Karl Rove goes through Democrats' election 'excuses'
Fox News contributor says the party can't face the truth
This should be a time for a serious reappraisal by Democrats. Their party suffered a startling defeat last month from top to bottom. The Democrats’ way back must begin with understanding what happened and why. Only then can they determine how to build a majority again.
Instead, many Democratic leaders are engaging in self-deception and looking for excuses. The Electoral College is a prime villain. More than 4.8 million people have signed a petition calling on electors to support the winner of the most ballots, Hillary Clinton. This would prevent Donald Trump from taking office as the fifth president who won an Electoral College majority without winning the popular vote.
But it isn’t the Founders’ fault that the Clinton campaign failed to turn out African-American voters in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Milwaukee. The Electoral College didn’t force blue-collar voters and rural Democrats in the Midwest to defect from the Democratic Party.
Mrs. Clinton’s popular majority is the result of getting more votes than President Obama did in states like California and Virginia, where Mr. Trump underperformed Mitt Romney.
Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, wrote in the Washington Post that Mr. Trump gave “a platform to white supremacists.” Besides insulting the 55 million whites who voted for him, this doesn’t make sense.
To continue reading Karl Rove’s column in the Wall Street Journal, click here.
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