Throughout this election cycle, as I watched the group of yahoos from the Republican party running for president, I hoped for a strong Democratic candidate. With Republicans pinning their hopes on people like Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, it seemed like 2016 would be a cake walk for the Democrats if they could find a great candidate.And now that Donald Trump is the nominee, it seems to me that Democrats should get at least 60% of the vote. Polls showing Trump trailing by fewer than double-digit points seem unbelievable to me. How is Trump and his lamebrain ideas, repulsive personality, moral bankruptcy, and generally abominable human existence even still in this race?He should be getting support approximately equal to Alan Keyes circa 2004.Yet somehow forty-something percent of Americans still think that he’s a good choice for president.Yikes.How does something like this happen? Why aren’t Democrats beating the snot out of this guy?Perhaps Donald Trump is doing so well because of his opponent. Not necessarily because of her political shortcomings, but simply because of her existence.
Much has been made of Hillary Clinton’s comment that half of Trump’s supporters fall into a “basket of delporables.” She admits—rightly so—that she was wrong to say half of his supporters fall into that basket. It’s not that many. I suspect well below half, or even a quarter.But it is a considerable number.And while these deplorables have rallied around Trump, they’ve just as fervently rallied against Clinton.There are reasons to hesitate in supporting Hillary Clinton for president. She seems too close to Wall Street. Too hawkish. Too secretive. I understand why someone would have reservations about her for those reasons.However, many Trump supporters, most of whom probably belong in that basket of deplorables, will direct toward Hillary, their basic, inherent anger at the idea of a woman being in power. And in Trump they’ve found someone who not only won’t discourage their vile rhetoric and hatred, but will feed into it, helping it build to a frenzy that he hopes will carry him to the White House.This attitude toward Clinton has always existed. In 2008, a supporter asked Senator John McCain at one of his campaign events, “How do we beat the bitch?” Instead of objecting to the tone of the question, Senator McCain replied that it was an “excellent question.”But since—like most human beings—Senator McCain has a sense of decency, he didn’t run a campaign that embraced such coarse, ugly, disrespectful campaigning.Luckily for the Deplorables, Trump appears to have no decency. Which leads to:T-shirts for sale outside of some Trump rallies that read, “Trump That Bitch.”Buttons that read: Life’s a Bitch, Don’t Vote for OneAnother button: KFC Hillary Meal Deal: Two Fat Thighs, Two Small Breasts and a Bunch of Left Wings.Another button: Don’t be a Pussy: Vote for Trump 2016Still another: Trump 2016 Finally Someone with BallsT-shirt: Hillary Sucks, But Not Like MonicaThese specifically-targeted, personal attacks are rather unusual. Although, to be fair, the same Deplorables hung on to the idea that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States years after all evidence pointed to the contrary. Which, by the way, was another asinine point-of-view endorsed by Trump.But Hillary has the highest unfavorable ratings of any Democratic candidate in recent history. On average, 52% of white male voters have an unfavorable opinion of her. That’s 20 points higher than President Obama in 2012, and 28 points higher than John Kerry in 2004.Nate Silver recently pointed out that if only men voted, Trump would beat Hillary Clinton by 11 points, according to numerous polling data.So while many of Hillary’s detractors will claim that they won’t vote for her because of Benghazi or e-mails or trade or the Clinton Foundation, their campaign paraphernalia, and the incredible unfavorable numbers imply that there’s more than just policy at work here.Hillary Clinton is the first female nominee for president from a major political party. And that fact alone will disqualify her in the eyes of some. Those people would have opposed Elizabeth Warren, or Barbara Boxer, or Kirsten Gillibrand if they were the Democratic party nominee.Donald Trump, with his well-documented history of disrespecting women, is the perfect candidate to oppose Clinton, or any other female nominee. He’ll add fuel to the fire, giving a voice to the segment of the population threatened by any woman who doesn’t “know her place.”Three weeks from today the rest of us—those who won’t automatically dismiss the candidacy of someone who isn’t a white male—have a chance to send these Deplorables, and their new callous, opportunistic, vile leader, back to the remote corners of their basket, which is right where they belong.Enter your e-mail address below and we'll send new Dry it in the Water posts directly to your inbox!
IF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: The Senate's Shameful Gun VotesPREVIOUS POST: How I Defend Hillary Clinton