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You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people – now 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks, they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America. [Emphasis added.]
– Hillary Clinton, Sept. 9, 2016
In learning how to do something, it is helpful to know what not to do. Here are some tips on how to lose an election – and even worse, on how to deserve to lose an election:
● Insult your opponent’s supporters by calling them “deplorable” and “irredeemable.” That’s a good way to attract their votes.
● Among the insults include every nasty adjective you can think of. Use the Word thesaurus.
● Imagine yourself one of the “elite,” a sort of secular priest empowered to grant – or refuse – absolution to the irredeemables, the ignorant, unwashed masses.
● View your diplomas from Wellesley College and Yale Law School not merely as diplomas, but as certificates of ordination to a higher order of humanity.
● Squint as you try to look down on ordinary Americans, although they are so far beneath you that you can scarcely see them.
● Be firm in your conviction that your superior education and outstanding abilities enable you to know what is best for the benighted, unenlightened masses.
● Spend most of your adult life protected by trained, armed guards, but work to prevent ordinary citizens from having guns to protect themselves and their families.
● Spend most of your adult life supported by government salaries, but work to enact anti-business regulations that stifle ordinary people’s opportunity to make a living.
● Spend most of your adult life supported by taxpayers’ dollars, but work to raise taxes that reduce the money left for ordinary people to live on.
● Spend most of your adult life dependent on government jobs, but work to bring in millions of immigrants to take jobs from ordinary people.
● Spend most of your adult life in safe government cocoons, but work to bring in tens of thousands of “refugees,” some of whom will probably be terrorists, and more of whom are sure to be criminals.
● Boast about your “reset” with Russia, despite the fact that relations with Russia have deteriorated, and Russian warplanes buzz our aircraft with impunity.
● Boast about your “deal” with Iran, despite the fact that even after hundreds of millions in cash payments, Iran harasses U.S. ships repeatedly.
● Boast about your extensive travels as secretary of state, despite the fact that during them you accumulated hundreds of millions for your “charitable” foundation.
● Boast about your extensive experience in government, despite the fact that you cannot point to one significant accomplishment.
● Boast about your “pro-woman” record, while you rake in millions from backward regimes that oppress women, force them to go around wearing sacks, prevent them from driving or practicing a profession, and mutilate their genitals.
● Boast about your “pro-civil-rights” record, while you rake in millions from backward regimes that do not know the meaning of the term, and would laugh if they did.
● Boast about how when you and Bill left the White House, you were almost broke, and expect voters not to wonder how you acquired a hundred-million-dollar foundation since then.
● Boast about how hard you intend to work for Americans, then maintain strict secrecy about the cause of your “frequent” fainting spells.
● Conduct your dubious business affairs on unsecure e-mails subject to hacking, then expect voters to ignore the likelihood that foreigners could blackmail you into doing whatever they wanted.
● Continue Obama’s policy of deporting jobs but not illegal immigrants, then expect working people to see you as their friend.
● Talk tough when it comes to potential enemies, but work to cut military spending, so you will be unable to back up your mouth.
● Boast about your experience in foreign affairs, but don’t mention how you left our ambassador and three others to die in Benghazi – and then lied about it to the victims’ families.
● Boast about how you will answer the phone when it rings at 3 a.m., but don’t mention that when it actually did ring, you went to bed and let it ring.
● Follow the example of President Obama and expect voters to support your anti-terrorism rhetoric, despite the fact that neither you nor he dares to name the source of that terrorism.
● Express your contempt for ordinary citizens openly and brazenly, and even claim that they are not Americans, but then expect them to support you for being on their side.
If everything were going smoothly, all this might work. If the economy were booming, voters might overlook your anti-jobs programs. If the world were a peaceful place, voters might overlook your anti-military bias. But things are not going smoothly. Good jobs are not easy to find. Uncontrolled immigration is a real problem. Rising urban crime rates are a legitimate concern. Voters are worried about the direction our nation is heading. Four more years of the same do not seem like an appetizing prospect.
The Deplorables may be getting annoyed. The Irredeemables may be getting angry. The insulted and ignored may be getting ready to vote. Stay tuned.
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