It's easy to mock Trump supporters as backward and terrible, but if we're being honest with ourselves, we'll admit that they used to be Democrats. When the Democrats still backed unions, the working class voted Democratic. But both major parties have ignored this demographic for a few cycles, with an obvious example being a lack of white, working class identity in Obama's identity politics coalition. If you were a white Democrat, you had to identify with another group (LGBTQ, African American, Immigrant, etc.) to be 'counted' in this group, and that didn't sit well with everyone.
Let's also recall that Trump was a Democratic supporter until Obama, and even donated to Hillary's campaign over the years. And equally alarming, Bernie Sanders found support with some idea's that were similar to Trump's in his own campaign for the Democratic nomination. Consider the possibility that if Trump hadn't been a racist and hadn't used birtherism to start his political career, he may have run in the primaries against Bernie and Hillary. He wouldn't have played well with the current Democratic base, but his supporters may have overwhelmed them the same way the overwhelmed the GOP establishment. This is a large, disaffected voting block that could have torn through the Democrats nearly as easily.
The Democrats were only spared because the GOP made itself an easier target for Trump's raw populism, and it exposed a festering issue: that their strongest constituents are torn between integrity and the desire to win. And Republican representatives are supporting or not supporting Trump based purely on how it affects their individual race. They still have no idea how to deal with Trump's surge, and the Democrats probably wouldn't have done much better against it.
But this isn't a one-time thing. These voters aren't going away, and we should seek to understand them, because this isn't a GOP issue, or a Trump issue; it's an American issue. If we continue to mock, ignore, and marginalize this group, we will repeat this awful election in 2018, 2020, and beyond, until we address the underlying problems.
And if you still don't care, or have only skimmed this post, at least read this chilling piece about how Hillary is only winning because the vast majority of likely Trump supporters simply will not vote.
If Trump were able to activate merely one of every eight of these “missing whites” to vote for him, he would wipe out Obama’s 2012 margins in three states — Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania — and win both the Electoral College and the popular vote. If he were able to activate one of every five, he could add Virginia, Nevada, Iowa and New Hampshire...
We must continue to combat /r/The_Donald's awfulness, and point out facts when presented with feelz. We need to call out racism, bigotry, sexism, and all the terrible things that Trump is gleefully encouraging. We must turn out on election day and send the message that our country will not tolerate someone who embodies all that is wrong with celebrity culture, and who lives without integrity, morals, or a sense of decency. We must not let his hatred go unanswered.
But unless we want to continue this battle forever, we need to address the underlying cause. We're here to combat Trump spam, not denigrate American citizens.
ここには何もないようです