Count on Democrats to give Americans what they want
In just a few days, the 2018 midterm elections will soon be over. The heated rhetoric, the negative ads, the insane number of fliers and posters appearing everywhere, robo calls from strangers warning us of the dangers of voting for this one or the other, and the bots and trolls lurking on your social media pages have been endless. Good riddance right?
Well it is just the end of one campaign season and the start of another one. While his name will not appear on any ballot next week, the elections are a referendum on his presidency, from the policies he has championed to the appointments he has made and the tone he has set over the last two years. President Trump has not served the nation well. Rather than working to build a true bipartisan coalition to help solve many of our national problems, he complains that Democrats are not interested in working with him, or he simply vilifies those who oppose his agenda.
{mosads}We can do better and it starts with everyone voting on November 6. It is one thing to exaggerate or to misrepresent, as most candidates on the trail do. But, like Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress embrace bald lying, boldly going where even Richard Nixon feared to tread. At a rally last month in Montana, Trump framed the election as being about “Kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order, and common sense.”
First of all, law and order and common sense are all sorely missing in this administration, as illustrated by the horrific measures taken to secure the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh. The “caravan” is the humanitarian crisis of 3,000 people who are fleeing violence in their countries and walking to seek asylum in the United States. In the past, presidents of both parties have dealt with this quickly and humanely. But to gin up his xenophobic base, Trump calls it “this onslaught” and threatens to call up the military and “CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!” Caps all his, of course.
This is a distraction to work Trump supporters into a frenzy about something that is not on the ballot so that our side will be dispirited and their side will get out and vote. This is not the only elaborate lie the president is stoking. The Republicans know that Americans are very concerned about health care and have been working overtime to “repeal and replace” ObamaCare. In USA Today, President Trump wrote about the new “Medicare for All” plan. I admire the daredevilry and shamelessness in his conclusion that this proposal would “end Medicare as we know it.”
Fact checking his column failed to turn up any facts. The Washington Post reported that “almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood.” The reason for this malarkey is plain. It is that Republicans have nothing to run on. Their “greatest accomplishment” turned out to be a “tax cut” that benefited only the 200 or so Daddy Warbucks dining on steak at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.
What will Democrats really do? Plainly put, they will do what Americans want done. Democrats are fighting to preserve and protect the affordable quality health care now available to Americans as one of their basic human rights as citizens. This includes reasonably priced prescription drugs and safeguards for family members with preexisting conditions.
Democrats will invest hard earned tax dollars in projects that will return well paying jobs and a system of highways, bridges, roads, and canals that are second to none on earth. This infrastructure is vital to our commerce and national defense. Democrats are committed to helping people make enough to get ahead instead of having barely enough to get by. We will end the rancid culture of corruption festering under this Republican Congress. We will strengthen ethics laws, rein in out of control lobbyists, and protect our elections from domestic and foreign sabotage.
Democrats have faith in voters. We know that people can see through the fog of deception. They know exactly what is at stake next week. These elections are about our most cherished democratic values. Americans are disgusted with violence, with propaganda, with disinformation, with defiling individuals for disagreeing, with assailing survivors of sexual assault, and with stiffing the innocent victims of Hurricane Maria.
In these precious few last days before the elections on November 6, President Trump will remain on the attack. He fears that the White House will be held accountable under real oversight from Congress. He knows that a majority of Americans want more civility in government and leaders who will pledge to work for the common good of this nation. Democrats, with the help of independents, can rise to lead the way forward.
Grab your friends and your neighbors and get them to the polls on Election Day. Many of us will have cause to celebrate an honorable and hard fought victory next week. It will not just be a win over any particular candidate or political agenda, but a time when we as Americans saw through the lies and the tricks and voted for the issues that we all care about. This is what will make our nation stronger and more unified.
Donna Brazile (@DonnaBrazile) is a political strategist and former chair of the Democratic National Committee. She is the author of “Hacks: Inside the Break Ins and Breakdowns of that Put Donald Trump in the White House.”