Caught Between a Dilemma and a Quagmire

Dilemma – a usually undesirable or unpleasant choice

Quagmire – a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position

Well, here we are past the first quarter of this new administration.  An administration elected by those who were upset with the social changes (both domestically and internationally), pushed by the previous one.  A President who soundly defeated, although the most ardent opposition will insist not, all the traditional candidates he faced.  His message resonated with a sufficient number of voters in traditionally Democratic Party controlled states that the population turned out for him, despite all the flaws dramatized so religiously by the popular media.

The line of questioning that sticks with me on this election had little to do with foreign or domestic policy, but was a question intended to skewer Mr. Trump over his statements the election system was rigged.  When asked if he would accept the results of the election he did not, as any traditional candidate would, jump up and say certainly he would.  He said he would have to look at the results and decide.  His opponent took the traditional path, a response apparently not in keeping with her party’s beliefs, or just an outright lie.

As Mr. Trump and the Republicans swept through the election, like Sherman through Atlanta, the DNC was left as a smoking ruin of what was once the dominate party in America.  They had a serious decision to make, would they consider why they had lost the faith of the traditional democratic strongholds, or would they double down on the agenda that had taken them to this point?  In other words, would they move to a more centrist position or to a more extreme?  With their words and actions since that faithful November day it appears they have chosen to move to the extreme. 

Their opposition has now taken on the appearance of a guerrilla conflict, where the insurgent knows they cannot confront the opponent directly, but must delegitimize him in the eyes of the average citizen. Unfortunately, it seems they are tone deft to the concerns of the average citizen, and their actions only reinforce the idea Mr. Trump was the lessor of the two evils presented for voter choice.

With Mr. Trump, they had an opportunity to move a non-traditional conservative to a more centrist position by working to compromise his more extreme positions, but that would have required some compromise on their part.  After the past 12 years of government polarization that turned out to be either undesirable or impossible.  So now it will be interesting to see how they rebuild a party that is far more liberal than the average voter in the rust belt states. 

The party in power traditionally loses seats in the mid-term election, and the Republican majority seems to be doing everything they can think of to reinforce the idea they are ill prepared to lead, so 2018 will be an interesting campaign for the DNC.