General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders talks universal Medicare, and 1.1 million people click to watch him [View all]LiberalLovinLug
(14,202 posts)I wanted to just back away slowly from this thread. I've contributed to the battle enough.
But I can't let someone, maybe inadvertently but, smear the left along with the right seemingly at equal levels as the reason Hillary lost.
Your second point about the statistical improbablity may be true in a social science way but its the other two points I do not get.
"the left" What do you mean by that first off? IMO the left typically are from the community based, socially aware, empathetic to the underprivileged, supporters of civil rights and equal opportunity. Of using tax dollars in smart ways like universal medicare, education, maternity leave pay. And higher minimum wages. All to help move up the lowest classes into positions where they can contribute more to society and pay taxes as well. That kind of sustained economic growth, raising the standards of many people who will then buy more, rather than the right's fake economic idea of handing all the tax money to the 1%, who will then trickle it down to the poor masses, with everything having a profit margin of course.
The same applies to your other point. It was 'the left' that first championed and still champions, issues of sexism in society. And the right that typically poo poos terms like Women's Liberation etc...and puts roadblocks against equal rights for women. I shouldn't even have to point that out.
People on the left are also statistically better educated than those on the right. We are more knowledgeable. If you add that to the former paragraphs of ideals, you would never agree with a the fake news meme that there was any (of any real numbers) on 'the left' that believed the Russian, and alt-right CT stories. Its very lazy and easy to just say ALL opposition to Hillary was the same, whether from the left or right. Imply that they all had the same gripes. All foolishly believing the same stupid shit. NO they did not!
Those that are in the more left side of the party, who supported Bernie Sanders in the last primary, did not think Hillary ran a child sex ring out of a pizza parlor. We did not, under Bernies example, even think the email 'scandal' was worth talking about. And certainly not any of the murder most foul fables. In fact those were maddening red herrings. The opposition from the left to her was her cozy corporate "third way" approach to governing. Out Republican the Republicans. Which had, at least partly, been the reason for the historical losses, from federal to state, to municipal, across the country in the last decade. With setting themselves up as being no different and all part of 'the swamp".
If you want to argue that some further on the left, like Susan Sarandon represented, wanted too much too soon, once they saw that Sanders was gaining popularity during the primaries, and it got to their heads and just couldn't let it go....fine. I could understand at least that argument. Even so, i think overwhelmingly most Democrats, still voted Democrat. The Green Party got 1% of the vote! The Libertarian Party got 3%, which is traditionally a right wing party. So 3x more Republican votes were lost to their party's votes than our party suffered from the Green party running.
We lost (technically) because of more than one thing. The perfect storm. I don't think anyone was aware of the complete brainwashing effect that decades long sustained fake news CT propaganda had on middle America, (mostly). The character assassination of the Clintons was relentless. With obviously a lot of help from the former KGB director in Russia. Add to that the gerrymandering, the Crosscheck program, the ID laws, the other voter suppression tactics by GOP governors across the country. The susceptible voting machines. The MSM's need for a horserace to boost ratings by amplifying Hillary's email "scandal" while giving Trump billions of free airtime and glossing over his faults in hopes he would catch up. And of course simply ignoring Sanders.
Okay, got that off my chest. Take it for what you will.