Our Real Challenge for 2016
Whoever becomes the Democratic candidate for President in 2016, Democrats have another challenge that is even more important than electing a Democrat as President. It's an even more difficult challenge, but one we can win if we truly want to. It's a challenge that we can also fail to win, and the consequences are far more important than which Democrat gets elected as President.
Congress is that challenge. We've watched as the Republicans have steadily gained more and more power in Congress. We've watched, instead of preventing them from gaining majorities in both the House and Senate. We successfully elected Barack Obama twice, but have lost Congress. That should be a source of shame for all Democratic activists.
While we bicker among ourselves over presidential politics, we have ignored the equally important issue of providing our President with a Congress that will write and pass the bills needed to make the United States more progressive. All too often, we deride house members and Senators who don't actively promote progressivism, even though they vote with the Democratic caucus and help to pass what little progressive legislation has passed. We don't like some Democrats in Congress, because they are not sufficiently progressive to suit us, so we don't support them when they run for office, even if a progressive would have no chance of winning.
The result is that, one by one, they lose elections to Republicans, especially in mid-term elections. In those, Democrats turn out in far lower numbers than during presidential election years. We are frustrated with the lack of progress, so we respond by not engaging in the activism that might prevent Republicans from unseating Democrats in difficult districts.
In 2016, Barack Obama finishes the second term of his presidency. Many Democrats have found areas to find fault with President Obama. They're discouraged. The result of that discouragement has been the return of control of Congress to Republicans. Now, we need a new President in 2016. At the same time, we'll elect every member of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate.
Right now, many Democrats are fighting over who the Democratic candidate for President should be. Some prefer one, while others prefer another. Some even declare that if their favorite candidate isn't the nominee they'll stand down from the election or vote for some useless third party candidate in a meaningless protest. This is a path that leads directly to destruction.
Without a solid turnout and active GOTV efforts in 2016, there's a fair chance that a Republican will become President. Even worse, there's an even greater chance that Congress will have an even stronger Republican majority in both houses. Can we survive that? I don't think so. In fact, I believe that if Republicans gain control of all three branches of government, they will move to make it almost impossible for Democrats to win in the future. They can do it, too. Easily.
DU seems to be all about the presidency. I think that's a huge mistake. DUers are activists. DUers have influence in their own communities. DUers can affect an election, if they go to work and try to make the election count. They can also become frustrated and refuse to engage in election activism and let things happen as they happen. The same is true of many other Democrats who are active on the Internet, but not always active in local political efforts.
It scares the crap out of me. Truly it does. I think we need, as Democrats, to adopt a new attitude about elections and work as hard as we can to reverse the trend that has given us a Republican-controlled Congress. I think we need to support the presidential candidates of our choice in the primary elections, but then give our complete and full support to whoever becomes the actual nominee. We will need to come together to support the Democratic candidate for President and every other Democratic candidate for the House, Senate and in every state legislative district.
If we fail to do that, it will not matter much who is elected as President. A Democratic President with a Republican dominated Congress has his or her hands handcuffed behind his or her back from the very start. We've seen that over the past almost seven years. Will we learn? Will we act? I simply don't know any longer.
I consider the 2016 election to be an election of an importance so crucial that it may determine the course of this country for decades. I think we'd better get our collective act together for 2016. If we don't, I fear for the future more than I can say. I'm an old man. This may be my last chance to make a difference. I hope others join me. Please.
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