Pundits and pollsters are trying to figure out how they miscalled the presidential race. So many were nearly certain Hillary Clinton would win.
In a Washington Post opinion piece Member of Congress Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, says she knew Clinton was in trouble. She said so at the time. Her fellow Democrats didn’t listen.
“One of the things that was very clear to me was that working people of all race, creed and color really just want simple things,” Dingell said. “They want to be able to earn enough money to be able to live in a safe neighborhood, put food on the table, be able to afford to go to a doctor, buy the medicine they may need and educate their children.”
She said too many of those people are scared and continue to live with anxiety spurred on from the economic crisis in 2008.
She said the Democratic party needs to reach out to those working people. That, she said, is what was missing in Clinton’s campaign.
“And this is not finger-pointing at what happened,” Dingell said. “This is soul searching as we go forward.”
In addition to social justice issues, she said Democrats also need to focus on bread and butter issues.
“As a woman, I am where I am because of people who went before me and opened those doors wider,” she said. “But we have to remember that as we are opening the doors wider, we have to open them for everybody. And that’s our challenge. How do we make sure we are fighting for all working men and women?”
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