Why I Think The Country Is Headed In The Wrong Direction

It's not the economy.  It's worse, much worse.

George Washington University recently released a poll which showed, among other things, that 63% of the people think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

While only 30 percent of those polled responded they think the nation is heading in the right direction, and 63 percent said it is on the wrong track, those two figures each swung 3 points in favor of a rosier outlook toward the future. 

Trump has also referred to the high number of people who think we are heading in the "wrong way" in several of his campaign rallies.

As a whole, people who leaned Democratic had a higher satisfaction rate than Republicans.  The percentage of people who think that the country IS heading in the right direction has been fairly consistent, in many polls taken by disparate polling outfits, at around 30% for the past 3-4 years after we got over the worst of the recession.  

Now some of the "pundits" in the run up to this election believed that the Republicans had an advantage because so many people thought that the country was "headed in the wrong direction".  (That's also how Trump is interpreting this.)  That's what many thought in 2012 as well.  But I lean Democratic, and I ALSO think the country is headed in the wrong direction... but not for the reasons that the pundits think.

My frustration with the direction of the country..  

My frustration, or, some might say, pessimism, has nothing to do with jobs or the economy; I believe that the Democrats under Obama have done a great job pulling us off the cliff of a massive Depression and keeping the economy humming despite constant Republican obstruction.  I don't believe in trickle down crap; none of us should, so I don't think the repetitive Republican calls for lower taxes (that mostly help the rich) and fewer regulations (that mostly help employers at the expense of workers and the environment) have much to offer to any of us.  I do think that the success of Obama economics is evidenced by record breaking job openings and job growth, record breaking low levels of people filing for and claiming unemployment, record low numbers of people being fired from their jobs, and, finally, increases in average wages for "regular" workers and increases in the median family income that we have experienced in the past 2-3 years.

Of course, we could always do better concerning jobs, and the recovery hasn't hit all areas and all demographics equally, but that's not the issue here.

So.. why are we definitely heading in the wrong direction?

Here's my take on the "direction" of the country:  I am very distressed by the idiocy, the racism, the xenophobia, the reactionary regressivism that seems to have overtaken a big chunk of the population of this country as evidenced by the rise of the Tea Party, and, now, by the nomination of a creep like Donald Trump.

Trump should not have had any chance at the Republican nomination, not after that first debate, in which he argued with everybody including Megyn Kelly.  But every time he did something egregious, his numbers went up with Republican primary voters.  Based on those Republican primary voters, he actually DID secure the nomination... and he hasn't been that far away from Hillary Clinton in terms of gaining the White House.

What's wrong with the people of this country?  

The man mocked a disabled reporter, pretty much admitted to not paying any taxes; he conned people into signing up for his "university", he swindled suppliers and workers, he used bankruptcy as a business strategy.. on and on as Kurt Eichenwald itemizes in the latest Newsweek... and now we know his treatment of women has been disgusting.  And yet about 40% of voters will vote for the man.

If that doesn't show you that the country is moving in the wrong direction, I don't know what would.  People buy the crap that is dished out by Fox News, by rightie talk radio, and they don't have the capacity to look something up before they believe it.

Is there any way to reach at least some of these brainwashed Trump voters?  Not before the election; their minds are probably made up, but later?  Or will they continue to live in a parallel universe populated by lies from the rightie press.. and perhaps even TrumpTV?

But a man like Trump should never have 40% of the population of this country supporting him.  It shows that something is very rotten in these United States of America.

Some links...
Just a couple of articles trying to dissect the "wrong direction" sentiment:

From a September article at the Washington Post:  Why most think the country is on the wrong track despite positive economic indicators.  

Is the country moving in the right direction?  Interesting article, a lot of explanations, but the various pundits don't really get at the reason that I personally feel the country is in the wrong direction.