Democrats need to stop pointing fingers and start moving forward

Ten months after election day, fourteen months before the 2018 midterms, and Democrats continue to point fingers at one another for the major losses they suffered in 2016 and beyond. While we can't deny what took place in the 2016 election, the last thing we need is to continue dividing the party by deflecting blame, instead of taking responsibility, attempting to learn from our mistakes, and fighting like hell to win Senate and House seats in a little over a year! Almost a year after the election, I'm still hearing Clinton supporters crying, "Bernie divided the party and hurt Hillary's image!," while I continue to hear Sanders supports claiming, "Hey, Bernie would have won! Just sayin'!" Look, as a Sanders voter myself, I have a hunch he would have fared better in the general election than did Clinton, but that theory is neither here nor there, because the election is over. Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee and Donald Trump is the president. Those are the facts. It's time to move on, unite the party, and look ahead to 2018 and 2020. In my opinion, die-hards from both camps look rather ridiculous at the moment. For Sanders backers who felt there was no real difference between Clinton and Trump... Ahem :: clears throat ::... For Clinton backers who said they couldn't have voted for Sanders in the general election, even against Donald Trump, I once again have to clear my throat. Let's face it, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders would have been godsends in the Oval Office next to Donald Trump. While the two Democratic candidates' ideas and values may not have molded perfectly with die-hard supporters of the other, let's not deny the fact that the "other" Democratic candidate would have made us feel a hell of a lot better about our country and current situation than Mr. Trump.

I'll be the first to admit the Democratic Party isn't perfect. I'll be the first to admit Hillary Clinton was not my top choice atop the party's ticket for 2016. Having said that, though, I'm also not going to be so stubborn as to be ignorant in not voting for the better, more qualified of the two nominees just because my favorite candidate lost in the primary. Some like to make the claim that there's really no difference between the two major parties in this country, but I'm sorry, that's a bigger stretch than spandex on steroids while watching a Richard Simmons workout video.

Think about this when you go to the ballot box, or contemplate not voting at all:

- The Democratic Party fights for greater access to healthcare.