This whole thread is based on faulty assumptions and wishful thinking.
So because (1) voter turnout was low, (2) Trump did about the same with minorities as Romney, and (3) certain counties that voted for Obama twice went for Trump, that it's really all about the economy? That there are actually voters---not just counties and abstract geographic areas,
but voters----who pulled the lever for Obama twice, but decided to vote for Trump because they had strong opinions about NAFTA? Nope. I'm calling bullshyt.
First of all,
the average Trump voter isn't some poor, downtrodden worker. They are economically okay, even if they live in less affluent parts of the country. Second, even with the very low turnout,
15 percent of voters said it was their first time voting. That's up from 9 percent in 2012. If those were all just young voters, Democrats would have benefited tremendously. But they didn't. Even though turnout was depressed, people who didn't seem to give a shyt about voting decided to vote for Trump.
I'm not trying to be snarky when I say this---don't fall for the bullshyt. The fact that so many of standard Republican voters were able to chuck economic and social issues --- issues that they claimed were near and dear to their hearts for so many elections---means that this election was really about the issues that Trump kept constant and amplified. Those issues were illegal immigration, tough-on-crime law enforcement, and strong national security. I promise you, there is no mythical "Obama-Trump" voter.
And yes, 59 million people CAN be racist. No, they're not all Klansmen, but they have racist assumptions about why illegal immigration is bad and why Black Lives Matter needs to be stopped. Those were their primary motivations to vote. Without the white nationalist element, those same voters would not have found the more progressive elements of Trump's platform appealing.
For years, when conservatives hailed the glory of the free market economy and were asked why Nordic countries were so successful, their response was "Well...those countries have a
different 'culture.' " THIS is the kind of person who voted for Trump---a person who thinks that more socialism is only worth it if the "wrong" kind of people aren't getting the benefits of it. And if they are, then those same voters will go back to "government is too big, cut taxes, starve the beast, no more welfare queens."
Racism was not a distinct and separate part of Trump's economic plan. It was an indispensable element.
