This is not the time to dwell upon what happened. However, in going forward we must examine how we must change, what we can do better and how we can reclaim our society from those who seek to destroy it for their own benefit. With that in mind, a short, concise post-mortem is appropriate.
Liberals and Progressives ran a campaign based upon the power of an idea. The GOP ran a campaign based upon the idea of power.
Hillary and Bernie espoused the idea of an equal, caring society, believing that the value and merits of that idea were self-evident. They were, but only to those who understood the idea in the first place. They stayed largely above the fray, when they should have been down in the trenches going head to head with the people who lived in the muddy bog.
The GOP candidates, on the other hand, sought power. They screamed, yelled, name-called, and smeared each other, while collectively lying about everything. Their debates were filled with “little Marco” and “low energy Jeb” and discussions about the size of their hands and other body parts. The public loved it, for it was “bread and circuses”...the oldest trick in the book to elicit public support. They accepted it, because it was what they wanted to hear, unrelated to any reality or truth.
Once the finalists were selected, the two campaigns pretty much continued as more of the same. Michelle famously said “When they go low, we go high.” It sounded great, but it also meant that the battle remained unjoined, and that only mattered because those who would decide the outcome were down there in the swamp. At some point you have to go where the voters are, even if your intent is to drag them back from that place.
The old days of objectivity were gone, and somehow equality meant that if Herr Drumpf lied ten times they were obligated to find ten lies from Hillary.
The media fell into the trap, unleashing the power of biased reporting from both sides. The old days of objectivity were gone, and somehow equality meant that if Herr Drumpf lied ten times they were obligated to find ten lies from Hillary. Going further back in time, the GOP had anticipated Hillary’s rise and embarked upon a never-ending campaign of smear, innuendo, and lies. We can argue that Hillary stayed above the fray, but that was the real problem...she needed to be down in the mud fighting where the votes were being decided.
So...where does the “fault” really sit?
There are multiple failures. The public failed to recognize and respond to the lies spread by the GOP and Herr Drumpf. The media allowed their role as the gatekeeper of truth to completely disappear in favor of click counts and shares. Despite the best efforts of Snopes and Politifact and others, far too many stories based upon lies were allowed to spread and grow.
The FBI directly injected itself into the election, based upon absolutely nothing. There is a feeling that the director spoke up because he could not control political elements within the Bureau, and that may be true. However, he would have been much more morally and ethically honest if he’d simply made it clear that any leaks would be identified and the culprits terminated. Instead, he decided he himself would become the leak, causing concern and confusion, and undoubtedly swinging some last-minute voters. Ultimately we now know his statements were based upon nothing.
We now know the GOP was so concerned about maintaining power that they colluded with the Russians to swing the election.
After an intelligence briefing well before election day, Mitch McConnell did what he always does...stall and prevent any proper investigation of the hacking because he feared the GOP would lose power. The ultimate no-no! Now, of course, that’s slowly coming out, and it’s going to get even more ugly as additional details are slowly wrenched from those who have the information. There will likely be hearings, and it ain’t gunna be pretty.
I’m reminded of the Watergate days: What did he know, and when did he know it?
So, the whole point is that the Democrats must learn to fight a new fight. It’s time to get down in the swamp, where the business of governance is now going to be conducted, and start trading blows, exposing ever sordid detail, naming every name, and accepting nothing less that ethical behavior.
Every lie must be challenged, every piece of dirt exposed, and every “trick” used to ensure the American People are the beneficiaries of our government, not just the rich few and the foreign power brokers. It’s going to be a long fight, and it’s going to become tiring. Heck, it already is, but each battle must be joined, with our eyes upon the ultimate prize...a society where the power of an idea means more than the idea of power.
