We here at Daily Kos inhabit a rarified bubble, a safe haven for Dems that provides us with reinforcement that our worldviews are shared and appreciated. We convince ourselves that our rational, compassionate approach to politics and the social enterprise is universal and universally accepted. We congratulate ourselves on our ability to see and understand the world more perfectly than our benighted opposition. And we patiently explain to the world why.
After the Dem convention in Philly, praise here was indeed universal for the speeches and the positions and policies of all the speakers and presenters. We gloated over the quality of the performances and of the A-listers who attended. We shared stories of the Dems, Republicans and independents, military personnel, Presidents, actors, and children, who all enthusiastically endorsed Hillary. We stomped on the RW reporters and bloggers who lamented that their candidate’s convention didn’t hold a candle to ours.
Then we go out into the actual world, and we hear the other side.
From Twitter, on Bill Clinton’s speech:
Katie Pavlich
@KatiePavlich
Are they seriously trying to turn this into a Bill and Hillary love story? Come on! Really? #DemsinPhilly
7:14 PM - 26 Jul 2016
Eric Bolling
@ericbolling
Forgive me if I don't believe a word of this speech. Not a word... #BubbaPHL.
7:36 PM - 26 Jul 2016
After Frank Luntz commented on Gen. John Allen’s speech:
Frank Luntz
@FrankLuntz
Gen. Allen's speech with stage full of military leaders was unprecedentedly powerful
Dems have blown away Day 4 expectations. #DemsinPhilly
6:34 PM - 28 Jul 2016
Came the following responses:
Andrew
@TheBuss12
@FrankLuntz I'm a veteran, and if you're a vet and support the Dems, you're a disgrace to the uniform. Libs hate the military.
6:36 PM - 28 Jul 2016
Rangers 2016
@RangerDieHard
@FrankLuntz General I live in a military town and I can't find ONE vote for Hillary.
6:36 PM - 28 Jul 2016
Jay Reed
@jayreedUSMC
@RangerDieHard @FrankLuntz I'm DAV and belong to several veteran organizations. It's about 90% in favor of Trump.
6:38 PM - 28 Jul 2016
Then, on Donald Trump:
Heidi Hausmann
@HeidiHausmann1
@NPR I long 4 the day u hv to address @realDonaldTrump as Mr. President Sir! Shame on u for supporting a crook a LIAR and a failure.
10:03 PM - 28 Jul 2016
If any of you spends any time at all on Facebook (I don’t), then you know that RW memes are widespread and impossible to avoid. Rational discourse on any political theme is not possible on FB. Today on Facebook, my wife was hit with this old 2012 voter fraud canard from a RW friend:
Most everyone suspected fraud [in 2012], but these numbers prove it and our government and media refuse to do anything about it.
As each state reported their final election details, the evidence of voter fraud is astounding. Massive voter fraud has been reported in areas of OH and FL, with PA, WI and VA, all are deploying personnel to investigate election results.
Here are just a few examples of what has surfaced with much more to come.
* In 59 voting districts in the Philadelphia region, Obama received 100% of the votes with not even a single vote recorded for Romney. (A mathematical and statistical impossibility).
* In 21 districts in Wood County Ohio, Obama received 100% of the votes where GOP inspectors were illegally removed from their polling locations - and not one single vote was recorded for Romney. (Another statistical impossibility).
* In Wood County Ohio, 106,258 voted in a county with only 98,213 eligible voters.
* In St. Lucie County, FL, there were 175,574 registered eligible voters but 247,713 votes were cast.
* The National SEAL Museum, a polling location in St. Lucie County, FL had a 158% voter turnout.
* Palm Beach County, FL had a 141% voter turnout.
* In Ohio County, Obama won by 108% of the total number of eligible voters.
NOTE: Obama won in every state that did not require a Photo ID and lost in every state that did require a Photo ID in order to vote.
Fortunately, I was able to find the Snopes article (updated 19 May 2015) that debunked EVERY one of these claims, one by one. My wife posted the link, but you can be sure this story will not go away. BTW, the Snopes article is fascinating — after the 2012 election, the Philadelphia Inquirer went out and tried to find a Republican voter in several of those 100% Philadelphia districts, and, you guessed it,
When the Inquirer went looking for Republican voters in some of those divisions, they couldn't find any.
But these messages are out there, and they’re working.
Today I went to fivethirtyeight.com to see what the current poll status is. Frighteningly, I found this:
Who will win the presidency?
Checking on several key swing states:
Who will win Florida?
Hillary Clinton 45.7%
Who will win Nevada?
Who will win North Carolina?
Donald Trump 60.8%
Who will win Ohio?
Even though it is too early to gauge the impact of #DemsinPhilly, and even though there are still 3 months to Election Day, and even though the Dem war chest and infrastructure are healthier than the Repubs, and even though Dem leadership is united behind this candidate while Repub leadership is abandoning their candidate at every turn, THIS IS VERY SCARY.
So, here is my dilemma. If Democratic ideals are so demonstrably superior to Republican claptrap (and favored in public opinion polls), if Democratic leaders have been so clearly better at guiding the American economy and keeping us out of wars, if the contrast between the 2 Presidential candidates is the greatest in my long lifetime, likely ever, then why is this happening? How can we possibly be under water after all that has gone down, and how much trouble would we be in if Hillary were running against an actual competent, sane, coherent, likable person?
Let’s get to work, people. Do not let this happen. Talk to your friends and family. Get everyone registered and engaged. If you can afford it, make a contribution to a candidate in a tight race. Lead by example. And most importantly, come November, GOTV.
Saturday, Jul 30, 2016 · 7:33:51 PM +00:00 · liberaldad2
OK, the first post-convention poll is out, and it’s a doozy. Hillary is up 15, a gain of 10 from the convention. Read about it here.
I intentionally published this diary before the convention bump. I wanted to alert anyone who wasn’t paying attention that there are lots of Trump supporters out there working very hard to elect him, and we need to remain vigilant to stay ahead.
Am I happy about the poll — of course, I’m ecstatic. But my point does not change. We still have to work our butts off between now and Nov to guarantee the result we want.