Democrats must organize the base

The primary elections and party conventions are over. The road to November 8 is narrower but full of distractions as the major parties and their candidates face off. Hopefully, the campaign of insults, name-calling and entertainment will recede and serious organizing around the major issues facing the American people will come into focus.

In 2009, when President Obama was sworn into office, the U.S. was losing 850,000 jobs every month. Unemployment was in double digits. Wall Street was at its lowest in 20 years. Public school systems were in crisis across the nation. The housing industry had collapsed. Over 50 million Americans had no health care coverage.  Gas prices at the pump were nearing $4 a gallon.

And all Americans faced draconian eligibility requirements for health insurance: pre-existing conditions, caps on level of care, higher health care premiums for women, and millions of young people kicked off their parents’ insurance when they turned 18.

Despite vitriolic GOP attacks, the Obama administration made significant accomplishments. Over 15 million new jobs have been created. Unemployment has dropped. The Dow Jones has tripled. The U.S. auto industry was saved. Gas prices now hover around $2 a gallon. Significant improvements have been made in education as minority graduation rates improved. More women attend graduate programs. And the housing industry has rebounded.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed into law without a single Republican vote.  Today, 22 million Americans get their health care benefits through ACA. Over 300 million Americans silently enjoy its benefits. Because of it, no American can be denied health care coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Millions can now stay on their parents’ health care insurance until the age of 26. Women can no longer be charged more for insurance because of their gender or reproductive functions. 

This law that has improved access to healthcare for all Americans remains at risk. The Republican-controlled U.S. Congress has voted more than 55 times to repeal the ACA.  Virtually all Republicans in Congress are on record voting for its repeal. The Republican Party nominee, Donald Trump, has promised to sign into law the repeal of the ACA within 100 days if he is elected.

The hard-won gains of the Obama administration on voting, Wall Street regulations, healthcare and civil, labor, women’s and LGBT rights are all seriously at risk.

Robin Carnahan in Missouri and Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky built their campaigns for the U.S. Senate on distancing themselves from President Obama’s solid record of accomplishments. Carnahan and Grimes would not stand by or defend a progressive President.

Both candidates ran against Republicans (Roy Blunt and Mitch McConnell, respectively) who voted more than 20 times against raising the minimum wage. Yet voters never found out about Blunt and McConnell’s votes against the vital interests of American families. Both Democrats spent millions of dollars on ridiculous ads, and they both lost their bids.

It is bizarre to run away from President Obama’s progressive record of accomplishments while courting so-called Reagan Democrats. Regardless of what the current polls show, to engage in this electoral malpractice is to chase a mirage, demoralize the base of the Democratic Party and lose. Walter Mondale built a campaign on chasing Reagan Democrats in 1984 and lost. 

While the country may not need Donald Trump, the Republican Party needs Donald Trump to rubber-stamp legislation to repeal the ACA and to roll back the gains that have been made to advance labor, women, civil, voting, LGBT, health care, educational and immigrant rights. 

Clinton and statewide Democratic Party organizations and candidates must cut the crap.  They must organize the base of the party like never before and engage in fearless, intense and focused campaigns on the issues of vital importance to America’s working families.