Dems grapple with lessons from Clinton disaster

[Red Oak]

A good read from The Hill this morning

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/309483-dems-grapple-with-lessons-from-clinton-disaster

“Everybody can point to something that went wrong — and they’re right,” he said. “It (the close electoral win for Trump) makes it impossible to know what the party really needs to do.

“The [Bernie] Sanders people believe, if only we had been more populist we’d have won, and they’re right. The Hillary people believe, if only Bernie hadn’t attacked her so hard in the primary we’d have won, and they’re right. Everybody’s right.”

[4139]

1. Russia hacked the DNC and John Posdesta.... I don't think those affected the election

Big time serious but not why we lost

[vi5]

2. A failure of strategy and not messaging....

We won the popular vote. More people agree with us and our message.

The margin of loss in the key states that we assumed we would win but didn't was minimal.

Our margin of victory in blue states was large.

I live in a blue state(NJ( and saw tons of advertising, tons of canvasers at my door, people offering to take others to the polls.

If some of those resources had been sent from a sure thing state like mine to a less than 100% state like Wisconsin or Florida or Michigan or any of the others that Obama won but HRC lost, then none of this would have been an issue.

Too many assumptions were made that were wrong. Next time out let's not make those assumptions, and we should be fine.

[4139]

3. "Too many assumptions were made that were wrong"... I seem to recall

that back in October we (and also the media)were laughing at
Trump campaigning in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

We were too cocky

[RBInMaine]

5. Your analysis is only partially correct. Messaging matters BIGTIME!!!

You can't have a good "strategy" that works without a compelling economic message to power it. If you are not connecting with people, it doesn't matter how many times you knock on their door. They will close it in your face. A compelling jobs message front and center was TOTALLY LACKING, and we have been hollowed out all through rural and smalltown America for DISGUSTINGLY FAILING to offer these mostly GOOD people who are in economic PAIN anything to vote for. I grew up in the smalltown working class, and it is SICKENING that we have a Democratic Party that doesn't know how to talk to people like me and all those I grew up with. NO EXCUSE for it!!

We can't just be a big city party of urban liberal elites. We can not be a party of SOME people but not others. We need to be the party of WORKING AMERICANS EVERYWHERE!!

[vi5]

8. But our platforms and policies help those people.

I agree that our side doesn’t always choose to trumpet that message and platform loud enough or make it clear enough the ways in which our policies and the policies of Democrats throughout history have helped the working class. They too often let Republicans frame the debate. But I still maintain that is more of a strategy failure to not pivot in the right direction than it is the core message being wrong.

[Exilednight]

14. I'll go a step further and say there was no message.

There was a detailed plan, but there was no 3 to 5 word sound bite to sell it.

Obama had "Main Street, not Wall Street". Bill had, "it's the economy, stupid".

What was Hillary's?

[kudzu22]

19. Stronger Together?

Sounds like an anti-Brexit slogan to me.

[Exilednight]

21. I only heard that dropped during the convention, and it really

had no significant meaning behind it.

It sounds rather generic, and doesn't have a policy behind it.

[uponit7771]

4. Russia Hack !! Not Sanders, Not Clinton ... not none of that shit, Russia hack all else is bullshit

[RBInMaine]

6. No. The party has been in serious decline for a while with SHITTY organization and messaging.

[uponit7771]

10. Opinion, the Russia Hack, Voter suppression and Comey is fact... fuck Opinions over fact

[Exilednight]

15. Here's a few more facts.

111th Congress we controlled 57 Senate seats and 256 House seats
112th Congress we controlled 52 Senate seats and 193 House seats
113th Congress we controlled 54 Senate seats and 201 House seats
114th Congress we controlled 44 Senate seats and 188 House seats

That's not even counting state houses and gubernatorial seats.

[4139]

7. How did russia hacking the DNC and Podesta swing the election ?

The FBI on-off-on-off investigation hurt, but i don't think the DNC hack hurt HRC

[uponit7771]

11. It doesn't matter how it did the fact that it did at all is actionable enough. I'm not accepting FUD

... false bars of amplitude

[uponit7771]

16. Impression... My question to you is how didn't it? If you're answer is I don't know then that's

... actionable enough cause that's at least an admission that there was a swing at all.

The offending team can't end the game on an interference call... PERIOD

[Coyotl]

9. Nearly a 3 million popular vote margin isn't a disaster.

Winning the electoral college by a few thousand votes is a tragedy. The disaster isn't Clinton, the disaster is the defeat of democracy and the ability of a minority party to overthrow the government by voter suppression, gerrymandering, hacking, and propaganda.

[Orsino]

12. The Trump Disaster.

Clinton bears some responsibility for the loss, but I would name it after someone else.

The country capable of electing Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to be vulnerable to any televised airhead.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

13. America has changed a lot in the last 25 years, the Clintons have not

Clinton-Gore was able to take the war to the Solid South and carried six states, Clinton-Kaine won only Virginia and lost the election in States Clinton-Gore swept in 1992.

Bill and Hillary Clinton as the perfect Boomer power couple and Hillary as trailblazer also doesn't click with young voters in 2016. They want either a political rockstar that plays to their idealism or firebrand who plays to their anger. Clinton could do neither.

[TheFrenchRazor]

17. are we allowed to say STFU here? nt

[LaydeeBug]

18. we *are* allowed to "let it sink" nt

[melman]

22. Yes

But when you post "let it sink" that keeps it from sinking.

[duffyduff]

20. There was no "Clinton" disaster.

Jesus fucking Christ. This is about TRUMP.

This has nothing to do with the fucking primaries.

[baldguy]

23. Too much victim blaming happening here.

Clinton didn't lose b/c her, or her campaign, or her message or ANYTHING ELSE UNDER HER CONTROL was a "disaster".

Clinton lost because a crime was committed & lies were told against her.