Now that i've had a day to take stock and think about it. i'm more resolved than ever to fight for the causes i care about.
I believed in Hillary Clinton. I thought she was the best, most qualified person for the most difficult job in the world. I now realize that many people didn't see it that way and that's the fault of the campaign for not communicating its message and sell its candidate effectively. She pinned her hopes on the fact that Trump was unfit for office and waited for the voters to make that decision for themselves. She won that argument, only 38% of voters thought he was fit. But they voted for him anyway. That was the biggest mistake that cost her the election.
There were other errors along the way that felt minor at the time but ultimately proved to be her undoing. Not campaigning in Wisconsin until the last week of the campaign despite losing the primary. Giving moderate Republicans an out which infuriated her support on the left for zero gain. I could go on.
I am however deeply saddened by the fact that, despite her numerous faults, nearly half the country felt that a racist balloon animal with a penchant for sexually assaulting women was the best choice for the highest office in the land. Particularly among the voters in blue collar towns like Erie, PA, or Youngstown, OH. Towns that voted for Barack Obama four years ago in a time when their economic despair was greater than they are now. It's difficult for me to square away the fact that the voters wanted a change election despite Obama's 54% favorable rating. It truly is Obama's unique strength that he's able to insulate himself from the electorate's repudiation of Washington as a whole, and I highly doubt it will ever be replicated again.
It's true, not everyone who voted for Trump is racist or deplorable, and they don't want to be talked down to as such. As a pragmatist, I know that it is absolutely vital to find a message that resonates with blue collar workers, who have always been at the core of the democratic coalition. Take Nevada for example, the strong unions there was able to deliver the state to Clinton despite massive rural turnout, whereas traditional blue collar democratic bulwarks fell apart, as the unions there weakened in recent years. A coincidence, I'm sure.
However, we must be crystal clear in not dismissing the racial element here. Again and again, we see that non-white blue collar workers, when faced with the same economic angst as their white peers, threw their lot behind Clinton. We know that Clinton still ended up winning 53% of the voters who indicated that the economy was their biggest worry. We have to reach out and talk to people and provide them with specific policies to improve their future. But absolving them of the consequences of voting for Trump would be a gross injustice to the minority vote that the Democrats have taken for granted for far too long.
To say that I'm disappointed by Trump's victory over every major white cross-tab (men/women/young/old/college/no college) would be a wild understatement. Again, they're not all racists and they don't all post Pepe memes or send "Gas the kike" messages to Jewish writers, but the silence of their acquiescence to Trump's white nationalist platform was deafening and it broke my heart.
It's easy to lash out against them and blame them for the result of the election, and to a certain extent, you'd be correct, but that's not the way to build relationships and propel our nation forward. Those of us feeling aggrieved today, I feel your pain. Let this be a reminder that there's still more work to be done in the name of justice and equality.
