This presidential campaign never could claim to have gone “from the sublime to the ridiculous” as it kicked off with ridicule setting the tone and sublime a forgotten relic of a distant age. In the aftermath of the great debate and the shooting in Butler, ridiculous has become a lingering nostalgia-wakening scent. We are now watching a surrealistic puppet theater of the absurd that should have closed down the first day of rehearsal.
The Democratic Party’s disarray over Biden’s candidacy is particularly disturbing. Biden’s shaky debate performance is fixed in the public mind. Scrutiny of his post-debate statements has done little to reduce its impact. The irony is that he has been a moderately successful president with one glaring stain: the profound failure of morality, judgement and nerve in his continuing support of Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Gaza has caused Biden to lose once-reliable support that could easily swing the electoral vote. Yet in the wake of the political disaster of the debate, Biden has asked Congress for another 18 billion dollars in military aid for Israel.
Timing demands that the Democratic Party whip the campaign into shape immediately. If Biden is declared the candidate at the August 5 nominating deadline, changing nominees can become an exercise in tedious procedural distractions that will further damage the campaign. If he is nominated at the convention in mid-August and then suffers obvious physical setbacks, the election is basically over. The decision is not Biden’s to make. If a groundswell of analysis and sentiment views Biden’s candidacy as critically damaged, the Party’s collective wisdom must prevail.
Unfortunately this disarray is consistent with the long-held view that Democrats do not present a compelling picture of their achievements and vision. Caught up in the minutiae of an illusory notion of inclusion that is heard as exclusion by much of the country, the Party has lost sight of its purpose and governing principles. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign over-relied on data-entranced consultants who misread the electorate and the electoral college. In 2020 some of the lessons seemed to have been learned. But obviously not well enough.
Trump himself has grown more unhinged and violent in his public statements. No presidential candidate has ever made threats of violence against his rivals; spoken openly about encouraging violent revolution if he loses; or campaigned by spouting whatever lurid fantasy pops into his mind at any given moment, such as bringing Liz Cheney before a military tribunal. Yet he remains the current favorite to win the electoral vote. His ties with white supremacists and Vladimir Putin are glaring and if detailed could only draw votes away from him. Ride it, don’t hide it.
The Democrats need a dynamic candidate who can coordinate a shift in its stance on Gaza and who can revitalize the rhetoric and themes of the Democrats’ national campaign. Such a tactical shift might entail:
1. Bringing in more savvy old-school, street-level activists who understand why so many natural Democratic voters have left the party. Pollsters and media consultants have their uses, but over-reliance on callow, data-driven consultants reinforces the impression that the Democrats are dominated by an out-of-touch Beltway clique (as opposed to the GOP’s money- and power-crazed ultra-right wing billionaires who surely have the people’s interests at heart).
2. Developing an emotional and pragmatic language that speaks to a portion of Maga voters. They are not all racist religious fanatics and many of their complaints are echoed by Americans of all political persuasions. Re-energize the many voters who have simply turned off to politics. Hearken back to what America is ideally about. And go after Trump as he is, how his policies affect basics like schools, water supplies in the southwest, flooding on the coast, the economy, and taxes. Convince conservative Latin-American and black voters that they and their families are not exempt from the threats implicit in Trump’s racism and its embrace by the GOP. Restore a vision of the Commons not by invoking a fantasy of high-minded American exceptionalism but by speaking to the life-and-death issues that affect us all.
3. Speaking to the whole even if a portion of the “whole” tunes out. Ugly as Republican rhetoric is, it is inclusive in one important way: it speaks to the future of the entire country. They have stolen that theme from the Democrats and it is time to reclaim it. And the corollary: do not lean on the obsolete assumption that voting blocs of disparate groups, i.e., women, Latinos, gays, blacks, all vote together with the same kumbaya interest in “diversity” and embracing the rainbow. It is condescending, inaccurate, and self-defeating.
4. Focusing on core vital Democratic achievements, especially the economy and the environment. The economy is complicated: many people feel financial pressure and yet, at the same time, wages and employment are up and the economy as a whole is doing well. It does have deep cracks beyond the power of any president to repair, but within the circumscribed logic of a political campaign, there are enough positives to bang the economic drum.
5. Attacking the real right-wing agenda. “Everybody knows…” but few political leaders are naming what is really going on. This contributes to the haze of unreality that hovers over politics today. Fanatics and ruthlessly violent groups cannot be treated as well-meaning but misguided colleagues “across the aisle”. If Democrats framed a compelling case with concrete specifics that show what the Republicans are really about, many voters would catch on immediately. The Democrats never say anything real about the opposition and this makes them look confused, out of touch, and weak.
6. Being honest that the environment has tipped and is now on “tilt”. Be clear and stark about the dangers of the Republican agenda of leveling protections that have been in place not only for decades, but since the early 1900s. Forget about what we owe Mother Earth—focus on what an accelerating sequence of extreme climatic events means for our children and grandchildren.
7. Avoiding factional squabbling. Find inclusive themes that progressives, liberals, and middle-of-the-roaders all can embrace. Have the maturity to hold one’s nose when the party platform isn’t exactly as one would want. The progressive, liberal, and centrist-right Democrats need to put aside their squabbles at least until the first Tuesday in November. A lot of awful regimes (Bolsheviks, Nazis, Trump, Netanyahu) came into power in the face of majority opposition because the latter were too busy sniping at each other.
Ideally this can be resolved by the Democrats engaging in focused strategic and tactical consideration with one over-riding goal: How to retain the White House and Senate and win back the House. If Biden leaves, he can do so gracefully because it’s less about him than about saving the republic. A united party can then project amicable solidarity and re-commit to the do-or-die effort to save the Constitution.
It shouldn’t be this hard. Too much is riding on it. History offers enough parallels to convict us of gross negligence of duty at the worst possible time. Let’s not add ourselves to those who ignored history’s most universal lesson: “You’re next.” Are we?
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