Joe Scarborough: ‘Political landscape looks grim’ for Dems

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough says Democrats are in dire straits following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

“Progressive road rage is getting in the way of Democratic leaders pulling themselves out of the ditch,” he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on Thursday. “Despite historical political setbacks, there is little self-reflection from a party that seemed to be on the verge of becoming a permanent majority just eight years ago.”

“With the 2018 Senate map stacked dramatically in the Republicans’ favor, and with Democrats unwilling to take a realistic look at their dismal plight, [former President Franklin] Roosevelt’s party could soon find itself in an overwhelming disadvantage,” the “Morning Joe” host added. “So the political landscape looks grim for the party of [President] Obama and Roosevelt.”

{mosads}Scarborough said Democrats have alienated themselves from middle-class voters, costing them vast losses at all levels of government.

“Since Obama’s win in 2008, Democrats have taken a pounding in the polls, losing 68 seats in the House, 12 seats in the Senate and 10 governorships,” he said. “And those are not even the most disturbing data points.”

“Former Democratic Campaign Committee Chair Steve Israel told me on ‘Morning Joe’ Thursday that local Democratic officeholders lost more than 1,000 elected positions between 2008 and 2012,” added Scarborough, a former GOP House representative from Florida. 

“And since 2010, more than 900 state legislators have surrendered their seats to the party of Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.”

Democrats were stunned when Hillary Clinton, their presidential nominee, lost to Trump on Election Day last month.

Trump defeated Clinton in the Electoral College in part by turning typically blue states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Republican.

The president-elect’s victory was backed by GOP majorities in both the House and the Senate, ensuring Republicans effectively control the executive and legislative branches for the next four years.