Going High And Low: How Democrats Can Save Our Democracy
In the 2/28/21 post, I listed as the seventh biggest lie the false equivalency suggestion that Democratic and Republican politicians are alike. If Democrats behaved more like Republicans, we wouldn’t have six unrepresentative, anti-democracy, conservative Supreme Court justices, we’d already have a Voting Rights Act, Josh Hawley would probably not be a senator because Al Franken would have still been in the Senate campaigning and raising money for Claire McCaskill and other vulnerable Democratic senators in 2018 while the money (and other resources like the campaign time of Democratic senators less popular than Franken but more popular than McCaskill) used to elect his weak replacement Tina Smith could have been used to help reelect Claire (also, Claire’s more independent constituents may have been less upset by her vote against Kavanaugh if they thought she did it for sensible policy reasons like a woman’s right to choose or gun control instead of because of something he did when he was a drunk teenager in high school). If Democrats were more like Republicans, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton would never have conceded in elections where they won the popular vote, and there were multiple “irregularities” that could have been challenged in courts. Most important, if Democrats were more like Republicans, our democracy would not now be on life support.
Two of the biggest and most destructively consequential differences between Republicans and Democrats is the way they treat members of their own party in comparison to each other and the way they respond to sexual misbehavior. The Democrats go high against Republicans and low against each other. Why are Democrats attacking Joe Manchin instead of Mitch McConnell? McConnell, who openly brags about obstructing Democratic Presidents and stacking the courts with conservatives (and often bigots), is being treated as if his behavior doesn’t matter while conservative Democrat Manchin is constantly being attacked. And why are Democratic activists pressuring liberal Judge Breyer to retire instead of calling on the three illegitimate conservative justices appointed under suspicious circumstances (Gorsuch has a stolen seat, Kavanaugh’s seat was conveniently vacated by Kennedy, and Barrett’s appointment was rushed through in the few weeks before an election because everyone assumed Biden would win both the popular vote and the electoral college) by a twice-impeached, two time loser of the popular vote, electoral college President? Why aren’t they calling for the attorney general’s office to investigate the stacking of the courts, including the Supreme Court? Why aren’t they considering impeaching some judges, including the three Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices?
At least the dirty, go-low-against-their-own Democrats haven’t (yet) accused Breyer and Manchin of sexual misconduct the way they did Franken and most despicably civil rights icon Representative John Conyers in 2017 and the way they did Governor Cuomo this year. They can’t encourage Manchin to resign because they would lose control of the Senate if he did. How many Republicans have called on accused sexual freak Matt Gaetz to resign? To be fair, some Republicans did suggest that Trump step down as the Republican nominee when the “I’m a sexual assaulter” “Access Hollywood” tapes were released shortly before the election in 2016, but that was when they thought he was going to lose and take them down with him. Once he won the electoral college, it never occurred to the sanctimonious House Speaker Paul Ryan or any other Republican to say that they couldn’t support Trump as President, and when the Democrats took over the House and finally impeached the most corrupt, insane, and incompetent President in my lifetime (a recent poll of Presidential historians listed him as “only” the fourth worst President ever, making me thankful that I wasn’t living during the 19th Century Civil War era when the three worst ones reigned), only Mitt Romney voted to convict him on one count. A few more Republicans voted to impeach and convict him during the second trial this year, but the overwhelming majority refused to hold their “dear leader” accountable. Even after he sent a mob to kill his Vice President and any other elected officials who tried to protect our democracy and prevent a coup, sycophants like Wannabe Speaker Kevin McCarthy continue to genuflect to the disgraced, insane, now former electoral college President.
I had tried to save our nation by encouraging the malignant narcissist (in tweets and blogs) to resign a few months before the election so that he could avoid the shame of losing the popular vote twice and so that Pence could preemptively pardon him. Of course, he ignored my advice because Republicans usually don’t resign. Gaetz hasn’t resigned, and insane Marjorie Taylor Greene will probably behave like Trump and refuse to concede or leave the House even if she loses next year. To save our democracy, Democrats who have won their offices in fair and legal elections must behave like the governors of New York and Virginia and refuse to resign. And when they “lose” in close elections that feature multiple “irregularities,” like long lines in mostly Democratic precincts where the majority of the voters are people of color, large numbers of ballots challenged (possibly discarded) in those precincts, and overly aggressive poll watchers, they should behave like Trump and Al Franken’s first Minnesota opponent. They should not only refuse to concede as Stacey Abrams did when she “lost” to the man in charge of voting (as Secretary of State) in Georgia, but they should demand recounts and audits while filing multiple lawsuits challenging the results.
The Democrats should also behave like Republicans (or like they do when a Democrat is accused of sexual misbehavior or politically incorrect behavior) by weaponizing real scandals. Remember what Republicans did with Benghazi, a tragedy which they tried to turn into a scandal? Remember how they crucified Susan Rice for providing some misinformation on the Sunday shows soon after the terrorist attack on our embassy happened and before we were sure exactly what did happen? Remember how Mitt Romney claimed in a 2012 debate that Obama didn’t call the Benghazi attack terrorism? Remember how many congressional investigations there were, investigations that didn’t uncover any wrongdoing? But we don’t have to go back to the teens to find examples of how low the Republicans will go to take down Democrats. We can just look at what they said and did last year during the mostly peaceful BlackLivesMatter protests. Remember how they demanded that Democrats condemn the rioting and property damage, most of it perpetrated by opportunistic thugs who will use any event (like a win by a local sports team) to riot and loot and occasionally white supremacists posing as antifa so that Trump and Barr could condemn the peaceful protesters as anarchists and terrorists, thus endangering the lives of all black people? Well, the Democrats have videos of real terrorists and anarchists, some of them white supremacists, some former military, and some current and former cops. They also have evidence that suggests members of Congress were involved in the planning of the attempted coup. They need to weaponize that evidence.
The white supremacist insurrection on 1/6 is the gift that keeps on giving. But the Democrats are too busy attacking Manchin, Breyer, and Cuomo to weaponize that gift against their conservative opponents. They should be passing resolutions and bills that force Republicans to vote for or against insurrections and for or against democracy. They should force Republicans to support or vote against white supremacy. I want to see a resolution passed that says, “All votes matter. Black, brown, red, and yellow votes should be treated the same as white votes. A President elected by the majority of people of color and a minority of whites, one who wins both the popular vote and the electoral college, is a legitimate President.” I would prefer the addition of the phrase “more legitimate than a President who loses the popular vote but wins the electoral college.” I want to see Democrats demanding that Republicans denounce the destruction of property in the Capitol the way they denounced the destruction of property during the protests last summer. I want Democrats to demand that Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Kevin McCarthy denounce white supremacy the way they were demanding that key Democrats denounce looting and property damage last summer. I want the Democrats to pass resolutions condemning domestic terrorism in language that targets the actions of the white supremacists who stormed the Michigan Capitol last year (in other words, carrying guns, endangering lives by not masking during a pandemic) and the 1/6 terrorists this year (like carrying bear spray, zip ties, and a noose).
As new books come out with shocking revelations about how close we came to losing our democracy in the last days of Trump’s disastrous reign, the Democrats need to stay focused on attacking Republicans who continue to support the insane traitor who should never have been allowed to enter the White House. They don’t really have to go low against him or any other Republicans. They don’t have to focus on the rape charges and the hush money paid to Stormy and the Playmate. They can go high, defending our democracy against white supremacists and wannabe autocrats, against Putin’s Puppet and his enablers. The Democrats have been presented with the high ground; they just need to take it. They need to ask all Americans, “Are you with the party of white supremacists, insurrectionists, seditionists, traitors, and terrorists, or are you with the party that believes in democracy, the party that wants everyone to vote and every vote to count, the party that believes in education, healthcare, and a living wage for all?”
Clearly, there is only one party that can save our democracy. Unfortunately, it isn’t the party that knows how to battle—to support each other and attack their opponents, to play offense instead of defense, and to brand. When Republicans say “socialists,” Democrats should say “white supremacists.” When they say “illegal aliens,” Democrats should say “insurrectionists,” “seditionists,” “terrorists”! Insane white supremacist, Hitler and Putin fan Trump and his deplorable followers have given the Democrats the weapons to use in defense of our democracy; let’s hope they figure out how to use them!
Two of the biggest and most destructively consequential differences between Republicans and Democrats is the way they treat members of their own party in comparison to each other and the way they respond to sexual misbehavior. The Democrats go high against Republicans and low against each other. Why are Democrats attacking Joe Manchin instead of Mitch McConnell? McConnell, who openly brags about obstructing Democratic Presidents and stacking the courts with conservatives (and often bigots), is being treated as if his behavior doesn’t matter while conservative Democrat Manchin is constantly being attacked. And why are Democratic activists pressuring liberal Judge Breyer to retire instead of calling on the three illegitimate conservative justices appointed under suspicious circumstances (Gorsuch has a stolen seat, Kavanaugh’s seat was conveniently vacated by Kennedy, and Barrett’s appointment was rushed through in the few weeks before an election because everyone assumed Biden would win both the popular vote and the electoral college) by a twice-impeached, two time loser of the popular vote, electoral college President? Why aren’t they calling for the attorney general’s office to investigate the stacking of the courts, including the Supreme Court? Why aren’t they considering impeaching some judges, including the three Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices?
At least the dirty, go-low-against-their-own Democrats haven’t (yet) accused Breyer and Manchin of sexual misconduct the way they did Franken and most despicably civil rights icon Representative John Conyers in 2017 and the way they did Governor Cuomo this year. They can’t encourage Manchin to resign because they would lose control of the Senate if he did. How many Republicans have called on accused sexual freak Matt Gaetz to resign? To be fair, some Republicans did suggest that Trump step down as the Republican nominee when the “I’m a sexual assaulter” “Access Hollywood” tapes were released shortly before the election in 2016, but that was when they thought he was going to lose and take them down with him. Once he won the electoral college, it never occurred to the sanctimonious House Speaker Paul Ryan or any other Republican to say that they couldn’t support Trump as President, and when the Democrats took over the House and finally impeached the most corrupt, insane, and incompetent President in my lifetime (a recent poll of Presidential historians listed him as “only” the fourth worst President ever, making me thankful that I wasn’t living during the 19th Century Civil War era when the three worst ones reigned), only Mitt Romney voted to convict him on one count. A few more Republicans voted to impeach and convict him during the second trial this year, but the overwhelming majority refused to hold their “dear leader” accountable. Even after he sent a mob to kill his Vice President and any other elected officials who tried to protect our democracy and prevent a coup, sycophants like Wannabe Speaker Kevin McCarthy continue to genuflect to the disgraced, insane, now former electoral college President.
I had tried to save our nation by encouraging the malignant narcissist (in tweets and blogs) to resign a few months before the election so that he could avoid the shame of losing the popular vote twice and so that Pence could preemptively pardon him. Of course, he ignored my advice because Republicans usually don’t resign. Gaetz hasn’t resigned, and insane Marjorie Taylor Greene will probably behave like Trump and refuse to concede or leave the House even if she loses next year. To save our democracy, Democrats who have won their offices in fair and legal elections must behave like the governors of New York and Virginia and refuse to resign. And when they “lose” in close elections that feature multiple “irregularities,” like long lines in mostly Democratic precincts where the majority of the voters are people of color, large numbers of ballots challenged (possibly discarded) in those precincts, and overly aggressive poll watchers, they should behave like Trump and Al Franken’s first Minnesota opponent. They should not only refuse to concede as Stacey Abrams did when she “lost” to the man in charge of voting (as Secretary of State) in Georgia, but they should demand recounts and audits while filing multiple lawsuits challenging the results.
The Democrats should also behave like Republicans (or like they do when a Democrat is accused of sexual misbehavior or politically incorrect behavior) by weaponizing real scandals. Remember what Republicans did with Benghazi, a tragedy which they tried to turn into a scandal? Remember how they crucified Susan Rice for providing some misinformation on the Sunday shows soon after the terrorist attack on our embassy happened and before we were sure exactly what did happen? Remember how Mitt Romney claimed in a 2012 debate that Obama didn’t call the Benghazi attack terrorism? Remember how many congressional investigations there were, investigations that didn’t uncover any wrongdoing? But we don’t have to go back to the teens to find examples of how low the Republicans will go to take down Democrats. We can just look at what they said and did last year during the mostly peaceful BlackLivesMatter protests. Remember how they demanded that Democrats condemn the rioting and property damage, most of it perpetrated by opportunistic thugs who will use any event (like a win by a local sports team) to riot and loot and occasionally white supremacists posing as antifa so that Trump and Barr could condemn the peaceful protesters as anarchists and terrorists, thus endangering the lives of all black people? Well, the Democrats have videos of real terrorists and anarchists, some of them white supremacists, some former military, and some current and former cops. They also have evidence that suggests members of Congress were involved in the planning of the attempted coup. They need to weaponize that evidence.
The white supremacist insurrection on 1/6 is the gift that keeps on giving. But the Democrats are too busy attacking Manchin, Breyer, and Cuomo to weaponize that gift against their conservative opponents. They should be passing resolutions and bills that force Republicans to vote for or against insurrections and for or against democracy. They should force Republicans to support or vote against white supremacy. I want to see a resolution passed that says, “All votes matter. Black, brown, red, and yellow votes should be treated the same as white votes. A President elected by the majority of people of color and a minority of whites, one who wins both the popular vote and the electoral college, is a legitimate President.” I would prefer the addition of the phrase “more legitimate than a President who loses the popular vote but wins the electoral college.” I want to see Democrats demanding that Republicans denounce the destruction of property in the Capitol the way they denounced the destruction of property during the protests last summer. I want Democrats to demand that Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Kevin McCarthy denounce white supremacy the way they were demanding that key Democrats denounce looting and property damage last summer. I want the Democrats to pass resolutions condemning domestic terrorism in language that targets the actions of the white supremacists who stormed the Michigan Capitol last year (in other words, carrying guns, endangering lives by not masking during a pandemic) and the 1/6 terrorists this year (like carrying bear spray, zip ties, and a noose).
As new books come out with shocking revelations about how close we came to losing our democracy in the last days of Trump’s disastrous reign, the Democrats need to stay focused on attacking Republicans who continue to support the insane traitor who should never have been allowed to enter the White House. They don’t really have to go low against him or any other Republicans. They don’t have to focus on the rape charges and the hush money paid to Stormy and the Playmate. They can go high, defending our democracy against white supremacists and wannabe autocrats, against Putin’s Puppet and his enablers. The Democrats have been presented with the high ground; they just need to take it. They need to ask all Americans, “Are you with the party of white supremacists, insurrectionists, seditionists, traitors, and terrorists, or are you with the party that believes in democracy, the party that wants everyone to vote and every vote to count, the party that believes in education, healthcare, and a living wage for all?”
Clearly, there is only one party that can save our democracy. Unfortunately, it isn’t the party that knows how to battle—to support each other and attack their opponents, to play offense instead of defense, and to brand. When Republicans say “socialists,” Democrats should say “white supremacists.” When they say “illegal aliens,” Democrats should say “insurrectionists,” “seditionists,” “terrorists”! Insane white supremacist, Hitler and Putin fan Trump and his deplorable followers have given the Democrats the weapons to use in defense of our democracy; let’s hope they figure out how to use them!
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