The Democrats need to stop being the “lesser of two evils” party — starting now

MONDAY, APR 18, 2016 05:59 AM EDT
The Democrats need to stop being the “lesser of two evils” party — starting now
The Clintons style of politics is losing sway, while Bernie represents a return to New Deal principles. It's time
CONOR LYNCH

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been very busy over the past several months trying to convince people that the Democratic primary process is in no way tilted in favor of frontrunner Hillary Clinton. She has appeared on talk shows to debate about super-delegates and why they are necessary (to ensure that “party leaders and elected officials don’t have to be in a position where they are running against grass-roots activists”), and has denied any kind of real tension within the Democratic Party. Indeed, whenever confronted about her handling of the primaries — or the current state of the party — Wasserman Schultz tends to dodge the question and pivot to just how crazy and dysfunctional the Republicans are, as if to say: “Yeah, we’re pretty terrible, but look at those clowns.”

Similarly, whenever Hillary Clinton’s dismal favorability ratings are mentioned (according to HuffPost Pollster, Clinton’s average is 55.6 percent unfavorable, 40.2 percent favorable), many Democrats simply point to the fact that GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s ratings are even more horrific. (It’s true, the demagogic billionaire has a 64.4 percent unfavorable, 29.7 percent favorable rating.)

Once again, the evil Republicans are used to divert from the reality that Democrats are going through some serious problems of their own, like the fact that their likely nominee is one of the most distrusted politicians in the country. As Democratic strategist Brad Bannon told The Hill a few days ago:

“The No. 1 reason that [Clinton’s] favorability is so bad is that you have large numbers of Americans who say they don’t trust her… Voters see her as the ultimate politician, who will do or say anything to get elected.”

more: http://www.salon.com/2016/04/18/the_democrats_need_to_stop_being_the_lesser_of_two_evils_party_starting_now/