Therapy for Democrats
Published November 17, 2016
by Gary Pearce, Talking About Politics, November 16, 2016.
My Facebook page looks like a mass therapy session for Democrats cycling through the various stages of grief.
They not only vent their anger at Trump and his angry voters, they also lash out at other Democrats and lecture them on how they should feel and what they should do.
No. You should feel how you feel and do what you need to do.
And especially for men: Don’t try to tell women how they should feel about the country not electing its first woman President.
Instead, let this scarred, but still standing, veteran of painful defeats and glorious victories offer you a menu of possible coping strategies, in addition to consulting Dr. Jack Daniels and a wide range of bottled and chemical therapies.
First and foremost, remind your friends here and tell your friends out of state what North Carolina Democrats did despite the Trump tsunami. Roy Cooper won, Petulant Pat’s whining notwithstanding. Josh Stein won. Elaine Marshall and Beth Wood won. Mike Morgan beat the Gerrymandering Justice. Cynthia Ball and Joe John unseated incumbent House Republicans in Wake County.
(And pardon a proud father for noting that Cynthia’s campaign was managed by my son James.)
Ask your Republican friends if you should show Trump and his family the same respect and magnanimity that Republicans showed to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Help usher in the new, young blood that the Democratic Party needs. We are now in the post-Obama and post-Clinton era. One reason we lost this year is that millennials, even women, weren’t as enthused about Hillary as they were about Obama in 2008 and 2012. As one young Democrat said, “Obama feels like he’s ours. Hillary feels like our parents, or grandparents.”
Read this excellent piece by my old friend and pollster Harrison Hickman and a colleague, “Dos and Don’ts for Democrats in the Era of Trump.” One Do:
“Listen to the voters, even if they do not fit the notion of our ideal coalition….Let’s admit it: we dismissed the economic hardship of many working class voters because they do not fit into our idealized constituency.”
Read Ruy Teixeira’s essay, “Trump’s coalition won the demographic battle. It’ll still lose the war.” A taste:
“Here’s one way to think about the 2016 election. We are witnessing a great race in this country between demographic and economic change that’s driving a new America, and reaction to those changes.”
As for President Trump, you could enthusiastically support his plan to spend a trillion dollars rebuilding roads, bridges and airports. The country needs it. And a big-spending stimulus program like that will drive half of the Republican Party bonkers.
To balance things out, loudly oppose Paul Ryan’s plan to do away with Medicare. Let’s see how working-class white voters like that.
Finally, take some advice from two battle-wise Democratic warriors.
Jim Hunt once recalled how devastated he was that North Carolinians elected Jesse Helms over him for the Senate in 1984. Months later, shaving one morning, he came to a realization: “Sometimes the people just make a mistake.”
Terry Sanford, right after an election that went bad, was approached by a woman who said, “Terry, I could just cry.” Sanford took her arm and said, “We don’t cry.” Then he looked her in the eye, “And we don’t forget.”
November 17, 2016 at 9:35 am
Norm Kelly says:
Libs are a funny group. Not funny as in ha-ha, but funny as in sad! Arch left-wing zealots are even worse than your average lib. People like the author of this post, and waaay to many media allies of the left, fall into a category more disturbing than 'sad' defines.
'Roy Cooper won'. NOT YET! If Pat had won by such a slim margin, all you arch left-wing zealots would be in the streets protesting to make sure EVERY vote, even illegal votes, were counted before any claim of victory was allowed. So, put the shoe on your own foot, and calm your butt down until the counting is done. After all, isn't it your typical lib who always rants that every vote counts? Now, rant at yourselves and take your own medication. WAIT!
Then there's the fact that libs lost across the nation. Is that because of hatred of Killary? Is that also because of stupid voters? Is that also because so many voters made a mistake? Or could it possibly be because so many voters have rejected your schemes, your lies, your socialist expansion, your intrusion into the operation of private business, your interfering in the daily lives of average Americans?
Gary's columns are usually quite fun to read. Not full of useful information. Often derogatory toward non-libs, and demeaning of those who are lib supporters outside the elite political insiders and media allies. The only way for lib supporters to 'recover', those whining about the liar being a loser, is to fully educate them and drag them into the truth. Point out to the average lib supporter how their own 'leadership' thinks/believes about them. Education is the key to future success. Even libs tell us this; it's just that libs typically want 'education' to consist ONLY of what they want you to believe, not actual education so you can think on your own.
