It was the Democrats' embrace of neoliberalism that won it for Trump
Naomi Klein
But this leaves out the force most responsible for creating the nightmare in which we now find ourselves wide awake: neoliberalism. That worldview – fully embodied by Hillary Clinton and her machine – is no match for Trump-style extremism. The decision to run one against the other is what sealed our fate. If we learn nothing else, can we please learn from that mistake?
Here is what we need to understand: a hell of a lot of people are in pain. Under neoliberal policies of deregulation, privatisation, austerity and corporate trade, their living standards have declined precipitously. They have lost jobs. They have lost pensions. They have lost much of the safety net that used to make these losses less frightening. They see a future for their kids even worse than their precarious present. …
Bernie Sanders’ amazing campaign went a long way towards building this sort of coalition, and demonstrated that the appetite for democratic socialism is out there. But early on, there was a failure in the campaign to connect with older black and Latino voters who are the demographic most abused by our current economic model. That failure prevented the campaign from reaching its full potential. Those mistakes can be corrected and a bold, transformative coalition is there to be built on.
That is the task ahead. The Democratic party needs to be either decisively wrested from pro-corporate neoliberals, or it needs to be abandoned.
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF CLINTON
TODD S. PURDUM
But the overriding problem was Clinton’s lack of any message as clear and disciplined as her husband’s was in 1992, when James Carville’s scrawled whiteboard mantra at campaign headquarters in Little Rock read, “Change vs. more or the same; The economy, stupid; Don’t forget health care.” When I asked a long-serving Clinton aide this week if there was anything she could have done to keep from losing, he replied without missing a beat, “Sure: give people a reason to vote for her.”
It is a mark of Clinton’s failure as a candidate that she lost to the only Republican—Donald Trump—that even most Democrats thought she had a strong chance of beating.
I said Clinton was in trouble with the voters I represent. Democrats didn’t listen.
Debbie Dingell
I was the crazy one. I predicted that Hillary Clinton was in trouble in Michigan during the Democratic primary. I observed that Donald Trump could win the Republican nomination for president. And at Rotary clubs, local chambers of commerce, union halls and mosques, I noted that we could see a Trump presidency. “That’s Debbie, it’s hyperbole, she is nuts.”
It’s now our reality , and as Americans we need to understand why. My district reflects much of this country’s diversity. Ann Arbor is a university- and start-up town. Ypsilanti is urban, and its issues mirror those of larger cities such as Detroit and Chicago. Dearborn is headquarters to Ford Motor Co. and has the largest Muslim population in the country. The “Downrivers” — a collection of communities south of Detroit — mean auto plants and manufacturing with strong union membership.
Much of the district is Democratic and those voters strongly supported Bernie Sanders in the primary. That result didn’t surprise me, but it did infuriate me that Clinton and her team didn’t show up until the weekend before the primary, when it suddenly became clear they had a problem. I took Bill Clinton grocery shopping that Saturday — too little, way too late. They never stopped on a campus; never went to a union hall; never talked to the Arab American community. Sanders was in my district 10 times during the primary. How would any sane person not predict how this one would go? It was fixable for the general election.
It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe It don’t matter, anyhow An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe If you don’t know by now When your rooster crows at the break of dawn Look out your window and I’ll be gone You’re the reason I’m trav’lin’ on Don’t think twice, it’s all right …
Still I wish there was somethin’ you would do or say To try and make me change my mind and stay We never did too much talkin’ anyway So don’t think twice, it’s all right I’m walkin’ down that long, lonesome road, babe Where I’m bound, I can’t tell But goodbye’s too good a word, gal So I’ll just say fare thee well I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind You could have done better but I don’t mind You just kinda wasted my precious time But don’t think twice, it’s all right
That is the task ahead. The Democratic party needs to be either decisively wrested from pro-corporate neoliberals, or it needs to be abandoned.
When I asked a long-serving Clinton aide this week if there was anything she could have done to keep from losing, he replied without missing a beat, “Sure: give people a reason to vote for her.
It’s now our reality, and as Americans we need to understand why.
It can’t just be about electing Democrats. This election shows that is not enough. It has to be about electing better Democrats and making Democrats better. If you can’t do that you’re just wasting your time. Having good intentions is not enough.
If it is any consolation, being the opposition party for the next four or eight years may provide focus and a way for this community to work together again. We’ll see. But, for now, fare thee well.