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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEugene Robinson: Dear Democrats: You can do this
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dear-democrats-you-can-do-this/2018/10/25/a7f098f4-d899-11e8-aeb7-ddcad4a0a54e_story.html?utm_term=.bb940e403c86Dear Democrats: You can do this
By Eugene Robinson
October 25 at 5:49 PM
You can do this. Stop fretting and second-guessing. Get out of your own way. Concentrate on turning out the vote, and remember you have everything to gain in this midterm election and nothing to lose.
I say you have nothing to lose because that is literally true. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, most governorships, most state legislatures and, of course, the White House, which isnt up for grabs this time. The great blues artist Muddy Waters put it best: You cant spend what you aint got. You cant lose what you aint never had.
So stop worrying, Democrats, that your House majority might be slipping away. You dont have a House majority. But the odds of your winning one still look excellent if you step up and grab it.
And dont let Republicans convince you that the Senate is already a lost cause. Yes, this years battlefields are mostly on GOP turf. But almost every race is close enough to be within reach. Think of it this way: Do Democrats chances of threading the needle and somehow snatching a Senate majority look any worse than Donald Trumps chances of winning the presidency looked with 10 days to go before the 2016 election?
Consider Texas. The conventional wisdom seems to be that Democrat Beto ORourke, after a stunningly effective campaign, is likely to fall short in his bid to unseat GOP incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz. But if the outcome is already ordained, why did the Republican Party waste so much of its most valuable asset Trumps time and effort on a rally in Cruzs hometown of Houston? Why did Cruz humiliate himself by sharing the stage with a man who made fun of his wifes appearance and accused his father of being involved in the JFK assassination?
Much has been made of an uptick in Trumps approval rating now at 44 percent, according to Gallup. But in the 2010 midterm, when Democrats lost 63 seats in the House and Republicans took control, President Barack Obamas approval was 45 percent. And in 1994, when Democrats lost 53 seats and the speakers gavel, Bill Clintons approval was 46 percent.
In 2014, when Obamas approval was lower than Trumps is now, Democrats did manage to hold their losses in the House to just 13 seats. But Republicans took control of the Senate.
The point is that with an unpopular president and a host of unpopular policies, Republicans are at a distinct disadvantage. They have to play defense. Democrats, who have so little to defend, can and should play offense with abandon.
To understate the obvious, much is at stake.
An aberrant, corrupt, out-of-control presidency is widening our divisions, spitting on our values and mortgaging our future. Republicans, who once could call themselves the Party of Lincoln, are now the Party of Trump; they will not lift a finger to constrain the president or hold him accountable. Congress has the power to do both but will not unless at least one chamber is in Democratic hands.
But obsessing about the fact that the Nov. 6 elections are so consequential does not help. The one thing Democrats can and must do is get their voters to the polls.
It should be no surprise that what once looked like a Democratic landslide now appears, as my friend Dan Rather might say, as tight as a tick. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that the country is divided along regional, cultural and demographic fault lines. Republicans were bound to find or manufacture some issue, some reason to claim victimhood, that would incite the partys base. A bedraggled group of men, women and children, nearly 2,000 miles away in southern Mexico, is apparently the best they could come up with.
But Democratic enthusiasm remains stronger and, I believe, deeper. We saw that passion at the Womens March following Trumps inauguration and across the country after the Charlottesville horror. We saw it in the partys success at recruiting young, dynamic candidates from coast to coast. The Democratic leadership may be a bit long in the tooth, but when you look at rising stars such as Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Andrew Gillum in Florida and ORourke in Texas, you realize that the future is now.
Dont be dour and doubtful, Democrats. Be joyous and determined. Stop worrying about losing what you aint got and focus on winning elections district by district, state by state. Dont let Republicans bluff you into folding. Youre playing a very good hand.
Sincerely,
A friend
Stuart G
(38,427 posts)gademocrat7
(10,658 posts)We must get out the vote!
watoos
(7,142 posts)that Trump is at 44% favorability is bullshit. I just did a poll and Trump is at 27%.
tavernier
(12,389 posts)whenever he is on msnbc. He has such wonderful humor and grace. And his butter and honey voice calms jangled nerves.
babylonsister
(171,066 posts)littlemissmartypants
(22,667 posts)pazzyanne
(6,556 posts)GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV!
PunkinPi
(4,875 posts)green917
(442 posts)"You don't fight only the fights you can win. You fight the fights that need fighting! "
oasis
(49,388 posts)Ghost of Tom Joad
(1,355 posts)All I hear is democrats and republicans and yet no one ever seems to mention that a larger percentage of voters have no affiliation.
babylonsister
(171,066 posts)with the smarter choices. I just hope they do.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)parties tend to focus on turning out their base. The GOP base typically turns out no matter what - Democrats are not nearly as good at turning out for midterms as Republicans. The last time they did was 2006.
Roy Rolling
(6,917 posts)Eugene is right.
The glass is half full.
spanone
(135,838 posts)calimary
(81,283 posts)We have the numbers. Some in our side just dont seem to understand why its so important to SHOW THE HELL UP to VOTE, DAMMIT!!!