Belated Wisdom, At Best

In an opinion piece in Thursday's Washington Post, Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) explains

My district reflects much of this country’s diversity. Ann Arbor is a university- and start-up town. Ypsilanti is urban, and its issues mirror those of larger cities such as Detroit and Chicago. Dearborn is headquarters to Ford Motor Co. and has the largest Muslim population in the country. The “Downrivers” — a collection of communities south of Detroit — mean auto plants and manufacturing with strong union membership.

The congresswoman maintains "From the beginning, I knew the Downrivers would support Trump both in the Republican primary and in the general. I witness the emotions and passions of their residents every day, and I believe they are what elected Trump president."

Dingell, who notes that she took Bill Clinton "grocery shopping" the day before the Michigan primary, brags

I was the crazy one. I predicted that Hillary Clinton was in trouble in Michigan during the Democratic primary. I observed that Donald Trump could win the Republican nomination for president. And at Rotary clubs, local chambers of commerce, union halls and mosques, I noted that we could see a Trump presidency. “That’s Debbie, it’s hyperbole, she is nuts.”

Unfortunately, Dingell was a little late displaying her psychic power.  On October 21, 2015 The Detroit News reported

Vice President Joe Biden’s decision Wednesday not to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 gained front runner Hillary Clinton a congressional endorsement in Michigan.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, has been among a handful of Democratic leaders in Michigan and across the country who were waiting to see what Biden did before choosing sides in the race.

Sounding relieved that she didn’t have to choose between the former U.S. secretary of state and Biden, Dingell said Wednesday she is now endorsing Clinton over Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose socialist policy views have energized the left wing of the Democratic Party in Michigan.

“I love Bernie Sanders, but Bernie Sanders can’t win a presidential election,” Dingell told The Detroit News. “We can’t afford to lose the White House next year.

"Bernie Sanders cant' win a presidential election," Representative Dingell said at the time.  

Anyone can make a mistake, and Dingell wasn't the only Democratic member of Congress who supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.  There were (prior to Clinton becoming the party's presumptive nominee) approximately 163 other U.S. Representatives, as well as 41 U.S. Senators, who endorsed HRC.

There was only one U.S. Senator and only 9 Representatives who backed Sanders over Clinton, who once referred to the Trans-Pacific Partnership as "the gold standard in trade deals,"  Yet, Dingell was the only one of the 200-plus members of Congress who opted for the former Secretary of State over the Vermont senator (either before or after he declared his candidacy) to write on April 27, 2016  “The working men and women of Michigan have seen firsthand the devastating impact of bad trade policies that cost jobs and hurt American manufacturing, and the TPP would be more of the same,”

Representative Dingell's credibility should be considered in light of her support, as a public official from Michigan, for a candidate clearly less committed than her opponent to the trade and economic policies which would help rehabilitate a state and a congressional district dependent upon manufacturing and related industries. She backed the wrong horse, for her party, her state, and her country.

The congresswomna now notes her displeasure about the campaign run by the individual whose bandwagon she was so eager to jump upon, as well as how she foresaw support of Michigan voters for Donald Trump. Color me unimpressed.












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