A Clinton Presidency Is Far From Certain...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

With polls showing Trump and Clinton neck and neck in three key swing states (Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) the possibility of Trump being a viable threat to HRC and the possibility of him actually winning the presidency must be taken seriously. Trump is, if nothing else, a master marketer and he excels at marketing himself. He does so exceedingly well and always has.

Convincing Americans who have essentially been shut out both politically and economically over the past 30 years, and therefore are considering taking a shot at a Trump presidency, that Trump is a grave mistake isn't going to be easy. The democratic establishment, of which HRC is a long time member, ought to send their elitist strategists into the trenches of America where real Americans are still hurting.

Democrats have talked long and hard about supporting the working poor and the middle class, with little actual real results. As we all know the working poor and middle class have been hit the hardest economically. Even during the previous seven years. So, the real challenge is for the democratic party, and HRC, to lay an agenda that is honest, believable, realistic, and then sell it to the people that may be deciding to hold their noses and vote Trump.

The following is merely a snapshot of a particular segment of the electorate, but, it is certainly worth listen to. Then actually doing something real to address the very real concerns of those teetering between HRC and Trump.

The focus groups were conducted in a range of presidential swing states, and targeted mostly suburban women, but also blue collar women. The findings were described to me by the senior Dem strategist on the condition that he and his affiliation remain anonymous.

The key finding from the focus groups, this Dem strategist told me, is that they revealed a divide in terms of how swing voters currently view Trump when it comes to temperament on the one hand, and policy on the other.

“Focus groups right now show voters are willing to believe that Trump is risky and divisive, but not yet ready to believe that Trump would cut taxes on the rich,” the strategist told me.

“They aren’t ready to think policy as it relates to Trump yet,” the strategist continued. “It’s all wrapped in the politics of personality right now. His policy ideas aren’t defined to them yet — other than the bombastic ones, like building a wall.” That’s a reference to Trump’s promise of a Great Trumpian Wall on the southern border.

SKIP

The question is what swing voters will believe, and these focus groups suggest a good deal of uncertainty among swing voters about where Trump actually stands on the economy, this Dem strategist tells me.

This mirrors what happened in 2012 with Mitt Romney. Early in that campaign, Dem focus groups revealed that voters weren’t prepared to believe that Romney actually would do what his economic agenda called for...

But this time around, Trump poses a different challenge than Romney did. Whereas Romney was a venture capitalist with an aloof, plutocratic manner who really did fervently support the Paul Ryan makers-versus-takers ideological vision of deep cuts to the safety net, Trump is posing as a kind of Man In The Street’s Billionaire. He brashly boasts about his wealth, openly brags that he has worked the elites’ scam from the inside and is thus the guy best positioned to break up their party, promises to make you and all of America filthy rich along with himself, and doesn’t parrot Republican nostrums about the magic of supply side economics or the need to “reform” entitlements. He rhetorically vows to target hedge funders and people like himself with higher taxes (though as we’ve seen, this is a total scam).

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