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Secret Voters: No Justification

For the last week, I, like many others who voted for Hillary Clinton, am wondering how Donald Trump, who ran a presidential campaign based on hate, won the election. The short list includes: calling for a ban on all Muslims, quoting false crime statistics against African Americans (that even Bill O’Reilly corrected him on),  “Mexicans are rapist”, "building a wall", and never mind the backing of White Supremacist groups (the deplorables) that he received. It was not until a few weeks before the election that his campaign rejected the endorsement from the KKK through their paper, The Crusader.* Normally, all this kind of rhetoric and the very public support of White Nationalists and Supremacists would have been political death for any candidate.  The fact that he won the primaries was a surprise, now, to win the presidency is a shock.  The main explanation seems to be that there were “secret” voters, people who were polled but did not want to admit to anyone, including strangers, that they were Trump voters for fear of being labeled racist or any other hateful label.

These “secret” voters did not want to be seen as one of the deplorables.  Many of his voters may not be racist or misogynist. Turns out, that some voted for Trump for the normal reasons they vote along Republican party lines: anti-choice, religion, “war” on Christmas, fear, etc.  The Huffington Post reported that Trump actually won some former Obama voters in the “Rust Belt." These Americans (i.e. the white working class)  continue to suffer economically and then were convinced to vote for Trump because of his populace stance on trade agreements.  The most disturbing revelations are the high rate of white women (more voted for him than Clinton) and a quarter of Latinos that voted for him. Some of these voters did not want to admit to supporting Trump, all because they did not want to be judged. So those supporters should be forgiven for voting for a candidate that ran on hate and fear?  Now, a large portion of their fellow Americans are protesting out of fear for their rights, families, and lives. These same Americans are told to get over it and come together.  What? Many of us have been sold out because we depended on the general decency of our fellow Americans to reject hate. We were so wrong, very wrong.

I can assure you from my upbringing that the white poor/working class have a lot in common with their African-American or Latino counterparts. Granted maybe the DNC needs to work on pointing out these similarities, a lot of American communities are plagued with joblessness, drug/alcohol addictions, crime, and despair.  Americans can come from a struggling neighborhood in Chicago or a small town in Indiana, and we all need economic security for betterment of our lives, this also includes healthcare, education and infrastructure.  We all have this in common.  We all want the best for our families and future. Hate of any kind is not what’s best for anyone, except if you want to divide and conquer a people, in this case the poor and working class (and to a lesser extent the middle class) from all demographics. His speeches could not have made it more clear that is what his campaign was about, but yet he won.

Watching his speeches, I know that Donald Trump mentioned many of these common issues above, and I agreed with some of those, like trade, but in my mind, the disqualifying factor was the hate speech and ideals that he continuously promoted. Opting for a presidential candidate that spewed and catered to hate and anger, but then these voters telling themselves, “that’s ok, because I am not a hateful person” or “I am a good person, I just voted for him for (fill in the blank) reason”  is not justification for their decisions.  Some of these voters maybe "good" people but the conscience decision was made to “pull the lever” for him, a despicable choice.  If a voter’s concerns where of social issue differences, then a more just choice would have been to vote 3rd party then voting Republican down ticket, to curtail Hillary Clinton.  If it was economic, well, to my knowledge, I have not seen the Republicans put forth any economic policy to benefit any of the poor or working class of any demographic. This fact is compounded with the Democratic party following the Republicans over the last 30 years toward neoliberalism. The DNC needs to do a better job in helping poor, working, and the middle classes of all demographics. However, we would have had a better chance at pushing Clinton away neoliberalism without risking the rights of the most vulnerable in our society. As far as Donald Trump is concerned, he is wealthy due to the economic system currently in place, and I do see him changing any of it. And those liberals (especially white liberals) who voted for Trump to punish the DNC, now many of us may be punished for their decision. The hateful labels that came from his campaign, with all their ugliness, will now be passed on to  all his voters.  All the “secret voters” need to bear that burden and explain to loved ones who are afraid. Now, the most hateful racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-LGBT parts of our society have been emboldened.  

For the next four years, I will not forget or forgive the campaign that was ran by this man and his supporters. My shock with this election is my profound disappointment in my nation, I really thought a man who promoted so much hate could never win, even if half of them didn’t like Clinton. My faith in my fellow Americans, including some family and friends, has been weakened. One positive aspect of this political nightmare is that I am determined more than ever to continue the fight for social justice.  Another is that others like me may no longer be complacent and will wish to do the same. For those "good people" who voted for Trump, they should prove it and support those they love that are afraid of any of his vile promises come to pass. So far, voting for him is the first place is a step in the wrong direction.

*Holley, Peter. “KKK’s Official Newspaper Supports Donald Trump for President,” Washington Post, November 2, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/01/the-kkks-official-newspaper-has-endorsed-donald-trump-for-president/.




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