To President Biden and the leaders of the Democratic Party:
NOTE: One commenter said I buried the lede, so here it is. President Biden should follow in FDR’s footsteps and communicate directly to the public, highlighting each BBB policy objective individually, and relentlessly, for as long as it takes to have the desired impact. Please read on. Thank you.
A lot of us have finally had it. Had it with Sen. Manchin, sure, but he’s just the tip of the iceberg of obstruction and cynicism that is destroying our politics, our democracy, our country and our planet, not necessarily in that order.
I for one have had it with the gerrymandering, the obstructionism, the voter suppression, the conspiracy theories, the gutter politics, the media complicity. And I’ve had it with the Democratic party’s consistently ineffective response to all of it.
I’ve been paying pretty close attention for a long, long time, yet I haven’t seen anyone come up with a strategy that has a chance of working against the tidal wave of cynicism, negativity and anti-democratic plotting. Including me. I’m as guilty as anyone.
I’ve seen it happening right in front of my eyes for decades. Even in the 1980s I was talking about creeping Republicanism, how the rich were working hard to turn us into a corrupt banana republic — and all these years I’ve been racking my brain to come up with an effective way to combat it, without a glimmer.
But I’m feeling desperate, and if the diaries on Daily Kos are any indication, I’m not alone.
Out of that sense of desperation, I’d like to propose a path forward.
Here is an easily verifiable fact: The Democratic party is today’s party of ideas (a remarkable number of which come from Bernie Sanders, and nearly all from the progressive wing). The problem, as I see it, is that we have so many ideas, they sometimes blur into one another. And that works for the Republicans, who simply bucket them all as socialism and give the media and the right wing an easy target.
Yet, taken individually, the party’s major ideas are immensely popular. Taken individually, they consistently register the support of large majorities of the country.
It’s time we start leveraging this reality.
Let’s use it like a cudgel.
Sen. Schumer started on this path today, in a sense, by sending a “dear colleague” letter that lists the top four or five ways that Manchin is hurting West Virginia by vetoing Build Back Better. But, again, he’s lumping the benefits together, which blurs their individual worth.
Instead, I believe President Biden should go on TV once a week for as many weeks as it takes and speak about each issue individually. Explain what each one will do, what each one will cost, the potential short and long-term benefits. Then Sen. Schumer should make a big show of introducing a specific and highly-focused piece of legislation on that topic, and that topic alone. If existing bills that meet that description have already been introduced, then re-introduce them. With as much fanfare as we can muster.
Then the Democratic leadership should fan out onto all of the news programs and dig into each bill, highlighting the benefits they will bring for so many Americans.
I have never seen an approach like this. The closest thing I can remember is the Republicans’ Contract with America in the ‘90s, and, while it had major differences with what I’m proposing, it was pretty damn effective anyway.
We’ve got to do something. Let’s hit them with our ideas, hit them hard, and keep hitting until they cry uncle.
Sincerely,
A Desperate Democrat
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