Here is the truth: this entire convention, the hand-wringing and endless nonsense of debating whether or not someone's supporters are hurting or helping, whether the party is "unified" or "divided", whether the speeches are "exciting the base" or " making X-supporters unhappy" is all kabuki theater now.
We live in an era of craven media whores...in front of the cameras, behind their keyboards, on the stage, collecting the money and writing the copy for mindless ad after mindless ad. The entire process - ALL OF IT, from speeches to appearances to fund raisers to party elites abusing the system, to the mere mention of someone like DWS in public today- has become anathema to low information voters. It is all the same shit-sandwich to them, and they don't want any more bites, period.
That is the only way to explain why Trump received a traditional post-convention bump despite the fact that he ran the most dystopian convention in living memory.
The Democratic convention matters to policy wonks, party insiders jockeying for that next kushy party role or position to get them through to the next cycle...half of those types are literally plotting their positions for the mid-terms in 2018 ALREADY. It is a giant game of schmoozing and ass kissing and positioning to get inside tracks and it disgusts nearly everyone outside of party politics.
The Republicans chose to shitcan their entire party, and the entire future of their organization should they lose, in favor of backing the Talking Yam. Democrats, in their truest tradition of being like trying to herd cats, are busily creating our own shit show of horse-trading, back-room politicking and all around slimy appearances (even if there is far less 'there' there as usual).
It doesn't matter if she, or her supporters, or her detractors for that matter, all came out and sang the Soviet National anthem with promoting 5-year plans and collective farm initiatives. There is literally nothing that happens in July that today's moron voters of the mushy, wishy-washy "center" or "undecideds" will care about in November...Jesus H. Christ, 90-95% of the voters who fall into this category or politically illiterates in the first place.
GOTV in November is the ONLY THING THAT MATTERS.
NOT Bernie or the Bernie-or-busts.
NOT DWS or the corrupt DNC.
NOT speeches by FLOTUS, Sen. Warren, Sen. Sanders.
NOT speeches by President Clinton, President Obama, Sen./Sec. Clinton.
We live in Twitter-America now. 256 characters or less does not lend itself to unified messaging, 4 days of speeches, unity, disunity, or platforms any longer. The newspaper and weekly magazine platforms are dead and gone. Investigative journalism and an informed citizenry are deceased. The ruler of this wasteland is he who recognizes that and panders best.
Committed Democrats are voting for Hillary already.
Deep Blue states are too.
Deep Red states won't vote for Hillary if she was running against John Wayne Gacy, Jeffery Dahmer, Dick Nixon and GW Bush!
The electoral map is the same mis-mash of "swing states" that have been key since '00: Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and to a lesser extent North Carolina, Virginia and Michigan. My vote in East Kansas is worthless in the presidential race - Clinton cannot and will not win in this mucked up state, just as she will not win in Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, West Virginia, the Dakotas, Texas, Oklahoma or regular Kansas.
Our candidate is an imminently qualified and capable woman of immense intellect, talent and accomplishment. She is everything that the nation should want in a chief executive of any sex and as a historical figure as the first female President. She is also reviled and hated at a gut level with the intensity of a supernova by ~40-45% of the nation. Some bloodless zealots, bigots and misogynists; others just susceptible to noise and repetition. The bottom line is this, and it has been since the Clinton candidacy became the clear party choice around February/March: the Republicans can count on blind hate to obscure enough of their base to turn out to vote AGAINST Hillary that it was always going to be about GOTV, turnout and convincing people NOT to sit this one out in a fit of pique.
This thing is going to be too close for comfort all the way through because it will be close enough to steal again; as in '00 and '04 where chicanery in one state - (FL in '00 and OH in '04) - was enough to flip the script and the election itself. But make no mistake, the endless tripe for the next 96 hours will have almost ZERO influence on the ultimate outcome.
'00 Gore sighs, keeps saying "lock box"
'04 Kerry swiftboated, fails to fight back fast enough or hard enough
'08 McCain "fundamentals of the economy are solid", desperation choice of Caribou Barbie
'12 Romney "47%", "corporations are people my friend"
In every one of the last 4 cycles, something well beyond the conventions was far more influential in the later stages of the campaigns.
So, if you like polls and handwringing, speeches and kabuki theater....by all means enjoy the next 4 nights (as critical as I may come across here, I LOVE a good show and I will watch raptly)....but do not become too incensed or ennuied by the proceedings.
They simply don't matter as much as the media and party leaders want to make believe they do...
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