There’s one thing that I actually admire about Republicans: they aren’t losers. Yes, their policies concerning trickle down economics are backwards and they are for the most part on the wrong side of history when it comes to social issues. But, at least they fight. They are aggressive in their hatred for Obama’s policies and they quite frankly have kicked the Democrats ass over the past few years. They took back the senate, the house, and local governments all across the country. So, the Democrats must be fighting back right? The DNC is doing all it can to turn the tide in favor of Democrats right? NO.

If anyone has ever taken a gander at my blog you should know by now that I’m a staunch supporter of Bernie Sanders, but right now I want to talk about the Democrats as a whole excluding Bernie Sanders for the moment. The DNC is more concerned with electing Hillary Clinton than the actual plight of the party. All their debates have been at times where people won’t watch and many say that this is because they are scared of Bernie Sanders, however, there’s something more important than Bernie here. If the Democrats were serious about winning across the board and not just the Presidential election, they would have scheduled their debates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, etc. So, you have numerous Republican debates all in prime time T.V. spots soaking up huge viewerships and exposure. While the Democratic debates have had more viewership compared to 2008, they have had lower viewership ratings compared to the Republican debates. There are also so few of them compared to the countless debates on the Republican side. In terms of reaching out to voters that are somewhat apathetic about politics, the Democrats are failing miserably. These types of voters aren’t getting exposed to the ideas and policies of the Democratic party. And at a time where the Democratic debates and Republican debates are in such contrast when it comes to intellect, this is a huge opportunity to highlight that difference. But no, Debbie and the DNC continue to hide their only 6 debates. Just a reminder, there were 26 Democratic debates in 2008.

A report by PolitiFact.org called Debbie Wassserman Schultz’s statement that the scheduling of the debates was “to maximize the opportunity for voters to see our candidates” as utterly false. In the report the site states, “So far, Democrats have held four debates with a cumulative viewership of about 42.5 million while Republicans have held six debates with a cumulative viewership of about 103.7 million, according to Nielsen ratings of same-day viewership”.

Moving on from the utter incompetence of the DNC, the fight between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton incapsulates the dichotomy between a winner’s mentality and a defeatist one. Clinton has been framed as “pragmatic” and “realistic” as opposed to the “wishful thinking” Sanders. The issue of healthcare is a great example of this distinction. Clinton wants to build off the ACA and continue to allow private health insurance industries to exert their influence over our policies, while Sanders wants to push for a single-payer system and rid us of such corruptible influences. Sanders proposal has been framed as utopian and unrealistic by the Clinton campaign as well as establishment Democrats. This is that defeatist mentality I’m talking about. If Democrats were like Republicans they would actually fight for what they believe in instead of being complicit about the state of our government. But, of course not. They just want to see Hillary Clinton crowned president rather than fight for progressive principles.

Sanders is right when he states over and over again at his rallies that he can’t do this alone. What he means is that Democrats need to have a broad-based strategy for taking back the positions they once held. And if the DNC was serious about this, there would be loads of prime time debates showcasing a party that actually talks about climate change, gun violence, criminal justice, black lives matter, campaign finance, healthcare, and sensible foreign policy. The DNC has absolutely screwed the democratic party in terms of reaching out to voters that they need in order to fight back against the Republicans. The silver lining in this is that maybe, just maybe, Bernie Sanders will win this nomination and spark a progressive movement that extends way beyond the presidency. The way Sanders presents himself and argues for his positions is exactly what Democrats need. Sanders acts like a winner and refuses to back down from principles he truly believes deep down in his core. I’m tired of Democrats acting like a bunch of defeatists who feel that they must compromise their true beliefs in order to serve corporate overlords. We need a Democratic party that fights with a winner’s mentality.