‘We were dealt a body blow’: Democratic leaders on the future of their party

Now, the soul searching begins. Some will say the party must become more progressive. Others will say we must refocus on the white voters that drove the Clinton presidency in the 90s. And yet others will say we must continue to focus on engaging and mobilizing the Obama coalition.

We must reject the false choice of having to choose between being more progressive or cultivating a populist economic message or continuing to fight for the causes of our increasingly diverse base. We have to do all the three.

We have to make a positive case to every voter of color of what we intend to do to improve their lives because simply pointing to the intolerance and bigotry of the Republican party is not enough.

We must reject stale conventional political wisdom and outreach strategies and embrace non-traditional candidates and alliances to move the party forward. We must own a message of economic populism that embraces not just the white working class but all workers in the economy that have been left behind and who feel like the recovery from the Great Recession has not reached them.

We must do more than commit ourselves rhetorically to reforming our criminal justice system and our immigration system. Instead, we must more fully commit ourselves to reforming both systems. We must be responsive to the voices in the country that are fighting to ensure that every life in this country is valued.

Our party is old and stale. The greatest asset we had going for us was that we saw the demographic changes in this country and elected a candidate that reflected that change and he gave us an affirmative case for change. The partys job is to mobilize its supporters to the polls, and we failed. Now, its time to change.

Zephyr Teachout: We must stand up to those who have too much power

I love this country and I am worried about it. Thats why I think the question cannot be what should Democrats do to win? but rather, what must we all, regardless of party, do to secure good secure middle class jobs, safe drinking water and respect for all people, regardless of race or religion.

What we must do is take on what FDR called the privileged princes thirsting for power who, in the late 1920s, took control over government itself. They created a new despotism … In its service new mercenaries sought to regiment the people, their labor, and their property.

In my race, three of the privileged princes, hedge funder Robert Mercer and venture capitalist Paul Singer and Sheldon Adelson, spent millions of dollars using populist language in attack ads against me. As FDR said: I welcome their hatred.

Demagoguery thrives when everyone is lying about power, and as Democrats as citizens we must be more honest, we must name the names of the modern princes, from Peter Thiel to Dan Loeb to Paul Singer, who are using chump change to play with local elections and national fear.

We must stand up for water and stand against abuse of eminent domain, where the worst kind of corporate power teams up with governmental power to take land for dangerous fossil fuel projects.

We must stand up for unions all the time, not just before an election, stand up for prevailing wage, speak up for project labor agreements, stand up against misclassification.

We must unapologetically oppose the AT&T merger as a reckless concentration of power, and push where we can for breaking up the stranglehold of big cable, big pharma and big agriculture.

In other words, we must be honest about power, and truly stand up for those who have too little against those who have too much.

Stephanie Taylor: We must follow the lead of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren

When you drive through the Rust Belt states that handed Donald Trump the presidency states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin you see a people in profound economic crisis. The only jobs are low-paid retail jobs at Walmart or the Dollar Store, or if you are really lucky, a job at the local hospital. The costs of healthcare and childcare are skyrocketing. Credit cards are maxed out, and college is a pipe dream. The epidemic of drug addiction is destroying whole families. Meanwhile, no one pays.

In the foreclosure crisis 10 years ago, the banks seized millions of homes, and no one ever went to jail for it. Corporations can break laws, move their plants to China, lay everyone off and get away with it.

Of course people are angry. For years, the Democrats havent offered a counter narrative. They havent said: These are the villains the corporations like the pharmaceutical industry, the health insurance industry, big agribusiness and telecom. And here is what were going to do about it.

Democrats, by and large, havent been willing to take on corporate power in a real way. They havent offered a systemic critique of the rigged economy and broken system, and shown that they are willing to fight it.

There are a few notable exceptions, like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Now Democrats need to follow their lead or Democrats will keep losing, over and over.

Donald Trump played to the worst xenophobic fears of Rust Belt voters, channeling their anger against immigrants, Muslims, anyone different from them. But he also offered a systemic critique that sounded a lot like Warren and Sanders.

Even his closing TV ad bashed the failed and corrupt political establishment … the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals The political establishment has brought about the destruction of our factories and our jobs.

And so he won those key midwest states. And America is worse for it.

This is a moment of reckoning for the Democratic party.

Ilya Sheyman: The Democratic party cant win if it smells like corporate influence

In February 2016, the Democratic National Committee ended its ban on donations from federal lobbyists and political action committees a policy put in place by then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008.

At last, corporate money could flow in unchecked. The Democratic party would have the resources to win up and down the ballot. Right? Wrong.

In fact, the rule change symbolized a deeper disconnect between the Democratic party and the voters it relies upon. Millions of those voters made known their outrage at business as usual via the the Bernie Sanders insurgency, to no avail. In November, millions of once-Democratic voters stayed home. The result: a catastrophic electoral rout despite a hideously despised Republican nominee.

Voters dont want a Democratic party that smells like corporate influence. For the Democratic party to reclaim its greatness, it must be its best self: the party of the people.

The first step is to clean house. Its time for a leader like Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Keith Ellison, and for a return to Howard Deans winning 50-State Strategy. The inclusive, progressive and populist agenda that emerged from last summers Democratic convention was a great one. Its time to pair it with a surge of investment in on-the-ground organizing and an embrace of candidates who can bring new voters and energy to the party.

Meanwhile, Democrats must stiffen their spines. They won the popular vote, after all. They have a mandate to oppose Trumps extremist, bigoted agenda at every turn and a passionate and growing mass progressive movement on the streets demanding they do everything in their power. The sharper the contrast between Democrats and the billionaire classs billionaire president, the greater the chance for a speedy Democratic resurrection.