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bigtree

(85,919 posts)
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 03:29 PM Mar 2016

Best kept secret of 2016: After 8 years of economic growth, most voters aren't angry

AlGiordano ?@AlGiordano 5h5 hours ago
The best kept secret of 2016: After 8 years of economic growth, most voters aren't angry:

Who Is the Hillary Voter?

We have heard much talk this cycle about the mood of our national electorate. People are angry. They are sick and tired of establishment politicians, and are gravitating toward outsiders, revolutionaries, people who are going to “turn this country around.” They are flocking to the polls in huge numbers to make their anger heard.
Signal

An examination of Clinton voters and their motivations might reveal that the narrative that most media outlets have been feeding us this election cycle is dubious at best.

The media has saturated us with profiles of the voters who are turning out for these anti-establishment candidates. There is the Sanders voter, a white, social-media-savvy millennial sick of corporate oligarchies and paying student loans. There is the alienated, white, working-class Trump voter, threatened by immigration and trade treaties and Muslims, someone far less interested in small government and the capital gains tax than the Republican donor class would like him to be. And there is the stridently conservative, small-government Cruz voter, a dedicated God-fearing culture warrior.

The voter we almost never hear about, however, is the Clinton voter. Which is surprising, since Hillary Clinton has won more votes in the primaries than any other candidate so far. She has amassed over 2.5 million more votes than Sanders; over 1.1 million more votes than Trump. Clearly Clinton voters exist, yet there has been very little analysis as to who they are or why they are showing up to vote for her. Sure, there has been talk of Clinton’s dominance among African-American voters, and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic voters. Her voters seem to skew older and more affluent. But these are demographics. (And even demographics have a hard time explaining her commanding win in Ohio, or her wins in Massachusetts and Missouri.) There is almost no discussion of what is motivating these voters. If anything, the media seems to think they are holding their noses as they vote for Hillary. As a recent New York Times article suggested, Clinton is winning “votes, not hearts.”

We never hear that Hillary Clinton has “momentum”—what she has is a “sizable delegate lead.” No one this cycle has described Clinton supporters as “fired up”—it’s simply not possible that people are fired up for Hillary. No, what we gather about Clinton from the press is that she can’t connect. She has very high unfavorable ratings. People think she is dishonest and untrustworthy. She is not a gifted politician. She is a phony. Hated by so many. The list goes on.

Considering that narrative, one would expect Clinton to be faring far worse in the primaries. Instead, she currently holds a popular vote and delegate lead over Sanders that far surpasses Obama’s lead over her at this point in the race in 2008.

This is no accident. An examination of Clinton voters and their motivations might reveal that the narrative that most media outlets have been feeding us this election cycle is dubious at best. Because if the biggest vote-getter of either party is Hillary—by a large margin—then that suggests the electorate is not necessarily as angry as pundits claim. It further suggests that perhaps some people are tired of hearing about how angry they are, and are quietly asserting their opinions at the ballot box. If Democrats are so angry, Clinton would not be in the position she is today. Is it really so farfetched to claim that quite a few Democrats aren’t voting for Sanders precisely because he seems angry? Which isn’t to suggest that people aren’t angry—certainly many Republican primary voters seem to be. Rather, it is to suggest that voters who aren’t angry are still showing up at the polls, despite being ignored in news stories...


read more: https://newrepublic.com/article/131762/hillary-voter
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Best kept secret of 2016: After 8 years of economic growth, most voters aren't angry (Original Post) bigtree Mar 2016 OP
Even the Bundy Bunch found out that most militia weren't angry enough to join them Kaleva Mar 2016 #1
The only really angry people radical noodle Mar 2016 #2
THAT!!! And that we might have a woman as the next President. Jitter65 Mar 2016 #4
Boom. ismnotwasm Mar 2016 #6
Exactly. joshcryer Mar 2016 #11
Resigned more than angry. Downwinder Mar 2016 #3
Absolutely best times in human history for those pocketing the loot. Octafish Mar 2016 #5
Big pile of fail. PowerToThePeople Mar 2016 #7
there is a minority that Shillary is not pandering to SoLeftIAmRight Mar 2016 #8
recommended! Bill USA Mar 2016 #9
Hard to believe, but true. kstewart33 Mar 2016 #10
I see problems that need fixing, and issues that make me angry, but yep... I'm not in need Lucinda Mar 2016 #12

radical noodle

(7,990 posts)
2. The only really angry people
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 03:39 PM
Mar 2016

are those who are still furious that we have a black President of the United States.

 

Jitter65

(3,089 posts)
4. THAT!!! And that we might have a woman as the next President.
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 05:17 PM
Mar 2016

The GOP is angry at the dysfunctional Congress meaning they didn't do enough to hurt Obama's performance...they should have impeached him. Never mind the Congress was not paying attention to their needs...that is forgivable if they were working hard AGAINST Obama. But they were not working hard enough against him...that is what they are angry about. Every time they see the positive economic numbers and a declining deficit the get more angry.

Downwinder

(12,869 posts)
3. Resigned more than angry.
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 05:12 PM
Mar 2016

Drug cost went up $1,000/mo. in January and Medigap goes up $60 April 1, but there is no inflation.

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
5. Absolutely best times in human history for those pocketing the loot.
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 05:23 PM
Mar 2016

You know, the one-percent at the top of the heap.



The Shocking Redistribution of Wealth in the Past Five Years

by Paul Buchheit
Published on Monday, December 30, 2013 by Common Dreams

Anyone reviewing the data is likely to conclude that there must be some mistake. It doesn't seem possible that one out of twenty American families could each have made a million dollars since Obama became President, while the average American family's net worth has barely recovered. But the evidence comes from numerous reputable sources.

Some conservatives continue to claim that President Obama is unfriendly to business, but the facts show that the richest Americans and the biggest businesses have been the main - perhaps only - beneficiaries of the massive wealth gain over the past five years.

1. $5 Million to Each of the 1%, and $1 Million to Each of the Next 4%

From the end of 2008 to the middle of 2013 total U.S. wealth increased from $47 trillion to $72 trillion. About $16 trillion of that is financial gain (stocks and other financial instruments).

The richest 1% own about 38 percent of stocks, and half of non-stock financial assets. So they've gained at least $6.1 trillion (38 percent of $16 trillion). That's over $5 million for each of 1.2 million households.

The next richest 4%, based on similar calculations, gained about $5.1 trillion. That's over a million dollars for each of their 4.8 million households.

The least wealthy 90% in our country own only 11 percent of all stocks excluding pensions (which are fast disappearing). The frantic recent surge in the stock market has largely bypassed these families.

2. Evidence of Our Growing Wealth Inequality

This first fact is nearly ungraspable: In 2009 the average wealth for almost half of American families was ZERO (their debt exceeded their assets).

In 1983 the families in America's poorer half owned an average of about $15,000. But from 1983 to 1989 median wealth fell from over $70,000 to about $60,000. From 1998 to 2009, fully 80% of American families LOST wealth. They had to borrow to stay afloat.

It seems the disparity couldn't get much worse, but after the recession it did. According to a Pew Research Center study, in the first two years of recovery the mean net worth of households in the upper 7% of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28%, while the mean net worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%. And then, from 2011 to 2013, the stock market grew by almost 50 percent, with again the great majority of that gain going to the richest 5%.

Today our wealth gap is worse than that of the third world. Out of all developed and undeveloped countries with at least a quarter-million adults, the U.S. has the 4th-highest degree of wealth inequality in the world, trailing only Russia, Ukraine, and Lebanon.

3. Congress' Solution: Take from the Poor

Congress has responded by cutting unemployment benefits and food stamps, along with other 'sequester' targets like Meals on Wheels for seniors and Head Start for preschoolers. The more the super-rich make, the more they seem to believe in the cruel fantasy that the poor are to blame for their own struggles.

President Obama recently proclaimed that inequality "drives everything I do in this office." Indeed it may, but in the wrong direction.

FORUM HOSTS, PLEASE NOTE: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Paul Buchheit is a college teacher, an active member of US Uncut Chicago, founder and developer of social justice and educational websites (UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org, RappingHistory.org), and the editor and main author of "American Wars: Illusions and Realities" (Clarity Press). He can be reached at paul@UsAgainstGreed.org.

Original Article: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/30-0



That was a couple of years ago. I bet you donuts to attack helicopters that the latest data makes the point even clearer.

kstewart33

(6,551 posts)
10. Hard to believe, but true.
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 05:59 PM
Mar 2016

The anger was much greater and more widespread during the recession. Hiring and wages are on the rise. Not so much to complain about.

Lucinda

(31,170 posts)
12. I see problems that need fixing, and issues that make me angry, but yep... I'm not in need
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 06:19 PM
Mar 2016

of a revolution here.

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