Trump and the Fall of Liberalism

Let’s be frank. After this week’s electoral explosion, liberalism faces years in the wilderness. It’s not just that the president-elect is Donald Trump. It’s that a Democratic Party that as recently as Monday imagined it had forged an electoral coalition sufficiently solid to stand for decades now lies in shambles. In 2018, the party must defend an astonishing 25 seats1478899762068 in their Senate caucus, many of them in states that Trump carried. “It’s going to be a disaster,” said one Democratic strategist -- and that was back when people thought Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in. Republicans control a record 69 of 99 state legislative chambers, and wound up with at least 33 governorships, the most since 1922. In short, the Democrats’ exile is likely to be lengthy.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing -- not if the time out of power is put to proper use. Naturally there will be period of backbiting and recrimination -- the racists are having their revenge, Facebook should have censored Trump supporters -- but one hopes the tantrum will be brief. Liberalism, for all its virtues, has begun to develop a sense of entitlement, and needs time to rediscover its soul. That may not be what the voters intended -- probably they thought they were delivering a kick in the pants -- but a reminder was nevertheless needed. Tell yourself whatever story you like about why Trump was able to pull off his stunning victory, but consider that exile may do the Democrats some good.