One theory: HRC supporters were so busy spending George Soros's billions and engaging in "celebrity politics" that they didn't take the time to listen critically to the other side. The vast majority of the MSM, pollsters and left-leaning political elites were so wrapped-up spinning their own narratives that they overlooked a key element of a battle - "know thy enemy".

I think this is continuing to happen... I think a lot of people are rationalizing it, but still missing the mark.

I am not a religious person but maybe there is no known definitive explanation for why, despite superior numbers, media support, celebrity endorsements, Wall Street backing, a popular former president-husband, et al and an opponent who, to be charitable, often spoke before engaging his brain, other than "providence". It will be interesting to see if the Clintons extend their winnng streak
of multi-million-dollar paydays.

On Wednesday, November 16, 2016, Disqus

I share a similar view. Elizabeth Warren is not practical. She rails on how bad big banks and corporations are. Sometimes, I don't think she is far off the mark with individual criticisms, but she offers no real solutions. Imposing fines on big banks and demonizing corporations isn't a real solution. It's just a publicity stunt to garner more votes from those who have no need for a bank loan or from someone who is not one of those middle class voters who happens to work for a corporation (that depends on profits to pay their employees' paychecks).

Elizabeth Warren lost her political soul the moment she endorsed " Corrupt Hillary ". I was forming a favorable opinion of her when I watched her on TV . " Save the middle class " was her refrain. But I reflected : why not talk about " saving the working class ". And for decades the white working class in general was either invisible to the mainstream news media or treated with contempt. If you're a poor white, you had no excuse but laziness and ignorance. If you were a poor black, you were a victim of racism. The black bourgeoisie just could never SEE poor whites. But American socialists could.
Truth : most poor people in this country are white. Most homeless people are white. A white person without adequate health insurance does not discover any " white privilege " in the health care system. A white person without education does not discover any " white privilege " in the job market. A poor white is treated no better in prison than poor blacks.
A mob of university " intellectuals " just lie about the condition of the white working class. America right now reminds me of the Engels classic: " The Condition of the Working Class in England " written way back in 19th century.
CLASS matters far more than race and gender in trying to understand social inequality. But the ruling class has made socialism anathema even in academia.
But America will soon look like Cairo, Egypt in 2011.

Here's my recommendation to Mr. Walsh. Take a good look at this picture.

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Obviously it's a Trump rally. Are these people racists and homophobes? Maybe some are.

However, I don't like to attribute to malice what can easily be explained in other ways. You say you stopped fighting for union jobs. No, you stopped fighting for what these people want, and that's a job that pays well and is secure. That may mean a union is involved. However, first and foremost, that means if they're competing against a bigger pool of labor (i.e. overseas and illegal immigrants), unions are just going to fight over a dwindling pie. Pew recently published a report saying illegal immigrants constitute 5% of the US work force. You can't throw that in and not expect salaries to stagnate.

When the Democratic party spends so much time on social justice causes (which are worthy), that means they're ignoring these people. They need jobs and decent salary before they can care about those issues.

Further, see that t shirt right in the middle ("black guns matter")? To these people, that issue DOES matter. Just stop. They do care about that right and they don't like it when people like Hillary Clinton talk about supporting Australian style gun control. These people aren't stupid and know what that means. If the Democrats simply shut up about it, that will probably be good enough. They don't even have to actively say they want the NRA's endorsement.

They don't feel they should have to give up that right to solve problems in Chicago that they didn't create. And yes, it *is* a right.

Finally, next time, have a real primary. Don't make it a facade designed to justify your pre-ordained candidate.

Canada has already said they don't want any body coming over the border. I do find it amusing that all these left wingers that vowed to flee if Trump was elected all choose Canada ,New Zealand, Australia or any other predominantly white country to make there new home. They never say Mexico, Nigeria, Kenya Cuba. etc I wonder why. Actually I don't The reason is they wouldn't be caught dead living in a minority run country. They are as racist as the man they claim to hate.

The state secession talk is rather hilarious. Look at maps by county and you'll see the disconnect is at the city level. Even in California the metro areas are deepest blue. Everywhere our food is grown, our energy produced, our military staffed, it is red. If LA and San Fran can grow all the food they need, staff their own military, produce all their own energy they are free to give it a go.

Good one!

A lot of silly talk from the naive Hillary Clinton supporters.The American working class owes nothing to the Clintons. And Bernie Sanders most certainly did not push Hillary or the DNC to the left. On the contrary they corrupted Bernie and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

True, the party didn't really move to the left. But there's zero chance that Sanders and Warren were corrupted by the party. You wait until Obama tries his final sellout, the TPP, and see how they vigorously oppose the party bosses. Obama wants the Clintonian golden parachute that comes from selling out and Sanders and Warren are standing in the way. Let's hope that together we can stop him.

Sanders and Warren endorsed the near opposite of their professed political philosophy : Wall St. Hillary , Hawk Hillary, Corrupt Hillary. They are now only " standing in the way " of an independent party of the American working class. The Democratic Party is rotten to the core and beyond reform.
Sanders could have made himself the seed of a real political revolution : a labor party that only excludes class enemies.
I imagined that " Democracy Spring " here in the USA would look like Cairo, Egypt in 2011. The working class MAJORITY should rule.

I agree that the Democratic Party is pretty corrupt, but now that the Clintons lost Clintonism is officially dead. Why not try to take over an already built party with all the infrastructure in place? It makes more sense that starting from scratch.

Creating a party is a hugely difficult process. It's why new parties generally end up as local or regional parties with no real electoral clout. How many years, or even decades, would it take to get a reliable candidate on the ballot for the usual offices: rep, senator, governor, etc.? Would labor even follow us in huge numbers or would we split the left/labor vote and give Republicans an even bigger advantage?

The reason why both Warren and Sanders endorsed Clinton is to avoid the damage that Trump will inflict on the country. Not that Hillary wouldn't damage the country, but she'd probably damage it less than Trump. Both Sanders and Warren endorsed the lesser evil, and that's the best they could do. By doing so, Sanders and Warren are now VERY powerful in the Democratic Party and may have enough cachet to seize the party from the corporate interest and the lobbyists. Time will tell.

The Democratic Party abandoned New Deal " pragmatism " decades ago. The neo-liberals destroyed the party of FDR and even JFK.There is enough political energy available in revolutionary times to overcome social entropy.

A potent political organization can be based on a simple GREAT IDEA: like rejecting the moral legitimacy of even " legitimate " wealth.On the basis of this GREAT IDEA the necessary organizing work will be accelerated by the Social Media.

As Fabian socialist H.G. Wells envisioned long ago, we now have a " World Brain." It will make peaceful transformation of society highly probable.

The World belongs to everybody . Rationalism and religion can easily co-exist with Socialism. Still there is an element of Darwinism in the everyday class struggle.

We must all rise above latent barbarism.

Building a new party is a decades long project. The last new major party was the Republicans in the 1850s. Our system as it's currently constituted only allows for two parties. It's something that Jefferson and Madison lamented in the decades after the constitution passed. Unless we go to ranked voting or some other system we're stuck with two. Are the current parties immoral corrupt neoliberal institutions? Of course.

A shortcut would be to show up the local Democratic Party with your friends and take it over. It's what my friends did. If we do this enough, the party will reflect us, vs the soulless apparatchiks it does currently.

And we need an outside movement that can drive policy. FDR was a great president but he was responding to a huge socialist movement, the labor movement, and the growth in the communist party. FDR recognized the situation and empowered the most radical leftists by putting them in his cabinet and allowing them to build the New Deal. This is what we lack now, a coherent multicultural, unified movement that can force the government to respond. Without that, you can expect right wing populists with easy answers to run the country. The same is happening all over Europe.

The Trump victory was not about " hate " triumphant. The pseudo-liberal news media had no CLASS analysis of the presidential election. What did President Obama do for working class black people ? No more than he did for working class white people. He too served the ONE PERCENT.

What went wrong with the Hillary Democrats ? They first betrayed then smeared all of us white working class " deplorables ". Wall St. Hillary ? Hawk Hillary ? No, never Hillary.

Read the whole "deplorables" statement by Hillary. The fact is, there ARE deplorables in Trump's coalition of supporters - he was endorsed by the KKK! People wore misogynist tee shirts and brought racist signs to his rallies! So that is a true statement!

She then went on to talk about the "other half of the basket" which was people with economic concerns.

The tragedy and frustration of this election is false equivalencies. Hillary makes one not-great statement that was taken out of context - and then APOLOGIZES for it - and that's it, that's all people hang on. Meanwhile, Trump says so many offensive things about so many classes of people in one week we can't even keep up and apologizes for none of them. But you cling to that ONE, apologized-for comment and let everything he said slide. Unbelievable. Double standard for women, that's all there is to it.

We need to move beyond this narrative. It serves no meaningful purpose. We should stop talking about the KKK. Trump received over 50 million votes! Seriously, the KKK is probably a few thousand. Many American workers are now competing with foreign labor willing to work for a fraction of the cost. That is the central issue. A prosperous nation with good prospects for the future will moderate on social and cultural issues naturally. Social Justice Democrats have lost sight of the ultimate political motivator, economy. We also need to stop declaring how good everything is and the unemployment rate being low. Wages are shrinking, costs are rising, people are living on credit and the bill will come due. Progressives need to stop wallowing in their safe spaces, have some courage and face the real threat.

Ah, no. You don't run a campaign like that - and DELAY your renouncement of the Klan endorsement - and just expect people to forget it. You don't refer to your opponent as a "nasty woman" and expect people to just forget it. You don't normalize sexual assault as just "locker room talk" and expect people to just forget it. This was unprecedented in modern American presidential politics. These things make people feel unsafe and demeaned - not just disagreed with - in their everyday lives. I do understand that the economy is a bigger motivator. And trust me there were many times, such as Hillary's response to health care in the 2nd debate for example, when I would get really frustrated with the Dems - great, no pre-existing conditions exclusions anymore, but can please someone actually talk about how anyone expects families to pay $20,000/year for health insurance?!? (But I also remember that Republicans did NOTHING to help Americans get health care.) Yet when you start blaming large classes of people, and demean and humiliate and insult them (I'm still fuming over how I am somehow not as "smart" as DT for paying my taxes), then the "real threat" becomes that messenger and all his supporters.

Not to mention that DT has never done anything for anyone else in his entire life, was born a millionaire, and somehow he now cares enough to save all your jobs and livelihoods? Right, and tax cuts for the wealthy creates jobs. Where have I heard that one before...

Again, your missing the point. This obsession on feelings is exactly the issue. Opium epidemics, hundreds of shuttered storefronts in downtowns everywhere, untold numbers of signs saying Building for Sale/Lease. It doesn't mean that everyone is doing poorly. It's a concern about the future. I think the difference is that people don't see how it will get better. There have always been ups and downs. There are people that don't see how the down will be reversed. I don't think there are any easy solutions either. I think that's why so many not worried about the future focus on feelings. It's a convenient way to deny the reality of what is happening.

PS - from WBUR today:

"Just before the election, after the last debate, 51 percent of them intending to vote for Trump supported increasing taxes on high-earning individuals," says Michael Pollard of RAND.

But Trump's plan does the opposite, says Lily Batchelder, a law professor at NYU and visiting fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

"If you look at the most wealthy, the top 1 percent would get about half the benefits of his tax cut, and a millionaire would get an average tax cut of $317,000," she says.

But a family earning between $40,000 and $50,000 a year would get a tax cut of only $560, she says, and millions of middle-class working families will see their tax bills rise under Trump's plan — especially single-parent families.

"A single parent who's earning $75,000 dollars and has two school-age children, they would face a tax increase of over $2,400," Batchelder says.

What's the "real threat" again?

Firstly, I'll probably have to get used to doing this. I am not defending Trump. I did not vote for him, I've never advocated for him in any comment. But, I am trying to understand what drives many to support him beyond the simplistic idea they are all racists. It is getting to the fundamental problems of the economy and why it all ties together. It really is not that hard. Progressive-minded people doing well in the globalized economy make a mistake when they lose sight of what's happening. Globalization wants free movement of labor and business. Business of a certain scale can operate internationally and labor will be moved to where it can get the same productivity for lower cost. So, those left behind face dwindling employment options and, overall, wage levels will be driven down for those that do work and there is more competition for shrinking government help. The problem is compounded when immigration puts even more stress on the shrinking job market and government resources. Additionally, an undocumented immigrant that has children adds a citizen that will compete even further. Lastly, people see that globalization is expanding so the existing problems are likely to get even worse. Isn't it the natural choice for people to want to build a wall. It is there in plain sight. Other things we know are happening:
-Overall year to year wage increases less than cost of living growth means growing dependence on consumer debt.
-There will always be a minority of people able to thrive in the economy. They will steadily become disconnected and pull away from those not able to keep up by living in exclusive communities.

Ok....and? That was a very vague reply and I've lost what your "point" is. Before you were saying that we should just ignore all that racist stuff (and it's from more than card-carrying Klan members, by the way) and focus on the "real threat." Well, what I saw was someone that got elected almost entirely on playing to peoples' resentment and fears and bigotry, because he was literally incoherent on policies to address the economic concerns. In his speeches he speaks like an angry third grader. Then he got up there and said "I alone can fix it." But it is impossible to bring manufacturing jobs like they used to be, getting out of NAFTA is a hell of a lot harder than he thinks and will raise consumer prices here, and tax cuts for the rich have proven time and again (most recently under W) that they ain't gonna "fix it." So once I dismiss all that baloney, I just see some rich racist guy spouting hate and people lapping it up. So which FEELINGS am I supposed to pay attention to if Trump himself did not seriously address the "feelings" about the economy?

"A prosperous nation with good prospects for the future " - again, he offered no real proposals for that. Except infrastructure spending. I'll give him that, but Obama's been saying that for years (proposed to pay for it by repatriating offshore taxes - same thing Hillary said, and same thing Tump's saying now) and Republicans in Congress have blocked it with vehemence. So why would I vote Republican?

"We also need to stop declaring how good everything is and the unemployment rate being low. Wages are shrinking..." - So, we are supposed to start denying reality in order to fit some pre-determined narrative? The unemployment rate is indeed low - especially considering what Obama inherited - and wages have risen for the first time in decades. That demonstrates what he has been able to do with his leadership (it's not all him, of course, but he presided over it.) Yes, there is a long way to go, but Hillary wasn't running on "eh, we're good now."

Voting on "feelings" and not facts and rational thoughts undermines our country. And now we have a rapey, racist, erratic tyrant in the White House. Good luck to you under the new regime.

Establishment USA supported " Corrupt Hillary ". As a democratic socialist I can only have a sardonic laugh over all these ruling class rogues and villains seeing themselves on a higher moral plane than Donald Trump's working class " deplorables ". CIA assassins and torturers for Hillary ? Pentagon Dr. Strange Loves for Hillary ? Wall St. wolves for Hillary ? Corrupt journalists and bribed intellectuals for Hillary ?

Again, the "deplorables" comment was directed at the bigots, racists, misogynists. That was and is a very real contingent of Trump's support. You cannot ignore that. It was a true statement.

Also: Trump supports torture. Hillary did not. Trump is hiring Wall Street lobbyists as we speak to advise his transition. Trump bribed the attorney general of FL not to prosecute him for Trump U. Trump is barring journalists from his transition period, breaking precedent (unless this is Russia). Meanwhile Hillary was much closer to your views - though not perfect - than T will ever be, and all you can do is hang on to that deplorables comment. And now here we are with a fascist in office.

Bribed intellectuals? Why do intellectuals need to be bribed? And why all the question marks? That is to suggest innuendo instead of fact.

If Hillary Clinton were closer to my views she would not have sabotaged the " political revolution " of " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders . And as a democratic socialist " evil " for me is not rooted in individual politicians or " wicked " capitalists. The SYSTEM breeds human corruption and social evil.
Hillary Clinton - just my age - was one of many of my generation idealistic in their youth, cynical and corrupt in middle and old age.
And I did not see the " moral monster " in Donald Trump. Just a super rich carnival barker.

A super rich carnival barker that cares not a whit for you. Who in fact seems to disdain and mock you as he talks one way and then laughs all the way to the bank (at taxpayer expense). Remember the "I could kill someone on 5th Ave and not lose any support." He was mocking you.

And I see a moral monster: as a woman, I am horrified and fearful at the validation and normalization of his abhorrent attitudes towards women, that we are not to be taken seriously, that we are objects for play and ridicule and demeaning. How could you not see that. How could you not.

The pioneers of a saner attitude toward women were the early socialist feminists-like Emma Goldman. The problem with identity politics is that it leaves out the sociological big picture.

Ultimately, economics is always the prime mover of political action. I admit, those of us enjoying the fruits of globalization or not impacted by it (yet) have lost sight of that. Additionally, we cannot forget cultural tension as a component of the backlash. Progressives of means, mostly based in cities, have been pushing hard on social issues that do not sit well with many. Marriage equality, transgender access to bathrooms, safe spaces, heck, even attacks on football come across as authoritarian and finger-wagging. I don't deny those causes are valid and people are perfectly right to advocate for them. I am not here to argue the merit of them. Massachusetts has embraced them fully. But, I can't help but think we may have become the bully.

Every time someone brings up Bernie, my heart aches a little more.

Something needs to be done about the democratic party. It is a mess.

I would like to bring to the attention of area scholars a book titled " The Trouble With Diversity " by Walter Benn Michaels : " how we learned to love identity and IGNORE INEQUALITY.
I do understand the phrase " illiberal liberalism ".Too many professors have been ruined by campus based political correctness.
FREE SPEECH and FREE THOUGHT were once liberal passions. No more.

Even working class Catholics made the long list of Hillary Clinton's Dark Age , benighted , " deplorables ". There was not a hint of " love and kindness " in Hawk Hillary. The American working class has no need of grief counselors yet.

As a democratic socialist I voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Hillary Clinton -not Vladimir Putin - sabotaged the " political process " in the USA. I voted for the Socialist Equality Party on Tuesday-not any " lesser evil " war criminal.

My brother voted for Jill Stein . His wife wrote in " Bernie Sanders ". I mean that working class people are not easily traumatized by harsh reality: we live in an oppressive capitalist system. The reported comments of upset college students sound rather ridiculous.