World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[MrPopo]

We could sell tickets and use the proceeds to buoy up the economy.

[dsheinem]

Well, this should be entertaining.

Yep.

mjmjr25 has it pretty much all figured out, though; so, I am not sure that he is going to get a response, much less the well-reasoned and extensively researched one that his post so clearly deserves.

It was nice of him to throw in a personal insult at the end, first, though. Trump supporters are nothing if not classy. Tremendously classy.

[BoneSnapDeez]

White supremacist hate groups and individuals supported Trump. This is undeniable. See the KKK, David Duke, Stormfront, The Daily Stormer, the "alt-right" crowd, and so on. In the past, many of these same folks would denounce both candidates as being "Zionist" or something similar, or vote Republican while holding their noses. This time around they came out in droves. These folks are emboldened now, and the fact that a mainstream candidate - one who won the election no less - had a message that resonated with them is terrifying.

[marurun]

I don't think all Donald Trump supporters are racist and xenophobic, but many are, and he was certainly the enthusiastic pick of most of those who are. His campaign gave them a louder voice and a safe space in which to be more blatantly discriminatory. That's a HUGE deal, and makes it much harder to come to terms with America's legacy of discrimination. Then again, maybe it will help. We have, as a nation, tried for too long to pretend our polity is post-racial, as if sweeping our inequalities under the rug would make them go away. Maybe exposing this sordid underbelly to the light will help us re-energize to tackle it head-on.

[Sarge]

I think it would be supremely unhelpful to the DNC to assume that their loss this election cycle can be chalked up to racism. There needs to be some serious introspection as to what went wrong, and racism/sexism/bigotry/homophobia is an easy target, but I would argue not the right one. I found this article an interesting read on the matter.

At the same time, there's a lot that the GOP has to look at, too. I don't know what this means for the conservative movement. I don't think Trump killed it, I think he's just a reflection of the state it has been in for a while: ineffectual, and unconvincing to the average voter.

From several posts here, I'm gathering that a lot of you agree with the Clinton "deplorables" comment. I'm curious as to what percentage folks think that actually is.

[Reprise]

They lost because they chose a woman that many people simply do not like. Clinton represented everything the American people were sick of. The Democrats were complacent and rested on their laurels. They screwed Sanders, thinking Clinton was the safer choice, as a wishy-washy, flip-flopping centrist who could attract people on the left and the right.

"When people are sick and tired of a rotten and corrupt system, they're looking for an alternative. If you block them getting it from the left they'll get one from the right. The problem with the latter is that those guys won't stop until they burnt the whole house down."

[Sarge]

I actually think Sanders could have won this election, assuming Trump was the nominee. I still would have paid to see a Cruz-Sanders race. When I'm done with my time machine I'll tell y'all about how this election originally went down when I get back.

[prfsnl_gmr]

You're literally too easy. I have to be careful w/you tho, right? You'll threaten to quit the site...again. Soft like charmin.

Matthew 15:11

These posts aren't enhancing anyone's opinion of you.

I think it would be supremely unhelpful to the DNC to assume that their loss this election cycle can be chalked up to racism. There needs to be some serious introspection as to what went wrong, and racism/sexism/bigotry/homophobia is an easy target, but I would argue not the right one. I found this article an interesting read on the matter.

I agree completely. Democrats - and, honestly, establishment Republicans - lost this election on economic policy.

From several posts here, I'm gathering that a lot of you agree with the Clinton "deplorables" comment. I'm curious as to what percentage folks think that actually is.

I actually do agree with this:

We are living in a volatile political environment. You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic -- you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people -- now 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks -- they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America. But the other basket -- and I know this because I see friends from all over America here -- I see friends from Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Texas -- as well as, you know, New York and California -- but that other basket of people are people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they're just desperate for change. It doesn't really even matter where it comes from. They don't buy everything he says, but he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won't wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroin, feel like they're in a dead-end. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.

Hillary didn't win over the non-deplorables, and it cost her the election.

They lost because they chose a woman that many people simply do not like. Clinton represented everything the American people were sick of. The Democrats were complacent and rested on their laurels. They screwed Sanders, thinking Clinton was the safer choice, as a wishy-washy, flip-flopping centrist who could attract people on the left and the right.

I agree completely. Even the most dyed-in-the-wool Democrats - such as myself - never felt much enthusiasm for her.

I actually think Sanders could have won this election, assuming Trump was the nominee. I still would have paid to see a Cruz-Sanders race. When I'm done with my time machine I'll tell y'all about how this election originally went down when I get back.

I also think that Sanders could have won it. He certainly would have fared better in the rust belt. (He may not have fared as well in the South, but that was going for Trump anyway.) I also still derive some satisfaction from the fact that Ted Cruz is not President. IMO, he is the worst.

[MrPopo]

It was nice of him to throw in a personal insult at the end, first, though. Trump supporters are nothing if not classy. Tremendously classy.

U mad, prof?

Search our post histories. See who's cussed more. See who's used offensive terms.

You're literally too easy. I have to be careful w/you tho, right? You'll threaten to quit the site...again. Soft like charmin.

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

[Ack]

I actually think Sanders could have won this election, assuming Trump was the nominee. I still would have paid to see a Cruz-Sanders race. When I'm done with my time machine I'll tell y'all about how this election originally went down when I get back.

According to CBS exit polls, voters would have preferred Sanders to Trump roughly 54-46%...that is if anybody believes in exit polls anymore.