This is a classic case of disruption…
And until the Democrats recognize this and change their strategy, they’re doomed.
Talking about the popular vote is no different than record labels saying customers preferred CDs in the era of Napster. Donald Trump won with a new playbook appealing to a broad swath of the public, and until the left wing wakes up and adjusts its plan it will not succeed.
Then there are those who think it’s the same as it ever was.
That shenanigans were employed and all the markers pointing to a sea change don’t apply, because politics never changes. Wrong.
First we had Brexit, then we had Trump. Now people are laughing at the World Economic Forum. The elites lost control and now they keep circling the wagons while telling us they’re right and one would laugh if it weren’t so scary.
Clayton Christensen tells us to beware of servicing the same old audience.
The Democrats decided to appeal to Wall Street and Silicon Valley and took for granted that minorities would vote for them, believing the disadvantaged had no other choice.
Christensen also says the disruptor is laughable at first, inadequate, but it keeps getting better until it triumphs. Donald Trump is laughable, and he continues to be, but he appealed to people who felt they were not being listened to and they voted him into office.
Who were these people?
The left-behinds. The ones who used to have high-paying blue collar jobs, the ones who used to be in unions. And you can say a vote for Trump is worse for them, but they were ready to upend the table to get attention, because no one was listening to them.
And the response from the left wing elite?
They’re idiots!
The left wing cannot stop denigrating the Trump voter, at the same time blaming it all on someone else.
All those stories about the advantaged voting for Trump…
The Donald won because of Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, where jobs are scarce and there’s economic depression – not that this was unknown – for years touring acts have avoided the Ohio Valley, because people don’t have enough money. They just went where the bucks were.
The left wing went where the bucks were.
But they ran the wrong candidate.
The establishment is always blindsided.
Blame Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Blame the entire Democratic Party apparatus.
They couldn’t see the disaffection with Hillary; they couldn’t see the Bernie Sanders groundswell. People wanted anybody but her and they didn’t want Joe Biden, They wanted an outsider.
To this date the Dems can’t admit they’ve lost touch with their base.
Once again, the disruptor is imperfect at the advent. Bernie was too old and a socialist although…that didn’t stop him from almost getting the nomination.
And then Trump kept rolling over his competitors. How come no Democrat got scared? Why did they think this could never happen to them?
And in the general election, the Democrats played by the old rules. It was all about the ground game, which Trump didn’t have. You play civilly, while Trump is bloviating everywhere. It didn’t work, now what?
The news…
You can print the truth in the New York Times all day long and it won’t make a difference.
It’s not that people didn’t know about Trump’s faux pas, they didn’t care!
The right wing has decimated the reputation of the Times, however unfairly. But to think it can be resuscitated…
The move to make MSNBC a left wing outlet, to compete with Fox, was a masterstroke.
The only problem is television does not control the debate. The Internet has been here for decades, and the left wing, although it features numerous blogs, has been left behind.
Did you read any of Hillary’s tweets? Spoken like a robot from Westworld, only with less personality. Everybody’s addicted to their phones and the left is oblivious.
The Donald knew it was all about immediacy. With his Twitter account. Direct access to millions. And what do the Democrats do? Laugh and complain!
Trump’s on to something here folks.
Where is the left wing Twitter account everybody’s talking about? It doesn’t exist.
The Democrats are like a rock band in the age of hip-hop. Remember Geffen Records? Toast of the town and then death when it wasn’t in black music.
And the left is just waiting for the musicians to wake up. But Trump knows they never will, that they don’t matter – that they’re business people with less acumen than he has. Today’s artists color inside the lines while he’s all over the place. Kinda like Van Halen with the brown M&M’s. You want a story that can spread, even if the truth is contrary to what the public believes.
And Trump knows it’s about star power.
Anybody in the music business will tell you it’s less about talent than star power. But the Democrats ran Hillary Clinton because it was her turn? That’s like trying to get Donnie Wahlberg to No. 1 today – it just can’t happen.
Times change.
So how did the music industry reverse its fortunes?
First of all, it denied there was a problem for a decade; then it blamed piracy on its audience, unaware of the perspective of consumers.
Consumers were sick and tired of overpaying for one good track on a CD.
When they got an alternative, they employed it.
But the fat cats in the industry thought they were entitled to the CD paradigm forever.
They didn’t even use Napster; they didn’t understand its advantages.
The left wing refuses to walk in the Trump voter’s shoes.
All the Democrats can do is cross their arms and say Trump voters are idiots – not understanding that they’re worried about their jobs and sick and tired of the left wing playing to special interests that don’t include them.
And this applies to all of Washington. The average person thinks the government is both corrupt and ineffective. That’s why they went for an outsider, why Trump overran all his competition. Where is the outsider on the left?
Well, there’s kinda one, Elizabeth Warren – who is not afraid to bark back and takes no prisoners . Yet just like the Republicans, the Democrats are scared of her and do not rally around her. They let her stand on her own.
And she’s 67. Who is next?
Steve Jobs got the music industry to take a risk, with the iTunes Store.
No one is making the Democrats take a risk; they continue to live in an echo chamber.
And then came Daniel Ek and Spotify. Illustrating that disruption always comes from the outside.
The young Democratic voter demonstrated this, by supporting Bernie, but he was ignored. But he will rise again. In a party that does not want to hear his message.
And, of course, it could be a she too. But there you go again, Democrats. So busy playing by rules most don’t care about that you’re marginalized.
Human rights are important. As are gender rights. Everybody should be protected. But if this is your main message, you’re screwed.
Everybody was lining up with hosannas that we would finally have a woman President. Sometime, we will, but Hillary was a bad candidate. The public had no problem electing a black man; it’s the person, not the color or the gender. But it’s easier to blame it on sex than look at the real issues.
The Democrats are a rearguard party that have lost touch with their principles.
They used to be for the working man, the downtrodden, their goal was to lift everybody up. Now they’ve left these same people behind, and they turned on them.
This is not about fake news. This is not about the Russians.
Why the left refuses to look at itself, I do not know.
Instead of reading the New York Times they should be studying business, the aforementioned Clayton Christensen. Then again, the New Yorker famously printed an article saying disruption does not exist.
Hogwash.
The truth is the rich have gotten richer and jobs are disappearing and it’s only getting worse. And the disaffected are not looking for platitudes, but solutions. And the left wing is proffering few.
Yes, Obama passed health care. Yes, if it disappears it will be to the detriment of millions.
But the person working for a living just can’t make it here anymore. Kinda like that James McMurtry song, wherein he catalogued the travails of the working class. Once upon a time that was a left wing number, but now “We Can’t Make It Here” is the story of the right. How they’re working at Wal-Mart without any upward mobility. Meanwhile, the elite Democrats are laughing at them.
But the people who elected Trump do not see him as an elite.
They know he’s flawed, but they’re counting on him to make changes.
Look at the voters, not the man they put in office.
And know that there’s nothing wrong with protests. Stand up for your rights, but you’ve got to admit you played it wrong and start over employing today’s tools, getting ahead of the populace.
But the Democrats refuse to do this.
“(Trump) appealed to people who felt they were not being listened to and they voted him into office.”
– harley voted for Trump? Who’d a thunk it!
🙂
Three things, Lefty:
1. Really good/insightful read.
2. The Dems nominated the worst possible candidate they could because they felt obligated. Bernie (despite being so far left he walks in circles) would have won because there wasn’t the level of hate for him that so many people have for all things Clinton.
3. People (Trumpeters) who vote against their own best interests to “get attention” truly are idiots.
” People (Trumpeters) who vote against their own best interests to “get attention” truly are idiots.’
Jim,
Please expand upon this. Identify these people for me.
It was Lefty’s claim that many of the people that voted for Trump did so against their best interests so they could “get attention”. My comment was regarding ANYONE who votes against their own best interest is an idiot. This isn’t unique to Republicans. Millions of people identify with one party or the other regardless of that party’s policies and how those policies might impact THEM.
Got it. Thanks Jim!
I think the disconnect, if you will, is that Lefsetz is stating that in his opinion they voted against their best interest.
Good chance many of those people would disagree with that statement.
Maybe the people who vote for Trump and other Republicans but then don’t want their Medicare taken away or those in Louisiana who vote for people who will gut oil and gas regulations and then have the balls to complain about smelly, toxic sinkholes. In the vernacular of today, those snowflakes need to shut the fu*k up, grow a pair and let what they voted for but didn’t really think about happen.
They not only call them “idiots”, they call them much worse. They call them the same thing they called Trump. Racist. Xenophobe. Sexist. On and on. Bob is dead on with much of his article, but I do disagree with his sentiment that the right has trashed the New York Times’ reputation unfairly. Even the NYT itself admitted it openly campaigned for Hillary and shirked it’s duties as a news outlet. They had a candidate they wanted to win and they searched for ways to assist her. Whether that be incessantly bashing Trump, or writing Hillary puff pieces.
Also, until the Democrats shift away from “identity politics” they’ll never recapture their base. They like to split everyone into groups and get them to vote monolithically (is that a word?) by that group. They convince each group that they will be pass laws to right all the wrongs that have been done to them by society over the years. (Read: White Men). The problem is, those folks didn’t see any change at all and things in some ways got worse for them.
I’m with Guy!
I’d also submit that the Dems/liberals/leftist constant pandering to the Hollywood stars and entertainment industry in general, only further served to alienate their base. While Hillary was onstage with Jay-Z and Beyonce, people in the hills of western PA that have no jobs were watching this going… “This bitch has no idea what I’m going through. All she cares about is rubbing elbows with celebrities. Piss on her.”
Jesus Hearne, your blog has now, officially acquired the status of “B Roll” in the next Nick Cage movie.
WTF?
Lefsetz’s musically myopic metaphors are fu*kin unbearable.
You have checked out.
That lack of communication with your would be writers leaves you and this blog languishing in a liberal lacuna, waiting for the next politically correct Progressive proffering from a good “Buddy”.
Call me on the fuc*in phone if you want to talk.
Fuc*in BRUTAL.
Happy to oblige!
I think the working class that the dems USED to represent are a wee bit torqued off at all the attention the dems pay to illegal aliens and Syrian refugees.
They totally forgot who they used represent.
“The United States appear to be destined by Providence to plague America with misery in the name of liberty” Simon Bolivar
The topic of people who vote “against their own interests” is a not an easy one to address. It is both simplistic and unfair to say that a person who votes against their own interests is an idiot. They might be but a closer look is warranted. Also agree with Jim’s opinion above that both parties can lay claim to voters that vote against their own interests. Neither party can say they are home to the entire spectrum of what is in the best interest of ANY voter. I’m an example of a Democrat who votes against his own best interest in that Republican tax policy would be significantly better for my financial situation. I also work in the private insurance industry but favor a single payer health policy for our country. My co-workers probably view me as an idiot for favoring a system that would threaten their, and my own, livelihood but my personal view is that a single payer plan would be better for the entire country. The fact that this would negatively affect me financially is less important to me. I’m sure in the eyes of many, I’m an idiot.
As long as a voter is educated in terms of looking at every issue and then making a judgement on who they will vote for based on how that candidate (s) would act on those issues and the impact it would have on their own lives and the lives of citizens across the entire country then I respect that vote even though I may disagree vehemently with it. I have a number of friends and acquaintances who have Medicare and draw Social Security but are against what they call “Government Entitlements”. They vote for Republicans with the full knowledge that they may end up losing income or health care as a result of this. It is a principled stand that I do have a measure of respect for. On the other hand, I saw an interview a few weeks ago with the wife of a coal worker in western Pennsylvania. He is out of work and has serious medical issues as a result of his profession. He is also covered currently under the ACA (ObamaCare). She was asked why she voted for Trump and her response was that he said he was going to bring back jobs for coal workers. When the follow-up question addressed what would happen to her family if the ACA was repealed causing her husband to lose health coverage, she paused for a long period and then said she hadn’t thought about that, admitting that the loss of health coverage would be far worse for the family than would the lack of a coal mining job for her husband. I think that calling this woman an idiot is a bit strong but prioritizing her issues and researching both candidates would have served her family better. There are voters like this on both sides of the aisle.
No one voters opinion should have greater or less weight than the next voter. My opinion carries no more or less value than Meryl Streep’s or Ted Nugent’s. I do believe, however that voting is a solemn responsibility and merits serious internal scrutiny. If your candidate wins, you probably shouldn’t be surprised with the result of their actions.
Stomper, what in the HELL are you doing making an intelligent, reasoned argument on website?! Something a tad more bombastic next time, I hope. (Sarcasm font intended)
Perhaps calling someone an idiot is bit of a harsh characterization. Agreed. However, I do know a number of “single issue” voters that use this or that concern over one issue as the only litmus test for choosing a candidate. They could be in lock-step agreement with every single position a candidate holds, but wouldn’t vote for them because they disagree with their position on abortion or same-sex marriage or climate change, etc. As if any of those issues are the driving force is anyone’s family in regards to economic stability, prosperity or one’s overall health and safety.
I won’t say they’re idiots. I’ll say they’re silly.
No Stomper, you’re whats known as a true partriot.
I admire that.
Why thank you both to Jim and Lib.
I feel like I can leave work early today ! 🙂
What’s the Matter with Kansas?
nothing that a giant sinkhole would fix. (small asteroid okay too if it also takes out Nebraska.)
errr…. “couldn’t fix…”
I knew it looked funny…
I reject the author’s explanation of the recent presidential loss in the past election. The Democrats picked up a few seats in both the House and Senate so it wasn’t a total loss. Having said that, the pendulum swings back and forth between Democratic and Republican control of government. The Democrats know what they’re doing … so do the Republicans. For people who didn’t care for the outcome, just wait. It’ll be different next time. Which party will win next time? It’s like the cross between and an elephant and a rhino: Eliphino