2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWho Is the Hillary Voter?
By Eric Sasson
March 18, 2016
The media is obsessed with the Sanders voter and the Trump voter. Yet it is the Hillary voter who may have the last laugh.
We have heard much talk this cycle about the mood of our national electorate. People are angry. They are sick and tired of establishment politicians, and are gravitating toward outsiders, revolutionaries, people who are going to turn this country around. They are flocking to the polls in huge numbers to make their anger heard.
The media has saturated us with profiles of the voters who are turning out for these anti-establishment candidates. There is the Sanders voter, a white, social-media-savvy millennial sick of corporate oligarchies and paying student loans. There is the alienated, white, working-class Trump voter, threatened by immigration and trade treaties and Muslims, someone far less interested in small government and the capital gains tax than the Republican donor class would like him to be. And there is the stridently conservative, small-government Cruz voter, a dedicated God-fearing culture warrior.
The voter we almost never hear about, however, is the Clinton voter. Which is surprising, since Hillary Clinton has won more votes in the primaries than any other candidate so far. She has amassed over 2.5 million more votes than Sanders; over 1.1 million more votes than Trump. Clearly Clinton voters exist, yet there has been very little analysis as to who they are or why they are showing up to vote for her. Sure, there has been talk of Clintons dominance among African-American voters, and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic voters. Her voters seem to skew older and more affluent. But these are demographics. (And even demographics have a hard time explaining her commanding win in Ohio, or her wins in Massachusetts and Missouri.) There is almost no discussion of what is motivating these voters. If anything, the media seems to think they are holding their noses as they vote for Hillary. As a recent New York Times article suggested, Clinton is winning votes, not hearts.
We never hear that Hillary Clinton has momentumwhat she has is a sizable delegate lead. No one this cycle has described Clinton supporters as fired upits simply not possible that people are fired up for Hillary. No, what we gather about Clinton from the press is that she cant connect. She has very high unfavorable ratings. People think she is dishonest and untrustworthy. She is not a gifted politician. She is a phony. Hated by so many. The list goes on.
Considering that narrative, one would expect Clinton to be faring far worse in the primaries. Instead, she currently holds a popular vote and delegate lead over Sanders that far surpasses Obamas lead over her at this point in the race in 2008.
https://newrepublic.com/article/131762/hillary-voter
Hillary's supporters may not show up by the thousands at rallies, they may not vote in online polls and may not even bother with a bumper sticker on their car, but they show up where it really matters: at the voting booth.
H2O Man
(73,309 posts)Interesting. Thanks.
Beacool
(30,244 posts)auntpurl
(4,311 posts)I genuinely like her as a person. I think she's incredibly inspiring, and I feel very proud to vote for her. I don't know if that lives up to the "fired up" description of the other side, but I suppose I'm quiet in my passions.
Beacool
(30,244 posts)She's very bright, but also has a sense of humor and is caring.
tularetom
(23,664 posts)Zynx
(21,328 posts)Assuming that anyone who opposes your position just isn't properly educated is a demonstrated hallmark of immaturity.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,704 posts)Zynx
(21,328 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,704 posts)gabeana
(3,166 posts)"What have the Clintons done to earn such devotion? Did they take extreme political risks to defend the rights of African Americans? Did they courageously stand up to right-wing demagoguery about black communities? Did they help usher in a new era of hope and prosperity for neighborhoods devastated by deindustrialization, globalization, and the disappearance of work?
No. Quite the opposite."
it is not stupidity it is ignorance, but that can be cure but not in time for 2016 Gen but at least Hillary will be better than any republican that put up
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/racial-justice-failures-hillary-clinton-cant-ignore
"Despite the human costs of welfare reform, Bill Clinton is still bragging about knocking people off welfare and Hillary has neither repudiated nor disavowed the 1996 Clinton welfare legislation, which has been a catastrophe for the black community. Hillary Clinton not only supported the 1996 legislation, but as recently as her 2008 presidential campaign, publicly supported it, expressing no regret about how it turned out and telling the New York Times she thought the act was necessary and enormously successful."
go read the links and remember ignorance does not have to be permanent
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
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Beacool
(30,244 posts)We have been paying attention since her days in the White House.
noretreatnosurrender
(1,890 posts)I'd love to see more pieces that profile Hillary voters.
JonLeibowitz
(6,282 posts)thinks I am a right-winger, or at best deluded by propaganda, because I can present many of the undisputed deficiencies and acts of malice that the Clintons have in their history.
That tells me a lot about that person. Of course, generalizing is not a good idea. But it is the limited sample size I have.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)gwheezie
(3,580 posts)I'm not sure about Bernie. I also like her. She's very smart and has a wicked sense of humor.
I don't agree with every issue but she is more than capable. Does that make me not fired up?
Beacool
(30,244 posts)timlot
(456 posts)While you can parse the numbers and say there were more republican candidates. That still doesn't discount the fact more American primary voters have cast their ballot for Secretary Clinton out of all the candidates (democrat or repub) running for President.
Beacool
(30,244 posts)Her gatherings may be smaller and her voters may not seem as enthusiastic as Trump's or Sanders', but they quietly show up at the voting booth. That's enough enthusiasm for me.
Karma13612
(4,527 posts)Mix:
Florida female republican says Trump concerns her.
Asked who she would select between Bernie and Hillary, she said Bernie.
Asked who she would select between Hillary and Trump, she said Trump.
This was an interview I heard on NPR yesterday AM.
Beacool
(30,244 posts)There are Republicans who would vote for Hillary before they would vote for Trump. One of them is my former governor, Christine Todd Whitman, who stated it publicly.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,704 posts)planetc
(7,718 posts)We need to put up the best Democratic candidate we can, and the Republicans need to save the country from Mr. Trump. As usual, the Democrats have a plethora of good candidates, while the quality of Republican candidates has been sinking since they ran Ronald Reagan. All Democrats can do is save the world if given the chance. We can't save the Republicans until they admit they have a problem.
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)right before last Tuesday's sweep
Progressive dog
(6,861 posts)and if Hillary has a rally close enough in NY, I might go, but only votes count in a democracy.
I will vote for Hillary in both the NY primary and the fall election. I have been a registered Democrat for almost forty years. During that time, I have failed to vote in no national or state elections.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)either don't like her but think she is the most "electable"....or they like her and Bernie equally, and will vote for Clinton for "pragmatic" reasons and/oir because she is a woman.
Least that's my experience with those who I know (and many I read about)
BillZBubb
(10,650 posts)Those are three of the biggest reasons people support her. She's viewed as competent and not a threat to the status quo as well.
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)is the best candidate in terms of temperament. His little tantrum yesterday is evidence of that.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)And when it comes to temper tantrums....I'm not sure that's really a valid measurement considering BOTH Clinton's track records on that. They're just better at keeping them out of public view.
oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)Left when asked about vice president which he has answered previously. Gave no sign of temper.
Beacool
(30,244 posts)Hillary is an international icon and millions of people around the world admire her. I like Hillary a lot more than Sanders. Those who dislike her are deluded if they think that people who are voting for her are just doing so based on electability.
artislife
(9,497 posts)I don't see the likability in her. That is true.
I have a few of those that I cannot explain adequately. Julia Roberts, Hilary, Steve Jobs...
Of course, there are politicians and mouth pieces who are on that list, but those are pretty universally loathed by the Left.
It was a meh feeling I had during the white house years, to feeling outraged that she carpet bagged her way to the NY senate. I think it was there that the idea she was so calculating got planted into my brain. And that colored everything I heard about her. It seemed like the most expedient moves on her part to get her to a goal. It was like volunteering for Meals on Wheels because it will help you get into college but not because you love the elderly.
I probably never will completely like her. She seems to have a personality I don't like in people I meet in real life.
That is my opinion on her, the person.
Of course, her the politician is even more infuriating.
Marr
(20,317 posts)I realize her *fans* think she's likable. That's almost a tautology. But people generally dislike her, according to polls. And the more they see her, the less they like her.
Beacool
(30,244 posts)As for fans, what would you call Sanders' supporters? Calling supporters "fans" is disrespectful and condescending.
sadoldgirl
(3,431 posts)and are very happy with the status quo.JMO
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)I love it when you guys make up psychological profiles of HRC supporters based on nothing but your opinion
noretreatnosurrender
(1,890 posts)I think a lot of Clinton voters that I've talked with want to see a woman president (so do I) and are supporting her because of that. A lot of them don't want to admit that her gender is their biggest reason for support because they know deep down it's really not a good enough reason. Maybe that's why so many of them have chosen not to be out in public supporting her.
TCJ70
(4,387 posts)...in conversation is off base. It shouldn't matter from a qualification standpoint and in fact, is a form of sexism. Considering Sanders less qualified because he's not a woman is as bad as disqualifying Hillary because she's a woman.
noretreatnosurrender
(1,890 posts)Yes it is. As a woman and a strong feminist myself it really, really ticks me off.
artislife
(9,497 posts)The one Hillary supporter used that line precisely. She saw herself in Hillary. Both over 65, women and lawyers. She mentioned that as of matter of fact in some of the biggest reasons she was voting for her.
I think she looked at the rest of us, male, female, immigrant, Latina, and White and saw that there wasn't one Bernie Bro amongst us. White male is in his 50s.
Hekate
(90,189 posts)...my own state has not had its primaries yet. I think only half the country has. I'll be doing voter reg shortly on behalf of the Party, and in good time I will get a Hillary sign for my front yard.
As for the rest -- the vote totals so far amply demonstrate that Hillary supporters show up at the ballot box. She has a higher vote total than Bernie Sanders. She has a higher vote total than Donald Trump.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)Marr
(20,317 posts)uponit7771
(90,225 posts)Marr
(20,317 posts)You literally, just now, cited her gender as the reason she's different.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)... president isn't status quo
Again, make up the facts you want to make up... that seems.... status quo.... for Sanders camp
Marr
(20,317 posts)When someone insists they never said a thing when it's ^ right there.
You cited her gender as the reason that she's different. Not policy, not her stated positions on anything, just her gender. And you seemed to think it was a good argument.
Enjoy the last word here, because I won't be spending any more of my weekend arguing over whether or not you typed something that's literally on this page.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)... discuss from there k?
thx
Marr
(20,317 posts)sadoldgirl: A lot of HRC voters are happy with the status quo.
uponit7771: Yeap, voting for the first woman president is "status quo".. yawn and sigh
You cited Clinton's gender as the thing that sets her apart; the thing that makes her different. Not policy, not ideas, just her gender. That was *your* response-- don't blame *me* for it. If you've got some policy examples for why Clinton does not represent the status quo, this would be the place for them.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)... thx
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)... over again next semester
anotherproletariat
(1,446 posts)last night. There were 15 people from age 18 - 70, men and women, including several younger voters (18, 21,25,27 and 30) and all are Caucasian. We discovered that all of us are supporting Clinton. While I do tend to hang around liberal minded people, I found this interesting. I think reading DU skews my thinking into presuming that the support for Bernie and Hillary is about equal, but in my real life I have not found this to be the case.
beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)And in spite of the Bernie hype...Hillary will continue the policies of Obama that have been steadfast and beneficial...I'm not some wide eyed kid who believes in fairy tales but a pragmatic political junky who has observed 50 years of elections....she has stood up to gutless right wing attacks for 30years...and sanders has never had to face those attacks yet and would never be able to survive them..
Impedimentus
(898 posts)Lloyd Blankfein
Henry Kissinger
Jamie Dimon
.
.
.
0.1% 'rs who can bundle $thousands in contributions at $1000+ a plate dinners
Lots of Wall Street and too-big-to-fail bank executives
Beacool
(30,244 posts)You do realize that millions of people have voted for her, right?
Hekate
(90,189 posts)DesertRat
(27,995 posts)yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)Marr
(20,317 posts)You're talking about someone who has been in the national political spotlight for more than 20 years and has massive support from the party and business establishments. With those advantages, an old boot could run for president and get broad, silent support at the polls.
The fact that there has been any contest at all between Clinton and Sanders is incredibly damning of both Clinton's appeal and the party establishment's popularity. It's like a Volkswagon Bug entered the Indie 500, and you're praising the Formula 1 for eking out a victory.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)I expect there will be a lot more "eking" just ahead!
Hillary supporters are not mindless automatons who would vote for an old boot - many, many voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 - we tend to support the best, most qualified Democratic candidate.
We know you all want to burn everything down - I just hope you don't part with too much cash pursuing a fantasy.
Marr
(20,317 posts)When he entered the race, I thought he'd be out after New Hampshire. I've been continually amazed at how weak a candidate Clinton is, and how relatively impotent has been her support from the party and business establishment. She'll very likely overcome Sanders, I agree-- but it was David and Goliath all along. You're cheering for Goliath like he's scoring some kind of amazing, validating victory.
Response to Beacool (Original post)
Marr This message was self-deleted by its author.
cleopotrick
(79 posts)eom