Democrats and Progressives are poised to affect the Blue Wave. I still think we are on-the-edge, meaning it could just as well get derailed. But I think there is a perfect firewall to ensure success.
Making the Blue Wave more secure
Two messages on my Facebook Page and my website provided a couple of legs to a multi-legged approach we must use to secure the 2018 Blue Wave.
I received a direct message on my Politics Done Right Facebook page from a dear friend. He argued with me for a long time that he voted for Trump because the Democratic party sang a great song but always took many people, black people, poor whites, and others for granted. He is a person I did not expect to turn around. Well, he did. His message said,
I was hoping Trump was different. I was hoping he would really help us. I was wrong. You were right. I am sorry.
I replied as follows.
Hey man, it takes a man to change an opinion when you get convincing evidence for yourself. Sir, you are a man. Please help us get the right people elected by telling your story.
That is how we start. We give people their space to change and when the change occurs, encourage them to be instruments of further change.
Al Montgomery wrote the following in the message section of my article “Paul Krugman exposes the reality of Trump & the GOP’s tax cut scam”
Me and a friend of mine, who happens to be a Trump supporter and happy about the tax bill passed in Congress, had a debate about how this tax plan will not help him — at all. I informed him that even though the rich are the big winners — by 2027, the top 1 percent of income earners get nearly half the tax benefits. But then I told some more bad news. In 2018, more than 3 million of these households will see their taxes go up. By 2027, the figure rises to more than 11 million households. The average amount that these people will see their tax bills increase is more than $1,000. But that’s just the beginning. If you add up everyone getting a bigger tax bill, it comes out to 12.8 million households in 2018, and 47.5 million in 2027, or a quarter of all households. I also informed him that Trump lied during the campaign asserting, “…this tax bill will not help me at all….” the Trump Organization and Trump family will save $1 billion. He didn’t respond and walked away – I smiled broadly.
These two stories are important. First, talking does not necessarily get immediate results nor should one expect that. What one must do is respectfully plant seeds that will take hold just when the weather changes and the conditions are right. The second is, one must be more than ideological as one speaks to issues that directly affect the person you are attempting to convince or enlighten. Al Montgomery knew his material and he got his message across. He planted the seed.
The other issue to secure the Blue Wave is to protect against externalities. I wrote the following in a recent blog post.
So what exactly is the political play here? The wager the president is making is that a terrorist attack occurs. He assumes that a fearful public will want a strongman, Donald Trump, and his cohort, the Republicans in control. Moreover, since it is unlikely that any immigration bill would mimic Trump’s racist desires, he would have the additional option to blame his inability to discriminate against Muslim as a cause of the attack.
Farfetched? Maybe. Maybe not. Democrats must preempt all narratives that cede defense of terrorism to the president and the Republicans. In fact, Democrats must put out the narrative now that America is at risk of a terrorist attack because of a dysfunctional State Department and a Department of Homeland Security run by an unqualified secretary. Democrats must be on the offensive and must be in preemption mode.
The same must occur on the Affordable Care Act. Just before the 2018 election, Americans will receive another health insurance premium shock.
Democrats must cauterize within the minds of Americans the reality that terrorist attacks and health insurance spikes will likely occur in the forthcoming months because of Republican actions. They must repeat it over and over ad nauseam, It is essential that they are not caught flat-footed, having to fight from a defensive position. They must preempt and stay on the offense. That is how Democrats ensure the Blue Wave does not turn into a ripple.
In effect, some of the work we must do is to bring more people into our Progressive fold. Yes, the high paid consultant wants us to activate and bring out the base. The kind of win that can make lasting change must be massive. The base is not enough.