It is imperative that Democrats do absolutely nothing to assist Republicans to implement their Republican policies. I come to this conclusion with a lot of pain given that I strongly believe in cooperation between parties and compromises to ensure the well-being of all Americans. We preach that, at one of the groups I participate in, Coffee Party USA. So why would I support behavior anathema to that? It is simple; one cannot reward extortion.
Before President Obama officially sat in his office, then Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” He made this clear at the Heritage Foundation and on Fox News. In fact, he specifically said that the only way Republicans could implement all of their policies and rid themselves of Democratic policies is to have a Republican President, House, and Senate. They have that now.
Mitch McConnell admits to his intransigence
Interestingly, when President Obama came into office, he had the entire government as well. Of course, for some time he also had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. President Obama implemented most of his policies that brought the country out of the 2008 depression during that two-year period when Democrats held complete control. President Obama did it fighting Republicans on the Right and Blue Dog Democrats on the Center Right.
Republicans with the help of an inept and derelict media created false narratives surrounding the somewhat Progressive policies that brought back the economy, that would provide affordable near universal health care, that would stimulate the economy, that would revive the auto industry, that would catalyze the green energy sector, and much more. Now, these same Republicans used sexist, misogynistic, racist, xenophobic fears to get enough Electoral College votes to take over the government. Democrats must not reward that.
Bryan Henry, a high school teacher, an activist, and friend wrote an essay titled “Explain why Democrats, after eight years, should treat your party any differently than you treated ours” that perfectly illustrates what every well-meaning American is thinking.
While I accept the results of the election, I am finding it quite difficult that people, particularly Clinton and Obama, are insisting that I unite behind Trump as president. I realize that they both love our country and are only saying this because it is necessary to avoid violence and further social fracturing, but this is the context within which I am processing the election: Obama won in a bigger landslide in 2008, Democrats had 60 senators (not 51), and a large majority in the House. Republicans didn’t unite behind Obama or give him a chance. They said he was a Muslim. A terrorist-sympathizer. A foreign-born non-citizen. A socialist, communist, and Marxist.
The Republicans proceeded to engage in unprecedented obstruction, delaying economic recovery and diluting the effectiveness of reforms. They did their absolute best to literally destroy his presidency, undermine his every action, delegitimize him in the eyes of the public, and make him fail. The minority leader said, “our goal is to make him a one-term president.” They decided they would rather Obama fail than America succeed. They called him a liar on national television during a speech to Congress. They refused to hold hearings on his Supreme Court nominee. And after doing all of that…they nominated someone who launched his political career pushing the “birther conspiracy” that Obama was not an American citizen…and then he WON the election…they retained control of Congress…and now they get to nominate Supreme Court justices to preserve the conservative majority that should have ended with the confirmation of Merrick Garland. And I am supposed to unite behind Trump’s presidency? Seriously?
Oh, and Hillary received more votes than him…Why would it not be entirely appropriate for Democrats to now obstruct Trump? Seriously…
DailyKos founder and Publisher wrote the following in his article titled “We oppose everything” that makes a prescient point.
Their obstruction became so blatant, they even refused to perform their Constitutional duty to advise and consent to Barack Obama’s final Supreme Court justice pick. And did they suffer anything for it? Of course not. They won big in 2010, and again in 2014. And they won big last night.
Not only did obstruction help hamper Obama’s agenda, but just as importantly, it sent a message to base Republicans that their party actually gave a sh$t. It let them know that their party would fight for them, even if everyone else thought they were being a$$holes. It didn’t matter. That singular focus on obstructing Obama and the Democrats said they cared.
If Trump wants to pass a new Voting Rights Act, or renominate Merrick Garland, then we can work with him. Anything else, he can go f$ck himself. Infrastructure spending? Let him get the votes from his own caucus. Anything else he might propose, even if we might agree with it? Let him get the votes from his own caucus while we hurl metaphorical molotov cocktails from the sideline.
They broke it, they own it. Show our people we are fighting for them, and they’ll fight back for us in return. We are the fierce opposition. And as such, we need to oppose. Full stop. From Day One.
Markos is correct except for one statement, “And they won big last night.” Our derelict media and the Trump campaign wants America to believe that Trump has a mandate. He does not. The reality is that Democrats did quite well in the aggregate even with the surge of the Republican rural vote. While Democrats lost the presidency, the Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton won more votes than Donald Trump, Democrats picked up seats in the House, Democrats picked up seats in the Senate, they picked up a few chambers, and won several local races in the Texas and elsewhere that were in Republican hands.
So where do we go from here? Enough Americans over several election cycles did not see it fit enough to come out to vote in their best interest. In effect, many Americans decided to leave the country in the hands of others. Let us accept that. With that mandate, Democrats should allow Republicans to do everything they want to do that they can accomplish single-handedly, that they can accomplish without any Democratic votes. Let Americans live under the policies they supported with their vote or non-vote. During this period Democrats and Progressives must build grassroots movements that educate Americans of the policies Progressives believe are better for the poor and middle-class. If Americans do not like the effect of the policies, Democrats and Progressives must be ready to mobilize when conservative policies fail as mathematically they ultimately will.