Democrats Who Work With Trump Should Face Primary Challenges
Earlier this week, Senate Democrats elected New York Senator Chuck Schumer to be minority leader. Schumer was a shoe-in for the top leadership position for Democrats in the Senate, but he immediately raised eyebrows at the press conference after his election. Schumer named Independent Bernie Sanders to Democratic Leadership in the Senate as outreach chairman. Both Sanders and Schumer have publicly made it known that they are willing to work with Donald Trump on a number of issues. Sanders in particular has pushed to work with Trump on infrastructure projects and the dissolution of trade agreements. Let me say, in no uncertain terms, that this is a disgrace, and a slap in the face to the Democratic base. The Democratic base immediately rallied to protest after Trump’s election, with thousands pouring into the streets to proclaim that he was not their President. Trump has made it known that he is an enemy to Latinos, Muslims, Black people, a number of other marginalized groups in the United States. Minority groups — Black people in particular — are the most reliable Democratic voters in the country. Without them, Democrats could not hope to compete in hundreds of critical races around the country. Working with Trump tells these marginalized groups that their needs are unimportant and that they are expendable. It tells these voters that the white working class will supersede them when their human rights are under fire from a white nationalist. This is unacceptable, and that’s why any Democrat who works with Trump should face a primary challenge from a politician who is willing to stand up to him.
Working With Trump Normalizes White Nationalism
In the first several days after Trump was elected, both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren put out statements saying that they would be willing to work with the President-elect on economic issues. Sanders has even gone as far as to say that he’ll work with Trump to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, even when he viciously criticized Clinton for her $12 an hour plan. It is appalling to see those on the far left who put Clinton’s feet to the fire for months willing to buckle and work with a white nationalist so quickly.
Giving in and working with Trump shows him, and other Republicans, that white nationalist politics doesn’t have a huge downside. It pushes more Republicans to take the same stances as Trump on minority issues, because they know that Democrats will work with them anyway. Appeasing Trump won’t make him stop going after minorities. It will simply embolden him to take more, to go from a Muslim registry to Muslim internment camps. It isn’t like Trump’s projects will help all Americans anyway. A Trump infrastructure project — which he claims will bring jobs to the American people — will almost certainly be structured to shut out minorities. One could easily imagine a Trump infrastructure project in white working class communities Michigan or Ohio and not in Black communities in Georgia or Latino communities in Texas. Shutting minorities out of these programs just increases the wealth gap between whites and minorities, and the median white family is already twelve times wealthier than the comparable Black or Latino family.
Trump is also appointing Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions to high ranking positions within his administration: Bannon will be a special advisor to the President and Sessions is rumored to be the pick for Attorney General. Bannon has written nasty racist propaganda about Blacks, Latinos, and Muslims for years running Breitbart, and Sessions was previously deemed too racist to be a federal judge. Working with Trump tells other Republicans that these kinds of people and their bigoted ideologies are okay. It tells the public that white nationalism isn’t something to hide, that it is something to be proud of. That’s why standing up to Trump is so critical.
Republicans Have Already Laid The Blueprint For Successful Obstructionism
I’ve heard from several people who have told me that Democrats can’t simply oppose everything that Trump does. To them I say, “why not?” Republicans have already laid the blueprint for obstructionism. GOP obstructionism of President Obama was wildly successful, with Republicans winning back Congress in 2010 and 2014 with a wave of base support. They got support from their base in the mid-terms and grew stronger in Washington by opposing virtually everything Obama did. Republicans opposed the Affordable Care Act from day one. They filibustered the DREAM Act in 2010. They filibustered the Sandy Hook bill that would have expanded background checks on gun purchases. They shut down the government over the debt ceiling in 2013. They continually refused to confirm Obama’s district and circuit court nominees. And they infamously refused to even hold talks on confirming Merrick Garland, Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court. Did mass obstructionism hurt Republicans? Did the base abandon the party? No, precisely the opposite. The base rallied around the Republican Party and championed the cause of opposing Obama at every turn. That is exactly what Democrats need to do. Obama was a decent man, a moderate progressive, who wanted Republican input on his agenda. Donald Trump is a white nationalist extremist who has called to ban religions and deport millions of people each year. Democrats have a moral obligation to oppose Trump on all issues, starting immediately.
Don’t Demoralize The Base
The base of the Democratic Party — it’s most reliable voters — are minorities. That isn’t going to change anytime soon. By working with Trump and chasing fleeting white working class voters who have largely voted Republican for decades, Democrats risk demoralizing their base. Trump is a man who has called Mexicans rapists, implied that all Black people live in the inner city in fear of being shot, and whose surrogates are gleefully talking about a Muslim registry. Democrats who work with Trump will instantly alienate these voters. The damage done by working with Trump could cause minorities to stay home in significant numbers in 2018 and 2020, with disastrous consequences. Caving to a white nationalist is an insult to the thousands of protesters across the country who want their politicians to support them, to stand up and fight. Is the Democratic Party going to throw marginalized people under the bus when it feels that it might be politically expedient? Or will the party stand up and fight against white nationalism? I’d like to think that the Democrats who have put out strong statements against Trump — such as Kamala Harris — will be the future of the party instead of those who are willing to cave to Trump, such as Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders.
Democrats Who Don’t Stand Up To Trump Should Be Primaried
Donald Trump is already massively unpopular, and enters office as one of the most unpopular Presidents ever. He will have lost the popular vote by over two million, and won the office only by a few thousand votes in states like Michigan and Wisconsin. There is very little political downside to standing up to Trump. There is almost none. But there is a massive amount of downside for the entire party if Democrats start working with Trump on things like infrastructure projects and trade deals. There is the potential to demoralize the party’s most reliable voters, pushing them to stay home in 2018 and 2020. There is the possibility that working with Trump normalizes white nationalism, bringing Trump’s racist style of politics to new Republicans elected in Congress and to statehouses around the country. And there is the likelihood that working with Trump, even on infrastructure projects, is likely to harm minorities while only benefiting whites. That’s why it is completely unacceptable for Democrats to even consider working with Trump. The party, its interest groups, and its base must work together to form a united front against white nationalism, bigotry, and hate. Democrats that refuse or cave should face primary challengers who are ready to stand up against Trump’s entire agenda. It is time for the Democratic Party to grow a backbone, and oppose Donald Trump at every turn.
