Originally appeared at Washingtonsblog
Here are 5 stunning facts about the 2016 election …
(1) The Clinton Campaign Promoted Trump as a Republican Candidate
Team Clinton promoted Donald Trump as a Republican candidate … because they thought he’d be easy to beat:
(2) Sanders Had a Better Chance of Beating Trump … But the Democratic Establishment Sabotaged Him
Polls showed that Bernie Sanders might well have beaten Trump. Not only did Sanders score much higher in likeability than Clinton, but many moderate voters actually preferred Sanders.
Remember, Sanders (like Trump) created a tremendous amount of excitement, with massive turnout at his rallies. Clinton didn’t.
Clinton lost because Democrats stayed home … because they weren’t excited about her.
But leaked emails show that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) did everything it could to help Clinton and sabotage Sanders. After the leaks, the DNC was forced to issue a formal apology:
On behalf of everyone at the DNC, we want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email.
The Hill notes:
Progressives believe the Democratic establishment is responsible for inflicting Donald Trump upon the nation, blaming a staid corporate wing of the party for nominating Hillary Clinton and ignoring the Working Class voters that propelled Trump to victory.
Liberals interviewed by The Hill want to see establishment Democrats targeted in primaries, and the “Clinton-corporate wing” of the party rooted out for good.
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There is talk among some progressives, like Bill Clinton’s former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, about splitting from the Democratic Party entirely if they don’t get the changes they seek.
“The Democratic Party can no longer be the same, it has been repudiated,” Reich said on a conference call with members from the progressive grassroots group Democracy for America.
“This has been a huge refutation of establishment politics and the political organization has got to be changed…if the Democratic Party can’t do it, we’ll do it through a third party.”
(3) Trump Took the Overwhelming Majority of U.S. Counties
As shown in this map (click on “Results By County”) from the San Francisco Chronicle, Trump won the overwhelming majority of American counties:
Islands of Blue In a Sea of Red
So while Clinton won the popular vote – since the Northeast, California and a couple of other large metropolitan districts went for Clinton – most areas of America did not.
(4) The Numbers Show that Trump Did NOT Win Because of Racism and Sexism
While Clinton supporters frequently assume that Trump supporters are all racists and sexists, the numbers show that this is NOT TRUE.
(5) So Why DID Trump Win?
So why did voters elect Trump?
Because – just like the Brexit voters – they’ve rejected globalism.