Why do we continue to elect Republicans despite their shoddy track records? Rahm Emanuel explains: (March 1, 2021)
Take a split-screen snapshot of America’s two political parties. Congressional Republicans, having just witnessed President Trump literally sic a mob on them, have remained overwhelmingly loyal. Democrats are trying to build support for President Biden’s Covid-relief package by disparaging former President Obama’s efforts to save the economy in 2009. It’s a study in contrasts, and a master class in the relationship between messaging and politics.
Democrats need to tear a page from the Republican playbook. When interviewing for a job, you don’t lead with self-loathing. Democrats need to assert that they’ve got a record of success. If the GOP could claim that a past Republican president had created 20 million jobs, do you think they would disparage him as a RINO—a Republican in name only? If a GOP president had sparked the longest peacetime economic expansion in the nation’s history, do you think they’d label his efforts as “tepid”?
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Yes, we hear the constant “self loathing” and criticism and most of it is unfounded. Each time a Republican majority leaves office amidst a cratering economy Democrats have a very short time to prove themselves to an angry nation.
And what happens?
Take the precedent that’s most frequently at issue today—the Recovery Act of 2009. Mr. Obama’s economic strategy not only prevented the Great Recession from morphing into a full-fledged depression, but sparked a record-setting recovery. The legislation he signed was far bigger than any previous stimulus bill and was as robust as Congress would allow. It was also only one part of Mr. Obama’s broader economic agenda, which included restructuring General Motors and Chrysler, investing in the early renewable energy industry, expanding healthcare coverage and stabilizing the financial system.
The Clinton administration was also a resounding success;
Take the Clinton administration. On the issues progressives talk most about today—job creation, poverty reduction, the list goes on—Mr. Clinton’s eight years often set economic records. During his tenure, the income gap separating the poorest and richest fifths of American families dramatically narrowed. The economy gained more than 20 million jobs. In 1995 Clinton was so intent on saving Medicare and Medicaid from cuts that he stood firm during a Republican-led government shutdown. Far from claiming that he was some sort of “Republican lite,” progressives should own Mr. Clinton’s accomplishments because they provide a foundation for what we want to do in the future.
If this were better known and reported on there would be no need for filibuster reform. Republicans don’t deserve to win.