Can you Democrats please stop panicking?

[Antonio the Sixth]

1) Clinton has been losing ground for almost a month and there's no sign that the trend is stopping. If the race stabilizes as a 1-3pt Clinton lead (or, God willing, bounces back to a wider one), then I can stop panicking.

2) Beating Drumpf is not enough. There is more at stake in this election than who wins and who loses. What's at stake is the future of political discourse in the US. If politicians think they can win by adopting some elements of Drumpf's message or attitude (all the while discarding his most toxic aspects) then the US has some very dark days ahead.

3) The Senate is at play. The only thing worthwhile Hillary could achieve while in office is reshaping the judicial landscape, but that too is DOA if Republicans keep the Senate.

4) It's generally a good idea, in life, to prepare oneself psychologically to the worst outcome, even when it's not the most likely. It reduces disappointment.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Panicking is healthy here. It is the manifestation of a self-preservation instinct.

Yup, exactly.

[Antonio the Sixth]

OK, can we panic now? Only 6 weeks left to the election there has been no Great Hillary Bounce and if anything the latest rounds of swing State polls show that the freiwal is close to cracking. Unless she really hits it out of the park during the debate, we'll go in on election night with a serious possibility of President Drumpf.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm panicking because Hillary needs to win by a lot.

If she wins by less than 5, we will be entering a very dark age in US politics.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm panicking because Hillary needs to win by a lot.

If she wins by less than 5, we will be entering a very dark age in US politics.

You do realise that's happening regardless. If Republicans can see past Trump and still vote for him, then they can reasonably nominate anyone for local or national office.

If he loses in a landslide, they will understand that nominating people like him is not a viable strategy.

If he loses narrowly, they'll rationalize it away and try again in 2020. And maybe win.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm panicking because Hillary needs to win by a lot.

If she wins by less than 5, we will be entering a very dark age in US politics.

You do realise that's happening regardless. If Republicans can see past Trump and still vote for him, then they can reasonably nominate anyone for local or national office.

If he loses in a landslide, they will understand that nominating people like him is not a viable strategy.

If he loses narrowly, they'll rationalize it away and try again in 2020. And maybe win.

'They' are GOP primary voters. And a 20 point loss wouldn't put them off because they are disconnected from the mainstream.

I'm talking about the GOP establishment. They could have easily stopped the madness if they really wanted to, but instead they went along with it.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm panicking because Hillary needs to win by a lot.

If she wins by less than 5, we will be entering a very dark age in US politics.

You do realise that's happening regardless. If Republicans can see past Trump and still vote for him, then they can reasonably nominate anyone for local or national office.

If he loses in a landslide, they will understand that nominating people like him is not a viable strategy.

If he loses narrowly, they'll rationalize it away and try again in 2020. And maybe win.

'They' are GOP primary voters. And a 20 point loss wouldn't put them off because they are disconnected from the mainstream.

I'm talking about the GOP establishment. They could have easily stopped the madness if they really wanted to, but instead they went along with it.

I disagree. The GOP establishment didnt do anything because too many candidates were seeking their attention. If only one of Bush/Rubio/Christie/Walker/Graham/Pataki/Kasich declared, the establishment would have rallied behind the one and Trump wouldn't have been the nominee

The establishment could have forced them to coalesce. Instead they let them kill each other.