There are 101 explanations for last week’s election results. And here they are.
1. There’s no such thing as bad publicity
2. Bernie’s supporters stayed home
3. Rustbelt voters lost faith in government
4. Hillary was a bad campaigner
5. Hillary was a flawed candidate
6. Say “Cheese,” overlooked Wisconsin
7. Comey’s October surprise
8. Comey’s November non-surprise
9. Famous people get away with stuff
10. Trump kept his (tax) secrets hidden
11. Hillary had her (speech) secrets exposed
12. No secret is safe when “reply all” is an option
13. Tweets dominated entire news cycles
14. Coattails extended up-ballot for GOP
15. “Shy Bigots” evade pollsters
16. GOP timed ACA price increases to hit in October
17. Strong statements need only strength, not truth
18. Elites always will be outnumbered
19. Huge rallies generated headlines and enthusiasm
20. Policy papers and position statements did not
21. Last Dem to WH without control of Congress: Grover Cleveland (1884)
22. Primary season energized only one party
23. Leaked emails embarrassed only one party
24. Women didn’t see themselves in Hillary
25. Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death”
26. Bill Bishop’s “The Big Sort”
27. Trump’s populism shifted the political axis 90 degrees
28. Trump’s id out-performed Hillary’s superego
29. Hillary didn’t offer an inspiring vision
30. GOP had and used their better farm teams
31. Liberals have returned to cities, where they can be contained
32. Voter suppression efforts worked
33. Micro-targeting voters requires a conventional opponent
34. Americans love their reality TV heroes
35. Americans dislike all politicians, especially good ones
36. Electoral College favors rural states
37. A “strong man” promised governmental efficiency
38. Obama legitimized “strong man” governance
39. Voters took Trump seriously; the media did not
40. Media took Trump literally; the voters did not
41. Trump delivered ratings; media lapped them up
42. Voters equated experience with fame, preferring the latter
43. Voters seldom give one party 12 years in the White House
44. Obama’s “beer summit” started on race but ended on class
45. Talk radio shapes conversations and decision-making best
46. Anthony Weiner reminded voters of the worst Clinton moments
47. Brexit emboldened populism against conventional wisdom
48. Dems are a better minority party than obstructionist GOP
49. Voters were dumb and happy to pick entertainment over education
50. Long lines at voting sites discouraged working stiffs
51. The Clintons hid their best campaigner
52. Trump children seem OK, so maybe we’ll be OK too
53. Losing the Fairness Doctrine hurts only those who value fairness
54. Our leaders have abandoned discussing issues, so we have too
55. Nobody remembers Eisenhower, the last famous non-politician to run
56. J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy”
57. Racial affinity helped the GOP twice — whites came out, blacks stayed home
58. This longest electoral season (64 days) favored the outrageous
59. Facebook kept voters in their bubbles of comfort
60. Male participation in the workforce is at its lowest rate since 1948
61. Fewer workers consider their jobs meaningful or satisfying
62. Dem ground game sent union members to convince envious neighbors
63. Culture warriors marched too quickly for those opposed or ambivalent
64. Demographic trends convinced whites this year would be their last chance
65. Trump’s TV persona seemed like a good fit for the Oval Office
66. Hillary’s private email server looked like Nixonian paranoia
67. Hillary wiping that server amplified that Nixonian paranoia
68. In the candidate’s own words, “What have you got to lose?”
69. Near-unanimous media disgust confirmed Trump’s outsider status
70. Voters don’t like being thrown into baskets or binders
71. And nobody likes to be called deplorable
72. Jon Stewart left too soon
73. Alec Baldwin was a bit too adorable
74. Baseball caps have never been more popular or effective
75. Russia may have helped in ways we don’t (nyet) know
76. The easiest way to vote “not-Trump” was to stay home
77. Fear of terrorism made the “strong man” offer appealing
78. Political correctness loomed larger than incorrectness
79. America requires transformational change every 75 years, so we were due
80. Voters rejected both Bush and Clinton dynasties
81. Pence’s talk radio roots delivered the Midwest
82. “House of Cards” and “Veep” replaced “West Wing”
83. Kaine was a too-safe VP choice, and his Spanish didn’t help
84. Forced to buy health insurance, Millennials were all “Meh”
85. Voters chose the risk of too much change over too little
86. Voters preferred the feckless party over the conniving one
87. Politics, press and punditry finally fused — and then exploded
88. When gas is two bucks a gallon, risks seem less risky
89. Being forced to change light bulbs was OK; doctors, not so much
90. GOP steps in only after Dems have cleaned up their last economic mess
91. One candidate upended both parties and their duopoly
92. “Hope” and “Change” never arrived, so voters picked “Change” — hopefully
93. Psychobabble about narcissism confirmed Midwesterners’ gut instincts
94. Trump just seemed to be enjoying himself more
95. Wanting it worse doesn’t win many votes
96. Nobody we know wears pant suits
97. America likes being chosen more than choosing
98. Fear moves faster than hope, but anger outpaces both
99. The wall offered a tangible solution to an intangible problem
100. Negative campaigns depress voter turnout asymmetrically
101. Chicago Cubs made the impossible seem possible
==
Don Kahle (fridays@dksez.com) writes a column each Friday for The Register-Guard and blogs
Tags: No Comments
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.