I am from a generation that saw black people reject the Republican Party as a political option and for very good reason. The Republican Party enthusiastically welcomed the scourge of racist politicians that once infected the Democratic Party. This is not to say that the Democratic Party did not accommodate the racist objectives of the so-called Dixiecrats. Still, during the Johnson administration, the Democratic Party achieved some of its most significant domestic accomplishments. In retrospect, the achievements were a laundry list of actions that Republicans continue to attempt to destroy, The Clean Air Act, Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Medicare, Medicaid, and The Voting Rights Act Of 1965. Their attacks on these progressive accomplishments have been so unrelenting that their party should be renamed the Regressive Party. These transformational changes required political courage that, unfortunately, is very rarely seen these days. These legislative actions and programs represent a high watermark for the Democratic Party over the past seven decades.
Unfortunately, today’s Democratic Party, except for infrequent occasions, appears to be fueled by fear and not the confidence that their vision of America is enough to unseat Donald J Trump and his Republican cronies. All too often, the Democratic Party is seen clutching their pearls about every media-driven narrative. The media is dominated by a degree of relativism that has transformed most media and journalists from being the Fourth Estate into referees that have money riding on a particular outcome in a sporting event. Donald J. Trump is a weak and wounded President. He has been weak since his inauguration. There is absolutely nothing that this man has done for our democracy that justifies his consideration for four more years. Yet, the Democrats will all too often concede to the lies of Trump and his administration. This administration gets away with it in part because, in my opinion, the Democrats still cowardly refuse to promote and support the accomplishments of the Obama administration (the economy, Obamacare, Iran Agreement). This is what happens when you leave a void.
Let me count the ways that we (Democrats) are afraid. We’re scared to acknowledge that the media has been handicapping the political discourse and competition between the parties from day one. The current President is an alleged sex offender and self-proclaimed abuser, yet Al Franken was unceremoniously badgered to leave the Senate. Let’s try another one. Hunter Biden did what adult children of wealthy or powerful people make money from their family’s name. There is not one thread of evidence that Hunter Biden did anything illegal, but very little is said about the grifters currently in the White House named Ivanka and Jared, who made more than 80 million dollars in 2019. Shit, Jared used his official position to get himself out of hock for his 666 Park Avenue debacle. Oh no, we need to focus on the appearance of a conflict of interest instead of the textbook case(s) of conflict(s) of interest that currently infest 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Our fear of losing the next election has us thinking and acting irrationally. We can all agree that we must do two things. One, end the nightmare of the Trump presidency, and secondly, take the majority in the Senate. What has driven me towards temporary insanity is that everyone has become a political analyst and is hedging their bets on who is the most electable. I understand the anxiety that still lingers from 2016, but this fruitless effort to divine which candidate is electable only exacerbates that anxiety. Let me make it simple. Although multiple factors contributed to Hillary Clinton’s defeat, she lost because her campaign did not turn out enough voters in 3 different states. This election will be about turnout. If the candidate and the Democratic Party cannot convince more people to come out and vote (notice I didn’t say vote differently), we may once again find ourselves in the fetal position the following day. Instead of investing our time and resources in energizing and expanding, and registering our base, we are concerned about who can measure up to the pathological liar in the White House.
The third fear that I want to address is the fear of rejecting the idea that the best bet, the only bet that can win the presidency, is a white man. Only once in our country’s history did we reject that model and proved that it’s not true. We tried the last election, but I feel that Hillary’s defeat has now added another hurdle for female candidates. “Well, we tried it once, and look how that turned out.” Kamala Harris was the first victim. It was almost as if the media saw her rising in the polls and decided, let’s put the brakes on this. We bought into it. Next in line, Elizabeth Warren, let’s force her to be more specific about how she’ll fund her health care plan than any other candidate. Her refusal to play that game was to her demise because the media was pissed. It was all a disingenuous ploy to “expose” her. My proof, she came out with a financing plan analyzed by various economists that verified its viability and that didn’t receive anywhere near the press coverage as the badgering. I guarantee you if Amy Klobuchar starts to rise in the polls, it’s coming her way.
What is painfully ironic is, in the current political environment, this is a time where we, Democrats, are in a position to reverse the effects of the Southern Strategy, Republican Party demagoguery, and decades of economic and environmental neglect for the majority of Americans. We have an opportunity to change and redirect what our country will be in the future. Our problem is, we won’t be able to do it if we continue to have a vise-like grip on our pearls.
C. T. Watlington
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