Democrats ask why millions of Americans repudiated their party in favor of repugnant and divisive Donald Trump. Could the answer be an equally divisive Democratic Party? Columnist Jonah Goldberg makes the point that, “alternating between parties that want to unify a vast and diverse country under ‘one best way’ is a recipe for perpetual strife.” The Democratic Party would do well to listen. The far-right wing requires eradication, and progressive reform requires broad support, but the path to that end is not through the left’s shortsighted alienation of moderate and conservative voters.
Democrats must stop:
Claiming the moral imperative. Historically, one side defining good for its own purposes and assigning evil to the opposition has led to social violence. The inflexible “right makes might” of Dems minimizes opportunity for compromise.
Ignoring the Constitution. When Trump won, leftists rampaged the streets, randomly destroying innocent citizens’ property. Democrats began impeachment immediately. They touted eliminating the Electoral College and packing the Supreme Court and Senate. If leftists resort to violence whenever unhappy with electoral results, and if the Democratic Party alters timeworn American institutions to guarantee its own political supremacy, citizens who respect peace and democracy will resist.
Being divisive, elitist, and hypocritical. The right didn’t elect Donald Trump, the left did. Hillary Clinton called millions of voters “deplorables.” Democrats everywhere cheered her statement. Conservatives were callously called Trumpies. Some were intimidated in the workplace, even fired. Moderates perceive such leftist tactics as threatening, humiliating, and arrogant toward those with differing viewpoints, leaving them resentful of the party and its agenda.