By: Jake Silverman
On November 8, 2016, then candidate Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton in what might be deemed as one of the greatest upsets in election history. While many Democrats claim that Trump voters and supporters were not ready for progressive Presidents like former President Barack Obama or potential President Hillary Clinton, those same Democrats failed and continue to fail to see the true reason why their party was unsuccessful in 2016.
The first reason that caused a failed Presidential election and a future failed election in 2020 is the social justice movement. I have began to wonder if Democrats and liberals will ever obtain the knowledge that the social justice movement is hurting the party more and more every day. The Democrats have removed themselves from their voting base quicker than Hillary was to delete her emails, and that was ever so apparent in 2016.
The social justice warriors were loud and energized. Unfortunately for Hillary, their voice was often used to degrade Trump supporters. The word “deplorable” became a term of accusation by Democrats, and a badge of honor for Trump supporters. It was worn as a badge of honor, because it was meant to be so demeaning that it made Clinton voters appear as elitists. That elitist mentality has not diminished. Hollywood elites with millions of dollars, have taken to the public networks to bash Trump and his supporters. A great example, being Trevor Noah and Jimmy Kimmel.
Ever since Donald Trump was sworn in, the name calling has gone from demeaning to despicable. President Trump supporters are now accused of being fascists and Nazis or comparable in nature. We have countlessly witnessed the badgering of President Trump champions at restaurants for wearing the “Make America Great Again” hat, minding their own business on a train, and other situations. It takes a simple YouTube search of “Trump Supporter Harassed” to watch the intolerable liberal faction continue their attempt to prove that social justice elitism is proper cause for abuse.
During the 2016 election, the elitist name calling turned a lot of undecided voters into possible Trump supporters. By using the term “deplorable”, Clinton supporters were essentially referring to Republicans as uneducated. There is not much more a person could do to turn off a voter than to degrade their mental capacity. This diminution of other citizens was at the forefront of messaging instead of the most important issue; making sure blue-collar workers had jobs.
Once known as the party of the “blue collar worker”, the Democrats abandoned their guaranteed voters and continue to do so. As candidate Clinton vigorously attempted to show that Donald Trump was unfit to be the next President of the United States and that his advocates were uneducated, she failed to give any insight as to what many citizens care about the most, the economy. Her campaign was given fair warning that if her messaging does not change, she would lose. In an article from CNBC, the Democratic Party chairman in Youngstown, Ohio, wrote to Hillary Clinton’s advisers in May, warning her that she needed to put a jobs-focused message at the heart of her White House campaign or else watch blue-collar voters in states like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania slip away to Republican Donald Trump. The party chairman was completely right. Those votes did slip away.
One would think that the Democratic party would change their platform focus after 2016. However, that has not occurred. Party leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Cory Booker continue to focus on using the social justice faction of the Democrat party to pick the policy focus. If Democrats intend to reclaim the Presidency and a majority in Congress, they will need to engage blue-collar workers and energize them to be the voice of the party. Fortunately, that policy shift does not seem to be coming any time soon.
The Democrats have only themselves to blame. As the economy begins to boom, illegal immigration rapidly decreases, and the United States begins to show a glimpse of their former strength, the Democrats have resorted to name calling instead of looking at the real issue; they left their party base. If they wish to see success, it is time to start moving to the middle of the aisle and working with Republicans instead of degrading them.
Jake Silverman is the President of Olympus Political Consulting, LLC. A donation has been made in Silverman’s name to The Center for Autism Education for the writing of this editorial.
