As Democrats, we have a problem right now. For the last few months, every time I've heard the chestnut, "Can you believe how well Trump is doing? Could he really be our next president?" my response has been a confident "Hell no!" All of the head-to-head polls had the Democrats soundly beating every Republican contender. I was content in the idea that there was no real general election to worry about. We only had to slug it out between ourselves as to who would get the nomination, and then the general would be an easy win. Last week I was on vacation, but then I came back and saw something horrifying: according to a SurveyUSA poll Trump is beating every one of the Democratic candidates.
Now this could be just an outlier, but it does follow a trend that's been happening for a while now. Trump has been steadily doing better since May, and the first Republican debate gave him a bigger boost than anyone had expected. So why is this happening? Because Trump has been getting a hand from the media. They cover every stupid comment, every ridiculous policy statement, and boisterous threat he has made. The problem is that people have found it endearing. He appears honest. Right now that is what people are responding to.
Meanwhile, on the Democratic side we have Hillary, who is making vague statements about positions that matter the most to her base like the TPP, Keystone XL, the $15 minimum wage, and also has been a little bit distant from racial justice issues. Bernie has been putting his platform issues out there, but the media hasn't been overly concerned with them. Now we have more political theatre with Biden maybe entering. There have been no policy positions to speak of, however. This is a serious problem. We are seeing here and now that we cannot just rely on the fact that we are the more rational party. We need to make sure that our issues are staying in the mainstream, or else they will be overshadowed by Trump.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to bring the attention back to us: debates. Unfortunately we have Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC holding us back. When confronted about the lack of debates, and that they wouldn't be starting till much later than 2007 Wasserman Schultz has responded by saying that she wanted less because last time it was messy. She also wanted to hold off until people are paying attention. Well, if Trump's increase in polls is any indication voters are paying attention. Without anything coming from our side he is grabbing the entire spotlight.
For the sake of full disclosure, I will say that I am a Bernie supporter. I have been helping out with a weekly #WeWantDebate Wednesday campaign that is urging the DNC through social media to add more debates. At the minimum we want an end to the exclusivity clause that says any Democratic candidate who participates in an unsanctioned debate will be barred from sanctioned debates. Obviously, for a Bernie supporter, those restrictions did not bode well. He is less known than Hillary, so without debate there's no chance he could win. Now I'm starting to change my thinking a bit. Without more debate we all might lose, even Hillary. Having debate would put the media attention back on the issues that matter to us. Hillary would be able to show her statesmanship while clarifying her platform. Bernie would get his message out there to people who don't who he is. If Biden is in the race, he would sparkle like he tends to in debates. The rest of them can benefit from just being on stage with the big two (or three). Overall, we would win.
I know that things get heated on here sometimes. We passionately support our candidates, and can be a little harsh toward people who don't share our views, but that is what democracy is sometimes. Right now we have the chance to change it, Hillary and Bernie supporters alike. If you have the time and desire to help follow me below the fold.