Your opinions .... HOW did we go from President Obama to Donald Rump ???

[Trueblue1968]

CALL TO ACTIVISM@CalltoActivism

As long as I live, I will never understand how we went from Barack Obama to Donald Trump.







Never in my long life did i think we would have a woman hating, racist pig of a crook as president.
3 time married, cheating on wives, sexually assaulting women. what a pig he is !!

[Trueblue1968]

1. sorry everyone -- can't figure out how to do the picture.

[MichMan]

2. Only once in my lifetime has one party won three successive presidential elections

[Meadowoak]

9. FDR won 4 times, Reagan, Reagan, Bush, yep you're right.

FDR wasn't in my lifetime either

[rsdsharp]

17. It would be FDR, FDR, FDR, FDR, Truman.

So that was 5 in a row, but it was all before my time, too.

[Meadowoak]

20. I stand corrected, thank you.

[claudette]

3. Revenge

racism. IMHO

[liberal N proud]

4. Hate!

The Florida idiot ran on hate, and the ignorant love to hate.

[J_William_Ryan]

5. The Founders' unwarranted fear of the people

which manifested as the mistake that is the Electoral College.

The fear, ignorance, and stupidity of the voters.

An inherently misogynistic society hostile to a female president.

[Freddie]

6. Yes, the Electoral College

TFG was NOT the “will of the people”.

[Justice matters.]

19. Yet, she won over three million votes but "lost"

because, grand electors don't reflect the real will of the people.

In any "other" democratic nation, she would have won the Presidency.

[RockRaven]

7. Backlash from loud, high-motivation bigots for electing a black guy...

It's pretty straightforward and a direct causal connection.

[mopinko]

13. backlash is correct.

both to obama, and to clinton.

[Mr.Bill]

23. Exactly what I was going to post.

I will never let the possibility of a backlash keep me from voting for who I think is best, but just imagine the backlash if Kamala Harris is ever President. You ain't seen nuthin' yet.

[Sky Jewels]

8. Millions of white people wouldn't stand for a reminder that they weren't masters of the "lessers."

That's it in a nutshell. I hope it was the dying angry roar of a dinosaur about to start its conversion into petroleum.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. The answer was and still is racism.

[Polybius]

11. Because Obama could not legally seek a third term

I know 80% support the 22nd Amendment, but they are wrong. It has only hurt Democrats. Bill Clinton would have won in 2000 easily if he were allowed to run.

[FalloutShelter]

12. Russians.

[SledDriver]

14. Obama broke their minds

A black man elected president, twice, who was popular, intelligent, mature, successful, cultured, professional.
It destroyed their mythology of white supremacy and broke their minds.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. That's My Guess

Popular, successful black guy respected on the world stage.
We can't have that, now can we? So, we got "something different".
Sometimes different can be change for changes sake, and results in disaster.
This was one of those times.

[A HERETIC I AM]

45. Absolutely spot on correct.

Millions of Americans lost their shit when Mr Obama got elected and they lost it again, this time even worse, when he got reelected by a wide margin.

American politics are like a pendulum, and electing Barack Obama pushed that pendulum WAY to one side (even though he was pretty much a centrist) and when the other side got their chance, they SHOVED as hard as they could the other way.

But alas, Trumpy only got in by the hair on his chinny chin chin and after 4 years people were so sick of him they came out of the woodwork to vote against him.

[lindysalsagal]

15. 1. Wrong gitv. 2. Correct got.

Some say black women showing up makes all the difference. Maybe youth vote, soccer moms.

[maxrandb]

18. How we ended up with Donnie Dipshit

President Obama didn't fix all of America's problems within a week of taking office, and even had the gall to not deliver ponies as demanded.

We decided that the way to make America "more progressive" was to sit out the 2010 Mid-term election (A CENSUS YEAR), and allow unhinged racists with tri-corner hats and Medicare provided "My Scooters"...screaming like banshees for 14 months about getting "gubmint out of my Medicare", to take over 65% of all State Legislatures and Governorships, as well as a majority of the Federal Government House and Senate.

Then, we sat back as a racist fucking orange circus clown spent the next 14 months demanding to see the first African American President's Birth Certificate. We never showed up to protest at the studios of ...NOT ONE SINGLE one of the 1,500 Hate Radio stations, (MANY BASED ENTIRELY WITHIN THE CONFINE OF 80-20 BLUE TO RED CITIES), who spewed racist birther shit 24/7.

Then, it became perfectly normal for CBS, NBC, ABC, the NY Times, the WA Post, and of course Faux News to present the entire racist birther shit as nothing more than a "he said-she said" issue.

Then we gleefully watched "Game of Thrones" and wondered how people could allow such a fucked up...but totally entertaining...leadership structure take hold in Westoros.

Then we got busy with our kids and our lives as our newly empowered T-baggers drew state and federal congressional districts that looked like a sheep fucking a housecat...we expressed a little bit of concern when all of these "snake swallowing a shriveled penis" districts ensured our new overlords could win 45% of a states voters, while getting 86% of its representation...coincidental, of course.

Then we nominated a fantastic candidate, and one that was probably the most qualified ever to serve as President, but all anyone wanted to talk about was some "scandal" about some "email" bullshit...except for some of "us"...who preferred talking about how "our wonderful, started from nothing and worked her ass off to get where she was, truly historic candidate, was just EXACTLY THE SAME as an orange colored, racist freak-show, carnival barking, used-car-powered-by-snake-oil selling, serial unwanted pussy-grabbing moron".

Then, just to ensure we went completely through the Looking Glass and were using the broken shards to slit our wrists, we enabled the party of the "orange colored, racist freak-show, carnival barking, used car, snake oil selling, serial unwanted pussy-grabbing moron", to be the only check on his power.

There's something in there about some Russians doing some shit, but truly...THIS SHIT SHOW IS ALL OURS.

and that's "How we ended up in this Donnie Dipshit"

Going forward for at least the next 20 years, the next election is going to be the most important and critical of our lifetimes.

The War for Democracy has only just begun.

[kimbutgar]

25. +1

[Sky Jewels]

35. Even if Obama had solved every problem by February 2009, the right still would have hated him.

He had the nerve to bring the issue of race back into things because he has more melanin in his skin than they do. It's all his fault! He was divisive!

/s

[snowybirdie]

21. A lot of folks

really really hated the black guy in the White House and rtump stirred up that stupid hatred.

[Mysterian]

22. The electoral college

An archaic and undemocratic relic of our founding, installed in the constitution to protect wealthy landowners.

[kimbutgar]

24. It was the ginned up anger by white people that a black man was elected President twice

TFG and the right wing media churned up the long buried racism to a higher level. People who never would use the N word out loud were given permission by Orange maggot to use it and be bigoted.

Plus the orange menace watched fox enough to talk like he wasn’t the rich? Snob he is. He appealed to the lowest common denominator type of person.

[Baltimike]

26. Russia. That's how. Cambridge Analytica. That's how.

Facebook accepting influence payments in rubles. That's how. James Comey violating the Hatch Act. That's how.

[WarGamer]

27. Most experts cite white working class backlash to perceived economic inequality...

Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2023, 08:15 PM - Edit history (1)

Sprinkled with racism, classism and bigotry...

[Boomerproud]

36. Not sprinkled-layered on thick.

This isn't a disagreement with your point'-you are correct.

[303squadron]

28. In 2009 a friend of mine predicted Trump, or someone like him

Using Hegelian Logic my friend said that there would be an opposite backlash to the election of Barack Obama and that the backlash would mimic the fascist approach in the belief of the superiority of the white race. There is always that portion of the electorate that, once they've identified the untermensch, will proceed to believe they are superior and that "those" people are lesser humans. All you needed was a demagogue to push their fear buttons.

[Hekate]

29. While I knew racism was not "over," I was unprepared for the sheer viciousness of the backlash...

I was unprepared for how very quickly fascism could proceed. I really did think we as a nation, for all our manifest flaws, would not go there, because the federal government was staffed by Civil Service employees who — believed in government.

But Dick Cheney left moles, and Trump hollowed out whole departments, as described by Rachel Maddow night after night — and when it came time to overthrow the government, Trump had an astonishing amount of help from inside, and an equally astonishing amount of help from Congress.

There is a class of people who profit immensely from every illiberal, non-democratic facet of America’s laws and “norms.” They believe, with good reason, that they are exempt from the rules that constrain most of the rest of us — even things like climate change. They are happy to take advantage of US laws and America’s clout in the world, but in their transactional lives, they feel no obligation in the other direction. They owe America nothing, not their sons as soldiers and certainly not taxes. They are very small in number, but unbelievably powerful.

Then there is the class of people that get used — large in number but so thoroughly brainwashed that they think people like Trump, McConnell, and McCarthy are actually on their side. They liked Trump’s bloviating vulgarity because he said things they wanted to say, and the way they wanted to say. They still identify with the bully who gave them permission to be bullies, always punching down, just as he did.

That’s how we got here, I think — I am not sure how we get out, short of being forced to pull together in WWIII. I wonder if America needs a common enemy outside to keep us from destroying ourselves from inside.

No answers, really, just what I’ve deduced in the last quarter-century. Tried to deduce.

[brooklynite]

32. Racism is an easy but inadequate answer...

In the United States, Obama–Trump voters, sometimes referred to as Trump Democrats or Obama Republicans, are people who voted for Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama in the 2008 or 2012 presidential elections (or both), but later voted for Republican Party nominee Donald Trump in 2016 or 2020 (or both). Data shows that in 2016, these voters comprised roughly 13% of Trump voters. In 2012, this segment of voters made up 9% of total Obama voters.[1] Seven percent of 2012 Obama voters did not vote at all in 2016, and 3% voted for a third party candidate.[1] While some analysts consider Obama–Trump voters to have been decisive in Trump's 2016 victory, others have disputed this conclusion.

According to research done by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, compared to other voters, Obama–Trump voters have progressive economic views and conservative social views.[2] Though these voters supported Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, they are less supportive of Republicans as a whole, and show a desire to change the status quo.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama–Trump_voters

[W_HAMILTON]

30. A lot of ratfucking from both our right and, sadly, our left.

This is a case where the usual """both sides""" bullshit is not bullshit and actually true.

[betsuni]

34. Cheap populism and conspiracy theories were all the rage.

[brooklynite]

31. Answer: There were two unpopular candidates; one had to win.

Set aside how you and I feel about Hilary Clinton. She was not popular outside of the Democratic base (and some of them saw her as too "corporate&quot . And a share of Independent voters felt that their personal issues weren't being addressed and Trump was, at least, an outside the box choice.

[newdayneeded]

44. Agreed

I might get burned here, but I held my nose and voted for Hillary. No way would I sit out an election, but there definitely wasn't any thrill in that vote for me. We could have ran Mickey mouse and I would've for him instead of donny, no question.

[edisdead]

33. I'll take racism fir $500 Alex

[Initech]

37. Fox News and right wing propaganda

Sandy Hook should have been a wake up call that trouble was coming. Fox News and the AM right wing echo chamber have totally rotted over half this country.

[Emile]

38. Thanks to the outdated electoral college.

[newdayneeded]

39. I'm looking but don't see the obvious answer yet.

Two words.....Rush Limbaugh. He trained his listeners to believe Obama was the worst president in history. 3 hours a day, every day!

He was the most dangerous man in America, He is why there is so much hate and division til this day.

Hope you're enjoying cold, pissed soaked bed asshole!

[betsuni]

40. He didn't win by much, wasn't it only by about 400,000 white people votes in swing states?

No surprise that Trump, right-wing hate radio come to life, attracted Republican voters who weren't conservative ideologues in the first place -- loved Trump's cheap populism, anti-immigration, and saying racist hateful things out loud (and how fun to hate and blame everything on the elite establishment status quo THEM). Except the Republican establishment WAS surprised. Steve Bannon's Cambridge Analytica was working on this years before (targeting potential Democratic voters with hateful anti-Democratic propaganda as well so they would hate Democrats too). Trump was the one his audiences were waiting for.

And Trump got more votes in 2020! Democratic presidents only seem to be elected when the economy is terrible (Clinton and Obama) or in an emergency like Trump when more people vote (Biden).

[Raine]

41. It's rare for a party to get more then two consecutive terms

so the odds were in the Republican's favor no matter who they put up IMO. It was Trump that outlasted all his opponents I doubt there'd every been a candidate like him before.

[roamer65]

42. Because of the grossly unfair, unwarranted and misogynistic demonization of Hillary Clinton.

RW scumbags whipped it up into Clinton Derangement Syndrome.

[betsuni]

43. The election was made to be all about one person, Hillary, but a wildly distorted caricature.

Would've been bad enough just dealing with the usual right-wing attacks, but it was from all directions. Nothing to do with policy, the most progressive platform in history or the Supreme Court, all about attacking Hillary's character and erasing reality, demonizing her so it was easy to foam at the mouth with hatred. Hillary's "unpopularity" only started after she ran for president and everyone was told over and over and over how unpopular she was and how horrible (lie lie lie lie).

"Prior to running for president, she had a 66 percent approval rating. She ranked high (and still does) among the most admired women in the world. ... Even one of her speeches -- her famous Beijing 'Women's rights are human rights' speech -- was ranked by American Rhetoric as among the top one hundred American public speeches ever delivered. ... 'I had watched her when she was First Lady of Arkansas,' the late Maya Angelou told The Guardian. 'I thought this white girl would come to Arkansas and play croquet on the lawn and throw tea parties. And she was just the opposite. She worked on public health and education ... even prisons.' ... Important civil rights leaders such as John Lewis described their affection for her as that of a long standing comrade-in-arms.

"Hillary was blamed for every national disaster from racialized incarceration to the deaths of American diplomats during the raid on Benghazi. She was accused of having extraordinary powers that 'enabled' her husband's infidelity, influenced Wall Street through the spell of a few polite remarks in public speeches, and put an entire nation in danger by 'recklessly' handling classified material (that had not, in fact, been marked as classified). Her vote alone, apparently, was responsible for the war in Iraq." -- Susan Bordo

[electric_blue68]

46. My first thots w/o looking@ replies: Racism to Obama, Sexism & "Perfectionism" to Mdme

President Hillary Clinton! 😭😬☹️

[Celerity]

47. to post your twitter generated pic on DU do this

change the url to this (i.e. remove the ? and all after it and replace with .jpg)

so it looks like this:



that yields this:

[Trueblue1968]

49. thanks so much !!

[Kennah]

48. Obama is black so a lotta racists came outta the closet