2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Three major tactical mistakes by the HRC campaign [View all]The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,669 posts)were regarded by his supporters as features rather than bugs. They liked his authoritarian, racist, misogynistic, hypernationalist approach. For every woman who was appalled by his pussy-grabbing, who knows how many other people found that unimportant (or even likable - a "guy's guy" in contrast with his promises to kick out the Mexicans and the Muslims and bring back manufacturing jobs (which won't happen)? She was preaching to the choir. She should have been out there in those blue-collar areas talking about jobs and other economic issues and there wasn't much of that at all.
Trump won at least in part because he was able to con people. Some people were specifically motivated by racism and other forms of bigotry, to be sure; but a lot were persuaded by his economic "plan" to the point where they didn't care that he was also a bigot and a proto-fascist (which doesn't say much for them, but that's a whole 'nother discussion). I wish Hillary and especially the clueless DNC had been more aware of what the mood really was.