By Karen Rubin, News & Photo Features
I find it ironic that Republicans and especially Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are running on a “change” platform (that means change from a Democrat in the White House) and stoking and capitalizing on anger, frustration at the dysfunction, gridlock and polarization of Washington, when the source of the problem has been the Republican-controlled Congress. The Republicans in Congress who gathered together as President Barack Obama was wearing the oath of office and decided to make him a one-term President by causing his presidency to fail. That meant that the American people – who were losing jobs at the rate of 850,000 a month, losing health insurance at the rate of 20,000 families a month, losing homes, college and retirement savings, and were in a justifiable panic about the economy falling into a Great Depression – would also fail.
Republicans, not Democrats, have used unprecedented tactics, including filibustering more than all presidents put together, shutting down government and threatening the full faith and credit of the US government to extort repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which had been duly passed by Congress. Ah, that was in the few months when Obama actually had control of Congress – a majority in the House and a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Then Ted Kennedy died, Republican Scott Brown took over, and progress that the American people hungered for was stopped in its tracks. Since then, the only major initiatives have come as a result of executive orders – climate action, immigration, raising the federal minimum wage and providing paid parental leave (only for federal workers and contractors). So sad, using the descriptor Donald Trump likes to tweet. Pathetic.
Republicans are stoking the image of an America on the verge of Armageddon, an impending dystopia, because they believe it inflame their voters. But the reality is consumer confidence is up, employment participation, wages, real income are up, 20 million more people have health insurance. As Paul Krugman noted in a recent New York Times column, “Gallup finds that 80 percent of Americans are satisfied with their standard of living, up from 73 percent in 2008, and that 55 percent consider themselves to be “thriving,” up from 49 percent in 2008.”
Indeed, the economic recovery, which Trump and Republicans chide as being slow (but breaking records for duration), would have been more accelerated were it not for their policies, consistently threatening to shut down government, default on the national debt, blocking funding for infrastructure projects or even disaster relief, as after Superstorm Sandy, cutting into the social safety net of food stamps and unemployment benefits (the list goes on). To the extent that Business requires some sense of stability, Congressional Republicans did their best to make sure everyone felt insecure, unwilling to invest in the future.
The change we need isn’t in the Oval Office, it is to break the Republicans’ stranglehold on Congress. We need Democrats in charge of the committees that have so far blocked criminal justice reform, climate action, gun control, health care reform, and refused to hear judicial nominations including to the Supreme Court. (Arizona Senator John McCain is vowing GOP lockstep opposition to any Hillary Clinton SCOTUS nominee.)
Thanks to gerrymandering (actually “rigging of the election”), Democratic candidates for Congress received 1.4 million more votes in 2014, yet Republicans still took a 56% majority in the House. Similarly, Democratic candidates for the Senate received 20 million more votes than Republican candidates, yet Republicans wound up with 54 seats. That is hardly a mandate to inflict the right-wing, regressive ideology upon the nation.
The fact of the matter is, Republicans have realized that they don’t need to take over the Oval Office, because they have figured a way to neuter the Presidency (as long as they do not control it, otherwise they advocate for a singularly powerful Unitary Executive). Their idea of “compromise” is “repeal Obamacare or we’ll shut down government.”
Since taking control of Congress, Republicans have taken pride in throwing monkey wrenches into government, because they hate federal government – they want to make sure government doesn’t work effective - but they surely love holding federal office. They put party power and their own political fortunes ahead of the nation.
Republican leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, now fearing a bloodbath, are telling voters that even if Donald Trump is not President, they need to keep control of the House and Senate as a “check and balance” on Hillary Clinton. Precisely the point. Their sole aim is to make sure gridlock continues, that the positive change – the progressive reforms – this country needs don’t take place.
Hillary for America Campaign Supporting Down Ballot Races
Meanwhile, the Hillary for America campaign is capitalizing on the disarray in the Republican party, seeing this as a historic opportunity to recapture power in Congress.
HFA America Campaign Manager Robby Mook highlighted Hillary for America's unprecedented coordinated campaign efforts, to date totaling an over $100 million investment, and pointed out additional resources coming in the final weeks to help win Senate, House and governors races in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri and Indiana and states across the country.
“Since the primary concluded, our campaign has been coordinating closely with U.S. Senate, House, Gubernatorial, and state races in the battleground states to build a coordinated campaign that leverages resources to help all candidates. We set up offices in all 50 states and have devoted intensive resources to 12 states and Maine and Nebraska’s second congressional districts,” he told reporters on a press call.
Mook announced new enhanced coordination efforts from Hillary for America:
- An additional six million dollars in mail and digital advertising to get out the vote in the battleground states of Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire. States with competitive Governor, Senate and House races.
- An additional quarter million dollars in Nebraska and Maine’s second congressional districts.
- An expanded television buy and direct mail and digital advertising program by over two million dollars in Arizona, where Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric has opened new doors for the Democratic Party. Mook also announced that on Thursday, First Lady Michelle Obama will host an Early Vote rally in Phoenix. Days after Senator Bernie Sanders and Chelsea Clinton are in the state.
- And a commitment to help Senate and Governor races in Indiana and Missouri with a million-dollar investment to turn Democrats out to vote.
Additionally, Mook pointed out the unprecedented commitment from the top of the ticket in support of down ballot races: the 455 offices in battleground states that are open and available to all Democratic candidates to reduce infrastructure cots; the fact that we have down ballot candidates’ names on phone and door scripts to cross-promote; and that we’ve included candidates in speaking programs for principal trips.
“Bottom line: Donald Trump’s erratic behavior and spiraling campaign have left the Republican party in a civil war…. With signs of high turnout across the country, Democrats have a historic opportunity to elect leaders who will partner with Hillary to create jobs and get incomes rising,” Mook said.
The campaign will continue to evaluate ground investment through Election Day.
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