People are increasingly wondering if Trump will withdraw. Because this is a real possibility the Clinton campaign should be broader than just contrasts with Trump. What if Trump dropped out? What if Paul Ryan stepped in and took his place? What case will the Clinton campaign have made for themselves beyond Trump at that point?
Too much of all Democrats political focus is on Trump. Unquestionably the most unqualified major party candidate ever. Ignorant, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and an all-around horrible person. Yet he still maintains a polling position such that the potential is there that he could win. So he must be called out, and those that support him likewise called to task. But Democrats need to walk and chew gum at the same time, and we should be using the opportunity Trump presents to go after the Republican Party in total. Yes, call Trump out, but do so using it as an opportunity to motivate the Democratic base and those mythical independents
Use the opportunity to remind youth voters that unlike Trump and the Republican Party, the Democrats are representing them. Remind all Americans that the Democrats have long been fighting for long needed infrastructure investments that can create hundreds of thousands of jobs, but that the Republican Party of Trump has stood in the way and will continue to stand in the way. Remind all of America that the Democratic Party is responsible for ending insurance companies from denying access to health care to those with pre-existing conditions, expanding Medicaid for millions, and allowing young adults to remain longer on their parent’s policies, all thing that the party that nominated Trump fought against every step of the way.
By framing the national election on how awful Trump is only through the lens of the Presidential campaign Democrats are missing a huge opportunity. Every time Trump provides Democrats with the media oxygen to attack him, Democrats need to seize the opportunity to tie Trump to all that is bad with the Republican Party. Every time. This election is not just about Clinton and Trump.
For decades the Republicans have successfully labeled Democrats. The accepted conventional wisdom based on Republican’s branding efforts is that Democrats are weak on defense, not fiscally responsible, less patriotic, soft on crime, against families and Christians, and all sorts of other lies. Republicans have defined Democrats. Democrats have forever been on the defensive, and countered Republican attacks by moving to the right, further reinforcing the Republican message.
This year’s Democratic Convention did more to dispel these Republican lies than anything the Democrats have been able to do in the last 40 years. The Democrats did so not defensive explanations of history and policy, we did by sharing the truth. We did it by being honest about who the Democrats are and how Democrats feel about this nation. The emotions were genuine. Those watching were touched not by name calling, but by true illustrations of what this country means to so many of us, regardless of our politics, and reminding everyone that from these shared values America is indeed a great nation. It reminded us that from millions of small, personal stories comes the greatness of this country, not from the few billionaires or politicians.
Democrats need to be doing more of this. We need to be drawing the actual distinctions that exist between the Democratic and Republican parties. There is more explicit illustration of this than the awfulness that is Trump, who is the personification of the Republican Party’s modern history, and the fact that he is their nominee.
Democrat’s rebuttals and refutations on Trump should not be just about him, but also about how Trump is the perfect leader for today’s Republican Party. Trump did not rise from nowhere. He is the personification of the cultivation of resentment, prejudice and hate cultivated by the Republican Party and the media empire. He is the embodiment of 40 years of the Republican Party’s associations with and acceptance of racists as a reliable voting bloc within their party. He embodies the Republican Party’s prioritizing the wealth of the richest over the needs of the many. Trump embodies the Republican Party’s belief that power is not a trust bestowed by the public but a hammer to be wielded for Party gain.
Democrats need to be making the case that even should Trump go away everything awful about the Republican Party remains. To use a war analogy, you win the war by bombing the factory not by shooting the tanks. And the Republican Party is the factory. Take this for instance:
Obama’s first day in office, with the country and jobs in economic meltdown, Congressional Republicans met and agree to unanimously oppose everything Democrats tried to do. They did not care about the cost to the country, the cost and pains of families. They cared about political power than would be gained if they could made Obama a one term President.
The examples could go on and on. From shutting down the government to refusing to support first responders and crews in NYC, to in the wake of Sandy Hook, and now Orlando, refusing to pass sensible gun laws supported by almost 90% of the people. In each and every case Republicans have said they are acting on behalf of the American people, but like Donald Trump they were lying. And they still are.
Trump is today’s Republican Party’s nominee because he is representative of who the party is. Democrats need to make the case that they are the party they displayed at their convention, and make it in real terms. Democrats should no longer be afraid to run as Democrats, and every Democrat with an opportunity to remind potential voters of the stark differences between the parties needs to be doing just that.
The Democratic Party needs to create openings for their down ballot candidates. With Trump the Democratic Party can put the Republican Party on defense. Democrats need to use the national disgrace that is Trump. They need to use it to put the focus not just on Trump but on every candidate running as a Republican. Democrats need to continue to let the people know that we are the party that knows why America is the greatest country on earth. Democrats need to evoke Trump to make clear that there really is no defense for what the Republican Party has become.