Why Did We Lose And How Can We Win?

[CitizenZero]

2. I Agree

On paper, things were great. The platform was strong. Hillary had a bullet-proof resume. Why did we lose? No one reason, you are right, but I think a key reason was about connecting with voters. Trump appealed to people's Ids, their feelings, on a gut level. Hillary was more cerebral, rational. We have learned that being nice and smart and experienced doesn't always work as well as pushing people's buttons.

Michael Moore predicted the Trump win because Moore knew Michigan and places like it. Moore said Trump was speaking directly to white working class voters fears and anger. Many of those people there felt they have been excluded and disenfranchised for years and years by globalization and other similar forces. Trump went in and fed them red meat about getting jobs back, reversing globalist trade agendas like NAFTA, etc. Not to mention the more coded racial slants, that white men are losing control of America.

Anyway, Trump went in and repeatedly hammered the same message back to these people in large crowds and gatherings. He appealed to their Id and their guts. Hillary's team largely stayed out of that arena and relied on polls and analytics that said she would win in Michigan, by five points up until the day of the election. Too cerebral? The team made too many assumptions?

These poll numbers did not pan out. Why? Because if you have to choose between numbers and realities on the ground, go with the reality on the ground. Do not take a single thing for granted in this contest. The stakes are too high. And perhaps that is how we have found ourselves here. Where do we go now?