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In reply to the discussion: 9 Devastating Quotes That Show Hillary Clinton Still Won't Take Responsibility for Her Loss [View all]BainsBane
(53,154 posts)according to the Hill-sponsored poll touted to proclaim "Bernie the most popular politician in America, and Warren's numbers are lower than Sanders. That certainly isn't because she' s more "establishment" or less progressive than Sanders, who has been in DC since 1991, longer than Clinton. Warren's polls numbers demonstrate than gender does play a role. In fact, the entire "establishment" meme only emerged during the presidency of an African American man who was poised to be replaced by a woman. For centuries we've had white male presidents, and "the establishment" wasn't a concern. In fact, those who talk most about the establishment explicitly hearken back to the presidency of a aristocrat who man a fortune as a Wall Street financier. That the party of "FDR" was one that presided over Jim Crow and filled the ranks of the KKK, and that FDR himself refused to take action against rampant lynchings because of deference to white Southerners, doesn't prompt a reevaluation of the use of that rhetoric, no matter how many times that history is pointed out.
They key issue in the 2016 election was white male rage. Everything we have seen since November demonstrates that. Some candidates tapped into that, Trump quite masterfully. Hillary tried to appeal to the people's better nature by proposing solutions. Only the public didn't want solutions. They wanted someone to express their anger and punish those they resent. The justifications and rhetoric around those they target vary, but the populations do not.
I certainly learned a lesson about the character of the American electorate.