Democrats won the most votes in the election. They should act like it.

[DonViejo]

Democrats need to be an opposition party, not a minority party.

Updated by Ezra Klein@ezraklein Nov 22, 2016, 9:50am EST

More Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump. More Americans voted for Democratic Senate candidates than for Republican Senate candidates. And while we don’t have final numbers yet, it looks likely that more Americans will have voted for House Democrats than for House Republicans.

So why aren’t Democrats acting like it? Why aren’t they trying to force Republicans, the media, and the emergent Trump White House to act like it?

This is not an argument that the election was rigged, or that Trump’s win is somehow illegitimate. The president is chosen by the Electoral College. The Senate is built to favor small states. Gerrymandering is legal. America does not decide national elections by simply tallying up votes.

But the will of the voters still matters, or at least it should. Thus far, Democrats have slipped comfortably into the position of minority party. They aren’t demanding that Trump put forward compromise candidates for key posts. They aren’t laying out a proactive agenda that would serve as their basis for negotiations with Trump and the Republicans. And they aren’t, in their public messaging, emphasizing that most voters opposed Trump’s agenda, and that both Democrats and Republicans need to take that seriously.

more
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/22/13708648/democrats-won-popular-vote

[hamsterjill]

1. I couldn't agree more.

Democrats are going to have to learn to fight this new waive of hate and bigotry, etc. on THAT playing field unfortunately. Anything less will look like complacency.

We all want to go high when they go low, but I'm afraid you can't stay very high when you are forced to wrestle with the devil.

Dems are going to have to get tougher.

[CrispyQ]

2. "...you can't stay very high when you are forced to wrestle with the devil."

The dems better be ready to get in the ring come January 2017, or we won't have a country left. Pence/McConnell/Ryan are ready to move fast & bold & they will do as much damage as they can in two years, to our rights, our Commons, our safety net & our reputation. We are in for Shock Doctrine on a national scale. Before, they just did it state-by-state, KS, WI, FL, NC, LA, & KY, but they now they control the federal government & a good share of the state governments, too. And right out of the gate they get a SCOTUS nom. Good work, dems.

The Trouble For Democrats That’s Not Spelled With a Capital T-R-U-M-P
While the party has been making history at the national level, it's losing ground in the states.

BY KATHY KIELY | JULY 27, 2016

http://billmoyers.com/story/trouble-democrats-thats-not-spelled-capital-t-r-u-m-p/#.V5kEcNTzHwE.facebook



snip...

Since 2010, in contests for state House and state Senate seats, Democrats have racked up a net deficit of 913 seats. Republicans now control 68 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers, a historic high. Of the 31 states where one party enjoys a “trifecta” — holding the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers — Republicans are in charge in 22.

That has enormous implications nationally.

“In 2010, we gave away the House of Representatives for a decade,” Rathod said, referring to the congressional redistricting maps, redrawn after every new Census. In most states that’s done by legislators, and in most states Republicans controlled the process. The result are district lines that are so favorable to Republicans that many experts believe it will take another redistricting for Democrats to even have a prayer of regaining the House speakership.

[hamsterjill]

3. Exactly.

It's an uphill battle and the Dems had better be ready for a long haul. They need to remember one important fact, too. That being that Republicans will cheat any chance they get!

We cannot afford to play nice any more!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. i was just going to post that article

we need to think strategically and less dramatically about how to win more elections next time, but lets not pretend that more people believe in republicans.