Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2016 23:47:39 GMT -5
Probably many would say, "pfft, no!" -- either because they think such voters were irrevocably committed to Trump, or because they think Clinton was correctly focusing on the minority voters who brought Obama to office.
But Bill Clinton apparently didn't think it would have been a waste of time for Hillary to spend some time wooing working class whites:
Absolutely, I think it was important for Hillary to woo minority voters -- not only to win, but also because, damn it, their concerns deserve attention. I would never for a minute suggest that she should ignore them or put them on a back shelf.
But strategically, I think Bill was right that giving a bit more love to disaffected working class whites could have been effective. They didn't just help elect Bill to the White House. As I recall, back in 2008, blue-collar Democrats -- and a fair share of blue-collar independents -- strongly preferred Hillary to Obama. She evidently had some appeal for those voters eight years ago. But she pretty much wrote them off this time around. And let's face it -- she was never going to get the overwhelming love from minority voters that Obama inspired. She could have used some extra help.
Thoughts?
But Bill Clinton apparently didn't think it would have been a waste of time for Hillary to spend some time wooing working class whites:
Democrats close to Bill Clinton said Thursday that one mistake Clinton's top aides made was not listening to the former president more when he urged the campaign to spend more time focusing on disaffected white, working class voters.
Many in Clinton's campaign viewed these voters as Trump's base, people so committed to the Republican nominee that no amount of visits or messaging could sway them. Clinton made no visits to Wisconsin as the Democratic nominee, and only pushed a late charge in Michigan once internal polling showed the race tightening.
Bill Clinton, advisers said, pushed the campaign early on to focus on these voters, many of whom helped elected him twice to the White House. The former president, a Clinton aide said, would regularly call Robby Mook to talk about strategy and offer advice.
But aides said the Clinton campaign's top strategists largely ignored the former president, instead focusing on consolidating the base of voters that helped elect President Barack Obama to the White House. In the closing days of the campaign, Clinton targeted young people, Hispanics and African-Americans with laser like focus, casting Trump as a racist who only sought the presidency to benefit himself.
As Tuesday night's results rolled in, those voters seemingly didn't do enough to propel Clinton past the wall of white, working class people who backed Trump.
Many in Clinton's campaign viewed these voters as Trump's base, people so committed to the Republican nominee that no amount of visits or messaging could sway them. Clinton made no visits to Wisconsin as the Democratic nominee, and only pushed a late charge in Michigan once internal polling showed the race tightening.
Bill Clinton, advisers said, pushed the campaign early on to focus on these voters, many of whom helped elected him twice to the White House. The former president, a Clinton aide said, would regularly call Robby Mook to talk about strategy and offer advice.
But aides said the Clinton campaign's top strategists largely ignored the former president, instead focusing on consolidating the base of voters that helped elect President Barack Obama to the White House. In the closing days of the campaign, Clinton targeted young people, Hispanics and African-Americans with laser like focus, casting Trump as a racist who only sought the presidency to benefit himself.
As Tuesday night's results rolled in, those voters seemingly didn't do enough to propel Clinton past the wall of white, working class people who backed Trump.
But strategically, I think Bill was right that giving a bit more love to disaffected working class whites could have been effective. They didn't just help elect Bill to the White House. As I recall, back in 2008, blue-collar Democrats -- and a fair share of blue-collar independents -- strongly preferred Hillary to Obama. She evidently had some appeal for those voters eight years ago. But she pretty much wrote them off this time around. And let's face it -- she was never going to get the overwhelming love from minority voters that Obama inspired. She could have used some extra help.
Thoughts?
