So, that happened…
The United States elected Donald Trump the 45th president. It really happened. It may have been a bad dream, but it also happened in real life. While there is going to be plenty of time to form a circular firing squad for the Democratic Party and the Hillary for America campaign, which in fairness I’ll probably join, I would first like to state clearly for the record that I feared this would happen, and that I’m genuinely optimistic about America and the Democratic Party.
I have been saying to a few people privately over the past few days that I thought this thing could go sideways. The Congressional campaign I was helping with thought I was completely crazy—until I wasn’t. As returns started coming in, my friend Ben and I stared at one another with the realization that this night was not going well for the Democrats and Hillary Clinton.
The easiest thing would be to blame this on the Hillary for America campaign, or the realization that racism is alive and well in America, or that the United States has finally succumbed to its very worst elements and discriminations. As we watched the Facebook and Twitter newsfeeds, all my liberal friends disparaged the end of days, the apocalypse to come. For now I’d like to remind all my friends that we are a nation of laws, with the largest economy in the world. We just watched our country go to the brink, and at the end we had an election. As always, some people won and some lost. There will be a new day tomorrow. Services will still function. Social Security checks will still go out. Firemen will still answer calls. ATMs will still have money. Society will still work.
As for the Democratic Party—well, we need to do some serious soul searching but ultimately we are going to have to rethink our approach to the People. A few months ago, right after Brexit, I wrote about how the Trump people and the Brexit people were very similar. Globalization has failed a great number of people. These folks are not looking for a handout or a new program. They’re looking for a way to guarantee their way of life, their homes, their communities. These are the rural and rustbelt voters that Democrats lost in big numbers on Election Day. These are voters who traditionally have voted Democrat. Many people will think that these folks are racist or homophobic or xenophobic, and I will not deny identifying an element within them that embodies these unfortunate opinions. However, by and large they didn’t care about those things, or Trump’s sexual assault, or his tax records. They cared about themselves and their interests. Donald Trump was the only one speaking to those issues.
A friend of mine once told me that elections are about future. A future vision for America, and in this arena, the Democratic Party tried to make the election about personality, and failed. Donald Trump made the election about people and their future, and he won. It was a strategic mistake by the Hillary for America campaign, a team that ran a brilliant tactical campaign. Trump was able to win the Presidency while breaking every rule we understand about a modern political organization. And while I’m sure that sexism played a serious role in this election, I do not think that accounts for the large differential in electoral votes.
A different friend, one I’ve known since our college days, was texting me until very early in the morning. A dedicated Republican who no longer recognizes her party; she asked how she could tell her daughters about the results. I reminded her that over 8 million people did not vote in 2016, as opposed to the 2012 election. Democracy belongs to those who show up.
We thought we’d already had all possible kinds of leadership in the United States. This is a new one. The American people will finally get the majority’s decision to embrace a businessperson and see how he can operate in government. I think the Democratic Party will emerge from this sting stronger and more focused. We may be in for a rough patch, while the entire world family is watching, America’s strength is in our ability to integrate diversity and continue; to constantly strive to be better.