Leonard Pitts Jr: Democrats don't need a new slogan, they need a pair of brass, er, knuckles

[babylonsister]

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/leonard-pitts-jr/article215259550.html


Democrats don’t need a new slogan, they need a pair of brass, er, knuckles

By LEONARD PITTS JR.
July 20, 2018 05:35 PM


Smack them with their own bat.

That was the gist of, “Hey Democrats, Fighting Fair is for Suckers,” a provocative jeremiad that Politico ran on Independence Day. In it, writer Rob Goodman argued that, after Republicans have killed all the old political norms — denying a Supreme Court nominee a hearing, for example — it’s silly for Democrats to go on playing by the rules. Why obey the law in a lawless world?

“Norms are only norms when they are mutual,” wrote Goodman, “fairness is only fair when it’s shared. Democrats aren’t justified in breaking norms because they’ve been ‘wronged.’ They are justified because the current system has ceased to function.”

It’s possible to feel simultaneously uneasy at the brute force politics Goodman envisions — like packing the Supreme Court, for starters — and yet compelled by his larger point: Democrats must realize that they’re in a back-alley brawl, not a pillow fight. That they don’t get this yet can be inferred from the new slogan House Democrats unveiled last week: “For The People.” While that’s an improvement over last year’s, “A Better Deal,” with its musty scent of leftover Roosevelt, it still doesn’t suggest a party ready to rumble.

snip//

They seem to be holding out hope of an eventual return to “normal.” But normal — i.e., the pre-Trump world — is gone for good. When in history has a social upheaval — and that’s surely what this is — ever brought us back to where we started? So instead of pining for what was, Democrats must figure out how to thrive in what is. Besides, it’s not as if the people are without reason for rage. From the corruption at the EPA to the caging of immigrant children to a nonstop litany of lies and alibis to the betrayal summit in Helsinki, the reasons could not be more clear — or righteous.

snip//

No one wants to see a spike in left-wing terror to match the spike on the right. But neither should we want to see any more of Democrats grabbing their ankles and saying, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” as the paddle comes down. Somewhere between those extremes, the party must carve itself a path.

Democrats can begin by recognizing the opportunity at the heart of their problem. The choice here, after all, is simple. They can continue to deny the people’s righteous anger.

Or they can use it.

[beachbum bob]

1. the slogan can be as simple "How can you trust republicans to protect??" and then go thru the

entire list of how they are failing america, working families, retirees, etc

[mucifer]

2. If you watch CSPAN you see they do have some amazing battles. The press just ignores it and

brands us as weak. Then we brand ourselves as weak. It's infuriating!

[brer cat]

6. +10000 nt

[EndGOPPropaganda]

8. +100

Chants of “USA” on house floor were nice

[ehrnst]

9. On twitter alone you see a lot of "righteous anger" from our Dem leaders

Link to tweet

[NewJeffCT]

20. Loved this cartoon from Luckovich

Link to tweet

[Cha]

44. Mahalo, mucifer! Sure as hell the press doesn't watch

c-span.

It's the press' agenda to paint the Dems as weak.. and whomever else has that special Agenda.

[JHB]

3. Yep. Don't bring pie charts to a street brawl.

Guess which party is weak on defense (defunding election system protection, Donnie taking Putin's word), fiscally irresponsible (cut taxes, then have to cut back on Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security), and gets its marching orders straight from the Kremlin? For real?

[ehrnst]

4. In what way do you think our leaders are "denying the people's righteous anger?"

In what way are they "not using it?"

When have they said “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”

To be fair, I see self-described progressive non-Democrats criticizing the owners of the Red Hen, and has talked many times about how those on the Right need to be treated "with respect," and how Trump got it right with "white working class" and international trade, but Pelosi and Schumer have been on Trump's case from the start.

Perhaps the author has not been on Twitter lately:

Link to tweet

[Cha]

43. It's broadbrushing Shite.. I hate it. Thank You,

ehrnst, for Eric Swalwell!

Exactly!

To be fair, I see self-described progressive non-Democrats criticizing the owners of the Red Hen, and has talked many times about how those on the Right need to be treated "with respect," and how Trump got it right with "white working class" and international trade, but Pelosi and Schumer have been on Trump's case from the start.

[Scarsdale]

5. For starters,

show THEIR president as much courtesy as they showed President Obama. Remember inviting Bibi from Israel to address their party, before informing anyone but the gop? They thought that was "cute" since they are as childish as their orange ass-mouthed leader. Then McTurtle refusing to even hold a hearing for Merrick Garland. He knew who the next president would be, and blocked everything in preparation for it. The gop is willing to accept mediocrity in leaders, just so they get tax cuts and other perks for their owners.

[justhanginon]

38. At this point, I think accepting mediocrity in their leaders

would be a step up. From what I have seen, his appontments from the cabinet on down should aspire for mediocrity.

[dalton99a]

7. Fuck Donald Trump - Fuck Republicans - Vote Democratic

[gulliver]

10. I still can't believe we didn't demand Sarah Sanders resignation over the Red Hen

Sanders used her government position and her government Twitter account to attack a citizen, the owner of the Red Hen. It was a stunning abuse of power. Honestly, I'm really pretty tired of us not getting in the game here. We've got a bunch of people playing saint and "good boys and girls" while we are being mugged by the Republicans.

Even when our folks do fight, it's lame. You can tell they really don't know how to do it.

[babylonsister]

12. Dems ignoring the emoluments clause piss me off;

defending it is in the constitution, yet he is still enriching himself illegally.

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/opinion/letters/4475611-reader-opinion-make-america-great-again

...We're founded and bound together by our Constitution: Seven Articles, and Twenty-seven Amendments. This is our contract with each other.

Article One, Section 9, the 'Emoluments Clause' states our president cannot have dual loyalties or 'masters'. He cannot use the office to enrich himself. But we as United States citizens looked the other way as he was sworn in, on a Bible no less, while blatantly violating our Constitution, plus cheapening the Bible. He's much more of a criminal than anyone crossing our borders without a piece of paper, trying to escape death or worse.

He hauled in his co-conspirators and entire family 'clan' to help share in plundering the "spoils of office." They are all traitors, maybe not by dictionary definition, but in the true sense of the word, giving away the U.S. to China, for example, in exchange for their own benefit. Is the "Art of the Deal" actually "How to Sell Out?

The Emoluments Clause, more 'original' and basic than the Second Amendment because it came first, is ignored, while the AR-15 crowd hides whimpering and growling under their beds, afraid to confront Trump. (AR-15 worse than MS-13.)...

[Autumn]

15. That needs to be made a big issue by the Dem leadership, and the cost to us for

his weekend getaways for him and all his spawn. Every Dem should be going on about that every weekend.

[babylonsister]

17. I wish! And even

allowing the rethugs to have SCJ confirmation hearings rubs me the wrong way. A prez* who could easily wind up in jail should not have this authority. They need to get creative; McConnell did.

How about the kids in cages? We need to hear a lot more about that.

And treason? If it walks like a duck...

I could go on, but you get my drift.

[NewJeffCT]

23. you do realize that Sen. Richard Blumenthal had filed a lawsuit

last year and it's been moving forward through the courts since? Blumenthal was joined by 195 members of the House and Senate

http://wnpr.org/post/blumenthal-leads-emoluments-lawsuit-against-president-trump


https://ctmirror.org/2018/06/06/blumenthal-v-trump-get-day-court/

[ancianita]

26. Good news, even if it's moving at a snail's pace. There's likely all kinds of stalling by opponents.

[NewJeffCT]

28. and, I would guess that the 196 members of Congress in on the lawsuit

are not commenting very often about it for fear of potentially biasing a jury

[ancianita]

29. This country is too big to not be able to assemble an objective jury. They're being fake lameasses.

This argument, if they really think this, FAILS.

[kcr]

46. What are you doing introducing facts

into baseless Dem bashing drivel? You must be an establishment centrist neoliberal or something.

[Yellowdog88]

11. I want

To see less of those cookie-cutter ads that have the contorted faces, dark images, and lame messaging.

We need to speak plainly and truthfully without pulling punches. And mix it up so its not repetitive and annoying.

Change the formula

[zentrum]

13. Dems can fight fair.

They just need to fight.

Damnit!

Hoist the the Repugs on their own petard. That's still fair.

Just quit being meek and polite and lecture-y.
Take actions!

Occupy the floor of Congress.
Do more media-savvy interviews on TV.
Call out FOX.
Get fierce.

Especially blue state Dems need to step up more strongly.
Take a page out of Schiff's book. And Warren's.

[NewJeffCT]

24. If nobody offers to interview Democrats outside of MSNBC

how do they get on air?

Democrats outside of Dennis Kucinich rarely go on Fox anymore.

and, I'm pretty sure representatives like Ted Lieu, Maxine Waters and Eric Swalwell have been pretty damn fierce.

[zentrum]

45. If you do things that are

Last edited Mon Jul 23, 2018, 07:41 PM - Edit history (1)

…..challenging and loud enough, you seize the headline. They cover you if you're colorful and bold.

Hell—let them call for a demonstration on the steps of ABC, NBC, CBS—and yes FOX. But if they do that, they'll have to send out passionate advocates—not the sedate "usuals", like Pelosi and Feinstein and Schumer.

In this new landscape, Dems need to get media savvy. It's sad, but true. We're not going back to the way it was 4 years ago. That's over.

[vi5]

14. They need to sell progressive/liberal/democratic policies....

....almost all of which are popular when explained and described correctly, and only become unpopular when Republicans are allowed to set the terms of discussion which is what most of our Democrats allow all the time.

Stop with the "We all agree abortions are bad" premise
No. We don't fucking all agree with that.

Stop with the "We all agree that higher taxes are bad"...
No. We don't fucking all agree with that.

Stop with the "We all agree something must be done about entitlements"
No. They are not "entitlements" and we don't all agree with that.

Stop with the "We all agree that something must be done about public education."
No. Fucking stop it.

Fucking stop with all of that. Don't start from a point of "Well we all agree......"

Start from a point of saying what you want. Why progressive policies will work on this issue. Expose the way they've been lied to by Republicans, and yes use the fucking word "lie" over and over and over again.

Give people a better reason to get off their fucking couches and vote for Democrats than just "We are better than Republicans" or "It's in our platform" or "It's on the website".

[babylonsister]

19. Agree wholeheartedly!

[rainin]

22. OMG Finally!!! Someone gets it. Please make this an OP. This point deserves it's own thread.

[Autumn]

25. This. It can't get any clearer than this.

[NewJeffCT]

27. Not sure why Bill Clinton's abortion quote was not re-used

Clinton said that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare."

Democrats too often over-explain and lose the audience. Keep it short and sweet.

[radius777]

50. and Bill won many Southern and red states

with that framing, which he was a master at, the first pro-choice President, by framing liberal issues for conservative voters in ways they could process.

[NewJeffCT]

51. and, the number of abortions went down under Clinton

and ticked back up under Bush...

[scarletwoman]

32. Excellent! You speak for me!

[The Wizard]

40. No mealy mouthed genuflecting

Speak in plain English and with moral authority. Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.

[DonCoquixote]

41. good, but one thing to pick

while we should nto say 'we all agree public education is bad" we need to counter it by satying "because we do nbbut fund it nnor do we support the people who would make it work."

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. I have thought we need a PR booster shot for a

Long time...but the idea gets flamed every time. Why is it ok to show someone on outside do it? Don't get me wrong...think we should

[RandomAccess]

18. Exactly

They can continue to deny the people’s righteous anger. Or they can use it.

I've been excoriated here for wishing our Dem leaders would get LOUDER and NOISIER -- so as to make headlines and counteract the lies.

Ridiculous.

People are VERY angry, and if our Democratic leaders don't AT LEAST reflect that, give some VOICE to our anger, they're going to be very sorry about turnout.

[smirkymonkey]

53. +1000

[Ponietz]

21. Call for boycotts! Call for a national strike!

[LBM20]

30. Dems/Progressives/Many Moderates are ANGRY! Dems need to acknowledge and capitalize on that anger.

Embrace the anger. Capitalize on the anger. Reflect the anger. Don't tell us not to be angry because that will only make us angrier. We want people who have BALLS and will take the damn gloves off!

(And "balls" is a metaphor. Many women have more "balls" than many men.)

[Honeycombe8]

31. They need a new slogan, too. A slogan is reflective of what the party is feeling...

and their ideology.

If you have a slogan, "We'll do okay," well, that speaks to the feeling that Dems aren't enthusiastic about their being the people to go to for the good of the country, a can-do attitude, and such.

If you have a slogan, "Yes, We Can!" - well, we know what that speaks to.

A good slogan sums up the party's feelings about itself. Reflects how the party members thinks. And gets the party members enthusiastic, speaks to them.

Don't underestimate the importance of the slogan. It reflects where the party is.

The one we have now is so boring that I can't recall what it is. That says it all.

[bucolic_frolic]

34. True in all that you say

I see it all as quality of life issues. How federal and Washington policy determines people's lives.

Call it opportunity. Quality of life. Income fairness. Optimism. Change. Even Honesty.

I do sort of like the "Make America America Again" slogan, because people know what it means.

Are we running against Trump, or do we stand for values that people love?

[marble falls]

33. True enough. Tack left a bit and we'll take Nov.

[Pepsidog]

35. It's a fight for the survival of the republic. Need to get dirty like Rs

[lancelyons]

36. Dead on.

We democrats need to start fighting fire with fire. No need to go deplorable but we should use every ounce of every rule to win at all costs.

[The Wizard]

37. We are not obliged

to be truthful with known liars. Liars rely on all others to tell the truth. The best way to stifle a liar is to lie to them and get them to go along wit the lie. After that their false structure fails them.

[BlueDog22]

39. Agreed

This election needs to be turned into a street fight, and they are refusing to do it.

[Cha]

42. This is a broadbrushing insult against our Hardworking

Last edited Mon Jul 23, 2018, 05:50 AM - Edit history (1)

Democratic Party.. out there on the Front Lines for us.

[Tatiana]

47. Hmmm... agree and disagree.

This message still needs to be delivered to Democratic Senators. They are still reading from the "Old Statesman" book.

But in the House....

Wow, Schiff, Quigley, Swalwell, even OLD STENY HOYER have gotten fired up and are shaming and ridiculing the Republicans every time they are in committee or on the floor.

So I think the House has the message. The people's anger has pushed them in the right direction. We just have to work on Schumer & co (notable Dems like Harris, Warren, Merkley, etc. excepted).

[NCTraveler]

48. Guy is consistent.

https://www.pittstoyota.com/used-vehicles/

[mtnsnake]

49. Absolutely. We can no longer take the high road against an enemy like the republicans

It's long past the time that we need to get down and dirty. We need to fight fire with fire, not try to extinguish it with a squirt gun.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

52. We need a new slogan, brass hardware, and Alec Baldwin from Glengarry/Glenross

I'm not saying we don't have people working hard as Hell. But we can't keep going high while they go low.