Democrats deserve a lot of praise for what was an exceedingly well planned and executed 2016 convention. Democrats did such a good job that any criticism might be a bit presumptuous, but what is an amateur pundit to do?
So here goes: going forward Democrats need to make sure that they don’t just run against Donald Trump, but against the entire Republican ideology. Democrats need to make sure that Trump and the Republicans are properly tied at the hip, and not cooperate to create false daylight between the two. Democrats need to remind voters that we are looking to defeat Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz and the House radicals too.
It is reasonably smart (and funny too) to have prominent Republicans endorsing Ms. Clinton or connecting Ronald Reagan to the Democratic party — as long as this is done in very small doses. But, by this morning I can already see Joe Scarborough and his crew acting as if they can both run Trump as their candidate and take success for his eventual defeat. Only Democrats, I fear, could make it seem as if Republicans had a hand in defeating Republicans themselves.
A noted example of this occurred during President Obama’s speech when he said:
But what we heard in Cleveland last week wasn't particularly Republican and it sure wasn't conservative. What we heard was a deeply pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other and turn away from the rest of the world. There were no serious solutions to pressing problems, just the fanning of resentment and blame and anger and hate. And that is not the America I know.
Umm, no. What we heard in Cleveland has been the long essence of Republicanism and the so-called “conservative” party. Donald Trump popularly embodies the ideas and approach of the Republican party; he does not contradict them. The Republicans would have been a threat to the country regardless of who had won their nomination.
In short: it will be lazy, expedient and criminally negligent if Democrats turn this election mostly into a personal referendum on Donald Trump — as if he stood outside the bounds of the modern Republican party.
So, here is my modest proposal. When Democrats talk about Donald Trump, they need to consistently and frequently refer to him as “the Republican candidate,” “the Republicans,” or “Republican Donald Trump.” (I rarely see this so far.) Democrats also need to make it clear that they are running against Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and the “Ryan Plan.” Democrats also have to make it clear that they are running against the party of obstruction, privatization, starve the beast and government shut downs. Because trust me: all of those Republican politicians and policies are on the Republican ticket too, and they will claim victory if the unthinkable happens.
There has never been a better and more important time than now to draw the sharp distinction between the two parties. Democrats don’t need to, and shouldn’t, limit the courage of their convictions to a fight against one man, no matter how ludicrous and dangerous he may be.