The party that looked so united behind Hillary Clinton against a divided GOP is now in shambles. What went wrong? The answer is probably not fighting fire with fire. This election proved almost half the country is sick and tired of the political establishment. Clinton was the establishment, and her qualifications, experience, and decorum was thought to be a better match against Donald Trump's aggressive anti-establishment movement. The DNC believed history would be on their side because no one in 240 years of democracy has won the presidency the way Trump did. Well, the impossible happened and we were all fooled, Republicans too. Now a big shift in the Democratic Party needs to happen to recover.
Democrats had an answer to Trump's movement in Bernie Sanders. Although polar opposites on the issues, both based their policies on extreme government reform. When Trump said "deport," Bernie said "welcome." When Trump said "reject," Bernie said "accept." Against Clinton, Bernie won 23 state/territory primaries/caucuses and raised over $225 million with contributions of $27 on average in a historically remarkable grassroots campaign. The Bernie Sanders grassroots movement was as real as anything, but ignored by establishment Democrats. Now that the establishment had their turn, it's time for the Bernie progressives to step in.
Sanders seems ready to make changes in the Democratic Party. In an Associated Press interview, he stated that losing white working-class citizens to Trump was "an embarrassment." He doesn't put blame on Clinton as he praised her for a hard-working campaign, but he declares there was a "lack of enthusiasm" among Democrats and not enough people came out to vote. According to Sanders, the Democratic Party is in an identity crisis.
"You cannot be a party which on one hand says we're in favor of working people, we're in favor of the needs of young people but we don't quite have the courage to take on Wall Street and the billionaire class. People do not believe that. You've got to decide which side you're on."
Sanders wrote an op-ed piece to the New York Times processing the election. According to Sanders, "Donald J. Trump won the White House because his campaign rhetoric successfully tapped into a very real and justified anger, an anger that many traditional Democrats feel." He adds, "It is no shock to me that millions of people who voted for Mr. Trump did so because they are sick and tired of the economic, political and media status quo."
Even though the Trump Train is stopping at 1600 Penn, Sanders isn't going anywhere. He's in the senate until at least 2018 and willing to lead progressive democrats in working with President-elect Trump.
"I will keep an open mind to see what ideas Mr. Trump offers and when and how we can work together... If the president-elect is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families, I’m going to present some very real opportunities for him to earn my support."
In regards to the fear Americans are expressing in the wake of Trump's victory, Sanders makes clear, "We have come too far as a country in combating discrimination. We are not going back. Rest assured, there is no compromise on racism, bigotry, xenophobia and sexism. We will fight it in all its forms, whenever and wherever it re-emerges."
Sanders provides progressives with hope that despite the Democratic nominee not being elected, the government can still make changes to favor the common American. The increasingly powerful progressive movement Sanders started can have a legitimate chance in fighting Wall Street, combating the pharmaceutical greed, and improving environmental regulations among other plans they made. This can only happen if progressives can takeover and replace the current DNC establishment.
The Democratic Party is stuck between representing corporate interest and the interest of the the working people. Sanders should be the front man that will transition the Democratic Party into the progressive "party for the people" it should be. That doesn't mean when he's 79 years old he should be the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, but a progressive takeover of the DNC could breed a few younger versions of Bernie Sanders.
For fellow liberals, in this Trump administration progressives need to be stronger than ever. That doesn't mean going against everything the Trump administration does, but making sure our interest are made known loudly and clearly. We may not be able to fix the working and middle classes the way we would've liked but there's no way after 240 years of constant progression that this nation is going to take 120 steps back to the days where minorities faced discrimination and women were viewed as inferior to men. If we want any shot at 2020, Progressives must control the Democratic Party to make it clear that we are the party for the people and "not the billionaires."
