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Hillary Delivers Self-Inflicted Wound with “Deplorables” Comment
de·plor·a·ble (adj.) Deserving strong condemnation. [Synonyms: disgraceful, dishonorable, shameful, unworthy, inexcusable, unpardonable, inexcusable]
According to a CNN report:
Hillary Clinton told an audience of donors Friday night that half of Donald Trump’s supporters fall into “the basket of deplorables,” meaning people who are racist, sexist, homophobic or xenophobic…To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables,” Clinton said. “Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.”
Many observers believe that Mitt Romney’s off-hand remark that the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income taxes will be automatic Obama votes cost him the 2012 election. Clinton’s intemperate comment insults the 40 percent of Americans who, through their support of Trump, could be in the half that fall in Clinton’s “deplorable basket.”
The #neverclintons, #smelltesterstforTrump, #wontvoteforaliar, and varied other unenthusiasts for Trump will not like being labeled among Hillary’s five categories of disgraceful, dishonorable, shameful, unworthy, and inexcusable. If they were in doubt, their vote is now secure.
To label 60 million Trump supporters as potential racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes. Islamophobes and whatever new “phobes” Clinton can come up with represents one of the greatest gaffes of American electoral history. It was supposed to be Trump to commit such an error, not the super-experienced Hillary.
The mainstream media will do its best to sweep Clinton’s “deplorables” comment under the rug, but the blogosphere is on it. I doubt there will be a mention in the NYT or WP, but the Trump team has already begun to tweet with a vengeance. Drudge has already featured “Hillary attacks the voters,” and the original story of Hillary’s private remarks before donors was released by CNN, scarcely a bastion of right-wing conspiracy.
My proposal for a new bumper sticker: “Deplorable and Proud of It.”
Published in General
DPI, has a ring to it.
Sadly Paul this isn’t a gaffe but an effective tactic.
Democrats racialize and sexualize every angle to make voting R into a cultural crime.
It’s classic Clinton.
And this year, when half of Trump’s potential voters are queasy and sheepish about his brutish behavior it is likely to be very effective.
You can almost hear Bill repeating the duke’s line:
There. If that line don’t fetch them I don’t know Arkansas.
My thought was not the 47% but the “binders of women,” a totally innocuous phrase that the media blew all out of context.
“Basket of deplorables” is the real thing.
I disagree. There’s already an enthusiasm gap in favor of Trump. This will make it even greater as people line up to vote against Clinton.
Where can I get my “Deplorable” t-shirt?
D-plorable.
Lead story on our newspaper’s website; fourth most read story.
https://www.amazon.com/Member-Deplorables–Funny-T-Shirt-Asphalt/dp/B01LWDCVRC/
https://www.amazon.com/Deplorables-Lives-Matter-Shirt-Political/dp/B01LWDBB8P/
https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Basket-Deplorables-Hillary-Tshirt/dp/B01LWD0YKL/
I hope you are right and I’m very wrong, but I suspect that Trump’s 44% of the vote will be registered far more enthusiastically than Hillary’s 50%.
Half the Republican party thinks that half of Trump supporters are deplorable.
Well, she said “half” so more like 30 mil. Personally I’d guess around 10-20% of his current general election supporters but I don’t really expect anyone who hasn’t spent their life on the right to be able to distinguish between white nationalism and white supremacy or between dopey populists and those who are genuinely coming from a place of hatred. When conservatives decided that the left’s false allegations of racism gave us carte blanche to shun any sense of delicacy when it comes to inherently sensitive issues we effectively disarmed ourselves when it comes to this kind of thing. It’s not a position we should ever have been put in but we decided wrongly nonetheless.
Same here, I don’t understand why this is a gaffe, it’s just standard Democratic tactics. Hillary has nothing going for her, few like or trust her, and now there are serious questions about her health to boot. She has to make this election a referendum on Trump. The message is clear: if you vote for Trump, you are either a “deplorable” or voting to enable “deplorable” behavior. You must vote for Clinton to prove you are a good person who opposes racism, sexism, and all the ‘ophobias.
This was a get out the base strategy, its not really going to hurt her because all the people she is talking to already lives in mortal terror of all the people they hold in naked contempt for the crime of existing.
Thanks for the link, and good on StarTribune and it’s readers. But I’m disappointed with this misleading headline
in a follow-up story:Clinton says she regrets labeling Trump backers as ‘deplorables’
Here are the voters Hillary and her very subtle Alinsky move were aimed at:
It might work on some of the brain dead undecideds. Maybe. But I doubt it. A desperation move.
Except for the fact that undecided voters are reading about it as well.
Sorry, but the grammar police (sometimes known as oldest daughter) just will not let me wear this one
From a comment elsewhere:
“Adorable Deplorable”
It wasn’t to rile up her base, it was for those starting to warm to the idea of Trump. She knows his numbers are rising as Republicans are settling on their nominee. She wants those people to second guess themselves all the way till election day. Horrible message, but politically savvy.
It’s about as desperate a move as a sky hook was for Kareem. Or a post pattern to Gronk.
It the go-to in the Democratic party playbook.
It’s their Geico commercial. “Labelling conservatives as racists, misogynists, gun nuts, homophobes, if you’re a democrat it’s what you do.”
No need to parse the effectiveness. It’s their twofer. Placates the base and keeps bien pensant white voters from questioning why they are voting for the party of racial quotas at the post office.
Obama paid no price for the bitter clingers line. Hillary will pay no price for this.
A nontrivial portion of the republican party -agrees- with the assessment, and looks down their middlebrow noses at the part of america in need of a pressure wash and a coat of paint.
So this isn’t indicative of an ugly pattern of bigotry that is most responsible for ripping the country apart, its just a faux pas: You just don’t say it aloud.
But then why is she walking it back today? Also part of the standard play or something different?
I understand Hillary has bright plans for the future of America under her rule, when the solution to the deplorables is finally achieved.
The deplorables have been holding back the American social justice, undermining it , conspiring against it.
Only through purity of purpose and by cleansing us of these people will the future be bright.
If I were Canada, I would be building up border defenses…
I’d say she walked it over … to Trump himself. Today she can be condescending and more in sorrow than anger towards those who have been manipulated by the “deplorable” campaign based “largely on prejudice and paranoia” which has “given a national platform to hateful views and voices.”
Not much of a walk-back. Just another angle, and a triangle needs three.
Wrong. According to the polls, it’s about 13% who call themselves Nevers, and I think even that’s a bit high as, almost daily, we see them coming home to the Republican Party, particularly as Clinton continues to bomb.
Her strategy might be as you described, but I’m not sure how politically savvy it is. I suspect that a good number of undecideds are undecided because of the extreme rhetoric of both candidates. Hillarinsky has clearly surpassed Trump by insulting half of Trump voters and condescending to the other half. Trump-leaners aren’t likely to be moved by her shrill antics, and she doesn’t make herself an attractive candidate to undecideds seeking a less polarized America.
As in all things: we’ll see.
Does this cause many people to say “oh, that’s terrible, I can’t vote for her!” or does it cause many people to say “oh, that’s terrible, I can’t vote for him!” Or do they cancel out?
We’ll see.