On November 8, as the election results trickled in, CNN commentator Van Jones publicly asked this question: How do I explain this election to my children? The answer is simple: Tell the truth.
Elections have consequences. Elections go to the best-organized. The Democratic Party in several states failed to organize and mobilize its base around the issues. In essence, the party abandoned its base in many states. Instead, the party focused on Donald Trump’s diversionary insults-of-the-day and on winning over Republican Party leaders and voters for Hillary Clinton.
Since 2000, many state Democratic Party organizations across the country have been in various stages of decay. Mostly white consultants seeking commissions from political media buys have taken over the party. Conveniently, Paul Wellstone’s well-tested strategy of spending 70 percent of every dollar on grassroots organizing has been discarded. In its place is a misguided policy of heavy white media buys, negative and ridiculous ads, fake and contrived internal polls, meaningless national polls, and the abandonment of the core issues that energize the base.
In 2008 and 2012, candidate and President Barack Obama knew about these structural weaknesses in the state party organizations. With a powerful message of hope and a progressive agenda, he built a broad coalition outside of the decrepit Democratic Party organizations in order to inspire and galvanize voters.
In 2016, though the Clinton campaign had a progressive agenda, the campaign did not issue a single inspirational or profoundly aspirational message, nor did the campaign build a real coalition around the issues and the historic nature of her candidacy.
Jane Adams once accused the nation’s founders of setting up a system that does not require men of virtue for the system to function. The Clinton campaign and pundits, despite many warnings, miscalculated and focused on the “temperament” of Trump. In a country deeply rooted in the savagery of slavery, racism and sexism, it is unrealistic to think that temperament or bigotry is a disqualifying factor for a major party nominee. The eventual unity of the Republican Party around their nominee is a testament to the fallacy of this exercise in self-deception.
The Clinton campaign made no spirited or focused defense of the incredible record of achievement of President Obama. The campaign ignored a vicious GOP agenda, and the fact that a large number of Republican U. S. senators up for re-election would translate to a fierce and robust Republican voter turnout effort.
In those states where candidates and the state Democratic Party built real coalitions, as in Nevada and Colorado, the party candidates prevailed over their Republican opponents.
In states like Missouri, where the state Democratic Party organization essentially collapsed several years ago, the party candidates suffered their worst loss margins in more than 30 years. Abandoned, disillusioned, unorganized and uninspired Democratic voters simply stayed home.
Today, we must honestly face the fact that there is a multi-faceted rot at the core of the Democratic Party in many states across the nation. This rot affects all decisions and the allocation of electoral resources. The rot must be consciously expunged if the party’s losses at the legislative and executive levels are to be reversed.
The failures of the state Democratic Party organizations put the lives, rights and vital interests of African Americans and other working families at risk.
The time has come for broad and strategic reviews of state Democratic Party organizations, their recent failures, and a delineation of the steps necessary to rebuild and restore the fighting spirit of this party.
