Democrats, we've won. Now, the trick is to keep winning. Here's how.
At noon on January 20, Democrats will hold the White House and the majority in both houses of Congress for the first time in a decade. The last time we did so we frittered away our initial success with an unfortunate combination of bad strategy and uninspired tactics. Herewith is a six-point plan for avoiding the mistakes of the past and entering upon a new Golden Age for the Party of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Johnson.
1.FORGET TRUMP
Now that he’s no longer president, It is tempting to pursue him by all means, legal and political, for his malfeasance and criminality, but there is no profit in that. He is twice impeached; that will be an indelible stain on his record. If certain States want to go after him for financial crimes, let them. Nationally focused Democrats have more important things to do. We should be quickly about them with no Trumpian distractions.
2.IGNORE THE SIREN CALL OF BI-PARTISANSHIP
Bipartisanship is a Utopian vision that always sounds good, but the reality is that Republicans will not bargain in good faith with Democrats. They will pretend to as they did with Obama, getting him to surrender major parts of Obamacare for the promise of their support, then withdrawing that support when it was time to vote.
Better to move forward, transparently, with the progressive, Democratic agenda. By doing so, the people will see that, rather than cooperating with the Democratic majority for the good of the country, most Republicans have nothing to offer but the same old partisan politics of obstruction, division, and delay.
3. BASE OUR APPEAL ON CLASS RATHER THAN ETHNICITY
Democrats must build our appeal to voters on the broadest possible base. While we must be sensitive to the issues which weigh upon our country’s various ethnic minorities, we must remember that during the glory days of our Party - from FDR's election in 1932 and continuing, even under some Republican administrations, through the end of Lyndon Johnson's term in 1968 - the working class perceived the Democratic Party as their advocate and defender. Being solidly for working men and women gets every race and ethnicity involved in our success.
4.PURSUE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS BY INCREMENTAL MEANS
We Democrats must learn to settle, when necessary, for half a loaf, realizing that whatever its faults, it's better than nothing. Do not surrender, but be willing to bargain from a position of strength. A party out of power can get away with appealing to voters on the basis of what they intend to do if they win. The party holding power cannot afford the luxury of good intentions; we must be able to point to our good achievements.
5. CAPTURE AND HOLD THE NARRATIVE
Republicans are good at coining words and phrases and spinning stories in ways that work to thier advantage, leaving Democrats to fight a defensive war of denial and correction. Now that conservatives have shown that they are the true radicals, it is time for us to step out, pre-emptively capture the narrative, and force the conservatives into the corner where they will have to justify or deny the beliefs and actions of their radical fringe.
6. SUMMON THE NATION TO GREATNESS
It has been said that politics is "the art of the possible.” To the degree that this is so, then, political leadership is the art of bringing people together so that, unified and determined, they can achieve the impossible. Steps (1) through (4) above are about the practicalities of winning successive elections for a decade. This final step (5) is about why we should seek that power and how we can make the best use of it for the people. I'm a Democrat because I believe the Democrats' vision - of peace with security; of equal access to opportunity; of income distribution that is joined on a continuum, not divided by a chasm and; of a pluralistic, multicultural nation joined together in a common purpose - is the superior and preferable one. I think we can make that case to the American people. I think we should.
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