I’m not sure what it takes for the Democrats to learn their lesson, but what we’ve seen since Trump was inaugurated is not at all encouraging. We have Democratic Senators from Red States voting to confirm Trump’s cabinet nominees all for the sake of pragmatic electoral self-preservation. I think they are making a big mistake. Again.
I don’t want to get into criticisms of the Clinton campaign. Enough has been said about that subject. What is hard to dispute is that the entire focus of the Democratic machine was on getting one person elected. This is what I call “thinking small”. Instead of going for a wave election, they put all their eggs in the basket of riding the coattails of a candidate with high unfavorables. What were they thinking?
Now one thing I haven’t heard people ask is “Where were the PACS”. I think it’s a good question to ask. They are forbidden from running ads in favor of candidates. Why weren’t they running ads about how California and Minnesota turned massive deficits into surpluses and thriving economies by replacing Conservative policies with Progressive policies? Where were the ads about the failures of Republican governance and Conservative economics in Kansas? In Flint? In Wisconsin? In Florida? Where were the ads reminding people about the history of recessions and Republican administrations not being a coincidence? The Democrats have a story of success to sell and it doesn’t get told because they think small. “Our Shit Works!” would have been a better slogan than “Stronger Together”.
So this brings me back to what is going on in the Democratic Party right now. We have Red State Democratic Senators voting to confirm Trump’s nominees because they are worried about their own individual seats. That’s thinking small. Have they asked themselves what this country is going to look like, be like, in 2018 when they’re up for re-election? Are they really going to want to defend enabling Trump in any way, shape, or form? Are they worried they they won’t be able to sell Red State voters on the necessity a having a Democratic bulwark in the Senate to keep Trump in check, without confirming his cabinet picks. Do they really believe that these confirmations are going to have any cache with Red State voters if by some miracle Trump manages to create an economically thriving country in the next 2 years?
How do we create a message to Americans to get rid of Trump’s enablers if members of our own party are engaging in it? Teams win when they work together. Teams lose when they allow members to pursue their own agendas. It’s long past time that the Democrats developed a strategy and crafted a message that will not only help our current Senators win re-election no matter where they are running, but open the door to win other Red State seats. Remember, in the era of Trump the old rules don’t apply. We have a story of success to sell, and if we can’t do it in the face of what is sure to be massive failure, we deserve our fate.