General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Rural living. [View all]Squinch
(51,075 posts)in the rural areas consistently voted for Hillary. Those with other agendas - which were the majority - voted for Trump.
In the swing states which were the surprise Trump wins and which gave him the winning electoral vote margin, unemployment was under 5% in all of those states.
I know you are going to say, "but they are menial jobs!" The new jobs in urban areas are menial too, but urban areas voted for Hillary. The good jobs went away because of all the people in red states who have allowed Republicans to bust unions. Also, if those in the menial jobs had voted for Hillary, we would have gotten a national minimum wage, which would make those jobs a whole lot more attractive.
One more time: these people who voted for Trump did not do so because they are "simply trying to survive." They are not "simply trying to survive" any more than the rural and urban voters who voted for Hillary. Those people who voted for Trump did not vote for him for that reason.
This idea that we need to pay attention to them and address their needs is also bull. The democratic platform did just that. It had practical jobs plans, plans to build economies in particularly hard-hit areas, and plans to create a safety net in the meantime. It worked on practical solutions to their needs. They didn't vote for that. They voted for the guy who treated them like idiots, lied to them so transparently that they knew he was lying to them, and appealed to their sexism and bigotry.
The only way we will get them back is to step back and let them experience the ramifications of the "lesson" they are teaching the Democrats. That "lesson" will cost lives, both for us and for them. They've just enrolled in Trump University, and they are about to get an education.