A few words about the national Democratic Party, from a lifelong Democrat and a former D elected official.
One billion dollars in campaign spending and hours of free media promotion still failed to sell the Democratic presidential ticket. In Westmoreland County, not a single Democratic candidate broke 35% of the vote.
During the campaign, former President Bill Clinton — the best president of my lifetime — visited Western Pennsylvania. He may have been politely received by local Democrats, but his legacy has been ignored by the party he twice led to victory.
Democrats should recall the platform and policies that elected, and reelected, Clinton: Welfare reform. Work requirements for public assistance. Funding to add 100,000 police officers nationwide. A balanced federal budget. The Defense of Marriage Act. The 1994 crime bill. Parental warning labels for video games.
I remember his drive to boost volunteerism. I remember him boasting that the United States had more churches per capita than any other country in the world. And he never once called his opponents weird, racist, misogynist or fascist — even when they impeached him for a misdemeanor offense.
Democrats have veered from the values that guided those policies, and in the process the party has crashed. They must correct the sharp left turn that caused that crash. You don’t oppose right-wing extremism with left-wing extremism. You oppose extremism with moderation and pragmatism.
Democrats can move to the center, or they can lose. They have four years to make that choice.
George Hawdon
Arnold
The writer is a former Arnold City Council member.