2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: WE Are NOT the Problem [View all]Fiendish Thingy
(18,596 posts)My post was in reply to your OP, which ignored the factors under the party's control, and instead focused on external factors beyond their control.
The most painfully (and I do mean painful, to acknowledge this truth) obvious factor under the Democrats' control was the strategically risky nomination of a candidate with the highest negative ratings of any Democratic nominee ever. A candidate who was known to be hated by a large enough segment of the electorate that, along with voter suppression, low millennial turnout, media complicity and other shenanigans, put the Electoral College within reach for Trump.
HRC was smeared for 30 years; as unfairly treated as she was, the reality is, it damaged her as a candidate, and reduced her chances of winning, making what should have been a landslide victory into the second ELectoral College/popular vote mismatch in 16 years.