The rest of the planet doesn't care about your primary-related grudges.

[geek tragedy]

The primary is past tense. So are both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns. The future of our party and the keys to victory in 2018 and 2020 will not be uncovered by airing old, stale grievances.

If the reality of a Paul Ryan-Donald Trump-Mike Pence-Steve Bannon axis of evil running our government doesn't motivate people to unify in resistance, goodness help us all.

[RazBerryBeret]

1. Thank you.

the most helpful and positive thing I've seen on here all morning!

[nycbos]

2. Someone talking sense in an internet comment section?

I didn't think that was possible.

[Kentonio]

3. A divided party won't win in 2020.

This is a fight that needs to be had early and quickly so there's a clear vision of which direction forward is. Trying to brush these divisions under the carpet would be extremely damaging.

[geek tragedy]

5. Here's an idea--instead of fighting over post-disaster bragging rights

people keep in mind that attacking our own when the barbarians are inside the gates won't save Medicare or our civil liberties.
Take the fight to the real bad guys.

[Kentonio]

6. This has nothing to do with bragging rights.

This is about the soul of the party, and this is EXACTLY the time it needs to happen to ensure a coherent, strong front against the enemy.

[geek tragedy]

8. Parties don't have souls.

They are diverse coalitions with shared goals.

There's more than enough common ground to build upon.

[JHan]

9. every word of this, thank you.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

29. Saving souls...the souls live in the districts....

Talk of winning the fight for the Democratic party's soul makes me think: End gerrymandering. Call your reps to support redistricting.

www.endgerrymandering.com

District boundaries are drawn without regard for the best interests of voters, and American democracy is suffering.
It's time to end gerrymandering.
TAKE ACTION
Support H.R. 278, sponsored by Congressman Steve Cohen
Learn more about what you can do to affect redistricting in your community
Support fair representation voting for Congress

Wisconsin legislative map ruled illegally partisan; case will go to Supreme Court
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/courts_law/wisconsin-legislative-map-ruled-illegally-partisan-case-will-go-to-supreme-court/2016/11/21/430d8fdc-b02d-11e6-840f-e3ebab6bcdd3_story.html?client=safari

[40RatRod]

32. Won't help in Georgia.

Most of the repub reps here are in office because of gerrymandering. They are not going to vote against their party and their own seat.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

33. It's a movement coming...slow going as always, but if your reps are a hopeless cause

I suppose there are other ways to support. The endgerrymandering.com link had another link to suggestions on how to get involved in your community.

[MFM008]

15. The most important thing

Is the defeat of these maggots.

Screw the "soul" of anything.
Or taking back anything from the party "establishment".
Or its best to lose so we can purify this party to suit our Susan Sarandon- ness.

[quakerboy]

66. Think we can do that

instead of undercutting eachother?

As pointed out, both campaigns are now past tense. So.. whats our course forward?

[LanternWaste]

23. Much like the Western Democracies and the Soviet Union didn't win WW2...

Much like the Western Democracies and the Soviet Union didn't win WW2... far too many social, economic and political differences to come together to defeat a common enemy.

[Kentonio]

35. You must have missed the half century of misery, oppression and occupation that followed..

[JCanete]

24. I agree with the premise of the op, but there's no reason to be optimistic

that there isn't actually going to be a fight for the soul of the party. How we fight it can at least move us forward rather than backwards. So, rather than getting people's backs up with who lost the election, we can try to gently nudge people to focus on what we want our party to be, not who among us did the work of the devil.

History lessons are important, but we should probably find less triggering ways to discuss them. generous reads of the intentions of our party leaders is probably a good start.

[George II]

31. Let's hope those who choose to divide the Democratic Party return to the republican party by then.

[Justice]

4. Amen

[Dem2]

7. Agreed

We have major issues just playing defense right now.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Thanks, as it stands the Post-Mortem Group is starting to serve in a slightly divisive manner.

[Raster]

11. AGREED! Thank you!

We are about to inaugurate a madman, and he brings with him even worse, more unsavory characters.

The primary is past tense. So are both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns. The future of our party and the keys to victory in 2018 and 2020 will not be uncovered by airing old, stale grievances.

[Persondem]

12. The rest of the planet, 99.9% of the USA and even a good chunk of folks here at DU

realize that it's time to look forward. The organizing for 2018 starts in early 2017 with precinct meetings and the electing of party leadership at every level - local, state and country.

[berksdem]

13. thank you!!!

Honestly, I am tired of the democrats blaming everyone else... it is HRC's fault! It is Bernie's fault! It is time to unite and game-plan to get this madman out of office in 4 years!!! (Hopefully sooner!!)

[cwydro]

14. Yep.

Spot on.

[Equinox Moon]

16. How do we learn from our mistakes if we don't process it?

(Personally, I have not spent time on the post-mortem (forum). Your thread made it to, trending, is how I came across it.)

Moving forward is good, yet have we learned enough from our mistakes to not repeat them? I don't know the answer, just postulating.

[bekkilyn]

17. APPLAUSE +++++++++++++ (nt)

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. I have a few friends outside of the USA and they think America needed a big wiff of Trump....

We've had a strong tendency towards a fascist dictatorship for decades but it never had someone to lead it.

They're saying we should feel lucky that the guy is an IDIOT so it will crash and burn. At this point we need to stop with the tendency to run token candidates in "red states". We need some kickass types in places like Alabama. No more Liebermans or Harold Fords.

[Dream Girl]

41. I agree. We need to see and feel it up close and to your point we are lucky that he's an idiot.

[progressoid]

19. This seems like a conversation we've had before on DU.

[CajunBlazer]

20. K&R

[ehrnst]

21. In the context about what comes next for Democrats - it's still up in the air.

If it will throw women, LGBTQ and POC issues on the back burner as 'mere identity politics' or continue being a party that speaks for all.

It's not about 'grudges' - it's about how to move forward.

[heaven05]

22. yep

[ProudProgressiveNow]

25. K&R nt

[HassleCat]

26. But someone must be blamed!

And it can't be me.

[sammcgee68]

27. 100 % Yes

I haven't visited lately with all the Bernie Bashing going on. Thanks, for this one sensible post I now feel welcome again.
A note for CajanBlazer. I have family in the Thibadoux area, is it as lonely down there for Progressives as I remember from my recent visit this past June. Signed the one lonely Progressive in Southern Ohio.

[basselope]

28. The "grievances" are not stale.

They are the core to the future of the party.

If the party fails to learn from the mistakes of the past and, for example, allows someone like Iraq war voting Joe Biden to get the nomination in 2020... NOTHING will be gained.

BTW... I work with a TON of people in Europe and have been shocked to learn that they were ROOTING for Trump.

These aren't right wingers out of Europe, but highly progressive people from Netherlands, Spain and Italy (mostly between 20-30).. who UNIVERSALLY despised Clinton and what they felt she represented.

[Fast Walker 52]

30. yes, I know some people like that from Facebook. They are lefty anarchists and Greens who hate

Hillary because she is "pro-war" and "pro-fracking" and "pro-banking" etc. Of course, we have a huge contingent of such people in the US too.

They are all clueless or in denial to the threat Trump poses.

[basselope]

36. Sorry, I don't see that much of a "threat".

I see a buffoon who will most likely be gone in 4 years due to the recession.

Of course, the democrats could muck it up by putting up an uninspiring candidate again and depress their own turnout.

[Fast Walker 52]

43. I guess you aren't gay, transgender, Muslim, black or poor?

[basselope]

44. Because they have all had it SOOO GOOD the last 8 years, right?!?!

This talking point is so nonsensically funny.

You act as if black people haven't been gunned down by police or LGBTQs haven't faced hatred and discrimination or that Muslim's haven't been targets of hate or that the poor have been doing really well. I mean comeon.. didn't some moron point out most of them have refrigerators??? Them some lucky poor people, right?

Just stop the nonsense.

[Fast Walker 52]

46. if you think it's not going to get worse in the next 4 years, I just don't know what to tell you

you think there won't be an all out assault on women's rights, for instance?

[TwilightZone]

52. I think I have to add...

"Trump isn't much of a threat" to my list of "things one learns on DU".

Sometimes, this place amazes me. And I don't mean that in a good way.

Both sides are bad is apparently alive and well.

Edit: poster was PPR'd. Good riddance.

[Fast Walker 52]

57. what is PPR'd?

[TwilightZone]

60. Sorry...

it stands for "posting privileges revoked".

Thanking god that Hillary didn't win (in a now-hidden post) probably didn't help his cause.

[Fast Walker 52]

67. thanks -- wow

[pnwmom]

49. Hillary inspired almost 2.7 million more voters than Trump

and she's matching Obama's 2012 numbers of inspired voters, too.

You weren't inspired by her but millions were. Unfortunately, in our country the votes of rural white people literally count for more than the votes of diverse urban people. That's something your European friends probably don't understand -- but you should. The Electoral College is rigged against the kinds of voters who were inspired by Hillary.

Current vote totals (and still counting)

Hillary 65,519,461

DT 62,846,550

http://cookpolitical.com/story/10174

2012 Vote totals

Obama 65,446,032

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2012/popular-vote.html

[TwilightZone]

51. You don't see Trump as a threat?

And people wonder how we ended up where we are.

[Bettie]

68. Here is the threat

With Twittler as a figurehead, Ryan and McConnell can push through the worst of their agenda and shred our social fabric for generations to come.

That harms everyone. They can send us into a real depression, not just a recession. They can get us into more wars that will further destroy who we are as a country.

The problem with a buffoon is that he will sign anything they put in front of his ugly orange face as long as they stroke his ego.

If you are not in the .01%, you are in trouble.

[geek tragedy]

34. people need to learn from their own mistakes and take ownership

of what they can do better.

relitigating past disputes is not the way to accomplish this.

[basselope]

37. The dispute is the CORE of the mistake.

The dispute is about the candidates we choose, their REAL values and their resumes.

The dispute is about the REAL core values of the democratic party.

Bernie Sanders represented those values. Hillary did not.

This reminds me of the same logic Pelosi used when they decided not to impeach bush in 2006 over the lies told about the Iraq war.

"Let's just move on".

No. Sorry. Not just letting it go.. it's the reason Trump is president.

[geek tragedy]

39. so the only lesson to be learned is that you were right about everything all along? nt

[geek tragedy]

48. Clinton got more votes in Florida than Obama did in either 2008 or 2012.

Democrats win when they run a talented, young candidate who can bring a message of change.

They lose when they run technocratic retreads.

You vastly overstate the role of ideology in presidential elections.

[Sunlei]

69. Clinton got more votes than any president in history. Repub. got more votes than any R in history.

[yardwork]

53. You know a TON of people who UNIVERSALLY despised Hillary.

Because you all read the same fake news on the same fake news sites.

But you don't view Trump as a threat, because those same fake news sites told you not to worry.

[forjusticethunders]

58. This. The Left has as big a fake news problem as the Right does (I know this from experience)

[yardwork]

59. The sources may be the same, in fact.

[Cheap_Trick]

38. The "key to victory" in 2020

is whether or not the Democratic Party learns from it's mistakes and gets back to it's core values.

[geek tragedy]

40. the party is a diverse coalition of interests, "core values" is a branding concept

more than an actual thing

[basselope]

45. Bull.

If the party has no core values, then it is worthless.

[geek tragedy]

47. ask 10 different Democrats what the three core values are of the Democratic

Party, and you'll get ten different sets of core values.

[TwilightZone]

54. That should be utterly obvious...

considering the discussions that take place on DU. Guess not.

[Coyotl]

50. Except to the extent they helped Trump, that we are pissed about!

[Cha]

55. Thank you, geek.

[libdem4life]

56. Those who do not learn from history, are bound to repeat it.

[mountain grammy]

61. K&R

[BlueWI]

62. Spot on.

Plenty of pain in front of us. No need to pick at scabs, just learn what we can from this disastrous cycle and improve on the results for 2018. Otherwise we could be looking at a filibuster proof majority in the US Senate favoring Republicans, along with other nightmare scenarios.

[AgadorSparticus]

63. It is unfathomable to me that people are rehashing the primaries

Just. Ridiculous.

[NoMoreRepugs]

64. what's done is done - time to gear up for the next battle

[Flatpicker]

65. True,

But I don't see the party taking any real lessons away from the loss.

[Madam Mossfern]

70. This is sad, but true

It should be a time for self reflection for the Party.
To blame Trumps win on left wing 'radicals' misses the point.