Moderates, liberals and progressives all agree that we need to oppose the upcoming Republican government and its apparent desire to discard 8 years of social progress. But we need a smarter opposition policy than simply trying to block the Republicans with proclamations of outrage and attempts to claim the moral high ground. Not only will this policy of outrage fail, it will actually help the Republican because we will provide them with a common enemy, inflaming their self-righteousness and their willingness to fight to the death, regardless of the costs.
Instead, we need a smart opposition, one that uses the psychological characteristics of the typical conservative to turn Republicans against each other and let them bicker and fight between themselves. Typically, Republicans rank extremely high on loyalty to their own kind, be it House Freedom Caucus (HFC, formerly the Tea Party Caucus) or white extremists or American Nationalists. We saw it all summer and fall with Republican voters slowly coming to support their highly flawed Presidential candidate because they eventually were able to see him as “one of their own kind.”
So if Democrats simply oppose Republican proposals, all they will do is provide Republicans with a common enemy to unite against. Smart opposition, however, will avoid being labeled the enemy while actively encouraging discord, disagreements, and infighting in the Republican party. Smart opposition would need Democrats to publicly adopt a bi-partisan, “across the aisle” stance (which almost all American voters want) while undermining every bill that the Republicans propose.
For example, if the Republicans propose an infrastructure bill, Democrats should announce their full support of the bill, stating just how pleased they are that the Republicans have finally embraced a Democratic proposal, how Democrats have been trying to get this kind of bill passed for many years, etc. This approach would prevent Democrats from being labeled as the enemy while making the bill toxic for HFC members and other ultra-conservatives to accept because it would have them voting on the same side as Democrats. Just imagine how Republican re-election opponents will make political hay in 2 years from saying that their conservative representative voted with Democrats. Democrats should make a point to shake as many HFC and conservatives hands in front of cameras as possible to make sure their re-election opponents have lots of photos to choose from.
If enough HFC and other conservatives balk at being labeled Democratic sympathizers, Republicans would have to take a week or two to find a solution they could all agree upon. And then the Democrats should show their “continued and enthusiastic” support for the infrastructure bill by adding an amendment that the bill be fully funded without increasing the deficit. If Republicans vote down the amendment, they would be betraying their deficit hawk posturing, again forcing them into a difficult position to defend in their next re-election bid. And if Republicans accept the amendment, that should cause another week or two of delays while they try to find ways to pay for the bill that won’t be toxic to Republican voters.
So if it takes a month or two to pass a “slam dunk” bill that should have taken them an hour to pass, then Mission Accomplished: proof that Republicans can’t govern. When Republicans have to struggle just to pass a budget or simple bills, then frustrated voters will see Republicans as their “enemy” and not Democrats. Especially if Democrats are saying that they were reaching across the aisle and doing their best to pass the bills. The rewards from the delays will be harvested in the 2018 and 2020 elections.
Labeling should also be fully employed by Democrats. For example, RINO (Republican In Name Only) is a term near and dear to “true Republicans” hearts. One of the biggest insults (and re-election threats) for a moderate Republican was to be labeled a RINO.
So when the Republicans propose to repeal the Affordable Care Act but propose that it happen 3+ years in the future, Democrats should be label it as a Repeal In Name Only (RINO) proposal. Followed by lots of homey comparisons, like “mice that voted to bell the cat” or “snakes that didn’t like the sun rising in the East so they renamed that direction Bozo” or “fish that didn’t like swimming in water so they repealed it and promised that they’d have a solution in 3 or more years.” Label it Ryan’s RINO repeal. RINO, RINO, RINO, repeated over and over again by Democrats.
RINO should be followed by, “Democrats really won because Obamacare has been rescued by the Republican RINO proposal. Everyone knows that the Affordable Care Act continues to become more popular with each passing year. If they don’t get rid of it now, it will be too popular to actually repeal in 3 years. If they haven’t come up with a workable replacement in 6 years, they certainly won’t be able to come up with a viable replacement in 3 years, especially one that Trump’s publicly stated criteria that the replacement plan will be cheaper and better.”
That should be followed by, “Republicans are afraid to do what they believe is right because they just want to be re-elected. They are unwilling to take the heat in 2018 for actually repealing Obamacare so they kick the can down the road and hope that someone else solves the problem. They would rather be “politically correct” and get re-elected than to stand up for their principles.”
The goal is to make the inevitable “repeal and delay” proposal as toxic as possible so that the Tea Party Republicans go to war with the Moderate Republicans about how quickly to repeal Affordable Care Act. Taunt the Republican Tea Party wing for their willingness to vote for this RINO bill to continue Obamacare instead of actually immediately ending it. Sneer and snipe at the Republicans for repealing without repealing.
Ideally, President Trump should be pulled into the Republican Civil War by making fun of how “the Republican Congress ignored his statement that the replacement health care plan will be cheaper and better. Republicans don’t respect the President because they know he’s weak and doesn’t know how to work with Congress. What kind of businessman would accept a contractor’s proposal to immediately take out a wall but leave it standing for 3 years and offer no plans or descriptions of what the replacement wall will look like or how much it will cost? If he was a real president, he’d fire the Republican leaders who produce excuses instead of real results.”
Once Trump fires up his Twitter account and starts sniping at Republicans for not supporting him properly, it will be all over for Republicans. All Democrats will have to do at that point is to spread rumors and insults among the Republicans and Congress and the Presidency will grind to a halt.
Smart opposition to Republican proposals will provoke Republicans to fight among themselves. This infighting will produce an effective Republican government that cannot function without a common enemy to fight against. Democrats always need a credible veil of bi-partisanship and doing what is best for the country. Democrats need to practice saying, “they’re only trying to help Republicans who can’t seem to get anything done, despite holding all three branches of government.” Democrats need to seem like the party of grown ups.
Smart opposition will produce an ineffectual Republican congress will produce an angry, disappointed populace that will vote against Republicans in 2018 and, more importantly, vote against them in 2020, when the majority party redraws the Congressional districts.
Smart opposition plays the long game and worries less about winning the small battles over individual bills and concerns itself with winning the war for the shared future of all Americans. We need to keep our eyes focused on a future America that celebrates people of all shapes, colors, faiths, and sexual preferences, an America that shares its freedoms graciously among all of its peoples and not just a privileged few.