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What future Democratic candidate should focus on [1]
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Date: 2022-12-10
Democrats were fortunate this year to have some Republicans to run against who were personally weak as candidates, and the Democrats took full advantages of those personal weaknesses. Yet even though Democrats support, and Republicans oppose, several important things that have the support of a large majority of the American people, Democrats are still only winning or losing by razor-thin margins. John Fetterman beat Mehmet Oz by only 3.4 percentage points (50.5 to 47.1) while Raphael Warnock beat Herschel Walker by only 2.6 points (51.3 to 48.7).
Meanwhile, to look at just a few examples, around two-thirds of Americans favor some form of universal healthcare (percentages vary depending on how the poll question is worded), while about 70% approve of marriage equality, and over 60% think that abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances. Yet Republicans took a majority of House seats this year, while Democrats managed only a two-seat majority in the Senate. Why the discrepancy between the number of Americans who support Democratic ideas, and the number who actually vote for Democrats?
Part of it has to do with Republicans pushing ideas which sound reasonable and therefore get a lot of positive response, and Democrats are not adequately rebutting the core ideas. Another, related, part is that Republicans are attacking Democrats based on, again, reasonable-sounding but not actually valid arguments.
Another part has to do with Democrats engaging Republicans by using purely behavioristic tactics and ignoring actual issues entirely. Most obviously, Democrats often engage Republicans by using the exact same “attack ad” strategy that Republicans use, only with opposite content. Strategically this is unwise, because the result is that Democrats are working together with Republicans to convince most Americans that American politicians are all bad. The leads directly to the pervasive lack of confidence that most Americans have in their government today. Since 1958, when this sentiment first began being tested, the percentage of Americans who trust the federal government to do the right thing all or most of the time has fallen from around 75% to barely 30%. Now, a good argument can be made that Republicans are more to blame for this because they in fact are less trustworthy at the same time that they falsely accuse Democrats of being untrustworthy, but I still maintain that Democrats would do better to focus less on weak Republican candidates’ personal faults, and more on their support of bad Republican policies. (A Democratic campaign thinker might well counter that I am being naïve and that failing to attack will simply result in lost elections. This may be true, but I sincerely hope that it is not.)
Anyway, Rick Scott has given us something that Republicans have tried hard not to do, and that is to present a set of policies that Republicans are for. And his list is broadly accurate for the party as a whole; these twelve points do in fact give a pretty fair representation of Republican/conservative beliefs. And some of those points are, on their face, genuinely persuasive-sounding and deserve a thoughtful rebuttal rather than an angry denunciation. So below I have listed the twelve points along with some of Scott’s own words as found on his campaign site, stating what he means by each of those points. Then I give a nutshell explanation of what is wrong with that point.
See what you think.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rick Scott’s Twelve-Point Plan
1. Education
Our kids will say the pledge of allegiance, salute the Flag, learn that America is a great country, and choose the school that best fits them.
We will inspire patriotism and stop teaching the revisionist history of the radical left; our kids will learn about the wisdom of the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the founding fathers. Public schools will focus on the 3 R’s, not indoctrinate children with critical race theory or any other political ideology.
Scott’s plan starts with demagoguery at its best. But it is very effective demagoguery, so to effectively counteract it one must understand why it is so appealing to the conservative base, and then know how to refute it properly.
Of course this point begins with a misdirection; it says “Education” but the point is really about patriotism and love of country (and indoctrinating children rather than teaching them how to think). The assertion by Scott is that “we” love our country, but “they” don’t. This is simply not true. Oh, it is true there are some liberals who really don’t like our country, but then there are also some conservatives who clearly despise this country, and there is no benefit to digging into such fine details. Suffice it to say that liberals as a group love this country just as much as conservatives do, and the best way to respond to Point 1 of Scott’s manifesto is to label it as untrue and misleading, and be able to explain what is misleading about it.
2. Color Blind Equality
Government will never again ask American citizens to disclose their race, ethnicity, or skin color on any government form.
We are going to eliminate racial politics in America. No government policy will be based on race. People “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” We are all made in the image of God; to judge a person on the color of their epidermis is immoral.
Be careful with this one. At a bedrock level, it is absolutely true that American justice should be color-blind. We all should hope that some day it simply will not matter whether a person is black, brown, or white, or straight or gay, or male or female. But that day is not today, because discrimination against non-whites, non-straights, and non-males is still very much alive. The assertion that discrimination is a thing of the past is simply not true (yet). So we need to carefully take these ethnic and gender factors into account until it is no longer necessary.
3. Safety and Crime
The soft-on-crime days of coddling criminal behavior will end. We will re-fund and respect the police because, they, not the criminals, are the good guys.
We will enforce our laws, all of them, and increase penalties for theft and violent crime. We will clean up our cities and stop pretending that crime is OK. We have zero tolerance for “mostly peaceful protests” that attack police officers, loot businesses, and burn down our cities.
This one, too, demands care. Although the idea of dealing with crime simply by doubling down on enforcement is now known to be inadequate and often unjust, it is true that striving for greater compassion does sometimes lead to being soft on crime. This is a very difficult area to balance properly. The important thing is not to rebut one extreme by appearing to be heading for the other extreme, but work for liberal policies that are just and compassionate and also reduce the crime rate.
4. Immigration
We will secure our border, finish building the wall, and name it after President Donald Trump.
Nations have borders. We should give that a try. President Trump’s plan to build a wall was right. We welcome those who want to join us in building the American dream, immigrants who want to be Americans, not change America. We are a stronger nation because we are a nation of immigrants, but immigration without assimilation makes us weaker. Politicians from both parties talk big about border security and do nothing. We are done with that.
The real problem with immigration is that the laws are too strict, but enforcement is too lax. If we actually started enforcing the existing laws tomorrow, the result would cripple important sections of the American economy. The worst result of the current situation is not that we have too many foreigners coming into our country, but that we have too many legal citizens who are eager to take advantage of illegal foreigners by paying them less than legal wages to work under less than safe conditions. The real solution to demagoguery is to revise the laws to reflect reality and wisdom, and then enforce those laws rigidly. Honestly, I am not optimistic that this will happen any time soon, but that is the direction we should be heading.
5. Growth/Economy
We will grow America’s economy, starve Washington’s economy, and stop Socialism.
Socialism is un-American and always leads to poverty and oppression. We will stop it. We will shrink the federal government, reduce the government workforce by 25% in 5 years, sell government buildings and assets, and get rid of the old, slow, closed, top-down, government-run-everything system we have today.
Another blast of full-throated demagoguery, asserting that Socialism Is Bad, and Democrats Are Socialists. This point is probably the most effective single attack point that conservatives use against liberals, and refuting it should be the highest priority of liberal leaders. First, liberals are not “socialists” in the classic (and imaginary conservative) sense of the word. The word “socialist” used to mean the same thing as “Marxist,” but it no longer carries that meaning in the minds of many people who like the word. Thus we have “Christian Socialist” political parties in Europe that are neither Marxist nor particularly Christian (though they correctly use certain areas of Christian teaching to improve social justice). Even Bernie Sanders was slammed as a “fraud” by the “real” Socialists writing on the World Socialist web site, and if Bernie isn’t really a Socialist, what does that say about the rest of the Democratic party? I would like to see top Democratic leaders launch a full-scale, multi-faceted offensive against this old, tiresome, but sadly-effective tactic of tarring liberals as communists, and equating reasonable regulation with government ownership. The two things are not even remotely the same.
Then there is the conservative emphasis on “small government.” This ties in with the view that government is basically evil (but business is not) (try not to laugh too hard at that assertion). The reality is that our federal government is basically the friend of the “little guy” (even if not always and not perfectly). As such, it often stands in the way of business, which sees “the little guy” as nothing more than a source of revenue (consumer), or as a business expense (labor) to be minimized, or as an unemployed (i.e. useless) non-consumer who has zero importance. This is why it should be a high priority for liberal leaders to work on restoring the positive attitude that Americans used to have toward their government.
6. Government Reform and Debt
We will eliminate all federal programs that can be done locally, and enact term limits for federal bureaucrats and Congress.
Many government agencies should be either moved out of Washington or shuttered entirely. Yesterday’s old government is fundamentally incompatible with the digital era. The permanent ruling class in Washington is bankrupting us with inflation and debt, so they must be removed. For you to have more, Washington must have less.
Local political leaders are often more conservative than national-level leaders, even in liberal states, because conservatism is easier and seems more "intuitive" than liberalism is. As evidence, I look at the state income tax in “liberal” Illinois, which is a flat tax (one rate for all, whether poor or rich) and which has a very low standard deduction. Conservatives would love to enact such a personal income tax system for the entire country. Then, giving most social programs to the states would not only allow already-conservative states to do as little as they want to do for the poor and oppressed, it would also almost certainly have a regressive effect in many liberal states. Finally, the constant drumbeat for “no new taxes” remains the Republican hope for scaling back or dismantling the existing social safety net. If inadequate taxation results in a funding crisis for that net, you know that Republicans will be pushing for cuts in benefits rather than increases in funding. Democrats need to start putting serious effort into persuading the American people that they should support the idea of reasonable taxation, even if it includes a modest increase in my own taxes to go along with the significant increase in the share that the very wealthy pay.
7. Fair Fraud-Free Elections
We will protect the integrity of American Democracy and stop left-wing efforts to rig elections.
Today’s Democrat Party is trying to rig elections and pack the courts because they have given up on Democracy. They don’t believe they can win based on their ideas, so they want to game the system and legalize voter fraud to stay in power. In true Orwellian fashion, Democrats refer to their election rigging plans as “voting rights”. We won’t allow the radical left to destroy our democracy by institutionalizing dishonesty and fraud.
Nothing needs to be said here. Every liberal already agrees with the premise itself but is fully aware that it is one single Republican person, along with his loyal followers, who is almost solely responsible for whatever lack of trust currently exists in our election system. This point can most effectively be rebutted simply by stating the truth.
8. Family
We will protect, defend, and promote the American Family at all costs.
The nuclear family is crucial to civilization, it is God’s design for humanity, and it must be protected and celebrated. To say otherwise is to deny science. The fanatical left seeks to devalue and redefine the traditional family, as they undermine parents and attempt to replace them with government programs. We will not allow Socialism to place the needs of the state ahead of the family.
Like “love of country,” this emphasis on the traditional family plays well among conservatives, so liberals must resist any urge to paint the “traditional family” as a bad thing. It isn’t. The real issue is that it is not the only good option, and for many individuals may not be the best option. But conservatives like to assert that “liberals are opposed to the traditional family.” This is simply a lie. The truth is that liberals are opposed to the requirement that the traditional family be the one and only option. Liberals must argue plainly that they are not at all opposed to the traditional family, but rather that they are in favor of individuals’ freedom of choice.
9. Gender, Life, Science
Men are men, women are women, and unborn babies are babies. We believe in science:
Men and women are biologically different, “male and female He created them.” Modern technology has confirmed that abortion takes a human life. Facts are facts, the earth is round, the sun is hot, there are two genders, and abortion stops a beating heart. To say otherwise is to deny science.
In attaching the statement “we believe in science” to the opening sentence, Scott demonstrates that he actually knows very little about science, both in the matter of gender and in the matter of fetuses. But again, what he says here sounds obvious to a person who has not been introduced to the actual facts of the matter, so the best rebuttal should not be outrage and denunciation, but rather a calm reply that begins with, “Yes, this sounds entirely reasonable. But here is why it actually isn’t. . .”
10. Religious Liberty and Big Tech
Americans will be free to welcome God into all aspects of our lives, and we will stop all government efforts to deny our religious freedom and freedom of speech. The Democrat Party and their Big Tech allies are not merely secular; they have virtually created a new religion of wokeness that is increasingly hostile toward people of faith, particularly Christians and Jews. They are determined to drive all mention of God out of public view. We will not be silenced, canceled, or told what words to use by the politically correct crowd.
Because “religious freedom” is so important to so many conservatives, this point is almost as important as the accusation that all liberals are communists. It simply isn’t true that religious freedom is being denied. Yes, religious conservatives do want (and are fully entitled to) the freedom to observe their religion, and (at least in the political arena) liberals should resist the urge to attack religion itself. What liberals should be focusing on instead is that religious people are not free to force other people to take part in their religiously-motivated practices. The problem here is a basic lack of empathy. One might ask a conservative Christian, “suppose your job took you to Saudi Arabia for a year or two. And suppose you enrolled your children in a local public school there. Then suppose that each school day opened with an Islamic prayer. Would you want your child to pray along with the others, or would you prefer that your child be excused from participating? Or perhaps you would really like to see no forced Islamic prayers at all during the school day, even if the great majority of the students were OK with Islamic prayers? If you would like to enjoy minority rights when you happen to be in the minority, don’t you think it would be proper to protect minority rights when you happen to be among the majority?”
This is the reality regarding Christian prayer in public schools today. Nobody is denying the right of Christian students to pray privately. (Not legally, anyway.) All that is happening is that liberals want to deny Christians the ability to force others to pray whether or not they want to.
11. America First
We are Americans, not globalists.
America will be dependent on NO other country. We will conduct no trade that takes away jobs or displaces American workers. Countries who oppose us at the UN will get zero financial help from us. We will be energy-independent and build supply chains that never rely on our adversaries. We will only help countries that are willing to defend themselves, like Israel.
Now we’re back to plain demagoguery again. Isolationism has always had a certain attractiveness to some Americans, especially when war was raging in Europe. But while there are a very few Americans who staunchly refuse to take sides in foreign wars no matter what (the Amish, for instance), most Americans will quickly take sides if America is directly attacked, as happened at Pearl Harbor. In any case, the pledge to conduct no trade that takes away American jobs is impossible to keep, and therefore is nothing more than an empty promise which sounds good (to some people) but cannot actually be kept. This is another assertion that is best refuted with plain facts.
12. Cutting Taxes
The federal government is quickly bankrupting America. Congress must be stopped, here’s how.
Scott goes on to list a number of ways that taxes can be trimmed, but the essential argument is the same old promise that he, as a conservative, will always seek to cut taxes and will never go along with adding any new taxes. Obviously, this is a very powerful argument for those who care only about their personal bank account and do not give a damn about anybody else’s. Even some liberals are attracted by this argument, which is why so many of them approve of raising taxes on other people (the rich) but do not want their own taxes to go up.
So, there it is. This is the agenda that Democrats need to provide an answer to. Not all Republicans are going to be easy targets in terms of supporting the obvious lie about the 2020 election, or being personally corrupt or incompetent. There will be some Republicans who are personally likeable, who will seem generally competent, and who will argue persuasively. They will be acting in support of this agenda that Scott has so helpfully laid out for us after so many Republicans have refused to say anything about what they are running for, and have restricted their policy pronouncements exclusively to what they are against (anything that might help Democrats to become more popular).
This is what future Democratic candidates should be focusing on. Substance, not personal attacks and side issues.
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