Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
Let the post mortems begin. Rest assured.
There will be countless college courses offered and endless books written analyzing the results from the 2016 presidential election.
One day removed from Donald Trump’s stunning, and most improbable victory, please allow me to offer some initial thoughts as to what went awry for Hillary Clinton.
Point 1: Bernie Sanders stayed in Democratic primary race too long
As we all know; Senator Bernie Sanders ran a highly successful and enthusiastic campaign that drew millions of millennials to its ranks.
Moreover, he made a very compelling case that Hillary Clinton was too closely connected to Wall Street and the top 1 percent that has amassed a staggering amount of personal wealth, while the incomes for working-class families has declined dramatically.
Point 2: Hillary Clinton is a flawed candidate
The very fact that Hillary has been around for more than 30 years in the public’s eye means that she had an extensive paper trail to overcome.
Donald Trump exploited this fact by alleging the Clintons epitomize the Washington dysfunction and his campaign was the real agent for change.
Not to mention the view that she has been involved, or somehow linked, to any number of high profile controversies over the years: Whitewater, Benghazi attack, Monica Lewinsky, the Clinton Foundation and now her private email server – to cite just a few.
Point 3: Adverse impact of FBI Director’s Letter
Make no mistake about it, James Comey’s decision to thrust the F.B.I into the midst of a presidential campaign, a mere 11 days before the general election, did have a serious impact.
Prior to Comey’s letter being sent to Congress, Hillary’s campaign was surging and it was then thought that she might defeat her opponent handily.
True enough, Comey did announce last weekend that Clinton had been cleared on the latest batch of emails, but the damage to her campaign had already been done.
Point 4: Millennial Disaffection
In all honesty, millennials never warmed up to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, especially after reports surfaced that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was working on her behalf behind the scenes.
Not to mention the fact that Hillary had many super delegates committed to her prior to the start of the primary contests.
This rubbed many young voters the wrong way and gave the perception that the Democratic primary was “rigged” against their candidate Bernie Sanders.
Point 5: Democrats Vaunted Ground Game
Ever since her stinging primary defeat to Barack Obama in 2008, Hillary had gone to painstaking lengths to assemble the ultimate ground game for her next attempt at the White House.
Unfortunately, her vaunted ground game didn’t deliver when it matters. It has been estimated that approximately 7 million fewer African Americans voted in this election than in the 2012 election. This was a core component of her Democratic base and clearly made a big difference.
Donald Trump is now the president-elect of this great nation, which is a frightening proposition to consider.
During his run for the White House, Trump vilified a countless number of American citizens. He ran on the theme of “Making America Great Again,” but for who?
Clearly not for the millions of Americans who he has cast a disparaging and xenophobic eye toward.