I don't think we know that Donald Trump definitely isn't a racist anymore than we know he definitely is. His rhetoric was all over the place, as were many of his proposals over the course of a long-ass campaign—which is obviously why the establishment pols on both sides were wary-and-then-some of his candidacy. But Americans love to roll the dice, and the political elite definitely discounted that this year (and in 2000 and 2008, as well, to be honest).Originally Posted by sturg33
"For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."
I agree that Trump isn't as bad as he's been portrayed, but perception is reality for most.
I do enjoy how the left is trying to spin this election as an indictment of half of the US population rather than reevaluating their own candidate and platform. Unless I'm somehow wrong that 50 million people aren't all alt-right deplorables. Further, there was a sense of entitlement by many, including HRC, that she deserved to win because otherwise it showed that our nation hates women. It's so dumb and terrifying the continued misunderstanding of middle-class culture.
BedellBrave (11-12-2016), jpx7 (11-09-2016), sturg33 (11-09-2016)
I do think not everything Trump has said is racist but he threw out a lot of stuff on the wall with underlying context.
It's like when Newt kept calling Obama the food stamps president. You would have to be blind or deaf to not figure out the coded language behind that phrase. I think Trump did a lot of that too to get people riled up.
Forever Fredi
Coded language?
Give me a break. That's some weak sh*t.
Let's put this to bed, Trump is a racist. He's a 70 year old upper class man. He's gonna have racist and sexist tendencies because he grew up in a different world than you or I. I compare it to my dad. He's racist too. Not overtly like KKK racist but he says many terrible things and most of it is how and when he was raised.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Like clockwork, the race card comes out so much more when liberals are out of power. Happy days are here again...
And for the record, my dad is 77 and I've never heard or seen anything racist from him. I'm sorry your dad is a racist though zito.
Probably never heard them because you don't think they're racist when they are. It's OK. you're only a product of your environment.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Why do I need to shy away from it? I don't pretend I'm tolerant and then show my intolerance once I don't get my way. These people pretend like they don't judge others and then snap around and start throwing judgments out like they completely forgot what they stood for. If they were just honest about it in the first place, I would respect them a lot more. It's sort of a microcosm of this election. Trump showed his true colors while it was obvious Hillary hid hers and in the end the people respected the more honest politician over the obvious fake one.
Absolutely. He plays this calming character that's very persuasive because the way he communicates really brings you in but in the end all he was doing was blaming white men like the rest of them.
Whats your opinion on Hillary and racism?
Well, not really "the left", but the liberal establishment enshrined in the Democratic Party. And while—as someone quite left of this country's Ds—I wouldn't say I "enjoy" watching their utter refusal to take stock in their failure and reevaluate their core program and posture, at the same time—while probably inevitable—it's quite the spectacle to watch the finger-pointing and -wagging at everything but their candidate and strategy and putative mission.
(Also probably worth nothing that half of the US population sat this election out, so at best these results reflect two warring quarters of the population.)
Last edited by jpx7; 11-09-2016 at 04:17 PM.
"For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."
You don't have to, but I'd prefer a country of measured tolerance—acceptance of opposing viewpoints and different types of folks, even in absence of a particular fondness for them—to a country of people ever at each others' throats. If you prefer the latter, though, I suppose I can tolerate it.
"For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."
Because you know my environment so well? Oh wait...no, you don't?
Seriously, I think you're better then already stooping to the race card zito. It's a losing argument anyway. Let's be honest, Obama has done more to hurt race relations in this country then any president in modern history. I could seriously see it improving under Trump, because it really couldn't get much worse then it was under Obama.
No... there's no evidence to suggest he is. That's not to say he's not.
The stock futures moves last night were clear and evident... I was surprised at the reversals... but the consensus is that it's due the Repc controlling the government now and that will be good for business.
I can tell you one thing though... I was finally rewarded for my patience in the biotech sector now that Hilary's price control rhetoric will go away
Shame on Obama for being black.
chop2chip (11-09-2016), jpx7 (11-09-2016), The Chosen One (11-09-2016)
"Obama has done more to hurt race relations in this country then [sic] any president in modern history" is one of the more shamelessly ludicrous statements bandied about. He's been far from a great President in a lot of respects, but that assertion doesn't hold water.
"For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."
50PoundHead (11-09-2016), bravesnumberone (11-09-2016), Prikichi (11-11-2016)
I guess he designed all those offensive t-shirts and composed "Barack the Magic Negro." The whole "Obama made the country more racist" is one of those echo chamber dog whistle statements that picked up steam among some the more it was repeated. Maybe the folks who take that view should remember all the crap he took from the African-American community when he initiated the My Brother's Keeper program.
jpx7 (11-09-2016)
Shame on Obama for supporting terrorist organizations like BLM and employing racists like Van Jones.
LMAO BLM is a terrorist organization
What's sad is you're serious or I'd actually be laughing not sad laughing because you've been that brainwashed by radical right wing media.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
ALso not shocked that someone would say his dad never said anything racist, would on the same page say BLM is a terrorist organization.
Mother****er you can't write sadder **** than this.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Prikichi (11-11-2016)
So looks like things shook out about how I thought they would. Lot of fear and anger all over my social media today. And to be quite honest, the bulk of it is grossly over the top. I swear to God after reading about five statuses, I thought we were destined for concentration camps. But when has anything in politics in this country not been the last several years?
There are a lot of different reasons for and conclusions to draw from this outcome. But the predominant theme here is the middle class has been pissed on, left behind and forgotten by the establishment of both major parties. James Carville once said, "It's the economy, stupid." People vote with their wallets and pocket books quite a bit, and the economy just doesn't work for everyday Americans. An outcome like this was ultimately inevitable. I don't think Trump is the solution to any of this. In fact, he'll likely make it worse. I see more disappointment ahead over the next four years. But he proved to be a master politician and was better at simplifying complex issues into sound bytes better than anyone in modern history. To say that half the people or more who voted for him are racist xenophobes shows the willingness to keep one's head in the sand.
Now things have gotten very real. He has to be our leader. He has said things that can't be unsaid and has a mandate to unite this country and forge a better path forward. I hope his speech last night was sincere, but I'm not holding my breath.
Some miscellaneous observations:
•There was a lot of talk about Clinton's strong ground game and how it would be the difference and how Trump lacked any real organization. But as I mentioned above, simplification can go a long way politically. The best ground game out there in 2016 is social media and Trump was strong in that regard.
•The exit polls were woefully inaccurate but were taken as gospel early on. While I was driving to my county's elections office shortly before 7 to report results to the AP, the consensus on the radio was, after looking at the exit polls, the race would be called around 9:30. Slowly, it became unraveled. Again, in 2016, it may be time to rethink how a lot of polling is done.
•It appears that Clinton will win the popular vote by 200,000 or so. That's somewhat inconsequential when you consider 120 million voted, but it raises again the debate about the Electoral College and is it useful anymore? I don't think either the Electoral College as is or going by a strict popular vote is the best approach. I'd like to see the Electoral College switch to proportional votes being given out. It would seem that would make everyone's vote mean more.
•Like I expected, the black vote did not turn out for Clinton in areas like Detroit and Philadelphia. From what I've read, Trump actually outperformed Romney and McCain among this demographic. I think that's a combination of Trump willing to engage the community (at least somewhat) and his populist message resonating with it.
•At some point, Democrats are going to need to have a come-to-Jesus meeting. Hillary Clinton was an awful candidate and a ton of people decided her shortcomings simply weren't worth closer examination. I got the sense throughout the entire campaign that she and her close surrogates had a sense of entitlement to the White House. The way Bernie Sanders was treated was complete BS and I think quite a few folks realized it in the end. But the party does not have fresh ideas (Neither do Republicans, really).
•More than half of the voters said they were reluctant about their decision. This speaks volumes to the sad state of affairs that was this election. We need more political choices and more seats at the table in this country.
Overall, I hope that both sides will make the most of an opportunity to change their approach in Washington. Usually, if you pay attention, you're able to tell how things are going to go in the next few years depending on who the president is. In this case, probably for the first time ever, I have no clue what the hell is going to happen. And that's probably not a good thing.
50PoundHead (11-09-2016), BedellBrave (11-12-2016), jpx7 (11-09-2016), sturg33 (11-09-2016)
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