One thing Democrats need to do in the 2020 presidential election is to dramatically change the image they have projected to the American people; an image that portrays them as always being on the defensive, constantly reacting to attacks by Republicans, who seem to know exactly how to keep them off balance, off message.
That
kind
of reactionary behavior has
to stop and stop
right
now. Democrats took over the House in the last national elections and
now have the momentum to
gain more
control of the government, adding
both
the Senate and the White
House
in 2020. So
to make
that happen
they need to take
the initiative and
refuse to take
the Republican bait to engage
in petty backbiting.
Americans
are sick and tired of watching and listening to continual battles
between the two political parties that result in nothing of substance
getting done by this Congress. Democrats: don’t waste time
criticizing Trump and saying how bad he is; the majority of
Americans know he doesn’t belong in the White House.
Identify
all the important issues
and associated problems that Republicans continue
to refuse to
address and then show how you would do things entirely differently.
Democrats
should exhibit what I would refer to as “controlled” anger,
making it clear they are just as angry with what is going on in this
country as the people; about how this Congress has not, in the past,
done what it should have. Democrats must show that they are
determined to change things for the better in order to regain the
trust and confidence of the people.
Here’s
an example of that kind of controlled anger. Former VP Joe Biden,a
likely candidate for the presidency in 2020, during a recent speech
to a national firefighters’ association, showed this kind of
controlled anger at the cutbacks that are planned to the funding that
was appropriated for 911 responders. He sincerely looked very
troubled and, said this was a national disgrace, and vowed that he
would get this situation straightened out if he became president.
Now,
what should Democrats really concentrate on, removing Trump by
impeachment or, rather, speaking to the key issues facing America and
how to deal with them? Of course, they must do both. The House
committees on Oversight, Intelligence, and Judiciary should continue
to concentrate sizable efforts on appropriate investigations of Trump
and those in his administration that may have violated laws.
The
larger body of House and Senate Democrats should use a majority of
their time in working on the many problems facing this country and
presenting specific ways to solve them, thereby showing the American
people that they are just what this country needs during these times
of massive partisanship and divisiveness.
For
every key issue each
Democratic candidate
must clearly
identify its root causes
and then provide
positive, concrete
solutions.
It’s
not good enough to simply say that you are for health care for all or
attacking the problem of the massive inequity of income between the
top 1% and the rest of Americans. That’s not good enough, Americans
want specific,
viable plans to
solve
these problems. Candidates,
in their presentations, must choose
and
concentrate on
no
more than 4 or
5 key issues that are of the greatest concern to
Americans.
To
a certain extent, while not lapsing into their well known reactionary
mode, Democrat candidates must respond to some of the vicious
Republican attacks that cannot go unanswered such as:
Republicans
attack Democrats as being Socialists. Of course that is an empty
accusation but it must be answered. The candidates under attack need
to inform Americans that there is nothing wrong with socialism
itself. There are numerous definitions of socialism but the one I
would advise Democrats to use in discussing this matter is “a
system in which there are social functions and programs administered
by the government rather than the private sector.”
And guess what? America already has a host of these critically important government-administered functions already in place. We may not know it or we may refuse to accept the fact that America is currently a socialistic/capitalistic country which has in place government-administered functions such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the US. military, and many others that are run by state and local governments such as teachers, police, and firefighters.
There are social democratic governments in Europe proper and Scandinavia in which government socialistic functions and capitalistic economic policies work well together. For example, Germany has many socialistic government functions and also has one of the world’s strongest manufacturing sector.
Republicans say that Medicare for all or some other universal health care systems are far too costly.. Democrats must counter that by pointing out that this is an incorrect assumption. They need to show how the per capita costs of the U.S. healthcare system are 2 to 2-1/2 times more than those of the majority of the other 31 developed nations that have some form of universal health care; and that if the U.S. adopted the same kind of health care our overall costs would be dramatically reduced over time.
Republicans refuse to address the deterioration of the U.S. infrastructure, the heart of America and its commerce. Democrats need to prepare and present a concrete plan for a phased repair and rebuilding program to stop this massive deterioration of the many parts of this infrastructure. This cannot wait, it is an absolute must.
The economy, the massive inequity of income and wealth in America. Show how, in order to make this economy stronger and life better for all Americans, we need tax cuts for the vast majority of Americans whose consumer purchasing power is the fuel that drives this economy. Trickle down economics never works.
Whichever issues Democratic candidates choose to concentrate on they must keep this in mind. Talking in generalities rather than specifics will just fall on deaf ears and judged as being no more than the same old same old. And that will be a fatal mistake for any one of them that dares to try to use such a shallow strategy.
So this should be a wake up call for Democratic candidates. Republicans in Congress have made themselves an endangered species, party members have sold their political souls to this president, their mentor and master, and have no intention of following the will of the American people as the Constitution directs them to do.
These candidates must not gear their message strongly to the left, that will fail. And if their message is designed to appeal mostly to the center, it will fall flat. They have to emphasize that they are trying to do what is right for all Americans if they want to win. This is their best path forward because this is certainly not what the Republican candidates, Trump or others, will do.
The time is ripe for Democrats to step into this void of presidential and Congressional action and take charge; to show the American people that they are more than ready to, once again, take this country in a positive and construction direction; to stop the hemorrhaging of America’s democracy.
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