As Hillary said today, this election result is a big disappointment for millions of Americans who hoped that our country would elect a highly qualified and wonderful woman with the right policies for a prosperous future for all. We must allow ourselves to experience the sense of loss, sadness, and even anger that pervades this day,but then we must move on to outlast this election.
This is not the first election setback. Though this situation seems more extreme and Trump more dangerous and repellent, think Reagan in 1980 and Gore v Bush in 2000. We then reorganized and elected President Obama to two terms.
First, Voices4Hillary wants to thank all our readers and contributors for an amazing and uplifting effort!
Like Hillary, we fought the good fight and gave it everything we got. And remember, Hillary won the popular vote which gives us an enormous base on which to build a future movement.
However, clearly, we failed to communicate to men and women of all colors and all social levels and all levels of education that Hillary would make their lives better than Trump could ever do. (Trump apparently won 46% of college-educated women voters )
We wrote on this website back in July that this campaign was about the economy and, for many, it was.
Millions of working people are despondent about their lives and prospects and believe the system is rigged. They related to Bernie, and to Hillary when she agreed with this widespread sentiment and highlighted her plans for ordinary Americans at the DNC in Philadelphia.
But we did not seem to maintain that momentum since August, leaving Trump an opportunity to convince many working people he was their best hope and the anti-establishment candidate.
It was also about persistent misogyny exploited by Trump and perpetuated by the media. It turns out that Americans are even willing to elect a candidate who is a self-declared sexual predator and possible rapist.
As to other issues, they didn't even seem to register with Trump voters significantly. They seem not to care if Mexicans are attacked, if Muslims are threatened, if Gold Star families and our President are insulted, or if violence against his opponent is encouraged ("Lock her up" was his camp rally and Trump himself even promised to jail Hillary during the debates).
Remember that photo of Hillary dusting off her shoulder after her 11 hour Benghanzi? That is how important the concerns of many Americans were treated - about Trump's temperament, about his ties to Russia, about his racism and anti-Semitism and his nods to the KKK and Alt Right, and even about his fitness to serve as President at all . Flecks on their collective shoulders, if that.
His voters found the appeal of a white, alpha male Strongman, with his masculinist appeal compelling. In their collective fantasy, Trump, billionaire superman, will fix the economy, fix America and restore them to positions they feel entitled to by race, nationality and gender. His outrageous words and even his sexually predatory behavior reinforce his Strongman image. Trump Strongman can do and say anything.
It is no surprise that Trump voters feel displaced by immigrants who have "taken our jobs." It was no surprise when Trump's closing campaign words focused on their shared belief that a girl couldn't be the commander-in-chief.
We Democrats and progressives must do better next time. We must build a coalition that includes ALL Americans, men, women, minorities, the aged, the young, ALL working people. We all must find a way to make gender and race more critical to voter decisions.
We know that Hillary had the best policies for a better, more inclusive America, but we did not convince enough voters of that fact.
We will have lots of issues to fight going forward: a progressive Supreme Court, a Congress that doesn't destroy protections for working people and the vulnerable, for fighting climate change, for women's rights, for minority rights and fair wages for all.
As Hillary said, we will continue to build an America that is Hopeful, Inclusive, Fairer and Big-Hearted.
We will fight on! and "Never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it."
#StrongerTogether! It is not just a saying. It is true.
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November 9, 2016
