The 40 Democratic Party Moments That Led to Their Epic Loss (Chapter 2 of 4)
Chapter Two: From the Obama Era to the End of Trump (Or So We Thought)
Source: Buzzfeed
4) Learning Nothing From Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street was a very disorganized movement that nonetheless brought up a lot of excellent points that was promptly ignored by the Obama Administration and the White House entirely. A giant slew of young, fed-up New Yorkers decided to cause a ruckus in the Wall Street territory after seeing all the bailouts and none of the culprits of the destroyed economy getting punished. Even though there wasn’t a clear endgame and there were no organized actions to do some true damage to those the protesters felt anger towards, the influence of the movement would inspire future movements for the next several years---including when a certain senator from Vermont decided to shock the world.
Similar to how the Tea Party Movement eventually gave us MAGA, the Occupy Wall Street Movement would give us Bernie Sanders’ 2016 run and the rise of a certain Puerto Rican candidate we’ll discuss later. The Democratic Party had a great opportunity to embrace them, and as history will show, it never actually happened.
P.S. Nancy Pelosi signaled her support for Occupy Wall Street, years later she’d be worth over $80 million thanks to obvious insider trading. Fun world we live in. .
5) RBJ Not Dropping Out
Ruth Beth Ginsberg not dropping out had some significant consequences that will harm the rights of women and minorities for decades to come---barring a significant change in the number of justices we have. Call it brave, call it defiance, I call it selfishness and cowardice to not let your ego aside in the midst of potential political turmoil. So of course, she passes away and in less than one month, we get Amy Coney Barrett representing the conservative Supreme Court justices undoing everything RBJ had worked so hard for.
6) Bernie Sanders Being Told to Not Challenge Barack Obama in 2012 Election
Legend has it, Bernie Sanders was prepared to challenge Barack Obama in the primaries, but was talked out of it by then-Senate leader Harry Reid. Bernie Sanders was so close to actually doing it that it frightened the re-election team around Obama, leading to plenty of behind-the-scenes drama and begging to reconsider. Bernie is notoriously stubborn with his decisions, so it mist have taken an entire army to pull him away from the possibility of being on that ticket. But the 2012-2016 Obama Administration must have angered him even further, because we all know what happened afterwards. Once again, the DNC fearing his 2012 run is a sign of things to come.
7) Bernie Sanders’ Shocking 2016 Run and Challenging the DNC
If you want an example as to how unexpected his run was, look at the minimal fanfare when he first announces his run, look at the lack of attention and pizzazz. He’s just a simple man, in front of a microphone, finally being fed up with everything happening and wanting some significant changes. Bernie believed that none of his colleagues were willing to do the work and changes needed to truly help the middle class. Being in politics since the 1970s, Bernie Sanders has just about all the experience needed to see what needs fixing and how it would be accomplished.
Of course Hillary Clinton didn’t take him seriously, hell most of the media didn’t take him seriously, and boyyyyy oh boyyyyyyy was that a mistake.
Months later when the debates started, Bernie Sanders started making significantly more leeway than anyone ever expected. The Independents were strongly backing him, and it was becoming clear that Hillary Clinton might have a problem if the cracks around her political armor continue showing. Then Hillary Clinton loses Michigan in the primaries, and this particular loss might have been the biggest piece of evidence that unless her campaign makes sweeping changes she’s losing to Donald Trump later that year.
We all know what happens afterwards, Bernie refuses to drop out until the bitter end when his campaign felt like they were fighting an extremely uphill battle with mistreatment and the superdelegates having way more power than the regular delegates that would otherwise pledge for him. Yes Hillary Clinton ultimately won, but the Democratic National Convention is going to have to face the Bernie Bros after damning information would be revealed to the press just a few days before the event.
8) The WikiLeaks Fiasco
This event at the time was already massive, but its impact wouldn’t even be measured until after the 2016 election is over and it has become clear that the Democratic Party has some major problems they need to confront. The e-mails revealed by WikiLeaks would display the disdain the DNC has towards Bernie Sanders, his campaign workers, his fans, and the overall campaign. The optics are enhanced by the fact that Bernie ran an anti-corruption campaign that discussed how higher powers with money are getting in the way of the needs of the American people.
So imagine how Bernie supporters felt when they saw that their fears turned out to be true; imagine the feeling of finally feeling like you can defeat Big Business years after Occupy Wall Street’s failures, years after the economic crash that took everyone’s homes and livelihoods, only to see a long-running politician take the prize because the entire political party demanded it to happen that way.
The Democratic National Convention became a hotly contested event with many angry people protesting, voicing their displeasures, and it led to a nomination that didn’t feel earned, a nomination that may not be strong or supported enough to take down the obvious threat happening on the other side: Donald Trump.
For the record, Hillary Clinton is a better candidate than Donald Trump every day of the week. However, the DNC definitely tipped the scales and this kind of behavior would continue for the next several elections, despite all the grumblings and warnings against behaving in such a manner. If the people that politically think like you feel like they don’t have a voice, why would they vote? Why would they want to participate? 2016 Bernie Sanders was always a longshot, but this was only the beginning of the massive infighting that is to follow in the years ahead.
9) Hillary Clinton’s Stupid Book Continuing the Infighting
In 2017, Hillary Clinton would release a book about the 2016 election, and let’s just say this did nothing to fan the flame of “Bernie Would Have Won,” and did nothing to potentially mend some of the broken bridges between the growing progressive movement and the centrist Democrats who are still shell-shocked at losing all branches of government for at least two years.
The book details a blame game in which shots were taken at Bernie Sanders and his campaign. Hillary essentially blamed Bernie for campaigning very hard against her, and unexpectedly opening the door for the Donald Trump win. The book never went into detail as to why they felt like never campaigning in the Midwest, why they assumed her experience and name recognition would have been enough to become president. Instead, shots at Bernie would only further anger those who wanted him as the Dem ticket.
10) Andrew Gillum’s Epic 2018 Run (WE WERE SO CLOSEEEEEEE)
This one hurt immensely, but it also showcases the proof of how the margins can truly take us in different paths. Imagine Ron DeSantis never winning, imagine Gillum blessing Florida with some much-needed democratic socialism after decades of Republican rule in Tallahassee. Imagine finally actually making progress instead of seeing Florida as a giant cash cow for tax-dodging selfish millionaires and billionaires. But most importantly, imagine seeing Diet Trump defeated and preventing the “Red Wave” from continuing to engulf Florida.
While Bernie Sanders has always provided the blueprint on how to defeat people like Donald Trump, Gillum became a great example on how to handle the MAGA bullies by calling DeSantis a racist to his face. If a state like FLORIDA was so willing to embrace major changes, what would prevent other states from seeking the same? I truly believe that Gillum winning would have strongly propelled the democratic socialist movement, but I also did remember seeing not too much support from the Democratic Party because of his ties to Bernie. And yes, I acknowledge some of the things that happened to him afterwards, but who is to say that he behaves the same way had he won? I severely doubt he ends up in that infamous Miami party if he were running the state in Tallahassee.
But that didn’t stop the Bernie Bus movement from earning a shocking victory elsewhere---
11) Joe Crowley, the 4th Ranking Congressional Democrat, Losing in New York to AOC, Launching a Massive Fissure
There’s a popular episode from the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond called The Angry Family, which had a pivotal moment that should have carried more weight, but because of the sitcom structure it doesn’t create much progress in the narratives of the main characters. The family are sitting with their priest and the teacher as they try to figure out why the son of the main character wrote a book called “The Angry Family,” which strongly implies he is seeing a lot of friction within his parents and the in-laws.
Hang on, I’ll get to the point soon.
Main character Ray’s father finally loudly proclaims the reason for all the friction that had existed throughout the entire show’s run: Ray’s mother Marie still hasn’t accepted the fact that Ray had chosen Debra as his wife as opposed to other potential prospects over the years that Marie may have preferred. It had been a running joke and the source of a vast majority of the conflicts and battles the show had crafted. To see such a direct statement from Ray’s father of all people was a very pivotal moment, and Marie responds by changing the entire topic and throwing a smokescreen at the accusation. Funny enough the show never really circles around that moment ever again, even when there was a small story arc with Marie and Debra not speaking to each other for multiple episodes
I personally believe Joe Crowley’s unexpected loss was truly the moment in which the Democratic Party became irreversibly upset at the Leftist block, at the Bernie Bus members, and I don’t think this moment in political history gets discussed enough.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez basically crushes Crowley at the primaries and completely wrecks the DNC’s gameplan moving forward. The unabashed democratic socialist from the Bronx arrived, took everyone by surprise, got everyone’s attention, and pretty much revealed herself as someone who was going to align with Bernie Sanders moving forward. This would open the door to AOC receiving significantly more press, hate, attention, and power that a typical House member would typically never see, and it has been this way for several election cycles. AOC is arguably the most-discussed House member of the Democratic Party in Fox News and right-wing media.
Joe Crowley was a long-running Democrat who was rumored to be next-in-line to replace Nancy Pelosi for when she would retire from the House of Representatives. Then, he was still on the ballot in the general election under a different political party despite AOC’s pleas for him to drop out and not potentially split the vote. Split slightly happened but it wasn’t enough to reward her the win and complete the titanic upset.
Now Pelosi sees herself not wanting to retire because the door is open for a Far-Leftist to take the throne, and these centrists would rather die than see such a thing occur. Notice that as of 2024, Nancy Pelosi is STILL trying to maintain political clout when 6 years ago retirement was seemingly in the cards. This can’t be a coincidence.
The Democratic Party is one that enjoys having their long-running members, they like to reward extensive loyalty. This is how Hillary Clinton ends up as the basically-guaranteed nominee in 2016, this is how 2020 plays out with Joe Biden (more on that later), and this is why the Leftists (mostly younger) continues to get blamed for whenever the Dems can’t secure a win.
12) Nancy Pelosi Leading the House of Representatives and Fighting the Squad
Nancy Pelosi becoming the leader was annoying, it was a mess, and it was stupid. I’m sorry, but I truly don’t like this woman. Her behavior towards Trump was so much posturing, her behavior during Black Lives Matter was also ridiculous posturing, and her battles and denouncement of The Squad would disrupt so much potential progress that they would create long-term damage including losing the 2024 election.
13) Bernie Sanders’ Wild Win in Nevada and the Following Backlash
I have talked about this at length over the years, but the 2020 Democratic Primaries were rigged, they were absolutely biased against progressives, especially Bernie Sanders. The DNC re-wrote some rules to allow Michael Bloomberg to continue running and debating, they allowed Big Money to infiltrate the process, but Bernie Sanders was still in the lead at the polls and via donations. No more unexpected surprises, Bernie is back and this time prepared to actually win the whole damn thing.
It would be revealed years later that the DNC ultimately towards the end of the primary process had stopped looking for someone to defeat Trump, they were looking for someone to defeat Bernie. And look at who was among the first major politicians to predict that chaos was about to begin:
Yea, this fucking guy.
14) The March 2020 Stonewalling of the DNC—from Elizabeth to Joe
I don’t cry often, but I admit I cried when Bernie Sanders dropped out in April 2020. His entire lead, all the momentum, were completely undercut by all the other candidates dropping out and bending the knee towards Joe Biden, including center-lefts and progressives like Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang. When the false rhetoric crafted by a desperate Elizabeth Warren about Bernie being sexist wasn’t enough, one by one everyone started dropping even before Super Tuesday when they could have gained some momentum.
It all felt so unfair, it felt like such an intricate plan to undo the will of the American voters. It felt like for a moment, a progressive truly had a good shot towards the main prize, it felt like we really had an opportunity to bring some of the European policies and ideas that have been proven to work to make its way here. We finally had our opportunity to join the rest of the world in a wide variety of measures other nations would take for granted. And in one month it all became undone, and this was in the middle of a deadly pandemic caused by the very same greed that convinced Bernie to run in the first place. Elizabeth Warren refusing to side with Bernie Sanders remains a thorn on my side, even though they had similar ideas and policies. It will never ever ever make sense to me.
This was likely the moment when voters began turning on the Democratic Party, even if it wasn’t going to be so instantaneous. It was around here when many disenfranchised voters likely felt done, spent, emotionally drained. And I’m sure the Latinos on the West Coast, especially California, Colorado, and Nevada were feeling absolutely crushed when all of Bernie’s appeal with them was being downplayed by the entire DNC. But this disillusionment also affected some of the other politicians running for president as well, whether its for nefarious or for legitimate reasons. Andrew Yang would become Independent and distance himself from the Democratic Party, Tulsi Gabbard, a Bernie supporter in 2016, would end up on the Republican Party and even earned a position in Trump’s cabinet come 2025.
Yet this is where Bernie’s legacy shines, because he would spend the rest of the year strongly campaigning for Joe Biden, despite knowing how close he was to earning the nomination, and how likely it was that the entire party turned on him because of the demands of the rich donors behind-the-scenes.
I have never deviated from the Democratic Party because I will always stand by where Bernie and The Squad stands. But if there’s a moment in which I wanted to quit following politics entirely, if there was a moment in which I would have been willing to let Trump win just out of selfish angry spite, it was this exact moment. I was crushed.
“I have cast some lonely votes, fought some lonely fights, mounted some lonely campaigns. But I do not feel lonely now.” - Bernie Sanders.
15) Bernie Sanders and the Infamous Mittens
Bernie Sanders was also crushed. Even if he was never going to admit it, he was also undeniably pissed. There was no better visual of his emotions as Joe Biden won the election (barely) over Trump than during the inauguration ceremony. We saw all these celebrities, famous singers and performers, and familiar faces showing up at the historic event. It was a joyful occasion, as the country was recovering from the Jan 6th attacks and all the chaos that followed. Let’s remember we had our first woman vice-president, and a Black South Asian vice-president at that. And then here’s Bernie sitting on his seat, obviously cold, obviously disgruntled, became a massive meme for several days.
Memes are a fascinating phenomenon because they always pop up organically, and will pop up for different reasons to unveil different emotions from the population participating in the humor. Sometimes its anger, sometimes its laughing through the pain, and in the case of Bernie, it was out of sympathy and endearment. Regardless of your stances of his ideals and ideas, it has become well-known among all Americans participating in the political process that this is a man who is always about doing the job, he doesn’t care much about the fireworks and the optics.
A Bernie Sanders inauguration would not have been riddled with celebrities, it would not have had a singer performing before the ceremony. It would have been him showing up, making his speech, accepting his pledge, and immediately starting his work with the limited time and resources he is given.
This is the appeal of Bernie Sanders, its not about him, its about doing the job to help as many Americans as possible. Even his apparel is usually about the movement, not about him, its “Not Me, Us.” Bernie’s selfishness is confined to his rhetoric and refusal to budge from it. It will always be medicare for all. It will always be good education for all. It will always be about standing up to Big Money, to Big Corporations, and to always rely on grassroots campaigns to get his message across. He is one of the very few politicians that doesn’t match the Nascar moniker of being bought out by different companies
The Democratic Party got their candidate across the finish line, but sacrificed a lot of permanent voters along the way. They won in 2020 but it wasn’t without angering many MANY voters, and as a reminder Trump still made gains with many different demographics. This was a warning sign that voters were skipping out on elections. Even with the most votes in the history of elections, the turnout still couldn’t cross 70%, and that is despite Donald Trump literally overcharging a global pandemic to unprecedented levels.
The Trump Administration literally helped cause the biggest pandemic in a century, but there were still people who flat out didn’t want to participate in the process. If after everything witnessed between 2016-2020 couldn’t draw people to the polls, then there’s an underlying danger emerging. The Biden Administration had a chance to retain those lost voters, to keep promises made to Bernie throughout the campaign.
And yea, well…….to be continued……….
