“This election’s mandate is clear: Democrats can’t afford to play it safe. The party must confront peoples’ economic suffering head-on.”

PENNSYLVANIA—In response to the presidential election results, Diana Robinson, co-deputy director of Make the Road Action in Pennsylvania released the following statement on behalf of the organization’s more than 13,000 members, who knocked more than 560,000 doors and made over 412,000 calls across eight Pennsylvania counties (Lehigh, Bucks, Luzerne, Lancaster, Northampton, Schuylkill, Philadelphia, and Berks):

“Everyday people are crying out to be heard and the Democratic Party has turned a deaf ear. Last night, years of neglect of working class people came to an ugly head.

“Reducing this loss to racism, sexism, or xenophobia fails to capture the fact that Democratic Party leaders played a dangerous game, lecturing voters on moralism while downplaying the crises many people are in. Democrats were so busy deflecting blame for the poverty, hunger, and suffering of working people in order to protect the status quo that they paved the way for the far-right to present as the trojan horse of change – but a closer look inside reveals nothing but an onslaught of attacks on immigrants and our civil rights.

“We saw Latinos and other working-class voters opt out or turn to Trump, disillusioned by a party more focused on self-preservation and appeasing corporations than on delivering material wins for everyday people. This election’s mandate is clear: Democrats can’t afford to play it safe. The party must confront peoples’ economic suffering head-on.

“The Democratic Party has failed itself and the people they promised to represent. Make the Road Action in Pennsylvania will be on the frontlines of building a new political vehicle that fights unapologetically to win real victories for working people, immigrants, and all those neglected by the current system. The Democratic party would be wise to get on board.”

 

Infromation provided to TVL by:
Melissa McCleery