2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: So first faithless voter is voting for Sanders in Maine [View all]mike_c
(36,332 posts)So any notion that Senator Clinton somehow "won" the election is just plain fantasy. I'll believe it when she's inaugurated. She did win more popularity contest votes than Trump did, that's true, but it's also true that bar is the lowest standard ever in American electoral history, and she still won't be inevitable tomorrow, despite Trumps historic unfitness for office. Those "3 million votes" mean nothing. The Constitution is pretty clear on that.
Why are democrats so adamant about living in a political fantasy world? Senator Clinton chundered. She cratered and brought down all hope of progressive democratic reform with her. The DNC that insisted she was The Inevitable One destroyed democratic hopes for at least four years. That is the reality.
The party establishment needs to understand that. It needs its nose rubbed in it until it gets it-- every presidential election since Bill Clinton's term has been a repudiation of establishment politics. The democratic party has not run a successful party insider since (while Barack Obama has redefined what establishment politics means-- much the same way Bill Clinton did, BTW--he was a dark horse candidate when he announced his run in 2007). Obama's campaign message, hope and change, was built upon a foundation of electoral mistrust of establishment insiders. That disdain for establishment politics has been a defining characteristic of 21st century America, so far. It transcends parties.