A Modest Proposal: Let Trump Be Trump
A Modest Proposal: Let Trump Be Trump
Democrats should not try to save America from itself.
Sarah and I taped the Secret Pod yesterday. It’s about as bleak as you’d expect. I’m not sure if you’ll find it cathartic or depressing. You’ve been warned. The show is here.
Also: Today’s Triad may be controversial. It’s probably wrong. I intend it as a thought exercise and not—or at least, not exactly—as a prescription. As such, I hope you’ll discuss it rigorously in the comments.
This is one of those rare cases where I want to be clear that there will be a variety of views on the subject and I’m not speaking for anyone else.
I’m not even sure I’m speaking for myself. I’m trying to work through a tension which I believe is going to bedevil us. (And I’m open to being convinced that other approaches are wiser.) But as we think through the approach to Trumpism at the congressional level for the next two years, this is one option that should be on the table.
So here’s my modest proposal.
Oh, and one more thing: Be kind to each other. In the comments, obviously. But everywhere. We never regret kindness.
1. Stop Helping
Everything you need to know about the state of our political parties can be found in the following two stories.
The Tale of Arizona Democrats and the 1864 Abortion Law
Last spring, Arizona Republicans were in a pickle. The conservative Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling saying that an obscure 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions was valid. This was a position that Republicans in the state had long supported, so long as Roe prevented it from being put into practice. But with Dobbs the law of the land, the 1864 law was going to be enforced. And it was wildly unpopular.
Republicans controlled the Arizona legislature and so public pressure fell to them to repeal the 160-year-old law. Yet Republicans in the legislature declined to do so.
Arizona already had a ballot initiative scheduled for November. This referendum was sure to pass and when it did, it would invalidate the 1864 law. Republicans did not want to take a vote that would put them at odds with their pro-life base.
But in the six months between then and November, women in Arizona would suffer from the effects of this Draconian law. So Democrats in the legislature and the Democratic governor, Katie Hobs, stepped in. They provided the votes to repeal the law that Republicans had pushed for—thus saving their constituents—but also saving Republicans from the political consequences of their actions.
Democrats fixed the problem the GOP majority had made, instead of letting the unpopular law hang there, like a millstone around the necks of Republican candidates.
The Fable of the Lankford Bill
At roughly the same time, President Biden and the Democratic Senate majority approached Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell about negotiating an immigration bill. McConnell tapped the conservative Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford to write a border hawk’s dream, and that’s exactly what he did. The Lankford bill was easily the toughest immigration law in generations—Democrats gave away the store and asked for nothing in return. Republicans got everything they ever said they wanted.
And then, after the Republicans’ designated negotiator declared victory, the rest of the Republican party in Congress balked. They chose to abandon their own bill because instead of solving the problems at the border, they wanted to be able to use immigration as an issue to help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
On Tuesday, voters rewarded one of these parties and punished the other. What should Democrats learn from that outcome? One simple thing: