Democrats search for a path back into rural America’s good graces

[mystery-ak]

 By Dan Balz December 10

MADISON, Wis. — Democrats continue to digest last month’s election results and probably will do so for months to come. The devastation of losing a presidential contest most Democrats thought they would win has been compounded by the decimation of the party at all levels that has occurred since President Obama was first elected.

Advisers to Hillary Clinton have noted, correctly, that in an election that turned on a relatively few number of votes in a handful of Northern industrial states, there are many possible answers, all with some validity, for why she lost. They include strategic or tactical mistakes by Clinton’s campaign, Clinton’s weaknesses as a candidate, the resistance to a female candidate for president among some voters, President-elect Donald Trump’s shrewdly opportunistic campaign and nefarious activity by the Russians.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-search-for-a-path-back-into-rural-americas-good-graces/2016/12/10/8bc92fea-bef8-11e6-ae79-bec72d34f8c9_story.html?utm_term=.531526dbe10c

[Night Hides Not]

ETA: Just my opinion, but "rural America" has a much larger percentage of veterans than blue states. The concepts of honor and truthfulness still matter, and Hillary absolutely flunked those tests.

That's the message that Democrats seem to be missing, and I have little doubt that Congressional Republicans are missing it, too, as evidenced by their lack of action following the 2014 midterms. They lucked out, so I hope they don't break their arms patting themselves on the back.

[JustPassinThru]

The only thing that will do it, is to CHANGE THEIR VALUES.

And that's not going to happen.  And if a shift in values should happen, over a decade or so, they will STILL be suspect.  Because veterans and rural folks are not like liberals and pot-addicted city sheeple.  They're skeptical.

They're wasting their time on this; and I suspect they know it.  They're just hoping to get in enough Undocumented Democrats that their logistics overcome their lack of cred with the Farmer Bobs and the G.I. Joes.

[Frank Cannon]

the resistance to a female candidate for president among some voters, President-elect Donald Trump’s shrewdly opportunistic campaign and nefarious activity by the Russians.

Dan Balls is just pedaling Leftist talking points here. If the Leftists are clinging to this garbage as excuses for their massive losses, they are not serious in the least. They just want to keep pumping up their bubble.

[corbe]

   A murder/suicide with the GOP would be a great starting place.

[montanajoe]

These were the two worst candidates for POTUS in the history of the country. The nation had just endured 8 years of Dim leadership.

I guess maybe these guys need to make a living by peddling this tripe but in any other presidential election year there likely would have been a change in administrations. The Dims are not decimated contrary to the hype (it was the same in 2008 following O's election).

The real problem is that the Country only had these two losers to vote for...

[JustPassinThru]

   A murder/suicide with the GOP would be a great starting place.

The problem is not the parties.

The problem is the entrenched lifer Elite Political Class.  That class of Speshul Snowflakes which go into elected office directly out of university and create a lifetime sinecure, using coerced donor money to jigger elections.  And use their tenure to enrich themselves.

The answer to this is - of course - TERM LIMITS.

The only way they can be imposed is with a Constitutional Amendment.

Since the lifers in Congress, and that's most of them, will not support such an amendment - even the n00bs in there HOPE to become lifers - since it will have zero support, the ONLY way out of this is with an Article V Convention of State Delegates.

[Frank Cannon]

The Dims are not decimated contrary to the hype (it was the same in 2008 following O's election).

You're kidding right? The Rats have been destroyed all the way down to the Mayor level. They are in the worst shape they have been since 1920 when the GOP ran the country. They have had their bench crushed. There are no up and coming Rat pols to run for office. There is no one viable to run for big offices. The only excitement they could generate was with an 80 year old Socialist running for President. They are a mess. Also add into this that they have one of the worst election cycles coming up in 2 years for the Senate. Not only will they lose seats, they will lose a lot of seats.

Contrast that with this good poll numbers coming out for Donny and the GOP the last 2 weeks. He's finally above 50% and the Congress is out of the single digits.

[montanajoe]

You're kidding right? The Rats have been destroyed all the way down to the Mayor level. They are in the worst shape they have been since 1920 when the GOP ran the country. They have had their bench crushed. There are no up and coming Rat pols to run for office. There is no one viable to run for big offices. The only excitement they could generate was with an 80 year old Socialist running for President. They are a mess. Also add into this that they have one of the worst election cycles coming up in 2 years for the Senate. Not only will they lose seats, they will lose a lot of seats.

Contrast that with this good poll numbers coming out for Donny and the GOP the last 2 weeks. He's finally above 50% and the Congress is out of the single digits.

Yep that's pretty impressive.  If nothing else this election proved a bench means nothing..hell Donny wasn't even a bat boy. America will continue to elect politicians that will enrich themselves, partisans will continue to root for their team, and the rest of the country will struggle to put food on the table...

[Frank Cannon]

Yep that's pretty impressive.  If nothing else this election proved a bench means nothing..hell Donny wasn't even a bat boy. America will continue to elect politicians that will enrich themselves, partisans will continue to root for their team, and the rest of the country will struggle to put food on the table...

And your going to sit around bitching about how sucky it is and accomplish nothing. Kudos to you.

[Smokin Joe]

Yep that's pretty impressive.  If nothing else this election proved a bench means nothing..hell Donny wasn't even a bat boy. America will continue to elect politicians that will enrich themselves, partisans will continue to root for their team, and the rest of the country will struggle to put food on the table...

Pretty much sums it up. If you're busy putting food on the table and paying the bills, that cuts down on the time you have to be paying attention to what the pols are doing--something both sides count on.

[Cripplecreek]

They already have with Trump.

[Cripplecreek]

Pretty much sums it up. If you're busy putting food on the table and paying the bills, that cuts down on the time you have to be paying attention to what the pols are doing--something both sides count on.

Reminds me of a German journal entry I read about the Reichstag fire. It said that nobody really believed the official story but people had food on the table, a roof over their heads and nobody wanted to attract the attention of the authorities.

[Smokin Joe]

Reminds me of a German journal entry I read about the Reichstag fire. It said that nobody really believed the official story but people had food on the table, a roof over their heads and nobody wanted to attract the attention of the authorities.

I do not think this is the 'somnolence of plenty', although it may be for some.
It is more the hardscrabble existence of trying to make ends meet and being preoccupied with keeping the kids fed and the lights on. There is a difference.

[Applewood]

People who don't live in major cities aren't dumb country bumpkins.  They have seen what Democrats have done to cities like New York and Chicago, and they want no part of it.  City people are willing to sacrifice their morals, principles and beliefs for useless stuff like bike lanes and green spaces while the city is crumbling around them.  Suburban and rural people want to build nice homes and live where they don't have to worry about the adversities of city living such as crime.  They want to live their lives without bureaucratic meddling.  They won't get any of the above with Democrats in charge.

And now with the Republican party leaning left, they won't get that either.

[Smokin Joe]

People who don't live in major cities aren't dumb country bumpkins.  They have seen what Democrats have done to cities like New York and Chicago, and they want no part of it.  City people are willing to sacrifice their morals, principles and beliefs for useless stuff like bike lanes and green spaces while the city is crumbling around them.  Suburban and rural people want to build nice homes and live where they don't have to worry about the adversities of city living such as crime.  They want to live their lives without bureaucratic meddling.  They won't get any of the above with Democrats in charge.

And now with the Republican party leaning left, they won't get that either.

I think the suburbs were an attempt to have most of the convenience of living in town without the downside...

[uglybiker]

Rural Americans already know what a big pile of manure looks like.
They chose the (very) slightly smaller one.

[Smokin Joe]

Rural Americans already know what a big pile of manure looks like.
They chose the (very) slightly smaller one.

Well they could choose a path back into rural Americans' good graces. Up the side of the nearest active volcano and down into the crater...