Democrats: We lost — Where is our leadership?

With the election over, I feel like Democrats are too busy whining and licking their wounds while blaming every demographic they can for a failure to win the White House that wasn’t the fault of any one particular voting group. I stand firm: The justice system is wholly to blame for Donald Trump’s win. Followed by the DNC, President Joe Biden, and lastly, disengaged people who did not vote — that’s literally it.

 If any of the four groups I mentioned had done an effective job, we would have a different discussion. But they didn’t.

Now, we as a party seem to be adrift. Our party leadership is scurrying about a sinking ship, yelling, “The ship is sinking,” instead of manning the lifeboats, ensuring people have life jackets and guiding people to safety.

Anyone who’s played sports knows that after a loss, you meet with the team and make sure everyone is all right and reassure them. I do not see that happening here. This was a loss, but barely one. The game was tied, and somehow, the Republicans kicked an 80-yard field goal for the win.

We don’t have time to fret over the statistical details. We need to understand immediately that expecting Republicans to respect the rule of law at any point is giving them far too much credit. They will emulate the president-elect since he got away with everything. So now they think they can, too. We have to expect that they will do the same things that he has done without a care, as they now know they will face few, if any, consequences.

But, we can still beat them.

With the big game over, it’s time for the minor leagues to step up and send the message, loudly and clearly, about what we want not only to the Republicans but also to our party. We must reach out, activate and motivate as many nonvoters as possible.

That starts locally. Don’t shy away from city, county, and state elections. Show up to council meetings. Be heard and present as often as possible. You don’t have to attend them all, but attend a lot more than you have in the past. Start by communicating with your local representatives at a point just below harassment charges.

Let them know what your needs and wants are for your community. Call them out or commend them on their solid accomplishments, but do not settle for: “Thanks for writing. We understand your concerns. Your opinion is valuable. Your opinion will be taken into consideration. We take this matter seriously . . .” or any other passive answer that you get.

Demand action — and do not relent.

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