Republicans Are Scurrilous and Democrats Are Inept

As the Midterm elections approach, American democracy is plainly in an endangered state and the responsibility lies with our two major parties.

Republicans inhabit a party where many indulge in conspiracy theories and violent political rhetoric—sometimes leading to actual violence. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul are only the most notable targets. While some Republicans condemned the attack clearly and forcefully, others fell well short of that obvious standard. Indeed, the vicious attack on Mr. Pelosi was compounded by vicious attacks on his character and bizarre versions of the way the attack was carried out. For example, the former President’s contribution to the discussion was his false assertion that “The glass, it seems, was broken from the inside to the out and, you know, so, it wasn’t a break in, it was a break out.”

Today’s Republican Party has one central creed: the preposterous claim—unsupported by a scintilla of evidence—that Joe Biden is not the lawfully elected President. This colossal lie, relentlessly hawked by the former President, is destructive enough by itself, but it is the beginning and not the end of the story. As I reported in previous blogs, scores of Republican election deniers are on the ballot throughout the country, and if several are elected to sensitive offices in battleground states, the prospects for an honest election in 2024 will be grim indeed. Then, if Donald Trump regains power, he will seek revenge on his enemies, real and perceived, ushering in a reign of thuggery without precedent in our nation’s history. It is not hard to imagine the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers invited to the White House to be given Medals of Freedom.

In terms of substantive policies, Republicans campaign against crime and high gas prices while having no solutions for either. In other areas, their suggestions range from vacuous to dangerous. And if they gain control of the House, it is clear that their principal objective is to carry on a war against the Biden administration. One weapon they have threatened to employ is the debt ceiling. As reported in a Bloomberg Government article last week, “the four Republican lawmakers interested in serving as House Budget Committee chairman in the next Congress all said they’d refuse to raise the debt ceiling next year unless Democrats agree to entitlement cuts and work requirements on safety-net programs — that is, measures Democrats would find abhorrent. This would set the stage for another high-stakes showdown.” And even a serious threat of refusing to increase the debt ceiling and cause defaults in U.S. debt, would not only damage U.S. credit but create panic in financial markets around the world.

For their part, Democrats have failed to convey an effective message calling out the grave danger that Republicans’ election denial poses for 2024 and, indeed, the future of democracy in America. President Joe Biden did speak to the point forcefully on Wednesday, but I fear it was too little and too late. It was not the kind of sustained message required to penetrate the consciousness of voters preoccupied with the price of gas at the pump and groceries on the shelves.

Moreover, Democrats have failed even to construct a coherent and persuasive message on other key issues, such as crime. As pointed out by Tim Miller in the consistently perceptive Bulwark:

Democrats are losing on “crime” even though they have the most popular policies for dealing with crime: more cops, fewer guns. To summarize: Voters want to ensure that police are funded, that there are more cops on the streets, that guns are more difficult to purchase, and that people should be able to have police confiscate weapons from loved ones with mental health issues.How about in bumper sticker form:

More cops. Fewer guns and violent criminals on the street. 

Or, in other words, exactly the policies that Joe Biden has tried to enact during his first two years and will continue if left to his own devices!…

Yet somehow Democrats have got themselves in a situation where the head of their party holds the most popular position on guns and crime—and yet they’re getting crushed on the issue because they’ve let GOP campaign ads, the right wing media ecosystem, and assorted progressive big city prosecutors shape the narrative on the issue rather than doing so themselves.

I do not know the political preferences of readers of RINOcracy.com, but I hope that their number still includes some Republicans. Their party—formerly mine—was once a proud and constructive component of our political system, and to regain that role it needs all the help it can get. In the meantime, however, I would urge all Republicans to set aside party loyalty and vote for Democrats. You may question or flatly disagree with some policies of Joe Biden or Congressional Democrats, as indeed I do. Or you may be put off, as I am, by the shrill rhetoric of woke progressives. No matter. This election transcends those concerns, valid as they may be; it is not hyperbole to suggest that it may be a hinge point in the survival of democracy in America as we have known it. The redoubtable Liz Cheney has recognized this, and her campaigning for Democrats should be your guide star.