Sunday, November 20, 2016

In Their Coastal Citadels, Democrats Argue Over What Went Wrong

The Wall Street Journal reports:
Republican America is now so vast that a traveler could drive 3,600 miles across the continent, from Key West, Fla., to the Canadian border crossing at Porthill, Idaho, without ever leaving a state under total GOP control.

After last week’s election, Democrats hold the governor’s office and both legislative chambers in just six states—all of them on the Atlantic or Pacific oceans—compared with 25 for Republicans.

Just a few weeks ago, when Hillary Clinton was leaping ahead in the polls, it seemed as if it would be the Republicans heading for a reckoning. Instead it’s the Democrats who are plunged into a bout of soul-searching about the party’s diminishing footprint, especially among the white working class.

The moment has been years in the making, masked by President Obama’s singular ability to knit together a broad coalition of young people, women and minorities. The last Democratic presidential nominee to connect with the working class was Bill Clinton, whose most recent appearance on the ballot was 20 years ago. Al Gore and John Kerry, who each lost to Republican George W. Bush, were both seen as cerebral creatures of an economic and political elite.
An article well your time.