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In reply to the discussion: It would be nice if the centrists in this party did some introspection, too. [View all]thesquanderer
(11,988 posts)That's an understatement. There were so many things that contributed, lack of enthusiasm among the far left doesn't even make my top five. But Monday morning quarterbacking is easy.
I agree with you that "there were choices the campaign could have made that would have gained us those votes without costing us any other."
There were also things completely out of the the campaign's control.
However, I have a bit (just a bit) more sympathy than you do with the fact that so much of the Dem campaign was about Trump's negatives.
The thing about touting your own positive vision is that it is always, to some extent, controversial. That is, there will always be some people who will disagree with the policies you promote at least in part, and since no policy is ever perfect, whatever possible flaws it has (at least in the eyes of some) can be exploited by the opposition. OTOH, when you have an opponent like Trump who seems to be handing you ammunition with ridiculous statements and behaviors that almost no one would defend, it seems like the safe bet to use it. I mean, raising the income cap on social security contributions is controversial, pussy grabbing is not. So there's a temptation to take what seems like the easier, safer route.
That said, what this doesn't take into account is these things don't have equal importance. Even if people may have found Trump despicable as a person, that doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't vote for him, esp. if you don't give them a good reason to vote for you. Because despite his enormous flaws that even many on the right recognize, he still had a pitch that resonated with many people. And regardless of the accuracy of the thought, writing off half of them as irredeemable deplorables was probably not a great way to win them over, as entertaining as it may have been to our side. That doesn't make my top 5 either, but it did generate a bunch of press that presumably didn't win her any votes. Perhaps a different way to make the same point: "There are people out there who are bigots and haters... racists, sexists, islamophobes, you name it... and I see my opponent appealing to their baser instincts. I'm not going to tell you that I sympathize with these people. But I will tell you that my plans will make this country better for everyone, even the people I don't like." Or something along those lines.