Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:05 pm
There has been a great deal of finger pointing and blaming in Democratic circles over the 2016 election results, but Democrats already have the pieces that they need, the left and Democrats need to come together around the singular mission of making Donald Trump a one term president.
Politico reported on the Democratic finger-pointing surrounding stopping Trump at the Electoral College, “With Donald Trump poised to win a majority of the Electoral College vote Monday, Democratic leaders of an anti-Trump effort expressed anger and frustration toward Hillary Clinton and her top allies, insisting that their silence had all but doomed the long-shot plan to thwart Trump’s election. One Democratic elector with Clinton campaign ties claimed dozens of Democrats on the Electoral College were willing to embrace the unprecedented plan to throw their votes to a consensus Republican candidate — like Mitt Romney — as part of a strategy to coax GOP electors to abandon Trump. All they needed, the elector said, was a signal from Clinton or her top allies.”
It didn’t matter if Democratic electors voted for Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Mickey Mouse. Unless there were 37 Republican electors who are willing to vote for someone other than Trump, nothing would change.
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There has been an epidemic of finger-pointing for Trump’s win. Bill Clinton blames James Comey. Some Bernie Sanders supporters blame the DNC because they believe that Sanders would have beaten Trump. Many are blaming the Clinton campaign, and others are blaming the candidate herself.
It has been nearly six weeks since the election. Some finger pointing is normal, but Democrats have spent more time playing the blame game (6 weeks) than they have left to prepare for the Trump administration (4 weeks). Once a new DNC chair is elected, Democrats will have plenty of time to prepare a review of what went wrong in 2016.
Democrats and the left need to be focused on gearing up to stop the Trump agenda. The left needs to be ready to pressure Democratic members of Congress to say no to Republicans on everything. It doesn’t matter what Trump and the GOP offer, Democrats must say no.
One of the main lessons of the 2016 election is that compromise gets punished by voters, while obstruction gets rewarded. Democrats need to focus on the singular goal of making Trump a failed president. The left will not be successful if they waste their time litigating the past.
There is a bigger battle to be fought, and the success of the left will depend on unity and cooperation.
It is time to stop blaming and to start working together to take our country back from the corporate presidency of Donald J. Trump.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
