Americans once again chose an outsider

In my opinion, Donald Trump got as many votes as he did because he is an outsider.

Why are outsiders popular?  American voters don’t like economic decline or stalemate wars.

The earning power of Americans has been in decline for the past 30 to 40 years, while wealth has become ever-more concentrated in the pockets of 1/10th of 1 percent of the population.

Over the same period of time, the United States has become more and more involved in inconclusive foreign wars.

Americans have turned again and again to outsiders who promise to change the system—Jimmy Carter in 1976, Ronald Reagan in 1980, Bill Clinton in 1992 and Barack Obama in 2008.   Donald Trump was the outsider in 2016.

The hunger for outsiders will cease when a President leads the nation on a path to prosperity and peace.  Or when the country has declined to such a state that elections cease to be held or cease to matter.

What others say

The Not-So-Silent White Majority by Thomas Edsall for The New York Times.   The Democrats’ decline began in 1992-1994 when Bill Clinton turned away from white working people, and vice versa.

The God That Failed by Sean Trende for Real Clear Politics.  Democrats counted in demographic changes to save them—a rise in the number of Hispanics, immigrants, college graduates and young people.  This didn’t happen.

The foreclosure vote by Tom Adams, a guest post for mathbabe.  The swing states that turned against Hillary Clinton were where the mortgage foreclosure crisis was worst.  The Obama administration failed to help foreclosure victims.  Bernie Sanders spoke up about this.  Clinton didn’t

How the Democrats Gambled Everything, And Lost by Barbara O’Brien for the Mahablog.   Clinton’s campaign strategy was to lock out other Democratic candidates by winning the “money primary” at an early stage and to set up the extremist and supposedly un-electable Donald Trump as her opponent.

How Donald Trump exploited the rickety foundation of the Obama coalition by Jeff Spross for The Week.   Hillary Clinton couldn’t stand up for the interests of working people and stay in the good graces of her rich donors.   Donald Trump saw the contradiction and exploited it.

The Revenge of the Forgotten Class by Alec McGillis for ProPublica.

The Trump Voter’s Quest for Respect, an interview of Chris Arnade for The Atlantic [Added 11/19/2016]

Tags: Democratic Coalition, Democrats vs. Republicans, Donald Trump, Election 2016, HIllary Clinton, Republicans vs. Democrats