I just finished listening to Robert Siegel’s interview with Senator Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) on “All Things Considered” and everything fell into place.
Really? Ever courteous Mr Siegel gave the Senator every opportunity to say that the Democratic Party and the DNC had let young voters and working families down and to reaffirm her party’s commitment to both. Instead, the Senator repeatedly side-stepped the opportunity, at one point even appearing to fault young people for voting in larger than usual numbers for third party candidates. Yes, the Senator blamed the voters for not committing more firmly to the Party that since 1976 has pretty much abandoned the working family.
Yes, the Republicans are far, far worse. No doubt. But Ms Stabenow was given an open mic and a national audience to say, “We made a mistake. Since 1976 we have failed to stand with working families the way we need to. We are not going to make that mistake again. Whether its trade, taxation, benefits, workers rights, health care, college tuition, workplace safety — from this point forward, we have the backs of our young, our workers, and our elderly. Period.” Instead, she threw it back in their faces. Shame.
I now understand far better why the Dems lost Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio. And I understand far better why the DNC and Debbie Wasserman ran the other way when Bernie Sanders showed up. The whole Bernie message — working families, college students, elderly — made them nauseous, turned their stomachs; yuck! But instead of owning the electoral results, they talk about working with America’s first openly fascist President. Come to think of it, maybe this is the President they can work with.
Shame.