Clinton Loses, but Not With Millennials

Clinton lost the election, but a USA Today poll shows that she won among millennials.

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The issue is that she did not win with the same margin as Obama in 2008. According to Philly.com, Obama collected 60% versus Clinton’s 54%, which along with decreased support from minority groups, may have cost her the election.

What rhetoric did Hillary use to lose the millennial vote? Surely her support from millennial idols Beyoncé and Jay-Z helped. Also receiving support from Obama should have motivated his voters, but it didn’t. The International Business Times reports “half of young voters said they were ‘fearful,’ not ‘hopeful,’ about the future of the U.S,” which is opposite of Obama’s slogan of Hope. Coming out of the Bush presidency, millennials depended on hope from a younger platform to speak for them. Clinton did not meet these demands in the same way as an elderly, untrustworthy option for the Democratic Party. Bernie Sanders stole much of her younger voters’ support, even though he endorsed her. Third party candidates also stole many millennial votes from her.

Could Hillary have won the millennial vote with a different rhetorical approach? Millennials did not resonate her despite her attempts to seem like the selfie taking, Galifinakis fan, which may have made her seem more inauthentic than she was. While she emphasized the importance of the future of her granddaughter, she needed to focus more on the immediate future of America, millennials to better address how despite their fear, there is hope that millennial will have opportunities to survive in America.

How we voted — by age, education, race and sexual orientation

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/Exit-polls-Blacks-Hispanics-and-millennials-less-passionate-for-Clinton-.html

http://www.ibtimes.com/who-voted-trump-millennials-supported-clinton-54-percent-youth-vote-2443100

 

Progressive Millennials Prove to be a Solid Match for Hillary

 

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*Editor’s note: I wrote this piece before the election took place, so I apologize if the rhetoric is not indicative to the post-election outcome.*

The massive surge of millennial support created by Bernie Sanders should have proved to be a harbinger for both candidates; young voters are ready for a more progressive political agenda. Millennials have been very active in their support of governmental responsibility to provide insurance, per PewResearchCenter. Also, young voters have put emphasis on providing more financial support towards today’s youth, for greater social mobility and direct profit.

Why do these issues coalesce nicely with Hillary Clinton? On Clinton’s main website, she has, “… a comprehensive plan to put higher education within reach for all Americans, and take on the crisis of student debt.” Her promise to invest large amounts of federal funding to alleviate the burden of tuition falls in line perfectly with millennials demands for financial investment. https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton/videos/1084864358236759/ (*video for college affordability). In terms of insurance, Clinton’s continuation of the Affordable Health Care Act is the most blatant example of universal insurance coverage for all Americans. https://youtu.be/jXE1Ik3oSMc (Hillary Clinton Health Care video).

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Two of these major platforms, among other issues, has Clinton holding a 49 to 21 percent among voters under 30, per Harvard University Institute of Politics. While young voters advocate a more progressive platform, she has tended to struggle with undecided voters due to her “far left wing” approach on multiple social issues (gay marriage, abortion). In fact, undecided/independent voters have grown from a margin of 9 percent in 2012 to a more substantial number of 30 percent.

While not as progressive as Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton’s political platform caters to a young generation eager for governmental involvement and expansion. With more young, college educated women trending towards a democratic candidate, it would seem to place Hillary Clinton in a very nice spot with many millennials come Election Day.

Baby-Boomer Generation NOT Millennial Generation

November 8th-The day Republican Candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton have been campaigning for for over a year and a half…and the fight is almost OVER!

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Cast a Vote-It is Election Day in America! I hope every eligible voter has cast their vote, as it is one of our only chances as citizens to use our voice in our country’s great democracy. As this Election Day is coming to a close, it is still a tight election, as there are many unknown outcomes in swing states. Swing states, especially Florida, and its 29 Electoral College votes, are crucial to both candidate’s race to 270 Electoral College votes.

Not What Candidates Had in Mind-Millennials have been to blame for this crazy election. It has been a huge push for millennials to get out and vote, but because millennial voters cannot relate to either candidate…they have swung the election and voted for third party candidates instead. THIS was not what Trump and Hillary wanted after their long campaigning with millennial voters.

Millennials Vote for Third-Party Candidates-This article discusses how millennials are to blame for the incredibly close poll numbers in states like Florida. Instead of hoping for the millennial’s votes, the baby-boomer generation has become the new focus in many swing states, like Florida. Millennials result for the majority of the third party candidate’s votes, in fact according to the article they make up over twenty-six percent of Johnson’s votes and ten percent of Stein’s votes in Florida. The article continues to state that more than one in five political independents say they will vote for one of the third-party candidates and are opposition to either major party candidate.

Baby-Boomers are to Blame for Close Election-The article points to the importance, that though millennial generation makes up a great portion of voters in the United States, the baby –boomer generation is more to blame for the incredibly close election. Because millennials have not shown support to either major party candidate, the baby-boomers support for Trump has kept him in the close race. The article continues their description of the issue in this graph, “Looking at the graph below, I see only one generation so selfish and entitled that they’d disappoint their parents, children, and grandchildren—and it isn’t millennials.”

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Hillary Would Lead-If third party candidates were eliminated from the election, Hillary Clinton would clearly be in the lead. Due to millennials not voting for either Trump nor Clinton, and instead for third party candidates, voters have taken votes away from the leading majority candidates resulting in a sudden death election.

Baby-Boomers for Trump-The article states that “He (Trump) really begins to pull away from Clinton with voters 65 and over and maximizes his support with voters in their mid-seventies, only to collapse again into a deficit with 90-plus voters.” In this election, Trump has gotten the majority of his votes from the baby –boomer generation. So, the baby-boomers, not the millennial voters. So instead of blaming millennials, the baby-boomers are to blame for the incredibly, nail biting-close election.

Trump and Clinton Both Baby-Boomers-Both Trump and Clinton represent the epitome of the baby-boomer generation. Both are a part of the baby-boomer generation. It is the baby boomer generation, not the millennial generation, which has been ever so popular among the Republican Party, and that is exactly where Trump’s votes are pouring in from. Ever since the creation of the Republican Party, it has thrived with the (Caucasian) baby-boomer generation.

Retire in Florida-As for the close election call in states like Florida, baby boomer generations want to blame Trump and the millennials for the close polling numbers, but in fact, due to the apparent and supposed (apparently Florida is home to retirees!) high number of baby boomers in Florida, they have caused the closest election in years.

Candidate’s Routes to White House-Trump is running out of options…he needs Florida and other crucial swing states to get his 270 Electoral College votes. Hillary has many more routes to the 270 voters, but needs to continue getting support and votes from the entire nation. If everything continues on path, by tonight Hillary Clinton will make history as the first female President in the United States.

The Grandma Card

It’s no secret that millennials were gaga over Bernie Sanders. And by no means was it because he’s young. The old geezer is 75 which is 6 years older than Hillary. And he looks and speaks in a manner that makes him seem way more senile than that! So why is it?-Why did millennials bow down to Bernie? Well, as the Huffington Post so lovingly answers- “It’s the authenticity, stupid.”  They elaborate further: “For those of us who care deeply about policy and authenticity, it’s hard to get excited by studied politicians who craft messages based on polling and who drift in the winds of time.” This, right here, is the simple reason why millennials’ support for Hillary is lukewarm at best. She is inauthentic to them and they do not trust her.

In order for Hillary to gain some authenticity and to show millennials that she restatic2-politicoally did care about them, one tactic she has tried is playing “The Grandma Card” and I personally feel that it was a great idea to win over millennials. According to Kristen Soltis Anderson, who has studied trends in the opinions and values of young voters, millennials care very deeply about family. By Hillary rhetorically positioning herself as a sweet, loving grandmother, it seems logical that the youth’s trust in her and respect for her would grow.

Sometimes, the Grandma Card worked like a charm. For example, when Clinton unveiled her goals for renewable energy, she said, “The republicans on the other side, when you ask them about climate change, they all say ‘Well, I’m not a scientist.’ Well, I’m not a scientist either, I’m just a grandmother with two eyes and brain and I know that this is an issue we have to address.” Experts labeled this use of the grandma card as ‘brilliant.’ And brilliant it is- Clinton shows us that because she has grandchildren whose wellbeing she cares deeply about, she obviously wants our government to take detrimental climate change very seriously.

However, sometimes the whole #GrandmothersKnowBest (which is an actual hashtag that Clinton actually used on Twitter) can come across as inauthentic. For example, in the first debate, moderator screen-shot-2016-11-07-at-7-01-15-pmLester Holt began by asking Hillary why she is the better choice in this election to “create the kinds of jobs that will put more money into the pockets of American workers.” Before answering, Hillary redirected the question by asserting her focus on “what kind of country we want to be” and “what kind of future we’ll build together.” She answered her own question by saying, “Today is my granddaughter’s second birthday, so I think about this a lot” before going back into the issue of job creation. According to an article by Western Journalism, critics blasted Clinton for this “blatant ploy to connect with voters.”

So did the grandma card work for Hillary? Well, I think the examples show us that this tactic worked when it was smooth and integrated well into the subject and there was true authenticity behind the words. However, when the playing of the grandma card was calculated and premeditated, it did not go over well with the public. Authenticity is key- always.

Obama is Winning Clinton the Millenial Vote  

Is Obama to Democrats the new Reagan to Republicans?

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The rhetorical legacy that Obama will leave when his term ends this January is indisputable. He is an incredibly well-spoken, charismatic leader that has the ability to relate to everyday people from every generation, specifically millennials. The positive impact and impression that Obama has made amongst the younger generation is key for Clinton making that same connection. It’s no wonder Clinton’s campaign called him “her most popular, top-level surrogate” at a speech in Florida this Thursday, according to an article by the SunSentinel.

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Obama is quoted saying “If we win Florida, we will win this election.” His use of “we” throughout his speech puts him side by side with Clinton. It shows the American public, specifically Floridians, his allegiance to the democratic party and to Hillary.

We have discussed in class a lot about the importance of surrogates. According to an article by The Atlantic, “Candidates depend on these individuals, called surrogates, to lend enthusiasm and credibility to a campaign.” Well, who is more credible to young voters than our last POTUS? A leader who has a 62% approval rating amongst those born after 1980, according to an article by Red Alert Politics. Obama is a quintessential authority figure for the younger generation, and his support for Clinton, may mean more support from millenials for Hillary as well.

Obama’s support for Clinton is not the only thing helping her, but so is his disdain for Trump. At a speech in Miami this past Thursday Obama said, “You can’t boo. He [Trump] can’t hear you boo, but he can hear you vote,” he said. “Donald Trump is uniquely unqualified to be president. No, I’m not joking. He is temperamentally unfit to be commander in chief.”

Surrogates have helped Clinton with the millennial vote throughout the entirety of her campaign. Amy Schumer, Jay Z, Ellen DeGeneres, Katy Perry, and Steven Spielberg are only a few examples of famous celebrities who are allegedly #withher, according to an article by Newsway. While I believe that these icons provide Clinton with popularity, I think that Obama gives Clinton the credibility she’s been lacking. Obama made our generation feel valued, important, and powerful; three things that the younger generation is so desperately wanting to feel from Clinton as well. However, with the overflowing support from Obama, I believe that Clinton is beginning to gain the trust from millenials that she needs to win the election.

Surrogates Swing Millennials for Clinton

President Obama has been to serving as surrogate and revive millennials to vote for Clinton. The NY Times reports that President Obama is visiting universities in two tightly contested states where blacks and millennials are “two constituencies that played an important role in propelling Mr. Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012.” (NYTimes) He spoke at Chapel Hill, Miami, and Jacksonville to mobilize the bright new future of America, many who are voting for the first time.

Obama’s rhetoric at his Miami speech at Florida International University included reciprocating that he loves his audience, something Clinton and Trump do voice as well. It is apparent they are sad to see him go, but Obama wants his progress to continue.He also says, “we need to finish what we started 8 years ago,” understanding that some college students were only ten when he first entered office. In a Southern dialect, like Clinton and Bush before him, reaches out to a millennials on a key issue to them, gas prices. While the war is not as relevant to millennials, gas prices are, and Obama stresses his progress to not depend on foreign oil.

USA Today also stresses how important surrogates are for the millennial vote is in this election. They report that her endorsements from Obama, and Bernie Sanders have been the most influential on convincing millennials against going for Trump, he though the favor Obama and Sanders more.

Obama was featured in a recent National Geographic film , Before the Flood, where Leonardo DiCaprio spoke as the US Ambassador for the Environment to motivated those to vote Democratic in consideration of Environmental rights. They used images to verify flooded cities and “terrifying shame” that young generations face if we do not act on global warming. President Obama’s warning of the detriments of Trump’s ignorance to vital issues such as pipeline breaks and fracking are crucial, especially in Georgia. Millennials resonate with DiCaprio, a millennial himself, and unlike older, decided voters who watch cable, millennial voters are more open to watching Netflix and trusting DiCaprio, a millennial, and the younger impressionable Obama to persuade the voters Clinton needs to win the millennial vote and the presidency.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/10/30/clintons-massive-lead-over-trump-narrows-among-millennials-poll-president-republican-election/92948974/

Hillary Clinton Makes a Push to Obtain Black Millennial Voters

 

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Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is fighting to procure strong voting numbers among millennial minorities. In what seems to be a reoccurring theme in my prior blog posts, Clinton’s lack of substance regarding policies pertinent to young voters had turned off Black Live Matters supporters, like DeRay Mckesson. However, Mckesson now actively supports Clinton after a recent meeting in Cleveland. He stated that, “There was no platform the first time. There’s a platform now.” Burgeoning black support for Hillary has come either energetically, or pragmatically due to the enmity held for Donald Trump.

 

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Graphic shows results of GenFoward poll on attitudes toward 2016 candidates; 2c x 5 inches; 96.3 mm x 127 mm;

Clinton’s platform for young African Americans involves elements of controlling police violence and how to curtail bias while on duty, as well as legislation for racial profiling and job creation. Clinton has also been more successful in creating social events that cater to a targeted demographic, with rap superstar Jay-Z set to perform a “get out and vote” awareness concert. Hillary also stopped by the popular radio show “The Breakfast Club” and gave a shout out to the Howard University during their Homecoming celebration. A recent GenForward poll has 49 percent of African Americans claiming they will vote in the election; of the 49 percent, 80 percent openly support Clinton, with Trump only managing a meager 4 percent. However, her ground with black millennial felt short of once candidate Bernie Sanders, who held a substantial margin of 46 to 28 percent.

 

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While Hillary has held solid ground among African Americans, she is also being aided by members of the hip-hop community. The “Anti-Trump” rhetoric created by numerous rappers has garnered improved support in the black community.  For example, the expletive ridden and controversial song entitled “F*** Donald Trump” has received over ten million hits on YouTube, as well as thousands of derogatory remarks about the real estate mogul in the comments section. https://youtu.be/WkZ5e94QnWk With the election less than a week away, Hillary’s fight to procure black millennials is not one against Trump, but rather against third parties that can pull valuable votes away from major party candidates. With young black independent voters like Erica Mines voicing her concern that Clinton, “… is not someone who can be trusted.”, it shows that the former Secretary of State still has some work to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her Biggest October Surprise Yet

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7 day countdown: With 7 days to go, both candidates are using their every effort to gain voters of all ages, races and genders. Most importantly, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are using their campaigns last push to gain the millennial voter to either be Stronger Together or join the Trump Train. With October surprises popping up regularly in the last two weeks of the campaign season, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are trying to make their best, and final, comebacks to prove their trustworthiness, fitness, and abilities to serve as the next President of the United States.

October surprise: A big October surprise was released this past weekend, which revealed that the FBI is reopening the investigation on Hillary Clinton and her email scandal. I figured, along with many other young voters, that the email scandal was at the end of its road and that it would not be an investigation that would ever be reopened. But, over the weekend, the FBI claimed they sound significant reasoning behind reopening the Hillary email scandal investigation. In her last week of campaigning, this investigation could make her or break her. It is now time for Hillary to come back from a huge scandal if she wants to win over the millennial voters.

Hillary is still winning: Rhetorically, Hillary is still winning in the polls. But, because of her latest email scandal the polls could quickly change. According to this article, the Democratic early vote has dipped in comparison to the Obama election years, while the Republican early vote has increased since the McCain and Romney elections.

Millennial support surged: But, just as we thought this October surprise ruined Hillary’s chances on winning the millennial vote, according to this article, Hillary’s millennial voting numbers have surged. Apparently, Hillary’s lead in the millennial polls is up by two points in comparison to Donald Trump’s millennial vote. According to this article Hillary has actually gained millennial votes this past month, and they are not from young women. The majority of Hillary’s millennial votes are from millennial-aged men. The article states that her millennial vote from men is actually 11 points higher than President Obama’s same demographic during the 2012 election.

WikiLeaks stance: On the other hand, this article explains exactly why the millennial vote will fail due to the email scandal and reopening of the email investigation. According to the article, Clinton has failed to garner a significant amount of millennial support…and the WikiLeaks files have not helped her gain more young voters.

Encouraged the Trump Train: According to this article , this October surprise may have altered young Hillary voters to become Trump voters. The article claims that the latest email scandal has encouraged the Trump campaign because young voters can, again, be faced with the question of “which candidate is trustworthy and honest?” Being viewed as trustworthy by American citizens, by far, has been Hillary’s biggest issue to overcome.

How to overcome her battle: Hillary will have to focus on making American trust her again. She must continue her stance that the FBI should release all of the information they have. She will continue fighting for millennials through her campaigning on climate control, abortion rights, and free education. But, as of right now, her biggest issue is to gain trust and show her honesty due to this latest October surprise.

Coming to a halt: Clearly, media outlets show different stories and not one can be trusted to show the real time results. With October (and hopefully October surprises) over, the two campaigns are coming to a halt. As a nation we are so close, yet so far. There is a lot of investigation and campaigning to be done between November 1st and November 8th. Our country will have to wait 7 more days to see which candidate gains the majority of the millennial vote and which candidate grasps the position of the President of the United States.

 

 

Hillary’s Website Trumps Trumps’

Colin Delany, a digital strategy consultant and founder of Epolitics.com, is a leading voice in online strategies for politicians. Delany’s highly esteemed guide to effective online political campaigning and advocacy entitled “How to Use the Internet to Win in 2016: A Comprehensive Guide to Online Politics for Campaigns and Advocates” provides interesting insights into how screen-shot-2016-10-31-at-8-45-51-pmpoliticians should develop their online presence. According to Delany’s guide, one of the essential tools for online politics is a candidate’s website. Websites are necessary to build a supporter base, make good first impressions, and encourage donations as well as supporters. They show the country who you are and what you stand for, therefore content is key.

Delany’s guide can be utilized to analyze why Hillary Clinton’s website is more effective than Trumps’, specifically regarding appealing to millennials. Millennials are the generation that most frequently uses technology so I find it brilliant that Clinton targets her website towards this demographic.

When comparing the websites of Trump and Clinton, the first thing that drew my eye was the fact that Clinton, unlike Trump, has an “en espanol” option on her home page. This is strategic of Hillary considering the fact that hispanic millennials “account for nearly half of the record 27.3 million Hispanics eligible to vote in November,” according to an article by the Boston Globe.

As discussed by Delany, content matters most in websites, and content wise, Hillary knocks it out of the park compared to Trump. Trump’s campaign website includes 10,000 words regarding 9 policies while Hillary’s website includes 117,000 words on 38 policies. Millennials are passionate about various issues. Hillary’s top issues laid out in her website include LGBT rights and equality, racial justice, making college debt-free, campus sexual assault, climate change, and women’s rights– none of which are mentioned in Trump’s website. Each of these issues listed are of great importance to young voters, and I believe that the inclusion of such content bodes well forscreen-shot-2016-10-31-at-8-50-58-pm Hillary regarding her approval from young voters.

Hillary also has a section of her website devoted specifically to young voters. It has surveys they can take to get their ideas out, information on how to get involved in the campaign, and useful links to Hillary’s policies and plans-of-attack on issues millennials have vested interest in like debt-free college. 

Both Hillary and Trump’s websites include the basic ingredients for appealing to millennials. They are pleasing to the eye and easy to use. They integrate social media pages, sell trendy/ punny merchandise, utilize videos, and are compatible with smart phones. However, Hillary’s website content simply trumps Trump’s when it comes to attracting young voters. I believe that Hillary’s website is and will continue to be successful in gaining support for her campaign.

Clinton Finally Reaches Millennials

A recent TIME article notes that younger voters, after watching the debates, have decided to cast their votes for Clinton for having a calmer, more relatable presence. Although younger voters still have “deep reservations about the private email server and Clinton Foundation controversies and are suspicious of Clinton’s interventionist foreign policy and support on Wall Street,” they have overlooked these things after recognizing a newly presented authentic fighting style. (TIME) Clinton clearly addressed the concerns younger voters had about her seeming scripted, and in the final debate came out as a victor of appearing the most presidential.

At a rally in Philadelphia, she addresses the importance of younger voters, saying, “I think it’s pretty obvious that young people, like all of you that I am seeing in front of us tonight—this election matters to everybody but it matters more to you.” (TIME) This was a crucial statement to make, considering that voters ages 18-35 have grown bigger than baby boomers for the first election ever. Teddy Goff, Clinton’s chief digital strategist, knew she would have a more difficult task promoting Clinton over the younger, hipper, Barack Obama. However, Goff has pushed the image of an honest Clinton instead of a cool Clinton to resonate with millennials.

TIME also notes that younger voters have a “refined radar for political BS talk,” which comes with more selective media outlets through social media. While Clinton’s likability has been a slow process, Clinton has finally addressed the issues that matter to millennials in a way that Trump hasn’t, and therefore, she will win.

Millennials Finally Find Something to Love in Harder-Edged Hillary Clinton