'Member Obama in 2008? [View all]

'Member?

He provided the right message to American voters and handily defeated a stronger candidate than Trump.

I pray that we're all saved from Trump! Maybe it will be proven that the election was stolen from Hillary and we can avoid the Trump disaster!

It was still far closer than it should have been! Trump?! I was licking my chops over him winning the GOP nomination a few months ago!

I hope more Democrats in the future will follow Obama's example from 2008 and express scorn for big money donors because I'm convinced that's the best strategy going forward.

Hillary was perceived by too many people as the "establishment" candidate who would cater to big money donors. Jeb Bush went down in flames for the same reason.

Was I dumb enough to believe Trump's campaign rhetoric about fighting the influence of special interest groups in Washington? Of course not! He's clearly a lying, manipulative sociopath who only cares about himself!

Regardless of how I think, I'm willing to recognize that many Americans viewed him more favorably in that regard!

The evidence? HERE! Look at the chart about halfway down the page under the "Views of the candidates on the issues" heading. Trump was losing in that poll over immigration and he was only barely ahead on terrorism concerns. However, he held a whopping 20-point advantage over Clinton on the issue of "reducing special interest influence"!
http://www.people-press.org/2016/07/07/4-top-voting-issues-in-2016-election/

Is that an important issue to Americans? YES!
http://www.sightline.org/2016/10/05/poll-americans-feel-electeds-serve-big-interests-over-people-like-me/

Fully 93 percent of those surveyed believe that their elected officials listen to their big donors, rather than voters like them. Pew Research Center also found that 74 percent of US voters say elected officials “don’t care what people like me think,” and 76 percent think the the government is run by a few big interests.

People should also bear in mind that even the dumbest, least educated Americans understand the power of money. From the time they were small children and told "we can't afford that" to their present day, almost all Americans are exposed to money concerns on a regular basis. White privilege? Misogyny? There's a bunch of voters who will struggle to understand those concepts because they haven't experienced it! Money? That's something they understand!

If you think Democrats need to "simplify" their message to reach more voters, that's a good start! Make big money donors and powerful lobbyists more of a target, and the voters will come! The beauty of it is that there's no need to sacrifice core Democratic values to accomplish it! .