Post U.S. Elections: Vacancy for new leaders in Democratic Party

By Smita Prakash Washington DC [USA], Nov. 16 (ANI): They are a basket of 'dejectables', if I may coin a word. Completely devastated that they lost an election that was theirs to win, but Hillary Clinton did deliver a dud. Granted that she did poll more votes, but in the end she lost the Dems, an election. And in the end, that is what matters, a win or a loss. House Democrats today announced that they would delay their leadership elections to November 30; which makes longtime Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi's position tenacious. Not a good time to be a woman, at least a woman politician in America. Many young democrats want a purge. Get rid of the old wood, say some. And they might not be wrong. Rep. Democrat from Ohio Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) said, "I think that probably not just our leadership but many people in our caucus were surprised at the level of discontent in our caucus." Democrat G.K Butterfield was a bit more melodramatic saying, "We just got a shellacking last Tuesday. We got an unexpected defeat and we've got to recalibrate it and decide how we go forward.It's just like death. There are different stages of grief you go through." Younger Democrats, however, are looking for a complete revamp. Annoyed with Clinton's loss, many now are taking stock of what went wrong and why the Dems lost the plot so comprehensively. Many Democrats are calling for a complete shift in focus, approach and messaging. Gara LaMarche, president of the Democracy Alliance said, "There's a general feeling that the Democratic Party itself needs some serious reform and has grown very distant from the kind of communities it represents." Major Dem donors, who had gathered in Washington DC for a three-day strategic session, worked on a strategy to rework on the economic messaging first and foremost. "There needs to be a profound change in the way the Democratic Party does business. It is not good enough to have a liberal elite," Bernie Sanders told the CBS This Morning programme on Monday. He is saying what most Democrats and their supporters are asking: Why did millions of white working class people who voted for Obama turn their backs on the party? Stephanie Taylor, a co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a statement, "It's time for new leadership of the Democratic Party - younger, more diverse, and more ideological - that is hungry to do things differently, like leading a movement instead of dragging people to the polls." With no control over the White House or either chamber of the Congress, the Democrats have little to give them strength and hope. The Audacity of Hope has withered away after two Obama terms. The Democrats have to build the pyramid from the bottom up now for 2020. It's clear that the Clintons will have no say in the matter for now. (ANI)