Kurt Eichenwald - The Myths Democrats Swallowed That Cost Them the Presidential Election

[Jim Lane]

140. We know a lot more now than we did when he wrote this.

He writes that "there is no telling how many disaffected Sanders voters cast their ballot for Trump."

Well, since then, polling has been done. We know that Sanders voters, however disaffected they were, voted for Clinton in the general at a higher rate than Clinton's 2008 voters went on to vote for Obama in the general.

More than 60 million people voted for Trump. About 100 million who were eligible didn't vote at all. The obsession with the 1 million who voted for Stein is disproportionate. Those other blocs deserve much more of the attention. They deserve the blame for 2016, if you insist on recriminations, but what's important is that they deserve more of the strategizing for 2020.

Before I attract vitriolic responses, let me make clear that I voted for Clinton, and I have no problem with people trying to persuade Stein voters to repent in 2020 (as long as the persuasion takes forms other than a punch in the face, or even an expression of a desire to do so). But here's my bias: I'm a Democrat who cares less about venting my self-righteousness and more about finding enough votes to win. Those scores of millions of people who didn't vote for Clinton or for Stein aren't all gettable, but a lot of them are, and they shouldn't be overlooked in favor of yet another round of denouncing Stein.

And, of course, throwing mud at Bernie Sanders and his 13 million voters may make some people feel better, but it's a terrible strategy for a 2020 win.