Democrats need to connect with voters like Trump did
too, am a Democrat who voted for Hillary Clinton. But if you are one of those Democrats who thinks we lost the election because of the Russians hacking emails, then I have a bridge to Alcatraz to sell you.
The Democratic Party just gave lip service to many working people — and the voters got fed up. Americans who might have voted Democratic voted for somebody else or no one at all, and there were enough of them to make Donald Trump our 45th president. In Michigan, Trump won by 11,000 votes, and 85,000 people who voted in that blue state did not cast a vote for president. Do you need more proof of disgust than that?
The Clinton campaign forgot to get out of Washington.
In a country where almost half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, our Democratic presidential nominee was drawing $225,000 a speech talking to Goldman Sachs executives. And, according to emails (hacked by the Russians), her campaign thought it had the white Catholic vote in their pocket, a lock on the Wisconsin and Pennsylvania elections, and many more absurd claims. Who wrote those emails — the campaign staff or the Russian hackers?
The party was rife with arrogant assumptions about who would win the November election; it acted like people who turned off the 2017 Super Bowl at halftime.
The Democratic Party spent more than $1.2 billion on the national campaign with ads that didn’t address issues the people wanted to hear about. RepubI, licans now control 32 state legislatures and 33 governorships.
In a country where working people in every state are losing their jobs when factories move abroad, and where the cost of education is out of control, certain Clinton staff members were working to undermine people like Bernie Sanders who were talking about those key issues.
Democrats used to be the political party of police and firefighters, of union members, teachers, nurses, working people, young professionals and entrepreneurs. But in recent years, the party simply watched while the automotive and tech industries moved jobs out of the country. It stood by as America’s wealthiest companies, like Apple, took their profits overseas to avoid taxes. And it quietly accepted that the Justice Department had turned into a revolving door for corporate lawyers representing big banks and corporations.
A lot of folks who voted Democratic in the past voted for Trump in November because he spoke directly to them in simple, direct phrases: “I want to bring back jobs” or “I will build a wall!” Those folks were wrong about Trump, but they were right about the Democratic Party, whose leadership had become more at home on Wall Street than Main Street.
The Democrats’ civics teacher is going to be Donald Trump.
To rebound, Democrats need to talk to those who voted for Trump — not because they allegedly are racist or antiimmigrant (although there were those voters, too) — because those Americans heard Trump but not the Democratic candidate.
So what to do? It isn’t enough to be the party of “no,” waiting for Trump to implode and be impeached. That won’t happen.
Democrats need to be working for good jobs for everyone, sharing the wealth more equally, making sure people can afford a doctor, demonstrating respect for our police and treating women and minorities with dignity. Americans didn’t hear that from the Democratic Party last fall.
There are plenty of Democrats who can talk the talk of Main Street and spur voters to action. Sanders is one, along with Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Also Montana Gov. Steve Bulloch, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and, in California, our own Gov. Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, Reps. Jackie Speier and Eric Swalwell and Mayors Ed Lee and Sam Liccardo.
If you think the Democrats can just say “no” to Trump without a message to the people, you are wrong., and you should get ready for a rough 2018 midterm election and eight years of Trump’s irrational conduct.
The election of Donald Trump may turn out to be what saves the Democratic Party.
Joseph W. Cotchett is a California trial lawyer, Democratic activist and author of several books, including “The People vs Greed,” Patsons Press, 2016. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.