 155 for Kasich compared to 1.4 million for Romney in 2012. 76.5% turnout.

88% just does not seem normal to me,. at all.

And just like I wanted to see a brutal convention fight for the Republicans, to damage their chances in the fall, other people want to see a brutal convention fight for the Democrats to damage our chances in the fall.

Or look at Connecticut (numbers are in thousands). 170 for Clinton, 152 for Sanders. 905 for Obama 35.6%
123 for Trump, 60.5 for Kasich and 25 for Cruz, 635 for Romney for 32.8%

MisterP

(23,730 posts)

8. Begala, as a useless skin tag on the party, can't understand that policies that 70-90%

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Wed May 11, 2016, 02:35 PM

May 2016

of Americans want--peace, job stability, good schools--are being blocked by a duopoly that has monetized their misery

he's still in the triangulationist paradigm where the independents are neatly midway between the two parties, rather than turned off by a backscratching political class that slams each other for the cameras but then colludes behind white-noise machines

bemildred

(90,061 posts)

9. I am pretty sure Begala intends sarcasm there.

Reply to MisterP (Reply #8)

Wed May 11, 2016, 02:44 PM

May 2016

I don't want to defend him otherwise, but I think he gets it, at least some.

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