Here is the mountain we liberals have to climb in 2016. First we must elect a Democratic President. There is no alternative to this for us to have any hope of preserving the gains we have made and furthering our beliefs in establishing an equitable, fair and just society. Second, we have to take back the U.S. Senate. That's how we protect against getting any more Antonin Scalias and build a strong Federal judiciary at the lower court levels to establish a strong bench. Of the 33 seats up for election this year, 24 are held by Republicans. In 2014, the situation was reversed and Democrats were more vulnerable. So we need to work to win as many of those seats as we can. Finally, all 435 seats in the House of Representative are up for election. This is where the Republicans have used their effective tactics of grabbing state governments to gerrymander districts and control the House. In 2014, 58% of the electorate on a national level voted for Democrats, but thanks to gerrymandering, the GOP was still able to increase its hold on the House. It's unlikely that taking back the House can happen in 2016, but we have to start by winning as many seats as possible, registering as many new voters as possible, and working to elect as many Democrats as we can to state government as possible. It's a very daunting task. Anything that distracts us from achieving these goals is a waste of energy and counter productive.
So now come the obstacles. Scalia's SCOTUS cut the heart out of the Voting Rights Act. Because they control so many state legislatures and governorships, the Republicans seized the opportunity to enact legislation that has restricted access to the ballot boxes to the elderly, the poor and communities of color. Their claims that they are just trying to protect the electoral process from fraud has been demonstrated to be bogus. In person fraud, the kind that their laws "protect" against, is virtually non-existent. They have created a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. There are multiple cases working there way through the Federal Courts, packed with Bush 41 and 43 judges, but even if they are successful, it's unlikely to effect this year's election because it will just be too late.
Campaign finance laws, also dealt a death blow by the Scalia SCOTUS, provide an additional boost to Republicans. While there are Democratic Super PACS and dark money resources, they are not nearly as large as those backing the right wing. Once candidates have been selected, these resources will spring into full combat mode, whether the candidates want them or not. One of the problems with these groups is that they are on their own and press their own agendas without any input or message control from either party or any candidate. They are much more vicious than the parties or candidates because they don't have to face the wrath of the voters but the candidates and parties do.
Finally, for liberals, we have the customary Democratic circular firing squad. We have all enjoyed and been mortified by the GOP slugfest, and we feel good about the idea that Donald Trump could well be the Republican candidate and he may be the most offensive choice and, therefore, alienate the most voters. I'll get to that later, but what has also happened is that while our candidates, particularly Bernie Sanders, have refused to engage in that kind of political slash and burn campaigning, their supporters have not. As a Sanders supporter, my Facebook feed is clogged with vicious and despicable posts about Hillary Clinton. I am disappointed and disgusted. As Sarah Silverman pointed out last night on Real Time with Bill Maher, Hillary Clinton was the guy until something better came along. That's my key point. I want Bernie to win. I will vote for him in the Florida primary on March 15, I have donated money to his campaign and there is a Bernie magnet on my car, an act of actual courage here in Collier County Florida. But I am a realist and a reasonably knowledgeable observer and participant in political life. I understand that Bernie may not win. If that happens, I will happily support Hillary Clinton. I'll even put a Hillary magnet on my car. I refuse to make the perfect the enemy of the good. I will exercise my right and obligation as a citizen and vote. I will vote for candidates up and down the ballot who come closest to my views. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT CANDIDATE. Bernie has been wrong on gun control issues. He voted to protect gun manufacturers and sellers from liability. That was disgraceful vote and his explanation for having voted that way is, to put it bluntly, horseshit. But, in most other respects, Bernie closely aligns with my views.
Attacks on Hillary Clinton are fruitless and support the Republicans because negative campaigning always has the effect of suppressing voter turnout and one of the things I have learned over the years is that low turnout elects Republicans. That's another reason why the GOP has been so aggressive on passing laws that reduce ballot access. If people stay home, they win. For thirty or more years, Hillary Clinton has been a favorite punching bag for the right wing. They have successfully sold the idea that she isn't trustworthy, although there is no proof nor any examples of that of which I am aware. They keep hurling more slime at her all the time. Recently it was Benghazi. They spent $28 million investigating that horrible incident. At the end of the day, GOP committee chair Trey Gowdy's own committee report said that none of it was true. Further, it turns out that diplomatic facility security was cut because of the sequester, and we know who was responsible for that. Some of it was outsourced to private contractors, you know, the kind of people who gave us Abu Ghraib. We know who has backed outsourcing U.S. military functions don't we? Then there is the email sham. Turns out that Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell did exactly what Hillary Clinton did. It was legal and established within the State Department. She never sent any messages that were classified. Some were classified after the fact recently, but they were not classified when she sent them. Why was the State Department system so archaic and deficient? Hey kids, can you say "sequester"? So after all the right wing has done to trash Hillary, do you really think you are posting stuff that hasn't been circulating in the Fox News orbit for years? No, you're only making it harder for her to win if she becomes the candidate by spreading the same lies among Democrats, and thereby suppressing voter turnout. And what does low voter turnout mean boys and girls? That's right, it means Republicans win. Is that a smart objective for liberals? No, it's just stupid and wrong.
What about the dump Trump movement in the Republican Party? It doesn't mean anything. Why? Because after all the fireworks and Romney news conferences, asked if they will support Trump if he becomes the GOP candidate, every one of the Republican candidates and even Mitt Romney, John McCain, Lindsay Graham and the whole anti-Trump crew said yes, they will support him. So the rest of it is sound and fury signifying nothing. What about the right wing Super Pacs and dark money groups? Some will go right ahead and work to elect Trump. Some will reduce their support for Trump and, with those who will not support him at all, will direct their efforts to state and local races to help cement GOP control at those entry levels, where it provides a strong minor league training system for future right wing candidates.
So now what? Here's what we must do. First and foremost, stop trashing the other Democratic candidate. Our people are closer to what we believe than any of the Republicans. We need a large turnout. In that vein, second, contact your state and local Democratic Party and find out how you can help register voters, particularly if you live the GOP south, and then help turn out voters on election day. Third, give money to elect Democrats. Go online to take back the Senate and take back the House. Give to your Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Fourth, Howard Dean said that if you can't give money, run for office. Run for town council, run for state assembly, but do something to fill our minor league system. Fourth, do not sit out the election. Vote.
We cannot allow the Republicans to win. We have to fight to prevent their intended roll back of every progressive program enacted since the New Deal. Fight for us, don't trash us.
