Fresh from the electoral disaster of going all in for Hillary Clinton, the supposed party of the common man now must decide what it wants to be. Will it continue going left and become the permanent haunt of socialists such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and remain a mouthpiece of the coastal elites and not the many people who seem to have been left behind?
A map of Tuesday’s voting shows that the Democratic Party–which admittedly squeaked out a numerical plurality–is anything but national in its appeal. A smattering of blue reveals the Democrats’ strength in thickly populated states such as California, New York, and Illinois–and weakness nearly everywhere else.
Following eight years of smash-mouth leftist politics from Barack Obama and his broken promises, the Republicans, with Donald Trump at the helm, now control the presidency, the House, the Senate, and, soon, the Supreme Court–not to mention most governorships and state legislatures. Will the Democrats continue using the same losing playbook?
Most of America, if you measure by territory and not by urban centers, remains firmly red, not blue. With the Democratic Party in a shambles and its longtime leaders discredited, it is time for the Democrats to think new thoughts.
Do they want to continue to be known as the party of abortion, of hostility to religion and people of faith, of sexual license and confusion, of expensive statist gambits such as Obamacare that restrict freedom and fail to deliver on their promises, of illegal immigration, of automatic animus toward police, of ugly street protests, of knee-jerk race-mongering, of crushing debt and deficits, of naivete about America’s enemies, of endless regulations, of fixation on “climate change,” of political correctness and safe spaces?
Or do they want to reclaim their proud heritage of fighting for social justice; bringing together people of all races, religions, and economic statuses; of fighting for tolerance and true pluralism; of defending the country from all aggressors; of constructively working with Republicans for the common good; and of laying the groundwork for real economic growth and opportunity?
Along with the Republicans, the Democrats have reached an inflection point. Here’s hoping they choose a better way forward. America needs a healthy Democratic Party drained of its Leftist poison, especially now. Is this still possible?
We’ll see.
