MyCentralJersey

Now that the midterm elections are over, thank heavens, I wanted as a lifelong Democrat to give my party my feedback.

The loss of the Senate? It serves you right. The continued loss of the House? That too serves you right.

For almost as long as I can remember, the Republican party has hosted candidates who stood up for things they believed in. Awful things, but there's never any doubt what they stand for. Reducing regulation of banking. Removing environmental controls. Eliminating voting rights. Increasing police powers. Curtailing worker's rights, women's rights, minority rights.

For the base of Republican voters who believe in these things, they knew who to vote for, and they knew their candidates will stand up for these principles. Popular or not, reasonable or not, sometimes even bizarre or not: doesn't matter. If you are a Republican, you know who to vote for. Why? Because the Republicans are true to their base.

And the Democratic party? Did they stand up to demand jail for those who caused the banking collapse? No, they voted to bail out the bankers. Did they stand up the demand regulation of toxic dumping? No, they stood by as the EPA has been gutted. Did they filibuster and yell and scream as voter's rights have been cut, as tens of thousands of voter registrations in minority districts have been documented to have been destroyed? No, they have shaken their heads and tut-tutted.

Did they object to increased NSA spying? No, they rubber-stamped the black budgets that fund these agencies and don't even bother to indict officials who openly lied to them about NSA spying. Did they object to outsourcing jobs abroad? No, they promoted NAFTA and happily engaged in anti-worker legislation. Do they stand up for women, for minorities, for students, for anyone who might once have been in the Democratic base?

No, no, no and no. To the Democratic party, while you are wringing your hands over this most recent loss, why not give a moment's thought to why on earth you convinced yourselves that abandoning your base was a way to win support. The Republicans didn't win in 2014 because the American people love what is going on in the House or the Senate. They won because Democrats stayed home. And we stayed home because we were abandoned.

Troy Shinbrot

EAST BRUNSWICK