JUburton wrote: the problem is that republican policies do not fix these issues and will not suddenly bring back the glory manufacturing days.

PSUsarge wrote:

Grotewold wrote:

pacino wrote:This is an issue, certainly. There is a lost generation of people stemming from the 2008 crash. There are no Republican solutions, but we both know that. Beefing up college availability, along with technical schools, was a good start to preventing a future generation from being stuck. Expanding UC, social security, medicaid, etc could help those who simply will not find a job equivalent to their old $40 an hour no skills job.

Now? I have no clue how people like this will be helped.

I don't follow this stuff as closely as most of you, so forgive me if this is facile, but couldn't Hillary have campaigned way harder on the rising inequality in America and the dire need to protect those programs? Would that have cost her votes? Bumper sticker #$!&@ like under 200K, tax cut, over 200K, tax increase. #200K

Feel like all I really heard from her from the past two months were those Trump soundbite commercials

Many in the regions that carried this election remember Obama's comments about "clinging to guns and religion" plus HRC's comments about coal. HRC won among those with the lowest incomes.

What this election was about, IMO, boils down to the anxiety of the white working class for what lies ahead. They're not as worried about the income aspect as they are simply about losing comfort in majority status.

Their employment options require more education & "social capital", their towns are becoming more diverse, and their kids are increasingly at risk to substance abuse (the amount of heroin-related headlines in Scranton, Harrisburg, etc. news sources is unreal). More help or government programs aren't what they want - they want to go back in time, essentially.

JUburton wrote:we're all mmqbing here (as we should to some degree) but i dont know how well the message comes from hillary clinton, or more precisely, the caricature of hillary clinton that now exists. shes a millionaire who cashed in on her politics with bill and gives secret speeches to goldman sachs. i believe she cares a lot about everyday americans but good luck convincing the people who need it most.

pacino wrote:Apparently Bill Clinton wanted to visit white working class areas and higher ups in the campaign nixed it.

Houshphandzadeh wrote:the campaign went all in on identity politics. most of us agree that stuff is really important but I have no clue why they just ignored the economy for the most part

they didn't even bother to say, "Look, Dem president, economy good, Republican pres, economy bad, Dem president, economy getting better again!"

pacino wrote:Dems do need to look into these Russian ties.

jannatinㅤ ‏@harryonmen
My mom literally just texted me "don't wear the Hijab please" and she's the most religious person in our family. I wasn't gonna cry over this election, but to know my mom is ready to sacrifice her beliefs for me, to protect me, yeah I'm off guys, night.

PSUsarge wrote:

JUburton wrote:the problem is that republican policies do not fix these issues and will not suddenly bring back the glory manufacturing days.

Agreed, and I honestly believe that many of the white working class agree too, which shows you how desperate that demographic truly is right now. They are willing to deceive themselves into believing that someone can stem the tide of automation and globalization and somehow return them to the 1950s.

I finished Hillbilly Elegy today, and one of the most striking points was about many in the white working class who simply refuse to look in the mirror and accept reality. It's easier to blame anyone - Obama, "the illegals", etc. vs. accepting the scary truth that the lives their grandparents and parents relied on thanks to large, stable, generous manufacturing corporations simply is not a realistic option moving forward.

I also think the anxiety comes from the brain drain within these fiercely loyal areas. I lived in a small town in NEPA for parts of last year and saw this firsthand - most in my generation who left for college did not return, many now living in greater Philadelphia. Most of those who never left are not in position to improve the town, meanwhile changing demographics are causing anxiety for those whose families have lived there for generations.

It's some scary #$!&@. I get the anxiety. And to paraphrase a previous post here, I think many voted for Trump simply because he was the only voice speaking for them, regardless of the collateral damage that a Trump presidency may cause.

Meanwhile, protestors in urban America, many of whom probably don't know a single person who voted for Trump, are shocked that Trump could somehow be president without considering how a wounded animal will react if you back it into a corner.

Just shows you how divided the U.S. is right now, and I can't blame either side because they have absolutely zero interaction with each other and no actual reason to foster interaction.

PSUsarge wrote:Their employment options require more education & "social capital"

Houshphandzadeh wrote:pretty scary article in the NYRB reviewing Arlie Hochchild's book where she tries her damnedest to empathize with people in rural Louisiana. these people are literally dying from corporate pollution, in ways that are physically manifest like rotting teeth from fumes, and they still vote Tea Party every time

Doll Is Mine wrote:

jannatinㅤ ‏@harryonmen
My mom literally just texted me "don't wear the Hijab please" and she's the most religious person in our family. I wasn't gonna cry over this election, but to know my mom is ready to sacrifice her beliefs for me, to protect me, yeah I'm off guys, night.

Houshphandzadeh wrote:the campaign went all in on identity politics. most of us agree that stuff is really important but I have no clue why they just ignored the economy for the most part

they didn't even bother to say, "Look, Dem president, economy good, Republican pres, economy bad, Dem president, economy getting better again!"