Reason for Trump to be hanging in so close to Clinton if polls are correct:

[EV_Ares]

I don't know how big a reason this is but there was a group of people at a table next to my wife & I where we had gone out to eat.

They like many people right now were discussing the election. They were actually not impressed with Trump & were discussing the fact that even as despicable as he was they or some of them maybe willing to take the chance on him because they feel crime is getting way out of hand, were talking about mall incidents, they had a car broken into at a soccer match, so many other incidents, their parents were afraid to use a park that was close to their home they used to always take walks in.

These people were willing to take a chance on him because they think he will be really tough on crime & actually do something about it where they don't feel like the normal repubs & dems will do anything but the usual. They said he may not even be politically corret in how he does it but they are getting sick of how it seems to keep getting worse. One guy said maybe despicable is what we need to fix it for right now.

I had not thought about this & really was wondering how anyone could vote for such a person like Trump but this made me thing if this was an issue that was a higher priority than the economy, terrorism, foreign relations or what. This is something that is affecting a lot of people anymore.

[vlyons]

1. Trump is a master fear-monger

Fear and anger are destructive human emotions. A fear-monger excites those emotions in others, over and over and over. The MSmedia fans fear and anger also. That's why train wrecks, car wrecks, plane wrecks, terrorist events, and a myriad of other bad news gets a headline and put on the nightly news. It sells.

[EV_Ares]

5. Very true.

[MFM008]

2. they will be so shocked

When they drag the maggot off in a straight jacket , hopefully before he pushes the buttons.

[cilla4progress]

26. Your lips to goddess's

Ear. I hope I live long enough to see trump rot in a jail cell.

[Maru Kitteh]

44. Worse for him would be disgrace and dismissal. I'm afraid jail would feed his ego.

After he got over the outrage and shock of non-gold-plated everything, I think he would have little difficulty manipulating his environment, and making of himself 1) a martyr and 2) a really, really big guy.

Being ignored and dismissed for the remainder of his life? Walking among the masses and nobody caring at all? That's death to him. That's what I wish for him and his icky spawn.

[kentuck]

3. Most Repubs are now rationalizing a way to vote for Trump...

since he has gone up in the polls and they think he has a chance to win.

[EV_Ares]

4. I don't know kentuck. I have never seen someone so wrong, so despicable, so dangerous, racist, such

an ass run for a political office, let alone for POTUS.

I am in no way crying woe is me, Trump is winning but rather as I have been, trying in my own mind to figure how a country such as ours even consider a guy like this. Then, I heard that conversation at a table next to ours & it got me thinking because we live in what is considered a good & safe neighborhood but people are concerned about crime & the regular news brings it home to a lot of people as you probably know.

What you say is true as well. I don't know but this is such a different election year & so many different variables are playing into it I am not sure polling is as accurate as it has been in the past as well. Just a lot of confusion out there about things & what to do about them.

[kentuck]

13. It's true that law and order have always been very powerful issues in the past.

Remember Willie Horton?

[EV_Ares]

15. Yeah, that was when GWB's dad was running for office I think & they ran it against Dukakis.

[vlyons]

23. Trump's fear-mongering is Willie Horton ad on steroids.

Tell everyone you know to take a deep breath. Fear is Trump's ally. So everyone needs to calm themselves down. Trump is not going to make things better. He promises the moon and delivers nothing.

[still_one]

6. That is what the people of Germany said about Hitler. "They were discussing the fact that even as

despicable as he was.....", they would still be willing to take a chance and vote for the racist, because I have no doubt that these people were NOT POC, and either have latent racist tendencies themselves, or are actually racists.

I guess they also want to ignore that crime rates, including violent crime rates have decreased

Do they really need an excuse to vote for a racist, who will appoint Supreme Court justices that will overturn a woman's right to privacy, and solidify citizens united, so it can't be overturned?

**** them

[Jade Fox]

21. that was my first thought too.......nt

[Kilgore]

7. I hear the same from coworkers regarding their jobs

These are union folks who normally would vote Dem, but are in fear of loosing their jobs to China or Mexico. Trumps drumbeat of protectionism resonates with them.

Not much different than whats reported in this article

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/why-democrats-in-western-pennsylvania-are-voting-trump/499577/

[EV_Ares]

11. Your article was more scary then what I heard those people talking about. Those are just plain, hard

working people who want to continue their lives in their communities. I may not agree & believe there is by far a better way to do that then Trump but fear makes people do things differently.

[Kilgore]

16. I hear you

We have factories closed and slated to be demolished in our area. Those were union jobs that have moved offshore.

After watching your neighbor loose their house after loosing their job, its not surprising folks are drawn to someone speaking tough and directly to the issue.

[EV_Ares]

19. I know & those kind of things really are part of globalization & the worst part so many of those

jobs will never come back in the changing world. The blame lies everywhere & not totally in just our own country.

The problem & blame for me with friends who have lost good jobs over the last few years is with the unions & our government who did not prepare people or workers for something they, themselves had to know was coming. They should have started education classes, job retraining, working with the older workers where change was going to be more difficult than a younger worker. There was a lot more they could have done to have made it easier for what was coming for people.

[Kilgore]

20. No doubt

You nailed it.

[salin]

25. suggest copying the WaPo Milbank column from this weekend.

Details how few items are made in the US. Ask them to read it and ask themselves, how is he going to get businesses to bring back jobs and make things here, when he doesn't do that with his own businesses? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-new-hotel-offers-everything-he-claims-to-hate/2016/09/16/fe08a18a-7c04-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html?utm_term=.69e1ddc9ff44

[Kilgore]

35. Copies in hand

Will post the results.

[salin]

41. look forward to reading the results.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. Ask them why so many Trump products and Hotel amenities are made outside of the US. . . . nt

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. I hear it everywhere.

The dislike of Hillary and the "what have we got to lose" mindset is downright scary.

She and her staff had better get busy - and quick.

[ananda]

12. I don't particularly dislike Hillary Clinton, but ...

... she has kept close company with some real snake in the grass
charmers, including Bill Clinton.

She did seem to understand that at the Convention, after Sanders
pulled her to the left somewhat. I thought they did a pretty good
job of rehabilitating her image.

But the media and the GOP Congress has continued pounding away
at the email problem, and with Trump leading the bully charge, it's
been hard to keep her new image in the spotlight.

Add to that the massive amounts of money going into swing states
and into Senate races that Dems formerly winning are now losing.

My question is: why aren't the Dems fighting back strongly and
with lots of money also?

This is a total mystery to me.

[EV_Ares]

18. Dems have never fought as hard as the republicans. We are so diverse where they are not. We have

environmentalists, animal rights, gay rights, women's rights, moderates, liberals, so many different groups all in our very large tent & everyone is trying to get their issues at the top priority. In addition, you now have a stronger right-wing media that does not seem to ever go off message where the regular media & even left media will go off message or fight with each other but basically report facts as they should be reported whereas the right-wing media does not have any problem like faux manufactured news to in many cases right out lie about everything.

That said; we are never united as strongly as the right-wing is & you can even see that here at DU.

[stopbush]

9. I guess it doesn't matter that crime is at historically low levels

and continues to decline. Those people still feel the need to take a chance on Hitler.

[EV_Ares]

14. I think the problem with that is that like the economy it is not good or bad everywhere like in the

suburbs "Criminologists and public officials cite weaker and more resource-strapped law enforcement in some suburbs for the increase, among other factors. That, in turn, attracts criminals who focus on suburbs, because they are looking for easier places than relatively well-policed cities to commit crimes."

People are seeing a rise in it there with it actually going down in the city in a lot of places.

Not an excuse but it is happening.

[Nevernose]

37. I'm curious: what general area do you live in?

Because, generally speaking, crime is down in the suburbs, too.

Of course, localized crime rates may be on the rise -- the murder and violent crime rate in my own neighborhood are up something like three hundred percent than a few years ago -- but I find many people living in fear of crime are just jumping at phantoms.

[madokie]

10. My read on this is

about a third of the people will vote based on these four issues, God, Guns, Abortions and Gays
There's no persuading them otherwise either. They don't do logic, common sense nor what is right. They vote based on a candidates position on those four issues.
These people make sure they get out and vote, every election, ever time.

We start off in the hole always due to these four issues the republiCONs use to win election with.

[beachbum bob]

17. fear sells and thats all trump has to offer...so hillary must counter with the greater fear of trump

ineptness will cause

[gwheezie]

22. I've had the discussion with a handful of trump supporters

Most of them say they back trump because of jobs or crime. But when pinned down none of the people I've talked to have lost their jobs or been victims of crime. They actually did pretty well the past 7 plus years. So I ask if nothing changed for you while Obama has been president and you were happy with Bush, then why are you so easily scared?

[book_worm]

24. The major reason are young people under 30--they were heavily against HRC in the primaries

and while many are backing her--many are either saying they are for Johnson/Weld, Stein or not going to vote at all. If she had the Obama numbers among that group she would be well ahead.

[vi5]

29. How many times does this need to be pointed out.

Yes, more people under 30 are considering voting 3rd party. But in poll after poll a higher percentage of under 30's are voting FOR Hillary than the percentage of over 30's.

I'm not entirely sure why an age group where a lower percentage of people are voting for Trump and a higher percentage of people are voting FOR Hillary are the group that needs be scolded.

Wouldn't it be the 40 some percent of over 40's who are not only NOT voting for Hillary, but ARE voting for Trump?

Are people really saying voting for Trump is better than voting third party?

Or are they just saying that under 30's owe HRC their vote?

[vadermike]

27. Well

Me may just lose this thing if the millennialist abandon Hillary enmasse But I am sure they will love President Trump God help us all

[vi5]

30. Again.....

It's not the millennials that are abandoning Hillary. It's the Gen X and older who are abandoning her.

A higher percentage of Millenials in most polls say they are voting for Hillary and a lower percent are voting for Trump.

It's the Gen X'ers and Boomers who need to be scolded. They are the age groups where Trump and Hillary are tied.

Why is there this idea that millennials have any more obligation or would be any more to blame than any other group?

[ColemanMaskell]

32. vj5, people seem to be annoyed by the "sore loser" posture of many Bernie supporters

and people are, fairly enough, mystified that any person who supported Bernie's policies can then turn around and vote against the best chance to move toward implementing those same policies. It is a puzzle.

I don't think anyone is amazed by "young Republicans" anymore than they would be by old Republicans. But people have a sense that the Bernie supporters who refuse to support Hillary are either behaving like petulant children or else are not thinking clearly about the implications of what it means if Hillary loses to Trump. Many people find both of these positions difficult to understand.

People who were in favor of Hillary in 2008 did not refuse to support Obama when he won the primary. They understood that supporting Obama from that point forward was the best way to move toward progressive goals like improved health care. You know -- united we stand, divided we fall.

I don't think people are blaming millennials as a group for anything. But it seems that most of the die-hard sore-loser Bernie supporters do seem to be the very young ones. Some serious-minded people perceive these particular young people as resembling children throwing tantrums because they didn't get everything they wanted.

Assuming your question was an actual question, not just rhetorical. . .

[vi5]

36. Who said anything about Bernie?

I've seen many, many posts saying that Millennials "need to get in line" or "need to get their act together" or stop throwing temper tantrums or whatever.

Why? Why aren't people saying "Hillary's own generation really needs to get their act together and vote for their candidate"?

If she loses, why would people not blame the 40 some percent of voters over 40 who didn't vote for her and instead voted for Trump, instead of the 20 some percent of voters who didn't vote for her but voted third party?

The point is that blaming Millennials if Hillary loses is Bullshit. If she can't even convince people in her own age group and demographic, many of whom have already lived through the horrors of multiple Republican administrations, then why should it be assumed that younger voters should be any more inclined?

If she loses there is enough blame to go around for every group and demographic. Pointing fingers at Millennials or at Bernie voters is ridiculous. If any candidate loses to a lunatic like Trump then their problems are myriad and much larger and much more powerful than a small percentage of Bernie voters who are voting third party.

This race shouldn't be that close and it is. Saying that it's Millenials rather than boomers or the elderly or white people in general or whoever is missing the point and going to get us nowhere.

[ColemanMaskell]

43. I think when they say millenials in this context they mean Bernie supporting diehards

Obviously I don't know what you're seeing, but the only posts that I have seen complaining about millennials acting like spoiled children have clearly been referring to Bernie-supporting die-hard millennials.

If it had gone the other way, and Bernie had won the primary, we would not expect to see Hillary supporters refusing to vote for Bernie.

As to who mentioned Bernie, the comment to which you replied several spots up, from "book_worm", did not specifically say "Bernie", it said anti-Hillary, and against HRC in the primaries. People who were anti-Hillary in the primary were mostly pro-Bernie. It's too subtle a nuance perhaps, but that is what book_worm seemed to mean there.

If there is any other dissatisfaction being voiced with millennials on this site, I guess I've missed it.

If you're just venting your frustration, by all means carry on. That's the same thing the people you seem to be ranting against would be doing. You may as well follow suit. Forgive my interrupting.

[elleng]

28. No discussion about prime role of the STATES and localities re: crime?

[Divine Discontent]

40. thank you, thought that immediately and was going, "and how does a president Trump change your local

crime situation in great ways?!"

what, do they think he's gonna give the king's okay to start killing people who steal cars or sell drugs, and that'll lower crime? Trump is a small-mind, or "little brain" as Defending Your Life says, and he is a scary option. I worry about the rational thinking capacity of adults when they consider Trump is okay to vote for with or without thinking he's otherwise pretty scary...

[lindysalsagal]

31. Maybe they think Putin will solve the crime problem

after he annexes the eastern seaboard.

[MowCowWhoHow III]

34. The Duterte Gambit

[wcast]

38. This is a false issue. Most of these people equate non-whites as criminals.

That is what they are truly afraid of. Violent crime is at almost record lows, with exceptions of course, but with 24 hour reporting and certain sites and media outlets with an agenda, most think crime is way up. The chart below shows the decline over the last 20 years. Source: http://www.politicususa.com/2016/08/30/fact-checker-shatters-trumps-lie-inner-city-crime-record-levels.html

[Nonhlanhla]

39. You are right

For a lot of whites, crime means racial minorities. This is about race.

[mercuryblues]

42. The thing is

republicons are not the only ones experiencing this version of America. IMO they are looking for excuses to vote for the con man. It is their way of justifying their vote for trump over Clinton. If they bothered to look at facts, they would realize that despite increases in violent crime in some cities, the overall violent crime rate is decreasing across America.

http://www.factcheck.org/2016/07/dueling-claims-on-crime-trend/

So, the number of murders in Dallas went from 500 in 1991 to 154 in 2012, a decrease of 70 percent. The murder rate, offenses per 100,000 in population, dropped from 48.6 to 12.4 in that same time frame, a 74 percent decrease.
But Trump pointed to a New York Times story on an uptick in 2015 in the number of murders in several cities, including Dallas, as compared with 2014. The Times report showed a 17 percent increase in murders (an increase of 12 murders) in Dallas for January through August 2015 compared with the same time period for 2014.
Indeed, the Dallas Morning News later reported that the total for all of 2015 was a 17 percent increase over the previous year, but noted 2014’s number of murders (116) had been a “historic low” and the murder rate for 2015, according to city officials, was “the city’s fourth-lowest since Dallas police started counting in 1930.”