Happy Now?

[NanceGreggs]

To those who voted third party, wrote-in Bernie Sanders, or didn’t vote at all, I have to ask: Are you happy now?

If you didn’t vote for Hillary, you voted for Trump. If you voted for Jill Stein, you voted for Trump. If you wrote-in Bernie Sanders rather than cast a ballot for HRC, you voted for Trump. If you refused to vote at all because you didn’t “like” HRC, you voted for Trump.

Do any of you honestly believe that Hillary would have reacted to Charlottesville by saying “both sides” were equally to blame for the violence, or that there were “very fine people” among the racists who perpetrated that violence?

Do any of you believe that Hillary would have put incompetent, inexperienced cronies in her Cabinet, or in advisory positions in her administration?

Do any of you believe that Hillary would be under investigation for colluding with Russians, or that she would have handed over highly classified information to our enemies in a “secret meeting” in the Oval Office?

Do any of you believe that Hillary would have denied the reality of climate change, or would have taken advice from the anti-science crowd?

Do any of you believe that Hillary would have cut the budgets for organizations that promote and protect civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, or minority rights?

Do any of you believe that Hillary would have tried to repeal-and-replace Obamacare with an alternative program that left 24 million Americans without any healthcare coverage at all?

Do any of you believe that David Duke and his ilk would be sending out tweets thanking HRC for her support of their cause?

If you believed ANY of the above, you’re obviously an idiot. If you were more concerned with Emails! Benghazi! than you were with a lying, misogynist bigot being in the Oval Office, you’re clearly on the side of lying, misogynist bigots.

So exactly how happy are you now? Clearly you must be ecstatic that thanks to you, the nation dodged the bullet of having a woman in the White House who has devoted her life to public service, has been recognized as the Most Admired Woman in the World twenty times, and has weathered the right-wing storm of false allegations for decades and still stands tall, courageous, and unmoved from her core principles.

By your third party votes, write-in votes, and refusal to vote at all, YOU enabled Trump’s pResidency. He literally could not have been elected without your help.

Many of you have tried to justify your votes by saying you wanted to “send a message” to the Democratic Party. Well, message received – and the message is that you preferred to see Trump as pOTUS rather than a woman who stands against everything HE stands for: bigotry, racism, misogyny, mocking the disabled, denying proven science, evidence-free allegations against his predecessor – the list goes on.

You must be not only happy, but extremely proud of having put Trump in office. Sadly for you, we recognize you for what you are: Trump supporters pretending to be disgruntled Democrats, RW-adherents pretending to be “progressives”, idiots too stupid to recognize the difference between a ballot counted and a ballot thrown away.

Donald Trump is an incompetent, mentally unbalanced liar who not only lacks the intelligence necessary to lead a nation, but is devoid of the principles and values that make our country great. If you voted against Hillary, you voted for Trump.

Happy now?

[Warpy]

1. I don't care if people voted third party or wrote in Minnie Mouse. They voted.

The ones who are responsible for this are the ones who read the opinion polls and thought they could sit on the couch rather than get out into the cold and cast a damn vote.

They're the ones who let us down through sheer. selfish laziness.

The other ones were just wrong. However, they got out and voted.

[uppityperson]

2. you mean the half that didn't care enough to vote at all? That is a huge issue indeed.

[Heartstrings]

3. Agree 100%

And they need a big push at midterms....

[Warpy]

4. Yes, and their number dwarfs the number of write ins and third party votes

I'm not going to waste my ire on people who made the effort and were wrong. I voted SWP for local offices in Boston often enough in my youth.

I want to kick lazy people off their sofas. I think that might happen next time, this asshole has proven how high the stakes can be.

[NanceGreggs]

5. I take your point ...

... about non-voters.

However, those who DID vote third party or wrote-in Bernie are sooooooo not off the hook.

It's one thing to be "too lazy" to get off the couch. It's quite another thing to NOT be too lazy to go out and vote for Jill Stein or Bernie Sanders, knowing your vote would make it that much easier for Trump to be elected.

[betsuni]

7. I agree. Lazy, I understand.

Going to the trouble of voting but voting in a way that can't stop Trump from being elected, I don't.

[uppityperson]

8. +++

[grantcart]

9. I believe that the point is that the Susan Sarandon/Will Pitt etc etc group

Exacerbated the problem by magnifying non existing issues and broadcasting maladjusted angst which had the result of depressing turn out.

Stein/Sarandon/Pitt created a hook for the Republicans/Russians to use to disorient hard working folks who are trying to keep up with their families and didn't have the time or resources to counter the whirlwind of false reports from the so called non Democratic left.

[Warpy]

12. I imagine they're regretting it now. But they got out and voted

and anyone who votes does get a pass from me, even if they're self indulgent and wrong.headed. They're a tiny minority.

The vast majority who elected Dumpster Fire were the ones who sat on the couch because all the polls said Clinton was going to win, no matter what.

Maybe they could have overcome the hacked machines, maybe not. However, they're to blame and you will spend your time a lot better if you try to figure out how to get them off the couch and to the polls rather than demonize people who voted but were wrong. It's a fucking waste of time.

[grantcart]

13. Not talking about the 2% that voted, talking about those who appeared on media

to complement the Russian propaganda and depress the vote.

You can't give a pass to people who voted if their fundamental contribution was to depress the vote.

[lunamagica]

19. Did you see Susan Sarandon on Chris Hayes? She's not sorry for anything

She pulled the same stunt in 2000, and never showed any regrets

[Warpy]

23. I don't give a flying fornication what some ditzy actress says about politics

and I can't believe why so many other people are so bent out of shape over it. This is not her field and she is not influential. She's just a purty face.

She's got free speech. She's got one vote. Deal with it.

[lunamagica]

24. I've "got" free speech too. Deal with it.

[pnwmom]

11. Those who voted against Hillary are more responsible. Many of those who didn't vote

couldn't vote, or had issues that made voting difficult.

They might have had their names removed from registration rolls, they might not have had the correct ID for registering to vote, they might be mentally ill, disabled, homeless, or simply too burdened by the stresses of their lives to find the time to vote.

But people who WERE registered and WERE able to vote and still chose to vote against Hillary have no excuse.

[BlueMTexpat]

14. I absolutely agree

with this assessment.

I have no patience with lazy voters. I hope that they all start realizing that they are literally shirking their responsibilities as citizens. They = Trump voters by default. But, as you have pointed out, there are too many who didn't vote , especially in EC-critical states, because they were PREVENTED from voting in one way or another. That is NOT laziness and I certainly do not hold them responsible for Trump.

Those who could vote and did NOT vote for Hillary in the GE = Trump voters, no matter what their justification. I hold them every bit as responsible for Trump as I do those who actually voted for him.

There is NO excuse. NONE!

[dawg]

39. Nah. The third-party voters are *worse* than the non-voters.

Most of them wasted gas.

[WinkyDink]

41. I disagree. We KNOW how voters voted; we have no idea how non-voters might have voted.

[lunamagica]

6. The non-voters are a big problem...but they are not an excuse for everyone who voted, but didn't

vote for Hillary. They are all guilty

And we will never forget.

Excellent post as usual, Nance.

[yuiyoshida]

10. Unfortunately probably falling on deaf ears

Right wingers are ecstatic with their POTUS because he wants to make America White again.

[ffr]

15. It's about as bad as I would have expected from this incompetent buffoon.

I fully expected people to die under his cowardice. And I fully expect more to die until he is taken out of power.

We worked our butts off to prevent this from happening. We won our county and we won our state for HRC, but after the polls had closed and we were free to go down to the democratic celebration hall, the news on election night had turned sour already. tRump and the KGOP had pulled it off with the help of their Russian accomplices. I wasn't happy then that so many had chosen a grifter over a wonderfully talented, dedicated, and qualified Hillary Clinton.

I hope those who didn't vote for her, in one way or another, are happy for the lives being lost and the downfall America is experiencing under the KGOP & 45. You brought this on us all.

[Liberty Belle]

16. That's an oversimplification.

In California, where Hillary was up over 20 points in the polls, I know some principled people who voted green, or wrote in Sanders. They told me they wouldn't have done it if the polls showed less than 10 point spread. Hillary won California, of course, by a landslide over Trump.

The problem really was limited to people in swing states who voted for anyone other than Hillary, or who didn't vote at all. It is a lesson many learned the hard way when they voted for Nader and Bush won. In close states, one should always vote strategically for the candidate most likely to win that is a major party nominee. But it's divisive and drives people away to try and blame those in states Hillary won by huge margins for Trump winning.

I suppose the same could be said in states where polls showed Trump winning by a landslide; some may have voted their conscience in those states too, figuring it didn't matter. Same reason some people just stayed home.

[NanceGreggs]

21. No. It IS simple.

"I thought I was in a 'safe' state, so I voted 'my conscience'" is bullshit.

Where was the conscience of ANYONE who threw their vote away? If you voted Stein or wrote-in Bernie, you KNEW neither had any chance of winning. So your "conscience" led you to cast a ballot you knew was meaningless, instead of casting a vote for Hillary?

Hope those people are happy with Trump.

[yardwork]

38. People in Ann Arbor and Madison thought it was safe to have a temper tantrum.

They helped their states elect Trump.

[Persondem]

40. That kind of thing creates a vibe that spreads beyond state borders

"Well cousin so-and-so (or my friend, or FB acquaintance) in CA isn't voting for Clinton, so I may as well not as well."

[Rob H.]

48. Good points, LB

There was never a chance that Trump was going to lose my deep-red, non-swing state (he had a 20% margin of victory when all was said and done), so I could have just as easily written in Kermit the Frog or Spider-Man and it would have made as much difference as my vote for Hillary did.

[beachjustice]

17. Election system is broken and often rigged in the US. And it can only get worse.

Democrats have to unite behind single candidates and consistently vote with record turnout to undo the damage, or we will continue to slip into a single-party state from which we cannot recover.

[Doug the Dem]

18. Is this a repost?

Either way, I ain't complaining. Rec!

[betsuni]

20. K&R

[Gothmog]

22. Another great post by Nance

[BainsBane]

25. They are happy now

They won. They defeated the Democratic Party and installed Trump is power. They are victorious, and like all those drunk with victory they plan to perpetuate it.

I suppose some do regret their votes, though I have yet to see anyone say so. I would hope anyway that some have thought better of their decision and resolved to proceed differently in the future. Though again, it would be nice to hear some of them say so.

I think it a mistake, however, to assume that others regret their actions or are disturbed by what is happening in America now. In fact, I've seen some, on JPR, for example, normalize the Nazis and Trump by insisting this is nothing new, just business as usual. They continue to defend him against the "deep state." I also think it's possible that some actually prefer what we are seeing now to a Democratic administration and congress. If at this point, after seeing all this, they continue to focus their hostility not toward Trump and the White Nationalists but the Democratic Party, that suggests to me that they aren't disturbed by what is happening. And if they continue to work to keep Democrats from being elected, there is no way to interpret that as other than support for fascism.

The 2016 choice was very clear to me. The choices in 2018 and 2020 are even clearer.

[samnsara]

26. AMEN

[argyl]

27. I voted Bernie in the Democratic primary here in Texas.

I graciously accepted his defeat and as soon as it was obvious that it would be Hillary vs.Trump in the general election I became a most vociferous supporter of Clinton.
I felt, rightly so, that this election was perhaps the most important Presidential election I'd ever voted in. My first vote was for McGovern in 1972 and I've voted Democratic in every election, Presidential and off season up to and including 2016.
I feel I did what I needed to do.

[NanceGreggs]

29. No one here ...

... has any problem with the many Dems who supported Bernie in the primaries. If Bernie was your choice, you DID do what you needed to do.

The problem arises with those who refused to accept his defeat, and rally around the Dem nominee in order to defeat Trump. The problem is with those who voted third party or wrote-in Bernie on their GE ballot because they preferred to see HRC defeated than see her take what they believed to be Bernie's rightful position as POTUS.

You supported your candidate-of-choice, and then you supported the nominee.

You did the right thing both times.

[argyl]

30. Thanks. I believe my choice was proper.

Nice hearing it from one of DUs most respected contributors whose OPs I always read.

[Beringia]

28. I think your ire is misplaced

and extremely condescending to the point of bullying. People have different views than you do. I do not equate voting your conscience, if that be Bernie Sanders or others is voting for Trump. You seem to want lockstep instead of inclusion of a wide base of different types of democrats.

[NanceGreggs]

31. This is a Democratic site

… created and maintained to support Democrats.

Yes, some people have different views than mine – but when it comes to whether people should have voted for HRC instead of throwing their votes away (which voting third party or writing-in another candidate amounts to), I think most people here share my views.

I’m very confused by the “voting your conscience” meme. Why would anyone’s “conscience” lead them to throw their vote away rather than see HRC elected instead of Trump?

If by "different types of democrats" you mean Democrats who wanted to see HRC defeated and Trump elected, I don't think we'll miss them.

[KitSileya]

32. It amazes me that people will put their conscience before other people's lives.

Those who voted fro Stein, Johnson, or wrote in Sanders, or left the ballot blank because they were "voting their conscience" are directly saying that they are willing to let people die to maintain their conscience. They are not sacrificing their own lives for their conscience, which would be honorable, but the lives of the most powerless among us, those most vulnerable. They are willing to throw people of color, LGBTQIA people, differently abled people, women on the fire to keep their purity. I find that despicable.

[betsuni]

33. I'm confused by the "voting your conscience" meme too.

What was it about voting for the Democratic nominee in the last election that would bother anyone's conscience? Did people have a conscience crisis about voting for Kerry, Biden, Obama and other Democrats? The conscience isn't bothered, people sleep like innocent children, when voting in a way that helps the election of Republicans? Seems to me like there's confusion about who's the actual boogeyman. Maybe the babysitter's been reading those fake news fairy tales to the kids again.

[NanceGreggs]

34. Well, yeah.

I always thought one's "conscience" was what led one to do the right thing.

I'm still trying to figure out how anyone thought making it easier for Trump to be elected was "the right thing".

[betsuni]

35. Maybe there's an alternative definition to the word that we don't know about.

Like that status quo means money in politics and FDR Democrat means no "identity politics" allowed. I learn something new every day!

[Demsrule86]

36. Those who voted for 'others' in the General have blood on their hands. And if they have a conscience

I hope it 'troubles them for many years, and I hope such folks face consequences twice as bad as those that their misplaced votes caused others. Many of those who voted their conscience (or lack there of) are going to find out just how wrong they were to do so...unless you are very very entitled like Sarandon or Stein. the coming recession is going to hurt badly. Voting third party is like as another poster once said "sending prayers and good wishes". We will be lucky to not have a depression and/or have another stupid war. We could all be crispy critters too as Trump thinks if you have nukes why it is a waste not to use them. He said so. So may I offer a giant all encompassing fuck you to anyone (especially Greens) who didn't vote for Hillary in the General.

[yardwork]

37. It's simple math. If you didn't vote for the Democratic nominee then you helped the Republican win.

[WinkyDink]

42. An essay for adults is not "bullying." Get real.

[Persondem]

43. Ok, I am going to use this thread to do a little one time venting

I spent a solid year on DU opposing the nonsense posted by anti-Clinton people. The OP's of the time ranged from 6 degrees of separation BS to out and out right wing fabrications. I had posts reported on and was unjustly censured several times by the anti-Clintonites. Appeals to admins had no effect. DU was toxic, but I still posted links, asked for proof and pushed back against the hysteria on this board. Those people posting that garbage did Bannon's work and now we are reaping what YOU sowed.

Done.

[HughBeaumont]

44. Even though I'm not a fan, I voted Hillary, because, you know, FASCISM.

"After Hitler, Our Turn!" shouldn't have been.

Glib "business as usual" is ALWAYS the far better option than a CEO labor-stiffing turbo wingnut fascist.

[tkmorris]

45. Elections are simple Nance

If your candidate is popular enough, they win. If your candidate is NOT popular enough, is it helpful moving forward to gnash your teeth and berate those who didn't find him/her all that appealing? Or is it more useful to understand WHY they didn't like your candidate more, and work to correct that? Good luck with your plan to cover those folks with spittle and then expect them to vote alongside you next time.

Furthermore, who are you addressing here? I would wager that DU produced a higher percentage of members who turned out to vote than just about any other online forum you could name. I would also bet that the overwhelming majority of them voted for Hillary, and of those few (I am sure there were a few) who voted Green or whatever I doubt you could find any that did so in a state where the result was in any way contested.

You seem to take for granted that the blame for Hillary's loss lies, exclusively apparently, with Leftists, BernieBros, and other malcontents within the Democratic Party. This point of view is demonstrably wrong; any analysis of the election in 2016 shows that the blame, if blame there be, lies elsewhere. It's high time you wake up to that fact and stop writing diatribes which serve no purpose but to alienate people. You are HURTING our ability to win future elections. Not just not helping, you are actively making it more difficult.

Please, stop.

[NanceGreggs]

47. ...

"You seem to take for granted that the blame for Hillary's loss lies, exclusively apparently, with Leftists, BernieBros, and other malcontents within the Democratic Party."

I said no such thing. And why you've included "leftists" is beyond me. Are you suggesting that leftists weren't HRC supporters?

"Good luck with your plan to cover those folks with spittle and then expect them to vote alongside you next time."

It's not a "plan" - it's an observation. Unfortunately, those who threw their votes away in 2016 will probably never vote alongside me in any event. They're far too busy being perpetually pissed-off to vote for anyone who isn't "pure" enough to warrant their support.

[jalan48]

46. So, should we only allow voting for one of two candidates? Require mandatory voting? Make it a law?

People are going to vote (or not vote) for who they want. Rather than continuing to play this blame game let's focus on getting more votes next time, ridding ourselves of big money in the election (Citizens United), and fighting voter suppression.