Overcoming the experts, the lazy figures in the press, and people's attention span towards sound bites. HOW PROGRESSIVES AND DEMOCRATS SHOULD OVERCOME THAT?

A lot of attention has been given since the November election what went wrong for Democrats and Progressives. As previous posts on this blog have indicated, what a difference an Electoral College, Russian hacking, and James Comey notification ten days before the election makes. Performing self-autopsies, Democrats and Progressives have laid the blame squarely on Hillary Clinton. Some say she was a lousy candidate who did not, as former President Obama indicated, do the nitty-gritty of campaigning like visiting every local fish and chips and coffee shop. Others, like former Vice President Joe Biden, say her message did not appeal to the people who felt left out of the recovery. Still others, like rabid Bernie Sanders disciples, say she was not progressive enough. These views have been reinforced by so-called expert analysts, press pundits, and left-wing zealots. Never mind that the lousy candidate won the popular vote by almost three million votes and the fact that, if you look at the speeches, website, and policy ideas, she did run a progressive campaign. What we need to do now as Progressives so this does not happen again is as Richard Eskow wrote in an article titled "What Happens Next": we build a program that focuses on the future by building on the progressive foundations our leaders have laid. We make sure our messaging gets full press over the bombastic rants of our President and hold the press accountable if it does not. We also hold the press accountable for taking comments like Secretary Clinton's coal comment from last year out of context. That was journalistic malpractice and borderline FAKE NEWS. Finally, despite what the experts say, we campaign on progressive ideas like better access and affordable health care, a living wage (the poverty and income rates have only now come back to the 2008 levels),  aid to higher and pre-education programs and infrastructure. It is a winning formula if we can explain to the people, especially those who voted for Trump after voting for Obama twice, how these ideas will lead to them having better lives. WE ALSO REMIND PEOPLE THAT IT WAS THE DEMOCRATS THAT RECEIVED THE MOST VOTES LAST YEAR. IT WAS THE REPUBLICANS THAT LOST SEATS IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Better informed voters that turn out to vote are a key to Progressive success and sustainable majorities that can allow us to enact programs that will make America greater.


https://newrepublic.com/article/144547/redoing-electoral-math-argued-demographics-favored-democrats-wrong

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/13/teflon-trump-democrats-messaging-242607

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2017/09/08/438642/tale-two-recoveries/

https://talkpoverty.org/poverty/#.Wb1KPQGVILs.facebook

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/12/what-matters-what-happens-next-not-what-happened?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/15/16306158/hillary-clinton-hall-of-mirrors

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/16/13972394/most-common-words-hillary-clinton-speech