I worry that Democrats are completely unable to withstand Trump

[La Lioness Priyanka]

and I worry about this for several reason.

1. The enthusiasm some have displayed for blaming HRC, while neglecting that Trump won over 16 other GOP members, that he lost the popular vote, that somehow he managed to get both the FBI and the Russian Government to work on his behalf.

2. The several op-eds by powerful members about how the DNC etc needs to change, that again does not address any of these issues

3. Because I've seen this play before. Democrats were bamboozled by Bush. We blamed Gore and Kerry, but did not seem to ever be able to acknowledge that the GOP is better at playing with existing bigotries that we are. While hideous, Rove's genius at putting gay marriage on the ballot in 2004, was something that we never really had an answer to.

Anyway, you want to beat up on HRC, i guess that's your prerogative, but it makes me think that you do not understand what we are up against.

[Hoyt]

1. Yes. We are wasting our time bashing HRC, opposing Trump -- or Pence, Ryan, etc. -- from taking

office after all the voting is done, etc. It's going to be tough watching Trump trying to take credit for things started by Obama, watching him bash Democrats, and worse. Not looking forward to it. I believe we can prepare for victories in the 2018 and 2020 elections if we don't spend all our time on petty diversions.

[get the red out]

7. This!

Agree.

[msongs]

2. different philosophies dems and repubs

dems wave the white flag, repubs? never
dems intellectual brain, repubs reptilian brain
trump brags on his massive mandate, hillary hides away and refuses to claim her 3mil vote win
dems open to discussion, repubs never wrong
dems waffle on message, repubs pound the same thing over and over and over and over
dems vote now and then, repubs show up almost every time no matter what
dems let many seats go unchallenged, repubs are in almost every race especially local and regional races
dems acquiesce, repubs go for the knockout

dems want to be loved, repubs want...to win

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. so much truth in these statements

[octoberlib]

5. +1

[Willie Pep]

6. That is all very true.

Another thing that I notice is that in many cases Republicans hate Democratic constituents. They don't just disagree with Democrats, they actually dislike who the Democrats represent. Minorities, unionized workers, gay people, etc. The hatred is visceral.

Democrats on the other hand usually don't seem to hate Republican voters. Although there is the concept that working-class and middle-class Republicans vote against their own interests I don't think that classifies as hate. The closest Democrats come to hating on voters is when things like hillbilly stereotypes come up but that is nothing compared to the Right's list of hated groups.

[MadDAsHell]

35. There's a shit-ton of understandble Democratic hate for Republican voters right now. Look around DU.

[Bettie]

12. True that

and we need to work on it.

Especially the acquiescence. Need to learn to want to win.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. They do local

much better than the dems do. It starts at the PTA, and goes up from there. We focus more on the national level.

[Lucky Luciano]

22. Nailed it. Mic drop. nt

[Initech]

25. Republicans Patriots, Dems Browns

OK maybe the Dems are more one of the mid level teams like the Cardinals or the Rams. They talk a good game, but when it comes time to step up, they fall flat.

[Tatiana]

31. So true. And that was Obama's problem -- wanting to be loved.

Instead, he should have just concerned himself with scoring the victory.

We have to change. I'm still baffled why Obama did not take a more active and partisan role when he found out about the Russian interference PRIOR to the election. A few well placed leaks in this corporate controlled media could truly have helped. I know he wanted to be fair and above the fray, but that very attitude is why we lose.

Also, Hillary needs to come out of hiding and begin a listening tour. She still has an important role to play in politics (in my opinion) by leading the opposition.

[octoberlib]

4. One journalist compared the Repubs to hostage takers.

They're sociopathic , amoral ... basically they don't care who they hurt and this will always give them more power and make them look stronger than the hostages. Dems care and I think it's always baffled Dems exactly how to deal with this.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. Gay marriage in 2004.

I was standing in line to vote at my local precinct that year (I voted absentee thereafter) and I overheard some guys say they didn't normally vote, but they were voting in that election over gay marriage!

Not long thereafter, I never heard anyone express a problem with it... not even strongly Republican co-workers!

It's like many voters get worked up simply because some conservative propagandists complain about various issues! It sometimes seems like if Rush Limbaugh and his ilk argued that people should be allowed to marry blow-up dolls, his flock would put their full support behind it!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. it is literally manipulating fault lines.

we don't do it. republicans do it.

[kentuck]

10. Same with bathrooms.

Democrats are distracted by issues that most people don't really think about, unfortunately.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

14. I think there's more conservative voters who dwell on particular social issues...

... simply because their conservative propagandists act upset about them at the time.

Once it helps them win elections, it's back to business as usual... helping the wealthy over the poor. (I'm referring to Republican leaders and their conservative media, not so much their voters. The voters are mostly pawns.)

More evidence:
Remember when more Americans were convinced that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11?

Also, I was working night-shift in a large factory when 9/11 happened. I was ready to go to bed when I saw the first WTC tower in flames, and I never got any sleep that day. I was furious about it! I went to work that night and was amazed that many of my co-workers didn't seem all that upset about it! They were mostly smiling and talking about the much higher gasoline prices at local stations. I went to a break room later (with the TV tuned to FOX as usual) and other people in there still didn't seem particularly upset. One of them asked me how fast people who jumped from the buildings hit the ground, and I didn't answer. However, as soon as O'Reilly was on the air and HE acted angry, they suddenly became angry too! No joke! I saw the attitude transformation happen all around me... instantly!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

15. I think this Huffington Post article hits the nail on the head about conservative voters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackson-katz/rush-limbaugh-and-the-mob_b_279696.html

Rush Limbaugh’s critics have long noted the factual errors and tortured logic that are regular features of his radio program. Not surprisingly, little has changed over the past few months as he has put his stamp on the health care debate. But Limbaugh does not only distort arguments about complex issues like health care through deliberate falsehoods and bad reasoning. His persuasive power lies mostly in his emotional connection with his audience.

Any serious attempt to understand how Limbaugh has made himself into the nation’s most influential conservative, and why he has been so effective in shaping the debate about health care, must account for this part of his appeal - especially to those in his primary demographic: middle-aged and older white men.

One of Rush Limbaugh’s greatest strengths as a rhetorical alchemist is the way he turns fear into anger - especially men’s fear. Limbaugh regularly takes (white) men’s sadness, disappointment and apprehension - about a range of political and personal subjects — and interprets it for them as anger. This is effective, in part, because for so many men, anger is much less treacherous emotional terrain than other emotions - and much more socially acceptable.

[RBInMaine]

30. Stop saying "conservative." Use language correctly like they do. Call them RIGHT WING or RADICAL.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

33. It's mean to call them radical.

KIDDING!

Good advice!

[Initech]

27. There wasn't really a wedge issue in this election.

Maybe immigration and the refugee crisis, but exit pills showed that more people voted against Hillary than for Trump. But the billionaires did a great job of getting people to vote against their best interests than anything else. Under the guise of making America great again.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

28. There's also many voters who think government isn't working for them...

but they don't delve into the reasons. It's easier to be angry and to listen to brainwashing agents like Limbaugh expressing it.

Republican obstructionism? Nope, for some people it's just "bad government" in general. Republican candidates, like Trump this time, run on the "bad government" message and the cycle continues.

[uponit7771]

11. Fuck Twitler, we can't stand voter suppression, gerrymandering, Russia and Comey'(S) fuckin

... with our elections

[progressoid]

13. That and a lazy media will fuck up this country.

[Fast Walker 52]

17. Absolutely agree... but WE THE PEOPLE will stand up the Orange Monster

we HAVE to, and drag the Dems with us.

[Lucky Luciano]

18. Have to go after the fuhrer. Bashing dems is not helping.

Stronger Together Now More Than Ever!! Only we can defeat the fascists.

[Vinca]

19. Not to worry. The usual cycle will ensue.

Trump is going to totally fuck things up, the GOP Congress is going to overreach to a ridiculous degree, the economy will go to hell, we'll probably become mired in another ground war, long story short the Democrats will be elected by a huge margin again to clean up the mess. Wash, rinse, repeat, wash, rinse, repeat.

[briv1016]

34. You're assuming the rules stay the same.

Once they pass 50 state voter ID, eliminate all early voting, ramp up voter purging and hire "poll watchers" we may not get the chance to clean up the mess in time.

Hell, they may "reinterpret" the 14th amendment and take away 1st generation Americans' right to vote.

We're screwed.

ETA: I forgot to mention the voter "modernization" that will eliminate the paper trail.

[ananda]

20. Agree.

If we had any fight at all, it would be directed
at Trump and the Reeps for stealing the election
in a completely criminal, unconstitutional, and
treasonous manner.

[mcar]

21. K&R

[AlexSFCA]

23. fractured

Our party is severly fractured due to Bernie vs. Hillary. I am surrounded by Bernie supporters and they all blame Hillary. If we can't reason with our own folks, forget about being able to withstand trump. The enthusiam and energy usually comes from young voters, many of whom we have lost to independents. Bernie has opened up the gates to populism and contniues to ride the wave, now joined by Warren.

[mopinko]

24. decent folks always are at a disadvantage w thugs like there.

just being honest sets us on our back foot.

[The_Casual_Observer]

26. Republicans use the same rules they use in conducting business

That is everything short of illegal is fair game. Dems operate on the level of ethics and civility and it's no match.

[heaven05]

29. THIS DEFEAT IS WORSE

than the Chosin Reservoir of Korean War lore. Yeah I know all about it, my father was there. We were in Vietnam together and he told me all about it. Democrats are in full fucking retreat, throwing away weapons and their steel pots and running for their lives. Full running retreat.

[RBInMaine]

32. Stop the worrying which is always a waste of energy and work to fix the party and bash Trump.