Excuses from the Left

Republicans, for all their flaws, have one virtue: When they screw up, they generally tend to be more self-reflective in analyzing the causes of their failure. For example, when they lost the 2012 election, they blamed their own inability to reach out to minorities, especially in the Hispanic community. While they did fail in that regard, nominating a presidential candidate firmly grounded in the establishment (Mitt Romney) was the actual cause of their failure. But at least they admitted they screwed up, which is the only way to get to the cause of one's problems.

On the other hand, the Left has shown why they failed: Blaming everyone but themselves for their own failures. Since the election, we have heard a litany of excuses for Hillary Clinton's loss:

1. Russian hacking. My friend Sam keeps sending me news stories about the Russian hacking problem. Even if we assume the Russians were behind the Democratic National Committee hacking, and even if they were the ones who hacked Clinton campaign manager John Podesta's email, what did these hacks reveal? The truth behind collusion between the Democratic Party and the mainstream media. The truth about how Democrats look down their noses at the American people. The truth about the Democratic Party's flaws, which might be revealed by some serious self-reflection.

As I told Sam, we need to send the Russians a fruitcake for Christmas. They did America a favor. (The "electing Trump" problem is another matter entirely.)

2. "Fake news". This meme has really taken off. Even Hillary Clinton herself has jumped on it. From The Hill:

Hillary Clinton on Thursday decried the spread of fake news online, calling it an “epidemic” that Congress should take action against.

“The epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year — it’s now clear the so-called fake news can have real-world consequences,” Clinton said during a speech on Capitol Hill.

Some Democrats have argued the spread of anti-Clinton fake news online contributed to her electoral loss to Donald Trump.

Sarcasm on.

Naturally, the collusion between the Democrats and the MSM couldn't have possibly led the American people to look for other sources of news.

Sarcasm off.

3. Racism/sexism. While the Democrats love to call out Trump for his alleged racism (I have yet to see anything conclusive about Trump himself being racist), they love to point fingers at the American people for being racist and sexist. The whole "electing Obama twice" thing puts the lie to this charge, but the charge itself is more revealing. "Racism" (and it's lesser used cousin "sexism") has become Leftist code for anyone who disagrees with the Left. While there are true racists and sexists in the world, there aren't nearly enough for the amount of accusations being alleged. Sadly, overuse by the Left has made this charge meaningless, so that true racists and sexists will tend to be ignored.

Somebody should send a copy of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" to the entire Democratic Party, because they clearly didn't read it.

4. Not enough substance in the election. Don't we hear this excuse after every election? Naturally, Joe "Captain Obvious" Biden has to chime in with it. From CNN:

This year's presidential contest was a substance-free spectacle, Vice President Joe Biden lamented on Thursday. 

"This has been a very tough election. It's been ugly, it's been divisive, it's been coarse, it's been dispiriting. And it was more a battle of personalities than it was a battle of ideas in my view," Biden told a crowd at a post-election forum convened by New York University in Washington.

"I find myself embarrassed by the nature of the way in which this campaign was conducted," he said. "So much for the shining city on the hill," he said.

In his talk, Biden characterized the election as devoid of policy or discussions of governance.

"Why wasn't there more discussion?" he asked. "Hillary Clinton was the single most qualified on the fact of it to run for president of the United States that we've had, period. It wasn't that she didn't have all these ideas. She did. But the press, you didn't cover it."

But he said it was understandable the media would forgo stories about each candidate's position on the issues for more salacious reporting.

"It wasn't your fault," he said. "When a guy talks about grabbing a woman's private parts, when a guy says some of the incredibly outrageous things that were said, it sucks up all the oxygen in the air."

The fact that Clinton was pushing more "big government" substance (if you want to call it substance) had nothing to do with her loss? The fact she is an elitist crony had nothing to do with the people leaning towards the more populist Trump? Instead, let's blame all the politically incorrect things Trump did and said for Hillary's loss. Huh?

Admittedly, this election was more divisive than previous elections, but that doesn't make it the cause of anything. Voters don't decide, "This election was ugly", and then press the button for the Republican. All Biden has done is take a classic problem with elections and connected dots that don't connect. This is a failed syllogism:

1. The campaign was ugly/divisive.
2. Hillary Clinton lost.
3. Ergo, she lost because the campaign was ugly/divisive. 

Mind you, not all Leftists are as self-deluded as the examples above. At least CNN commentator Van Jones understands why they lost, because he did the necessary self-reflection. There is hope.