I know there is a big debate over why Hillary lost, why Trump won. Comey, racism, sexism...it all played a role. What also played a role is that Hillary didn’t appeal to a lot of Democrats. Many of Democrats stayed at home, and some probably voted for the guy who was said he agreed with Bernie on trade deals and railed against establishment politicians’ ties to special interests.
Clinton supporters have outright denounced questioning her Democratic bona fides as an unjust “purity test,” yet we’re not talking about minor policy quibbles—this is big picture policy stuff, core Democratic principles, and Clinton let Trump move left of her on special interests and trade. He even promised to block the ATT/Time Warner merger (she didn’t).
Now Democrats need a path forward. We need candidates who represent the polices we stand for because that will drive enthusiasm and turnout. Democrats certainly didn’t find agreement on Sanders’ and Clinton’s policies. Maybe we just disagree about what it means to be a Democrat.
Here are my six core values of the Democratic Party:
- Democrats represent the working class over special interests and moneyed elites
- Democrats believe health care is an economic and moral right
- Democrats believe education, including college, is an economic right
- Democrats believe that protecting the environment is essential to our future
- Democrats advocate peace over military intervention, always
- Democrats protect the civil liberties of all Americans, and especially stand up for the marginalized
I think these views are mostly in line with FDR’s Second Bill of Rights, which was never passed because he died soon after proposing it:
For me, Hillary failed on special interests and health care, and she was weak on education as a right and protecting the environment. I’m not saying Trump was better than her in any way, but as a Democrat, she didn’t excite me, and I didn’t work for her like I did for Obama. Clinton supporters, are your core Democratic values way different than mine?