Support NeoGAF

[metalslimer]

Honestly, I don't think sexism was any kind of deciding factor.

Clinton's brand, right or wrong as it might be, was far more detrimental.

I don't think it explains most of why she lost, but there was a large contingent of sexism

Even if her being a woman didn't cost her the presidency, dems will be extremely cautious going forward while they try and regrab some of the white rural vote.

 

[jtb]

Deciding factor? No, I agree.

But it definitely played a roll in perception and I'm starting to think that's all that matters.

Jamelle Bouie was right.There is no political journalism anymore. Just theater critics.

 

[RustyNails]

I think we have to question whether policy actually matters in elections. At least the high profile ones.

No it doesn't, never has.

What matters is buy-in.

 

[nature boy]

Hassan won NH it seems

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Doesn't he go on trial for rape charges next month?

 

[Bonen no Max'd]

How does the next House look?

 

[B-Dubs]

Doesn't he go on trial for rape charges next month?

Also fraud.

 

[Cesare Borgia]

Wouldn't be surprised if the 2020 nominee is someone no one is talking about. To me the entire point of confidence about the democrat bench was the fact that the candidates could stew for 4-8 years as demographics shifted. Kamala Harris is a great talent, and the type of candidate that would have made sense in the future. Bumping her up to 2020 when she'll still be a junior senator from a liberal state...I don't buy it.

Booker is a joke, but as this election proved sometimes people fall for those.

Gillibrand is a pro Wall St senator from New York. We tried that already, no thanks.

I'm not seeing it, fellas. Rewind back to November/December 2012: who would have guessed Trump, Kasich, and Cruz would be the last three republicans standing this year? I would have bet on Cruz, Walker, and...I'm not sure. All I know is that if this year taught us anything it's that the primaries are a process that should be respected and fought over by a healthy group of candidates. You let the process play out and go from there. Which is why whoever the NAACP, Planned Parenthood, etc starts praising in 2019 probably won't be worth your time. Or the person that all the cool bloggers start cosigning early with bullshit stories they receive directly from the DNC or the campaign.

 

[metalslimer]

Oh and when we all get over our collective depression, there's needs to be an explosion of rage at the media for what they did to us.

 

[Bowdz]

How does the next House look?

We picked up a few seats, but still a huge GOP majority.

 

[Voysa Reezun]

Did it matter for Obama?

I don't think it did. He won because he was charismatic and Romney was portrayed as the guy that fires you.

This is actually a really fair point.

Jesus.

I guess the hidden advantage is that Democrats tend to be younger and cooler than Republicans, but the thought of elections being reduced to banking on your candidate having enough charisma to turn out your voters, who then vote straight-ticket on the down-ballot, is depressing.

 

[RustyNails]

You're pretty much guaranteeing that I'm done with PoliGAF after this election.

Have fun with your guerilla uprising.

This is strange way of saying you can't defend your position that we need to coddle racist hillbillies who are actually doing fairly well under Obama!

 

[VendettaRed07]

Honestly, I don't think sexism was any kind of deciding factor.

Clinton's brand, right or wrong as it might be, was far more detrimental.

And she handled the FBI investigation as horribly as she possibly could have. I mean, people really can't overlook just how devastating that was. Comey's fuckery aside, she almost never gave a consistent answer as to what happened and why it's not a big deal, or whatever. And Bill's gross negligence has fucked us again.

 

[Pixieking]

Honestly, I don't think sexism was any kind of deciding factor.

Clinton's brand, right or wrong as it might be, was far more detrimental.

Trump is sexist, and sexually assaulted women. I think a large percentage of his voters are - consciously or unconsciously - sexist. It's too large an issue for it to not be relevant to Hillary, too.

 

[Bronx-Man]

The scariest part of all this is how white nationalism has not only taken over America, but most of the western world. As a poli-sci major: someone who literally has to study political theory, philosophy, and world history for a living......I have an awful feeling in the pit of my chest.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Doesn't he go on trial for rape charges next month?

Suit was dropped. Could be refilled at some point, but as of now, it's off.

 

[Black Mamba]

Yes I'm not arguing sexism wasn't there. It was. But she wouldn't have had those votes if she was a man either.

If Obama can win so can a woman. Just not her.

Her political profile was a made up one from decades of attacks.

 

[SerAardvark]

We might, but they'll probably have to be pretty exceptional.

I believe Warren is pretty exceptional.

Warren is pretty old already herself (she'll be 71 in 2020), and I'm skeptical about whether she'll have a broad enough appeal.

 

[Nordicus]

Went from shock, to depression, to righteous indignation.

And I do not want to move from this step with both feet any time soon

 

[balladofwindfishes]

The scariest part of all this is how white nationalism has not only taken over America, but most of the western world. As a poli-sci major: someone who literally has to study political theory, philosophy, and world history for a living......I have an awful feeling in the pit of my chest.

I love history and yea... nationalism around the world is a recipe for disaster

That's how the World Wars started

 

[RustyNails]

How does the next House look?

Can you believe the biggest gains for dems came from the house? We got +9 seats

 

[VendettaRed07]

Trump is sexist, and sexually assaulted women. I think a large percentage of his voters are - consciously or unconsciously - sexist. It's too large an issue for it to not be relevant to Hillary, too.

And her brand was so damaging that she couldn't capitalize on it. Even in exit polls most Trump voters thought his comments on women were unacceptable.

 

[BiggNife]

Warren is pretty old already herself (she'll be 71 in 2020), and I'm skeptical about whether she'll have a broad enough appeal.

tbf Trump is 70.

 

[Chase17]

The SoS just confirmed Hassan's win.

Oh good!

 

[thepotatoman]

I think we have to question whether policy actually matters in elections. At least the high profile ones.

Policy matters if it's exciting and is easy to sell.

Policy does not matter if it's relitigating the same battles fought the last 30 years, or if you have to go to a website to figure out what it actually is.

"Free college" is easy to understand, but I wonder what most people think of when they hear "debt free college".

 

[Hige]

You're pretty much guaranteeing that I'm done with PoliGAF after this election.

Have fun with your guerilla uprising.

The strong anti-Bernie sentiment during the end of the primaries and erasure of his POC supporters made me take a break from reading PoliGAF and GAF in general for a while. I feel you.

 

[jtb]

The reservation I have with the Bernie Sanders/rural white voter theory is that we saw a similar phenomenon on 2008.... when they voted en masse for Hillary, against Obama. The hard part is untangling whether it's a vote "for" him or "against" her.

 

[Dierce]

The scariest part of all this is how white nationalism has not only taken over America, but most of the western world. As a poli-sci major: someone who literally has to study political theory, philosophy, and world history for a living......I have an awful feeling in the pit of my chest.

This is also what deeply troubles me, along with countless other things. In your opinion where do you see this leading us to? Do you see any hope of the western world turning around any time soon or is it to early to say?

 

[B-Dubs]

Can you believe the biggest gains for dems came from the house? We got +9 seats

What the hell world are we living in?

 

[balladofwindfishes]

What the hell world are we living in?

Nothing about this election makes sense

 

[The Technomancer]

It's incredible how confident everybody is that a man who ran on fascism and white nationalism, accused all his political opponents of elaborate nonsensical conspiracy theories to steal the election, and literally said they should cancel the election and just make him president will go forward and honor American democracy and peaceful transitions of power in the future.

I'll worry about the election in 2020 when we know if there will be an election in 2020.

If I have one shred of a counterargument, its that Trump is going to actively hate the job of actually being the president. I'm not saying its likely he's sick of it by 2020, but I don't know if he'll be chomping at the bit to keep the position

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

Honestly, I don't think sexism was any kind of deciding factor.

Clinton's brand, right or wrong as it might be, was far more detrimental.

Not buying it. I have no doubt people would let shit slide quite a bit more if it was say a Biden having to deal with all the nonsense.

 

[thepotatoman]

Warren is pretty old already herself (she'll be 71 in 2020), and I'm skeptical about whether she'll have a broad enough appeal.

You mean like all that broad appeal Trump had with moderates?

Warren would actually get democrats out the polls, where hillary could not.

 

[Suikoguy]

You're pretty much guaranteeing that I'm done with PoliGAF after this election.

Have fun with your guerilla uprising.

Have you read the thread? The snark is deserved.

You have a BernieBro saying Feingold is a Trash Candidate.

FEINGOLD.

 

[Trouble]

Should I be heartened by the fact that the Republicans don't have a supermajority in the Senate?

 

[Oblivion]

Dems can't stop any federal appointments anymore, but I hope they can at least obstruct the fuck out of every nominee.

 

[jtb]

If I have one shred of a counterargument, its that Trump is going to actively hate the job of actually being the president. I'm not saying its likely he's sick of it by 2020, but I don't know if he'll be chomping at the bit to keep the position

on the other hand, he is literally the leader of the free world. for someone with the world's biggest ego, there is nothing on this planet that will do more to feed his ego.

 

[Black Mamba]

Not buying it. I have no doubt people would let shit slide quite a bit more if it was say a Biden having to deal with all the nonsense.

Buy biden doesn't have Clinton's brand. Impossible to compare.

 

[Trouble]

Dems can't stop any federal appointments anymore, but I hope they can at least obstruct the fuck out of every nominee.

Dems should block any SCOTUS appointments for 4 years. See how they like them apples.

I'm pretty sure they can't actually do that indefinitely, though. Not up on parliamentary procedures.

 

[Retromelon]

Hassan won by like 700 votes. Woww

 

[thepotatoman]

We're still trying to determine the exact cause of the loss, and I don't think it's time to make conclusive statements. Was this posted?

Ok, fine. Replace the word "democrats" with "Obama voters" where necessary then. Because Obama voters not showing up does seem to be the main problem.

 

[Revolver]

Doesn't he go on trial for rape charges next month?

I think the accusor dropped the suit.

 

[jtb]

Can you believe the biggest gains for dems came from the house? We got +9 seats

I can. Trump's missing white voters all came from districts that already voted R. Live by the gerrymander, die by the gerrymander.

Hassan won by like 700 votes. Woww

Automatic recount, no?

 

[Psychoward]

Dems should block any SCOTUS appointments for 4 years. See how they like them apples.

The republican congress overrides them and they continue to not give a fuck as voters display apathy for the hypocrisy in voting for a do-nothing congress while rallying against congress for doing nothing.

 

[pigeon]

The scariest part of all this is how white nationalism has not only taken over America, but most of the western world. As a poli-sci major: someone who literally has to study political theory, philosophy, and world history for a living......I have an awful feeling in the pit of my chest.

Implicit in my comment about drones earlier is this: technological advancement has leveled the playing field such that it's much easier for a fascist to control a country via drones, infosec, and surveillance than it used to be.

 

[Bronx-Man]

This is also what deeply troubles me, along with countless other things. In your opinion where do you see this leading us to? Do you see any hope of the western world turning around any time soon or is it to early to say?

Best case scenario? Trump's domestic policy causes mass outrage and his economic policy causes a mass recession near immediately. Voters vote massively against Trump re-election and some charismatic dem (Booker? Warren? Yeezy?) gets elected into a republican-controlled congress. Not ideal but it would help us stop the bloodletting asap.

Worst case? Trump makes it into a 2nd term, creates a new depression, global economy crashes, Putin goes on an imperialist streak across Europe, Trump somehow gets us involved into a war that ends in nuclear holocaust.

 

[Bonen no Max'd]

Should I be heartened by the fact that the Republicans don't have a supermajority in the Senate?

We need 3 GOP senators to keep the filibuster from being nuked. I think our best hopes there are Collins, Murkowski, and Graham.

So we're fucked.

 

[old manatee]

Have you read the thread? The snark is deserved.

You have a BernieBro saying Feingold is a Trash Candidate.

FEINGOLD.

We're still doing this?

 

[Thunder Monkey]

Okay...

I drank a lot of whiskey, then switched to rum, and then to wine... so I haven't been feeling good today.

I was way too confident, and it bit in me in the ass in a spectacular fashion.

I really really hope he isn't who I think he is.

That's what I'm relegated to. Pure unfounded hope that he isn't who we see.

 

[QuiteWhittle]

So Cooper, Hassan, and Masto won? Bullock and Justice kept the governorships from flipping and we gain 9+ seats? Any other victories?