2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumClinton Campaign Was Undone By Its Own Neglect
From the Huffpo
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/clinton-campaign-neglect_us_582cacb0e4b058ce7aa8b861
WASHINGTON ― In the closing weeks of the presidential campaign, Hillary Clintons staff in key Midwest states sent out alarms to their headquarters in Brooklyn. They were facing a problematic shortage of paid canvassers to help turn out the vote.
For months, the Clinton campaign had banked on a wide army of volunteer organizers to help corral independents and Democratic leaners and re-energize a base not particularly enthused about the election. But they were volunteers. And as anecdotal data came back to offices in key battlegrounds, concern mounted that leadership had skimped on a critical campaign function.
It was arrogance, arrogance that they were going to win. That this was all wrapped up, a senior battleground state operative told The Huffington Post.
In Michigan alone, a senior battleground state operative told HuffPost that the state party and local officials were running at roughly one-tenth the paid canvasser capacity that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) had when he ran for president in 2004. Desperate for more human capital, the state party and local officials ended up raising $300,000 themselves to pay 500 people to help canvass in the elections closing weeks. By that point, however, they were operating in the dark. One organizer said that in a precinct in Flint, they were sent to a burned down trailer park. No one had taken it off the list of places to visit because no one had been there until the final weekend. Clinton lost the state by 12,000 votes.
leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Kilgore
(1,733 posts)Seems like actual statements from leaders within the campaign would provide a bit of useful insight.
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)We will never go forward if we ignore facts
LeftInTX
(25,216 posts)MyNameIsKhan
(2,205 posts)leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Raster
(20,998 posts)...and unless your name is David Allen, you can shitcan the authoritative bullshit.
Trying to avoid future debacles requires hard to take facts and criticism sometimes. Is Hillary going to be running or something again in 2020?
0rganism
(23,937 posts)why should we silence ourselves in a forum allocated to discussion of the results?
BlueProgressive
(229 posts)where bringing up any possible problems with Hillary's campaign is just NOT ALLOWED here.
They'd be screaming "CONCERN TROLL!" if the vote hadn't already taken place.
Like some other narratives, it seems that Clinton's "ground game" wasn't all it was vaunted to be in some places. Here in Michigan her campaign must have spent a fortune in the last week of the campaign, running almost exclusively negative-Trump ads on television and radio, which didn't seem to have that much effect in the end. They don't tend to get people out to vote-- negative ads have been shown to do the opposite, depress turnout.
Making mistakes in a campaign doesn't mean you're a bad person, but some people seem to lack objectivity when it comes to Hillary's campaign....
TrekLuver
(2,573 posts)Wilms
(26,795 posts)radical noodle
(8,000 posts)Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
marylandblue
(12,344 posts)Some of them are even true.
elleng
(130,855 posts)"That's Debbie, it's hyperbole, she is nuts." That's the vibe Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who represents her state's 12th Congressional District, says she received throughout Election 2016, when she tried to warn her fellow Democrats that no, Hillary Clinton was not on an assured path to victory. In the Washington Post, Dingell mentions her district's diversity, from the "Downrivers"a group of communities south of Detroit rife with auto factories, manufacturing plants, and unionsto the college town of Ann Arbor. She points out how much of her district leans Democratic (many were Bernie Sanders supporters in the primary), with the working class among them comprised of "all races, creeds, and colors."
But they also believe "the system is rigged" and "economic and national security fears" reigned supreme for them on Election Day. Per Dingell, the "ordinary working man or woman ... isn't asking for a lot" (affordable health care, safe homes), but "many don't understand ... how these things are in danger of becoming unattainable for too many Americans." Dingell is confounded how those in her own party, including Hillary Clinton and her camp, could have neglected to appeal to this demographic. "It did infuriate me that Clinton and her team didn't show up until the weekend before the primary, when it suddenly became clear they had a problem," she writes. "How would any sane person not predict how this one would go? It was fixable for the general election."
http://www.newser.com/story/233933/mich-rep-i-warned-dems-people-were-being-ignored.html
Kilgore
(1,733 posts)Was an ineresting read.
elleng
(130,855 posts)Saw this story numerous times recently, but somehow seems to have been missed by too many.
Kilgore
(1,733 posts)elleng
(130,855 posts)Last edited Thu Nov 17, 2016, 01:23 AM - Edit history (1)
oasis
(49,368 posts)Kilgore
(1,733 posts)Sam Stein, Senior Politics Editor, The Huffington Post
Sam Stein is the Senior Politics Editor at the Huffington Post, based in Washington, D.C. Previously he has worked for Newsweek magazine, the New York Daily News and the investigative journalism group Center for Public Integrity. He has a masters from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Sounds like a postmortem makes ye uncomfortable.
TexasTowelie
(112,070 posts)How long does it take for people to realize that they were sent to a burned down trailer park? The volunteers pick up and go to a different neighborhood with inhabitants. What was lost? Maybe 5-10 man-hours at most. There is more wasted effort making cold calls to voters that haven't voted Democratic in years.
duffyduff
(3,251 posts)Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)I don't know how anyone can try to spin that fairly obvious piece of objective reality into a different narrative.
DemocraticWing
(1,290 posts)But maybe it wasn't the kind of difference that we wanted it to be!
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)IM NOT LISTENING NANANANANANANANA
kebob
(499 posts)May he sizzle in Hell's deepest pit!
DemonGoddess
(4,640 posts)BlueProgressive
(229 posts)It was all so avoidable, but she did that to herself. Otherwise, she'd be President-Elect right now.
Behind the Aegis
(53,938 posts)Too many are pointing fingers at this or that, but not back at themselves, no room for self-reflection. There isn't a singular factor to "blame" for the loss; I doubt there ever could be. There are some things of which we have no control, but there are certain areas where we do. The "Serenity Prayer" should be the mantra of the Democratic Party now.
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
We cannot change bigotry as a whole. We can work to make it better, but we can't ignore it's going to be a factor. We cannot change the past, only learn from it, and not ignore it or pretend it is something which didn't happen. We cannot change the media without taking them to task.
We have to be courageous enough to know things will likely be very bad for many people, including those who voted for the president-elect and those who decided not to vote for moving forward (or in their view, standing still). We have to be strong enough to accept not all opposing opinions are automatically wrong or are "tearing down the party".
We need wisdom, but it won't come from those who open their mouths, but close their ears. "Bubbles" aren't just a phenomena of the right, we have them too. Time to burst out of some bubbles!
JI7
(89,244 posts)2004 blue states were seen as safe and secure.
The numbers were close enough that it would have made a difference in her favor to put some more effort into the states.
They also should have considered things like republican control and how this was after the court stuck down voting rights.
It's possible some dems sat out just because they thought it was safe blue.
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)This article is bullshit, but thanks for your concern.
Paladin
(28,246 posts)Hillary Clinton didn't fail us. We failed Hillary Clinton. End of discussion.
Raster
(20,998 posts)Throughout the primaries and then the general, the usual, snippy, sarcastic "thanks for your concern," or "your concern is noted" nuggets of bullshit were used constantly to shut down anyone that tried to register their concern about the election, or THEIR CONCERN ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Oh, and my other favorite: "we've got this." Obviously, NO WE DID NOT.
Mellomugwump
(93 posts)With the "thanks for your concern". There were a lot of concern posts that were trashed before the election and I felt the same way that those posters did. I was terrified, and then to see them trashed, especially if they had a low post count, was really disheartening.
I'm never going to have a high post count. I work 9 hours a day, have dogs to walk, myself to walk, a house to clean, books to read and a lot of good Netflix shows to watch, so I only post when I feel strongly about something. Thats the reason I'm here - because it's an easy way to see what's going on and to feel comforted that not everybody I'm sharing this country with is a dumbass.
I think there are many reasons she lost. Honestly, as much as I felt that she deserved it and felt she'd be a good president, my heart sank when it became apparent she was going to run. I was worried that there was already too much Hillary hatred out there before the race even started. These elections are hard enough without starting with that kind of hate. This was reaffirmed when a female co-worker of mine, who is very smart, said she was so glad "that scheming, conniving, lying bitch didn't win", but then she sat down after hearing Trump won and thought I hope this works out!
Then of course, there's sexism, racism, Comey and everything else she was fighting. Given all this, there shouldn't have been any resources spent in Utah, Georgia or Arizona until this election was won, and then they should have focused on turning red states in the future.
I'm devastated to the point that I don't plan on having anything to do with anybody that put that monster in office, including my parents, so I'm not a concern troll and don't believe an honest evaluation of everything that went wrong is Hillary bashing. This is a total disaster.
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)kenfrequed
(7,865 posts)Well when there are facts. I at least tend to reanalyze my opinion a little bit if things don't play out like I figured it would.
But feel free to stick to your own brand of purism.
LeftInTX
(25,216 posts)I've never seen a candidate get bashed by his own party as much as Trump did and he won.
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)One that has been repeatedly bashed by the right and the left over 25 to 30 years now. That person is Hillary. So much by people in her own Party that some ego-driven voters would rather see a Trump win or the election outright stolen from her than get out and vote or vote for her.
Your argument has no merit.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
It's not much better than all the fake Facebook news sites. News directed at specific fan clubs.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)and Minnesota all swung towards Trump.
We can't fix problems until we admit they exist.
kydo
(2,679 posts)These types of stories are why dems are always thought of as soft. The fascist know they rigged the election so they keep trying to push the narrative of "Clinton lost because fill in lame excuse here."
Look bulling your narrative is what works. Remember 2000? Gore won FL and had been predicted to be the winner. Then Bush people yelled screamed punched until FL backed down. FL should not have backed down.
Right now people know something was not normal with this election. orange man's people want to move fast so they are pushing the why Hillary lost crap and spineless media and dems are repeating orange man's lies.
Hillary won! Even with Russian's voting and the FBI illegal inserting it's self into the race and all the FAKE news. Hillary still won!
orange man rigged the EC with Russian help. The results of the election should be voided, orange man should be wearing an orange suit doing a frog walk with the rest of his treasonous campaign.
Hillary WON! She is the PEOPLE'S President! orange man was the Russian's pick.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)People's president...just not America's,
Demsrule86
(68,539 posts)And who cares what an obvious I see no evidence you support Democrats.
Kilgore
(1,733 posts)Have a pleasant day.
Demsrule86
(68,539 posts)You have a nice day too...I am sure that you have no worries. How fortunate you are.