In the months following the presidential election, Democratic Party leaders have made a number of decisions that are neither in the near- nor the long-term interest of the party or the public at large. Two are narrowly political; a third is more fundamental for our future. Together, they show the party following the familiar path: stand for nothing, but let members agree with constituents about legislation they favor or reject.
First, leaders of the party are making the mistake of concentrating all of their internal attention on the loss to Trump. In the week before the election, I made several small bets that Trump would beat Hillary Clinton. I based that on three data points. Pollsters weigh random samples of voters by past voting outcomes. It seemed unlikely that black voters would come out for Clinton as they had for Obama. They didn't. The same was true of young democrats. They had voted solidly for Bernie Sanders and were unlikely to shift massively back. And third, as I watched the spirited, enthusiastic crowds at Trump's campaign stops and compared them to the uninspired voters at Clinton's rallies, I concluded an upset was coming. Voters at Trump rallies were wildly enthusiastic. Also, when we drove to rural Pennsylvania, we saw very many Trump signs—and almost no Clinton signs.
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