I see Donald Trump as an unparalleled threat to American democracy. He violates the Constitution. His actions on tariffs, which contradict Article 1's stipulation that it is Congress's job to raise revenue, are but one example. His violation of due process in immigration enforcement is another. The list of evidence demonstrating Trump's authoritarian tendencies is a long list.
Given that I hold the views expressed above, what does one do? I have reached the conclusion that Trump is an existential threat to American democracy, and I must prioritize stopping Trump's authoritarianism over my conservative principles. Sometimes one must make tough choices. That is why I voted for Kamala Harris in the last election. I disagree with her on almost everything.
The nonpartisan GovTrack listed Harris as the fourth-most liberal senator from 2017 to 2019, based on a number of factors, including the bills she co-sponsored, and the second-most liberal from 2019 to 2021. She supports abortion, affirmative action, busing to desegregate public schools, access to "gender-affirming surgery" for people in federal prisons and immigration detention. She has perfect scores from liberal organizations that rate members of Congress such as Common Cause, AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood, and Humane Rights Campaign.
With Kamala's voting record, why did I vote for her? I viewed her as the lesser of two evils. The number one reason I voted for her is that she did not attempt a coup. I figured that is she won, we would still have a democracy and could argue policy another day.
Since Trump did win and his march toward authoritarianism is proceeding at a rapid pace, now what should one do? I think we must continue to fight him. About the only way his rush to authoritarianism can be checked is if Congress stands up to him. Republicans march in lockstep to his leadership and will not do it. They put Trump's desires over their support for the Constitution and decency. So, it is time to elect more Democrats in the midterms. I don't want a blue wave; I want just enough Democrats to be elected to hold oversight hearings and enough to block Trump. I don't want enough Democrats elected to enact their own agenda; I want enough elected to achieve gridlock.
Not only will there not be a blue wave, but with redistricting and other moves by Trump to influence the midterms, Republicans may hold the House. Almost always, the party that holds the White House loses seats in the mid-term, but it is looking more and more like Democrats may not flip the House. Why?
Unfortunately, despite all of the trampling of the Constitution by Trump and the crudeness and cruelty of the Trump administration, Democrats remain unpopular. Real Clear Politics examines almost all legitimate polls and aggregates the data. Their most recent composite poll numbers show Democrats with an unfavorability rating of 59.6% and a favorability rating of 34.1%.
Trump daily creates chaos. Just this week, in several cities, he replaced ICE leadership "moderates" with hardliners from US Customs and Border Patrol. Apparently, ICE is not aggressive enough in carrying out deportations. Trump tore down part of the White House without consultation with a historical commission or any entity. He just unilaterally decided to tear it down so he could build his tacky golden ballroom. His corruption continues unabated. He just shot another boat out of the waters off the coast of Venezuela without any proof that they were a threat to America and without any Congressional use of force authorization.
Not only is Trump becoming more authoritarian and is an agent of choas, Tump is not delivering on his promise to lower prices and he is vulnerable to criticism for his cuts to Medicaid, trade wars, and tax cuts for the rich.
Given Trump's daily chaos and his authoritarian moves, cuts to benefits, and corruption, one would think the Democrats would be more popular. Unfortunately, people like Democrats less than they do Trump and the Republicans. Democrats seem out of touch. The Democratic Party has become the party of rich coastal elitists and have lost the ability to relate to normal people. The party has lost ground with working people, those without a college degree, young men, Blacks, and Hispanics.
If these were normal times, I would be pleased that people are tuning on Democrats and I would want Democrats to keep doing what they are doing. If these were normal times, I would be pleased that New York City is going to elect a Democratic Socialist for mayor. If these were normal times, I would be pleased that Democrats speak Wokery.
These are not normal times. I would like for the Democratic Party to present itself as a sane, sensible, big-tent party attractive to normal people. I realize that there is a tension within the Party between those who want to move it further to the left and focus on social justice, climate change, and identity politics and those who want to focus on working-class bread-and-butter issues. Part of the dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party is that they are not woke and left-wing enough. I contend the majority of the reason the Party is unpopular is that it is too woke, and too leftist.
For those interested in the battle within the Democratic Party and what some smart people say the Democratic Party needs to do to win elections, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the new study, Deciding to Win. The study was authored by some Democratic think-tank types who you have never heard of but are well credentialed. A lot of people you may have heard of were consulted in developing the study. I have not read the full 352-page study, but have read the 58-page condensed version. If these were normal times, I would not want Democrats to read this study, because I would not want them to win; like I have said, these are not normal times. In a future post, I will have more to say about the study.
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