Which Trump voters should the Democrats reach out to?

[guillaumeb]

Last edited Sun Nov 11, 2018, 07:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Alex Witt just asked Congressperson Debbie Dingell how Democrats can reach out to Trump voters.

If I were a guest, I would ask Alex Witt the obvious question, which is, exactly which Trump voters should we reach out to?


Should we reach out to the actual Nazis?
Should we reach out to the Proud Boys?
Should we reach out to the KKK members?

Should we reach out to the Kris Kobachs, and the Brian Kemps who do everything they can to to prevent non-white voters from actually voting?


Should we reach out to the Paul Ryans, and the Mitch McConnells who ignore Trump's brutal racism as long as Trump serves as the useful idiot while the GOP remakes America into a plantation economy?

[W_HAMILTON]

1. Fuck that.

Do they ever ask the Republicans what Democrats they should reach out to?

Do they ever ask the Republicans how they can reach out to urban voters?

[guillaumeb]

4. Never.

The media acts as if 90% of America is rural.


99% of the land is rural, but most Americans live in urban areas.

[INdemo]

2. none

Trumps supporters would support Putin rather than vote for Liberals

[guillaumeb]

5. 56,000 Trump supporters voted for a Nazi in the 3rd Il District.

And that is frightening.

[exboyfil]

33. 157K Iowans voted for a Nazi as well

and he won.

[guillaumeb]

36. True.

GOP voters tolerate Nazis, and sometimes, they vote for them.

[INdemo]

125. Didnt know that

That is very scary..
as in 3rd District Illinois?

[guillaumeb]

131. Yes, in Illinois.

[blueinredohio]

111. I'm with you INdemo. NONE!!

[dem4decades]

3. More like Alex Nitwit.

[guillaumeb]

7. She is merely repeating one of the media favored talking points.

And she can do better.

[BigMin28]

57. I agree

nt

[rzemanfl]

6. The ones who genuinely repent and are willing to be deprogrammed?

Or maybe just fuck them too but set the horses they rode in on free? It's a conundrum.

[guillaumeb]

9. The answer is to do what we did in 2008 and in 2018.

Motivate voters who rarely vote with a message of hope.

The harder part is to accomplish it.

[rzemanfl]

11. See, there's your answer. n/t

[Blue_true]

81. A lot did that on Tuesday. nt

[Arkansas Granny]

8. Reaching out to Trump supporters will likely get your hand slapped, or worse.

If they are still supporting Trump, they are not likely to listen to any Democratic ideas. They might come around on their own, but I think pursuing them is a hopeless task.

[guillaumeb]

10. I agree that many, if not most,

are too uninformed.

[we can do it]

12. None, zero, nada

[ooky]

13. Not a good use of our time or resources.

We govern for all people and need to keep our focus on that. I personally don't give a shit about any of the things I hear Republicans routinely talk about.

[guillaumeb]

15. The media cares. Or pretends to care.

The GOP never reaches out when they cheat and win.

[lagomorph777]

127. Why isn't Alex Nitwitt asking GOPpers how they should reach out to Dems?

It's Dems who battled massive voter suppression and turned out by the millions to stop the insanity.

[guillaumeb]

132. Reaching out is an action that is only asked of Democrats.

The GOP always has a mandate.

[brush]

61. Yep, our resources are better spent going after young voters and non-voters.

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

14. Which Trump voters should the Democrats reach out to?

The ones with the mental capacity to listen to, and learn from reason... So, none.

[Aristus]

16. None. To Hell with all of them.

I'm content to wait until they die off.

Granted, they pass their fecklessness on to their brainless broods. But fortunately, like the rest of us, they're having fewer kids. A large family once meant free farm hands. Now it's just more diapers, a bigger grocery bill, and a crowded tarpaper shack.

[marylandblue]

17. In 2018, we focused on health care and it worked

We should continue to focus on bread and butter issues - jobs, $15 minimum wage, infrastructure, more healthcare.

[guillaumeb]

19. We agree.

We need to be specific, and we need to pressure our representatives to get it done.

And if the GOP controlled Senate refuses to do anything, we need to be in the streets and in the offices of GOP politicians.

[vi5]

18. Anyone who still asks this is an idiot

...Anyone who suggests in any way, at any point moving forward that we reach out to anyone who still considers themselves a Republican in 2018 and forward does not have our best interest at heart.

[guillaumeb]

23. It is the right wing media pretense of even handed treatment.

The fiction that truth and lies are simply 2 separate and valid points of view.

[Paladin]

20. None of them. Let the more evolved ones come crawling back to us. Fuck the rest of them. (nt)

[meadowlander]

21. The ones who never watch the news

and voted for Trump because the only thing they know about him is that "he's a successful businessman".

There's also the odd old-school Republican who voted for him out of pure economic self-interest who can be convinced that the kind of instability he brings won't be good for the market long term.

[guillaumeb]

26. 2 possibilities.

Educate the uninformed and appeal to the greedy.

[Power 2 the People]

22. +1

[octoberlib]

24. Alex Witt is pretty consistently awful whenever she's on.

[libdem4life]

25. None of them. They are either going to cluster on the bow of the political Titanic,

or join the host of new and newly empowered voters...the young, the moderates, racial minorities and the women...many of whom have already racked up surprise victories. Spend our time and political capitol on massive training and information programs. Forget the Tea Party Republicans. Those ready to leave will do so based on results...that we are seeing just in this midterm.

[guillaumeb]

29. I would say that Trump is the Trumptanic,

and we are the iceberg.

But I loved your answer.

[question everything]

27. I don't think that all Republicans are Nazis

They have their reasons not to vote for Democrats, yes, many cannot stand Hillary; many Democrats too.

As we've heard before, even the ones who want to flip the House and the Senate, they do like their own member of Congress.

For many the Democrats have moved too much to the left. (Yes, on DU this is a plus, not necessarily for the whole country).

Many hope that at some point the Republican party will return to its roots of free market and less regulations.

And they feel justified with the increase of the stock market - more or less - and with cutting taxes. They also like a strong military.

I was a bit angry with all of a sudden health care, "pre-exisitng" conditions, being on the voters' mind. Where were you in 2010? And 2012, 2014 and 2016? All of a sudden, many (women, mostly) who voted for Trump realized how much they were dependent on the ACA and joined the march on D.C after the 2016 elections.

As for having "more dollars in their pockets" - do they follow their expenses? Out grocery expenses that have been stable are now up. Medicine is going up and here goes the "extra money in the pocket."

Yes, many Republicans were lamenting that Trump did not campaign on the economy but the "economy" has many sides.

We have to talk about kitchen table issues. About cost of everything, about access to affordable health care and forget the divisive issues including, yes, identity politics. Talk about the future, of education, of secure retirements, safe guarding Social Security and Medicare, of safe roads and bridges and the air that we breath. Even talk about immigrants that fills many positions in nursing homes, in the fields, in many restaurants.

[guillaumeb]

32. All GOP members are NOT Nazis.

But in the Illinois 3rd Congressional District, 56,000 GOP voters voted for an actual Nazi.

[question everything]

42. 56,000 of 100 million voters?

There are many, too many, who do not bother to think of the common good. They certainly want to cut social services to "not us" while enjoying their own.

If our civilization will ever disappear it will be because of Social Media. There have always been people on the fringe with ideas vary from "eccentric" to totally crazy. Of more than 300 million, of course. But Social Media and the twittermonger got them out in public. Now it is OK to express and act upon their lunacy. Unfortunately, our "leader" instead of trying to unite us just flames the feelings.

I don't think that impeachment is the way to go - we don't have the senate votes - but I really think he should stand trial for endangering our national security, for inciting violence.

[guillaumeb]

46. No, 56,000 out of 200,000 votes in the 3rd District.

This is not a fringe, it is the GOP. The GOP is comfortable with Nazis.

[violetpastille]

54. What would forgetting identity politics look like?

[marylandblue]

64. Guarantee equal rights and opportunities for all Americans

Last edited Sun Nov 11, 2018, 05:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Instead of focusing on who has what privilege. The language of privilege divides us into little groups that compete for crumbs. But the language of rights and opportunities pulls us together to care of each other. And it goes all the way back to the Declaration of Independence so it is grounded in our historical DNA.

[violetpastille]

69. Would working towards passing the ERA be identity politics or its opposite?

[marylandblue]

72. Depends on how you frame it, but I don't think it should be our main issue

The connection between ERA and the daily life of average Americans isn't clear enough, and arguments about it can quickly get lost in the weeds, like it did last time we tried with ERA. It would be good if we could get it through though.

[guillaumeb]

89. Very well said. eom

[question everything]

68. MLK "I have a dream" speech

'Live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

After the 2016 elections, when "pundits" suggested candidates to lead the DNC, Ellison's name was mentioned because he was (still is, of course) "Black and Muslim." He has never represented me, but I was hoping that he had, still has, many qualities that supported his candidacy.

After Franken resigned, many locals suggested Ilham Omar - now Congresswoman elect - because she was (still is) a woman, Muslim, Somali... She was freshmen member of the House, had not much of a resume but her identity was enough.

Yes, I realize that such "identities" have contributed to our win five days ago, but I cringe.

And many Republicans, rural, lower class, have used our tilt toward "identity politics" where they could not fit into any, as a reason to abandon us.

[violetpastille]

71. Yes.

And many Republicans, rural, lower class, have used our tilt toward "identity politics" where they could not fit into any, as a reason to abandon us.

I know this to be true. Our President knew what he was doing in 1965 when he let the Dixiecrats go with the Voting Rights Act.

I guess what I don't get is it "identity politics" when we say that we should run muslims and not "identity politics" when we say we need to be safe and run white males?

I'm not trying to be cute or lay a trap. I really don't know what "identity politics" are in the concrete.

[question everything]

122. Perhaps too utopian

but I want to vote for someone because of his or her skills, track record, ideas that can work and opened to debates and listen to opposing ideas.

In recent weeks, thanks to Trump, I think, I have seen the term "tribalism." And I think "identity politics" means that we vote for someone because of what he or she is, not because of who they are.

Of course, we always voted for a neighbor, or someone form our church, or who was recommended by a neighbor or our pastor. And this has been the reason for some of the affirmative actions: to remove barriers for a non-tribe person to reach the positions of power.

But perhaps we can find additional traits that merit the elevation of this person beyond "he or she is a Muslim," or "he or she is Native American?"

I hope. I think that this can help us reach some of Trump supporters. We have, to, really.

[NRaleighLiberal]

28. ignore them - or better, just laugh at their breathtaking stupidity

[dembotoz]

30. The problem being some of us live in very red areas

Can't wall these areas off
Gotta convert some somehow

[guillaumeb]

35. Very true.

We can talk about economic issues, and talk about how terrible the actual economy is.

[dembotoz]

58. Many Dems became Dems when the gop lies hurt them

Trouble is they hurt others too.
Perhaps when farmers start going bankrupt due to Trump tariffs
Or SOC sec is noticably cut
Or a gargantuan ecological disaster like love canal on a grand stage

[ismnotwasm]

31. None--they own what they are. They like it and are proud of it

I am for making voting a fair process and finding out what’s in the minds of non-voters.

[guillaumeb]

34. Agreed. Well said. eom

[andym]

37. I would reach out to the Trump voters that previously voted for Barack Obama

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/upshot/the-obama-trump-voters-are-real-heres-what-they-think.html

[shanny]

55. ding ding ding

[obnoxiousdrunk]

73. Independents who voted

For Trump too.

[Zambero]

38. The few "redeemable" ones will figure it out for themselves

And no doubt many will. A sudden bolt of self-validated truth and reason works wonders. My first-ever vote was enthusiastically cast for Ronald Reagan in 1970 when he ran for a second term as CA governor. By late 1971 I had became a Democrat. Before then I stood my conservative ground in any argument. When I finally switched, nobody needed to persuade me, once a difference between partisan talking points and objective reality was established. The extremist Trumpites are baked in , and cannot be reached out to. And hopefully some of them will change as well, although it will be in dribs and drabs.

[JHan]

39. sigh. the narratives are so fucked up. Media has put no demands on the skidstain in chief..

to be an actual fucking President and reach out to ALL people. That's what leaders ought to do, it is not enough to say that "he's just playing to his base" as if that's his right. The ONLY thing they should be talking about is how he is not interested in being an actual leader of America. Instead we get these shit ass questions about what dems are doing to reach out Trump voters.

Same shit over and over.

I Swear some of these people just try to cover for relatives they know who voted Trump and still support him.

[guillaumeb]

40. Agreed.

No matter what he did, the media called it Reagan being Reagan.

And Reagan was a racist white man. That was the core of his appeal to all of the racist whites who voted for him.

Trump is Reagan without the veneer of politeness.

[JHan]

41. Great point about Reagan. Reading about how they gave him cover is sickening.

They liked to talk about Clinton Presidential Scandals, the Reagan scandals were SHOCKING.

[guillaumeb]

44. The Reagan Administration was the most corrupt, to date.

He won because Bush Senior committed treason by dealing with the Iranians.

And the media ignored that as well, calling the election results a mandate for change.

[happy feet]

78. This!

Drives me crazy they let him dictate the narrative and focus on that.

[roamer65]

43. There are two more flippable House districts in MI.

MI-06 and MI-08. We need to get really good candidates for 2020 who address bread and butter issues in those districts.

[guillaumeb]

45. And in other states as well.

Politics is local, and Democratic success in 2018 was the result of local organization.

[LovingA2andMI]

75. We now have a 7/7 Split in Michigan...

On the Congressional Front come January 2019, which is the best it has been in many years. As for more possible pickups, let's wait for the new Independent Redistricting Commission to see if another district can be drawn with enough of a toss up to give the Democrats a possible pick up. For instance, Grand Rapids, Muskegon if drew right could do such, as well a redrawning MI - 7 to cut its reach into Livingston County to half.

[lunasun]

47. Young ones Recently radicalized on college campuses however religion may play a part that can't be

broken.
Recently turned RW on campus away from sensible families and educated and young maybe will listen or reconsider
. Remember more white millennial voted for trump in 16 than Clinton . These students in the next gen after millennial may change the white vote majority if enlightened

POC trumpers of any age, who can look past religion or economics to see the destruction he brings to the country as a whole.
One issue voters perhaps
other trump voters ? Maybe the wealthy trumpers if they can find a heart from talking to others but
I don't see it unless they have already woke and rejected RW and trump which is possible and then they are not the ones needing to change anyway they would start to lean dem on their own.
Do any trumpers want to be talked to ?
You can't force hearts and minds .
Others have already captured them so they are not blank slates if already trump fans

[bitterross]

48. NONE, waste of time

They don't care about facts or reality.

[Rizen]

49. Trump voters are a lost cause

we'd only turn away liberals by reaching out to them.

[mahina]

85. We have to be able to engage on topics we all care about

Otherwise it’s a losing strategy.

The aggressor defines the context of the battle.

It’s foolish to passively let them set the issues that define us.

[randr]

50. For what purpose?

Maybe if I had a cult recovery camp I may accept them for reentry

[fmdaddio]

51. The dead ones

They are the smartest of the bunch and they aren't angry all the time. As far as I know.

[shanny]

52. the millions of Obama-to-Trump voters, obviously

[John Fante]

102. I doubt they were in the millions.

Gump actually got a smaller share of the electorate than Romney. His total vote was less than one million more than Mitten's.

[shanny]

109. I doubt if the Hillary and Obama coalitions were identical:

PUMAs were actually a thing, y'know?

Anyway, you don't have to take my word for it: http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/just-how-many-obama-2012-trump-2016-voters-were-there/

[John Fante]

118. Not identical, but far more aligned than people give credit.

The disgruntled Obama voter who switched to Trump wasn't any more sizeable than the "walk away" movement was. Or the Never Trump movement.

The study you linked to is flawed at best:

However, as we pointed out above, there are reasons to be skeptical of reported past vote. Overall, 58% of respondents to the 2016 ANES who said they voted in 2012 (including those who didn’t vote in 2016) claimed to have voted for Obama, seven points more than the 51% Obama actually won in 2012. Meanwhile, Romney only won 40% of the vote of those who said they cast a ballot in 2012, seven points fewer than the 47% Romney really won in 2012.

[shanny]

120. did you read the article?

there were three studies.

g'night

[mahina]

53. How do we reach the non- nazis?

That’s a big question. Those good people who are just being lied to and know no better.

[ret5hd]

63. When you find yourself aligned with nazis...

it's time to realize you are a nazi.

[marylandblue]

67. If only life were that simple.

[ret5hd]

106. Well, it kinda is...

If you say "Well, I don't necessarily agree with all that other stuff, but I'm voting for 'em 'cause they make the trains run on time"...well, you're a nazi.

[marylandblue]

107. No, that makes you someone who wants the trains to run on time

so much that you are willing to overlook that the person running the train is a Nazi. You can tell the difference by delivering an even better train schedule. That person will choose the better train schedule over the Nazi policies whereas the actual Nazi doesn't care about the trains and will remain a Nazi.

[ret5hd]

110. It makes you a person for whom train schedules are more important than human life...aka nazi.

[marylandblue]

112. Life still isn't that simple

A Nazi is not someone who thinks trains schedules are more important than human life. A Nazi is someone who thinks the most important thing is to kill racial inferiors.

Or turn it around a bit. I am an environmentalist. I think the most important thing is to fight climate change. I am not a socialist. But I am willing to ally with socialists who fight climate change. Allying with socialists to get what I really want doesn't make me a socialist.

[spooky3]

56. Why don't they ask how Republicans can reach out

to every demographic they have lost, i.e., EVERYONE except older, less well-educated white males?

[guillaumeb]

87. Well said. Nothing to add to that. eom

[CrispyQ]

59. Waste of time & resources.

Reach out to the non-voters or the new voters. Make sure they show up again.

[guillaumeb]

86. Agreed. We need to motivate the previously unmotivated. eom

[True_Blue]

60. Why do we need to reach out to Trump supporters?

We did just fine in midterms without them. In fact, here in AZ we're about to get our first Democratic Senator in 30 yrs. We just need to quit letting them steal elections.

[demmiblue]

62. In Michigan (where Dingell is from), Trump voters who voted for Obama.

In 2008, Obama won by a landslide here (+16%).

Gretchen Whitmer knew this and won the governorship by addressing issues that all Michiganders face (infrastructure, education, healthcare, etc.).

[lancelyons]

65. Reach out to all good decent Americans.

We should have a plan to get into the rural states.

[IronLionZion]

66. former Democrats, moderates, swing voters

anyone who has ever split their votes across party lines could be won over

[John Fante]

70. The last time left-leaning voters were this fired up for an

election was 2008, and we didn't need a badly mismanaged war or deep recession to bring them out. Trump's loathsomeness was more than enough.

There is no reason to appeal to Trump voters. Fuck them. If the Democrats present themselves as the antithesis of Trumpism (which they are) they'll repair the Blue Wall in Michigan/Wisconsin/Pennsylvania, hold Colorado/Nevada/Virginia, and comfortably win the 2020 election.

[LovingA2andMI]

74. None.....

N/T...

[Mike Nelson]

76. Of those you mentioned...

… None from those groups. It is a wasted effort... However... I do think there are some Trump voters that could be reached. Those voters don't watch cable news shows and/or read the NYT every day... they work most of the time. They may have voted for Clinton and/or Obama. They were hurting financially, worried about health care, and don't follow politics closely... They voted to "shake up the system." Those voters can be reached.

[elleng]

77. How did Congresswoman Dingell respond?

[guillaumeb]

90. I must admit that I cannot remember at this point.

It was on the Alex Witt show around 11am CST.

My apologies.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

79. The Democrats should reach out to white women

Understanding ‘the white women thing’

Donald Trump likes to brag that most women in America voted for him for president. Like many things the president says, that’s just not true. Most women, 54 percent, voted for Hillary Clinton. However, 52 percent of white women did vote for Trump — and that’s the cohort that drives black women nuts. While 94 percent of black women chose the first woman nominated by a major political party to occupy the Oval Office, most of their white sisters went for the guy who opposed abortion rights and bragged about grabbing women by the p----.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors spoke for many women of color when she called upon white women angry about Trump’s election to focus on their sisters. She said they need to “figure out how to win them over. … It’s hard labor organizing people, and black people shouldn’t be the only ones doing it.”
...

Jackie Payne is trying to answer that question. Payne is a longtime activist who struggled with whether, and how, to engage persuadable white women who supported Trump. She wanted to do it in an authentic way that took them seriously, yet didn’t betray her racial justice roots. Her first step was to bring other interested women together to found GALvanize USA, an organization focused on persuading more white women to make common cause with the progressive base on Election Day.

The group has been conducting research and testing strategies in four key states: Maine, Michigan, Washington and Iowa. Their work won’t have much impact in the 2018 election cycle but they hope to learn enough lessons this year and next to move some of these voters in the 2020 presidential cycle.

[violetpastille]

88. Thanks for that link!

A simply stated article and I got a lot from it.

Tried to look at the comments below and... yikes.

The words "cruddy underbelly" spring to mind.

[Blue_true]

80. There are honest people that voted for him because they seriously thought he would be better.

Our party won so convincingly on Tuesday (except blood red states, one where republicans cheated, and Florida, which is Florida) because a lot of those people voted for our candidates. I say keep them in the fold, our candidates ran on progressive issues.

[guillaumeb]

91. And we should reach out to them,

but reaching them requires dialogue and access.

[Blue_true]

93. True. And policy that our candidates can discuss with them. nt

[guillaumeb]

95. Healthcare is a winning issue.

And expanding access to it is a sub-issue. Medicare for all trades on a familiar name.

[Blue_true]

97. Yes. But the democratic House, the new and existing democratic governors and state houses that

have a large number of democrats or have democratic control must keep legislating improvements to healthcare access and costs. If voters view republicans as roadblocks to affordable, accessible healthcare, republicans are screwed in 2020. Mitch McConnell seems to realize that, even beyond that he is up for reelection in 2020.

[guillaumeb]

98. Agreed. The GOP is on the losing side on the healthcare issue.

So rather than change their position, they lied about it and hoped that their voters would be uninformed enough to buy the lie.

[tinrobot]

82. No need. We're the majority. They're the minority.

All we need to do is make sure our side votes.

[Small-Axe]

83. Bernie Sanders seems to suggest reaching out to...

white voters who are uncomfortable voting for black candidates, economic nationalists, anti-traders, those who'd put the white working class ahead of minorities and women, and pro-gun types.

Is he on the right track here?

[guillaumeb]

92. Not actually correct.

Welcome to DU.

[Small-Axe]

94. So I misunderstand him when:

1) He says those whites who are not comfortable voting for black candidates are not racist?

2) That he opposes trade deals like the TPP?

3) That he seems to place economic issues (class warfare) over what is disparaged as "identity politics."

4) That he has a cozy relationship with the NRA and is seen as pro-gun?

Which part did I get wrong?

[guillaumeb]

96. 1) He said "not necessarily "racist.

2) many progressives oppose the TPP.

3) He does focus on economic issues and class-based analysis. In my view, he failed to see that structural racism is the foundation of US capitalism.

4) He is pro-gun in the sense that he does not support a ban on firearms.



But on the actual subject of this post, the question of reaching out to Trump voters, what is your opinion?

[Small-Axe]

99. "Not necessarily" is false, as this is the definition of racism.

2) We may not agree on who are (and are not) progressives.

3) We agree here. How he could get this wrong is unfathomable to me and most Democrats.

4) I think you understate his cozy relationship with the NRA and arms manufacturers.

I think we can reach many (most) of the Trump voters who previously voted for Barack Obama by adopting programs that they see leading to job growth and economic expansion.

[doc03]

84. It is a cult those people believe anything Trump says even if you

prove otherwise they call it "fake news".

[Stellar]

100. The thing that bothers me is those people (usually on the right) that think

we should reach out to those constituents on the right by first saying, we're going too far to the left.
What the hell is too far to the left, anyway?

I think those constituents on the right are already batsh!t crazy, So Dems gotta go a little crazy to reach them? Why is it that I never hear about those on the right reaching out to constituents on the left?
Who wants a middle of the road contender for office. Well, at least I know that I don't.

[guillaumeb]

101. Yes, the "reaching out" that the media loves to prescribe

is always the Democrats moving to the right to meet the GOP. And the GOP is steadily moving farther to the right.

[Stellar]

103. Exactly!

I think we're losing those people that are not going more Liberal anyway.

[Liberty Belle]

104. Reach out to:

small business owners - many voted for him for economic reasons but don't like the racism and other insanity
farmers/rural voters - same argument
women on the misogynist crap

[guillaumeb]

105. Trump's positions were well known prior to 2016.

As was his blatant misogyny.

As was his racism.

[stopbush]

108. None. Fuck em all. They should be reaching out to us

because WE are on the right side of justice and history.

So, yeah, fuck em all.

[brooklynite]

113. This kind of attitude loses elections...

It's easy (and lazy) to slap every Trump voter with the label of "nazi", "KKK", Bible Thumper, etc. It ignores the real world facts: that a not insignificant number of Trump voters were previously Obama voters, and that between the Trump Base and the Democratic voters is 5-10% of the electorate who voted for Trump because they thought that politicians in both Parties weren't addressing your needs. But perhaps winning elections isn't as important to you.

[guillaumeb]

121. I did not label every GOP voter as anything.

But there is a reason that Nazis and KKK members are apart of the GOP big tent.

[Downtown Hound]

114. Fuck that.

We should bring new voters into the fold, not waste our time with the Thugee Cult.

[Johnny2X2X]

115. Suppression

Fuck reaching out to them, Dems need to see what will depress them into staying home in 202.

[njhoneybadger]

116. You don't reach out to a rattlesnake

[Jim Lane]

117. Obama-Trump voters and anti-Clinton voters

These groups would overlap, of course.

Both Obama and Trump benefited from the general "throw the rascals out" idea and, more specifically, from promising change to people who felt that the system wasn't working for them. In 2020, the GOP will be the rascals, and people will have seen that Republicans are the tools of the elite, not the champions of the 99%. (Yes, that should have been clear before, but some people who missed it before will now see it.)

Bear in mind that one of Trump's campaign promises was to provide better health care for all at less cost. That's a popular plank. Single payer can actually deliver on that.

Now let me address the delicate subject of Hillary Clinton. It's delicate because so many people on DU idolize her, consider her the most qualified candidate in the country's history, etc. I'm not asking you to abandon those beliefs, but simply to recognize that they're not universally shared. She had the highest "Unfavorable" rating of any Democratic nominee in the modern history of polling. There were a lot of people who disliked Trump, but who voted for him because they disliked Clinton even more.

I believe her when she says she won't run again. There are some Trump voters whom we can win over simply by running just about anyone else.

The alternative strategy championed by many in this thread is, apparently, that we'll start the campaign by spotting the Republicans more than 60 million votes. I say that's ludicrous. Yes, register new voters, yes, press progressive policies that will make people's lives better, yes, strive for an honest count -- but none of those is inconsistent with trying to win over at least some of the Trump voters.

[Orsino]

119. As many as the budget allows for.

We shouldn't be derailed by the fallacious implication that we can only try to convert all Nazis with a wave of a wand.

All we need to do is convert a handful, peel off a few from voting R, and make a bunch of them waver a bit. American politics is so polarized that we are playing, at the moment, only for the several percent of possible voters who are undecided, plus some at the edge of the neocon movement.

People tend to vote their values rather than their interests, but that's only a strong tendency. We can and will shake some Nazis loose by making clear cases for an agenda that benefits them in concrete ways. People gotta eat, gotta sleep, and gotta work. That means reaching them is possible. We already do, and we will continue.

[dansolo]

123. The obvious response is

That election shows that the Democrats reached quite a bit of Trump voters. The key is to keep reaching out to the non-voters.

[ck4829]

124. I'd rather we focus our time on reaching out to more liberals, Muslims, immigrants, GLBTQ, the poor,

and more.

[lark]

126. Low information voters who made a bad decision & are sorry.

Anyone who truly likes him is beyond help and is either a -
Nazi
KKK
White Nationalist
rich fuck without a conscience
irredeemable idiot

Only those who have a brain are worth bothering with, they already know they fucked up and lots of them voted Dem this year. A good friend of my husbands who was a LT. in the military is one who voted for him out of ignorance, is really sorry, and voted for both Gillum & Nelson because he knows things have to change. He will vote against drumpf next year unless it's Bernie and then he won't vote president at all because he won't vote for a socialist. He says he will vote for any other Democrat running against drumpf.

[Basic LA]

128. The ones on Social Security & Medicare .

Those are hard-won Democratic paid-benefits that their beloved R's have tried to kill since day one (1935 & 1965 respectively). Surely we can unite behind saving & improving Social Security & Medicare.

[dlk]

129. It Would be Much More Effective to Focus on Getting Out the Millennial Vote

The long-term hate propaganda campaign has done significant damage to the electorate and will be a long-term project to address; as it involves cognitive psychology and neuroplasticity. When something repeated often enough, the brain begins to accept and believe it, even when it is a complete fiction. Unlearning information takes a concentrated effort over time.

Given Millennials are the largest group of eligible voters, it makes more sense to focus on getting them registered and out to vote. We can also focus our time and attention on addressing the hate media problem in our country. However, it will take decades, if ever, to undo the damage.