'President Donald Trump': Latest Polls Indicate Clinton Could Actually Lose
This Thing
Published on
Thursday, September 15, 2016
by
Common Dreams
'President Donald Trump': Latest Polls Indicate Clinton Could Actually Lose
This Thing
The decline of the Clinton campaign has less to do with her rival's success
and more to do with her failure to articulate a bold, inspiring vision for
voters
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Although the public continues to express record dissatisfaction with both
candidates, new polls suggest that the antagonistic bombast of Donald Trump
has galvanized more enthusiasm among supporters than Hillary Clinton.
(Photo: Getty)
Two new polls released on Thursday highlight a disturbing reality: In a race
between two unpopular candidates, an excited base could mean everything. And
in the case of the current presidential contesta race that observers say is
"hers to lose"the failure of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to inspire
voters could prove her ultimate downfall.
The latest update of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times national tracking
poll found that Donald Trump's advantage over Clinton "grew to nearly six
percentage points on Thursday, his largest advantage since his
post-convention bounce in July."
According to the LA Times, the biggest reason for the bump "appears to be an
increase in the likelihood of Trump supporters who say they plan to vote,
combined with a drop among Clinton supporters on that question. The nominees
are now roughly equal in the voting commitment of their supporters, erasing
an advantage previously held by Clinton."
Similarly, the most recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that in a
four-way race, the two leading party candidates are tied at 42 percent while
Libertarian Gary Johnson wins eight percent and Green Party nominee Jill
Stein takes four.
According to RealClearPolitics' national polling average, in a two-way race,
Clinton's lead over her Republican rival has dropped to less than two points
from eight points in early August.
And although the public continues to express record dissatisfaction with
both candidates, the New York Times suggests that Trump's antagonistic
bombast has galvanized more enthusiasm among supporters.
"Over all, just 43 percent of likely voters describe themselves as very
enthusiastic about casting a ballot in November," the New York Times
reports. "Fifty-one percent of Mr. Trump's supporters say they are very
enthusiastic about voting; 43 percent of Mrs. Clinton's supporters say they
are very enthusiastic."
The lackluster support is particularly evident among young voters, many of
whom were devotees of former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. According
to the New York Times/CBS survey, more than a third of likely voters age
18-29 back a third-party candidate.
Another shocking take-away from that poll is that Trump and Clinton are
virtually tied among white women with 45 and 46 percent, respectively.
It is worth noting that this latest installment of the New York Times/ CBS
poll is the first to include a measure of likely voters, which weighs
respondents by their answers to questions about voting history, attention to
the campaign, and likelihood of voting. As New York Magazine's Ed Kilgore
pointed out, this factor typically gives Republican candidates a "bump" that
may continue to boost Trump in future polling as other surveys begin to
include this measure.
Kilgore on Wednesday broke down the most recent battleground state
assessments and determined, "It is possible, in fact, that Trump is opening
up multiple paths to victory."
"[Clinton's] refusal to even attempt to embrace bold progressive values and
her inability to read the simmering nationwide anger over economic and
racial injustice are the larger obstacles to her popularity."
Sonali Kolhatkar
The most recent CNN/ORC battleground state poll on Wednesday found that in a
four-way race among likely voters, Trump edges out Clinton in both Ohio and
Florida. Meanwhile, the latest Monmouth University poll showed Trump
overtaking Clinton in Nevada, 44 to 42 percent.
"If you want Trump to win, theres fresh evidence that your preferred
candidate is within striking distance of actually getting elected," wrote
MSNBC's Steve Benen on Thursday. "If you want Clinton to win, you can no
longer assume this race is in the bagyou and your allies are going to have
to go earn it."
Indeed, columnist and Uprising Radio executive producer Sonali Kolhatkar
wrote recently that the decline of the Clinton campaign has less to do with
her rival's success and more to do with her failure to articulate a bold,
inspiring vision for voters beyond simply "not Trump."
"For Clinton to fixate on Trump's endless flaws suggests that her own
platform has little substance," Kolhatkar wrote. "Her refusal to even
attempt to embrace bold progressive values and her inability to read the
simmering nationwide anger over economic and racial injustice are the larger
obstacles to her popularity."
She continued:
What Americans are looking for is bold, visionary thinking that acknowledges
how broken Washington, D.C., is at our collective expense. The majority of
Americans do not want measured, lukewarm progressive positions that keep
systems intact. This is why Sanders, in calling for a "political
revolution," attracted so many new and independent voters, especially young
millennials. This is why Trump is gaining traction, because between the two
major-party candidates, his pathetic piñata-inspiring figure is offering the
bolder rhetoric.
If Clinton loses this election, it will not be because Americans are dumb,
racist misogynists who would cut off their noses to spite their faces in
refusing to elect a sane woman over an insane man. It will not be because
too many Americans "selfishly" voted for a third party or didn't vote at
all. It will be because Clinton refused to compromise her allegiance to Wall
Street and the morally bankrupt center-right establishment positions of her
party and chose not to win over voters.
"This election is hers to lose," Kolhatkar concludes, "and if this nation
ends up with President Trump, it will be most of all the fault of Clinton
and the Democratic Party that backs her."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
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'President Donald Trump': Latest Polls Indicate Clinton Could Actually Lose
This Thing
Published on
Thursday, September 15, 2016
by
Common Dreams
'President Donald Trump': Latest Polls Indicate Clinton Could Actually Lose
This Thing
The decline of the Clinton campaign has less to do with her rival's success
and more to do with her failure to articulate a bold, inspiring vision for
voters
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
83 Comments
Although the public continues to express record dissatisfaction with
both candidates, new polls suggest that the antagonistic bombast of Donald
Trump has galvanized more enthusiasm among supporters than Hillary Clinton.
(Photo: Getty)
Two new polls released on Thursday highlight a disturbing reality:
In a race between two unpopular candidates, an excited base could mean
everything. And in the case of the current presidential contesta race that
observers say is "hers to lose"the failure of Democratic nominee Hillary
Clinton to inspire voters could prove her ultimate downfall.
The latest update of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times national
tracking poll found that Donald Trump's advantage over Clinton "grew to
nearly six percentage points on Thursday, his largest advantage since his
post-convention bounce in July."
According to the LA Times, the biggest reason for the bump "appears
to be an increase in the likelihood of Trump supporters who say they plan to
vote, combined with a drop among Clinton supporters on that question. The
nominees are now roughly equal in the voting commitment of their supporters,
erasing an advantage previously held by Clinton."
Similarly, the most recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that
in a four-way race, the two leading party candidates are tied at 42 percent
while Libertarian Gary Johnson wins eight percent and Green Party nominee
Jill Stein takes four.
According to RealClearPolitics' national polling average, in a
two-way race, Clinton's lead over her Republican rival has dropped to less
than two points from eight points in early August.
And although the public continues to express record dissatisfaction with
both candidates, the New York Times suggests that Trump's antagonistic
bombast has galvanized more enthusiasm among supporters.
"Over all, just 43 percent of likely voters describe themselves as very
enthusiastic about casting a ballot in November," the New York Times
reports. "Fifty-one percent of Mr. Trump's supporters say they are very
enthusiastic about voting; 43 percent of Mrs. Clinton's supporters say they
are very enthusiastic."
The lackluster support is particularly evident among young voters, many of
whom were devotees of former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. According
to the New York Times/CBS survey, more than a third of likely voters age
18-29 back a third-party candidate.
Another shocking take-away from that poll is that Trump and Clinton are
virtually tied among white women with 45 and 46 percent, respectively.
It is worth noting that this latest installment of the New York Times/ CBS
poll is the first to include a measure of likely voters, which weighs
respondents by their answers to questions about voting history, attention to
the campaign, and likelihood of voting. As New York Magazine's Ed Kilgore
pointed out, this factor typically gives Republican candidates a "bump" that
may continue to boost Trump in future polling as other surveys begin to
include this measure.
Kilgore on Wednesday broke down the most recent battleground state
assessments and determined, "It is possible, in fact, that Trump is opening
up multiple paths to victory."
"[Clinton's] refusal to even attempt to embrace bold progressive values and
her inability to read the simmering nationwide anger over economic and
racial injustice are the larger obstacles to her popularity."
Sonali Kolhatkar
The most recent CNN/ORC battleground state poll on Wednesday found that in a
four-way race among likely voters, Trump edges out Clinton in both Ohio and
Florida. Meanwhile, the latest Monmouth University poll showed Trump
overtaking Clinton in Nevada, 44 to 42 percent.
"If you want Trump to win, theres fresh evidence that your preferred
candidate is within striking distance of actually getting elected," wrote
MSNBC's Steve Benen on Thursday. "If you want Clinton to win, you can no
longer assume this race is in the bagyou and your allies are going to have
to go earn it."
Indeed, columnist and Uprising Radio executive producer Sonali Kolhatkar
wrote recently that the decline of the Clinton campaign has less to do with
her rival's success and more to do with her failure to articulate a bold,
inspiring vision for voters beyond simply "not Trump."
"For Clinton to fixate on Trump's endless flaws suggests that her own
platform has little substance," Kolhatkar wrote. "Her refusal to even
attempt to embrace bold progressive values and her inability to read the
simmering nationwide anger over economic and racial injustice are the larger
obstacles to her popularity."
She continued:
What Americans are looking for is bold, visionary thinking that acknowledges
how broken Washington, D.C., is at our collective expense. The majority of
Americans do not want measured, lukewarm progressive positions that keep
systems intact. This is why Sanders, in calling for a "political
revolution," attracted so many new and independent voters, especially young
millennials. This is why Trump is gaining traction, because between the two
major-party candidates, his pathetic piñata-inspiring figure is offering the
bolder rhetoric.
If Clinton loses this election, it will not be because Americans are dumb,
racist misogynists who would cut off their noses to spite their faces in
refusing to elect a sane woman over an insane man. It will not be because
too many Americans "selfishly" voted for a third party or didn't vote at
all. It will be because Clinton refused to compromise her allegiance to Wall
Street and the morally bankrupt center-right establishment positions of her
party and chose not to win over voters.
"This election is hers to lose," Kolhatkar concludes, "and if this nation
ends up with President Trump, it will be most of all the fault of Clinton
and the Democratic Party that backs her."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
