Yes, Democrats, We All Fully Understand That You Are The Minority Party Right Now
'Do something' doesn't always mean pass legislation.
In the first couple weeks after the inauguration, it seemed as though almost every Democrat other than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett and Elizabeth Warren had decided to pack it in and just accept that Donald Trump and the Republicans were what the American people wanted. Some of them even voted for his garbage nominees (and are now apologizing for it, at least), until they started getting inundated with calls from their contituents demanding that they stand up and fight.
And you know what? A lot of them did! They decided to all vote against all of his nominees, they did protests, they got out there in the media and called out the awful things that Republicans are doing. That was pretty great and we were more than happy to give them all the credit in the world for that.
Unfortunately, not too long after that, a bunch of Dems went to the media to complain that they were getting so many calls and were getting frustrated with their constituents over that because, as the minority party, they couldn’t do anything. You know, instead of talking about the calls they’re getting as proof that the American people are horrified by what Trump is doing and want it to stop, which might have been a better angle.
This has continued in recent weeks, with leaders like Hakeem Jeffries complaining that Democrats don’t have the leverage to do what their constituents want.
Via NPR:
"I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said at a press briefing this month. "What leverage do we have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America — they control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It's their government."
It's a reality that has driven a disconnect between Democratic lawmakers and many of their constituents. House Democrats say the phones in their offices have been ringing off the hook with constituents and grassroots supporters demanding action.
"It's clear from talking to my constituents and people who interact with my office — it hasn't really totally sunk in that Republicans are in charge of the House, the Senate and the White House," said Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., a member of the House progressive caucus.
In an interview with CNN this week, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) also complained that Democrats “have to realize that we're in the minority. They have the White House, they have the House, and they have the Senate. So the tools that are available to us here as legislators...they are limited.”
Here’s the thing though — no one is talking about passing legislation. That is not what people mean when they say they want to see Democrats fight. We’re not stupid people, we’re not ignorant, we’re entirely aware of the fact that Democrats do not have the executive, the Senate or Congress.
When we say “Do something!” we are not always talking about passing laws. In fact, we usually are not. What is meant is that we want to see people out there, in the media, on the internet, taking a stand and getting their message out to people. We mean that we want to see attempts to introduce and vote on legislation that we all know is not going to pass, just so people at least know what kind of legislation Democrats would pass if they retake Congress. We want to see them try to pass it over and over and over again, making it a big story every time, the way Republicans once did with their gross anti-abortion bills that, at that time, were never going to pass because of Roe v Wade. And what ended up happening there? They eventually got their way.
And we want Democrats to use every parliamentary tactic available to them to slow down the process for Republicans, just as Republicans threw sand in the gears trying to block progress during the Obama and Biden presidencies. Make every nomination, every bill, every motion as much work for Republicans as possible, and use up every last available bit of the short congressional calendar on procedural votes, to slow down the flood of evil legislation and maybe even keep some from getting to the floor.
Make Republicans stay in Washington on Fridays if they have to. We know, radical stuff.
People keep saying that Democrats have a problem with “messaging.” Well, that’s how you do “messaging.” You know what’s not a good way to do “messaging?” For politicians to spend their media time talking about how their constituents are annoying and ignorant for expecting more out of them.
Adam Smith (D-Washington), gets it:
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., part of the centrist New Dems coalition, says spending time talking about what the party "can't do" isn't effective.
"That's a mistake," he said. "Let's develop a credible narrative to what we're going to do instead of Trump, while at the same time pounding him for the terrible stuff that he is doing," he said.
Democrats need to construct an overarching narrative and theme and share it with new audiences, not just their core base, Smith said.
"The narrative is that Trump is doing this because he wants power and autocratic control of the government. He's not doing it for the American people. He's doing it for himself," he said. "And [Elon] Musk isn't doing what he's doing for the American people — he's doing it for himself."
Yes! Thank you! That is literally all anyone is asking for. We want to see our representatives out there doing exactly what Republicans would be doing if they were in our seat — what they have done when they’ve been in that position (which, you know, has happened on multiple occasions — why we’re acting as if this is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence is beyond me). They have drawn media attention to themselves, they did things on the state level, they gummed up the works as much as possible, they worked to get grassroots groups going, they’ve worked to boost and draw attention to thinkers, writers, activists, artists who share their vision for America.
Some get super mad about other people liking Bernie Sanders and AOC, because “What legislation have they done? What bills have they passed?” But that isn’t the only thing that matters. What matters more sometimes is leading, it’s influencing, it’s standing up when someone needs to stand up, it’s making clear what you stand for and getting people talking. That’s what “messaging” is. Progressives know that even when Democrats have a trifecta, especially progressive bills are not likely to be passed. But that’s okay, because they are out here trying to create a world where that won’t always be true. That’s what every Democrat needs to be doing right now.
CPAC is this week. There is not a left-wing version of CPAC. We can talk all day about there not being a “left-wing version of Joe Rogan,” but what would actually be more useful to us right now would be something like that, where politicians, personalities, activists, etc., can discuss, debate and platform ideas, where people who want to get involved can network and find organizations and like-minded people to get things started with, identify people who should run for office. Something that could be streamed and reported on and from. That’s how you get to the point where you do have a wealth of people with influence.
It’s also how you get to the point where disagreements don’t destroy you. I will say it forever, one of the absolute worst things the Left does is not “eating our own” but rather acting as if infighting or criticism of leaders are the absolute end of the world. Republicans disagree and criticize their leaders all the time — it just doesn’t seem like it because they don’t run around acting as though the sky is falling every time it happens. If people can get over the fact that we are going to have serious disagreements about a lot of things and come together on others, it won’t be such a big deal.
Barring that (since who knows who has the money to get something like that together) … Democrats should get out and seen by the people some other way, just like Trump was going around holding rallies the whole time he was out of office. They should ask themselves: what’s our version of that? How do we connect, how do we make people feel like they have skin in the game? How do we make people who are feeling freaked out and directionless right now feel, well, a little less like that.
We cannot afford right now for Democrats to play the protagonist in Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me.” People are not going to suddenly wake up and realize that what they’re looking for has been here the whole time. Right now is the time to be aggressive and to come up with ways to change the conversation in ways that have nothing to do with legislation.
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV):
"[Unelected, gen-pop Dems] have to realize that we're in the minority. They have the [WH, House, and Sen]. So the tools [we have] as legislators... are limited.”
No. Elected Dems have to realize it's not legislation or helplessness. Legislators could also be - gasp - LEADERS.
Was it Richard Bachman who wrote, "Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them"?
At the very least dems should be as vitriolic as repubs at all times. But you know what? The dems' vitriol will more likely have the virtue of being true. Call Donnie a doddering old simpleton and con artist. Call Musk a drug addled degenerate fraud. So many young voters see the civility shit as absolutely laughable.