Back At It…

For some months, I have not been writing that much about politics and especially the campaign of 2024.  Like many, I have found myself down and depressed with the prospects for Democrats and democracy. I have had trouble reconciling the many uplifting years –working in the Senate, heading up the Pamela Harriman PAC Democrats for the 80s, starting the Center for Responsive Politics/Open Secrets and many years as a Democratic media consultant — with the current state of our politics.

Surely, times change, issues change, public opinion changes but it isn’t easy to accept the defeats and the demagogues and the growing debasement of our political discourse. That is especially true when you have the honor, as I have, of working for respected and responsible Democratic candidates and groups during periods when our government was actually solving problems for people.   It is especially true when your opponents across the aisle were worthy adversaries with whom you disagreed and fought tough battles on issues but respected them for their views and their character.  One minute you were securing votes to advance or defeat a proposal, the next you were forging a coalition to move the policy ball down the field.

There is no question that this takeover of the Republican Party by MAGA extremism and hard right ideology has been a long time coming.  The early days of Barry Goldwater in 1964 and the rise of Ronald Reagan in the 70s and 80s led to Newt Gingrich in the 90s and then the Tea Party in 2010 followed, of course, by Donald Trump in 2016.  In a very real sense, this was an escalation over decades from traditional conservate to hard right.  The pro-business, free trade, strong on defense, individual liberty, limited government Republicans became anti-trade, anti-immigrant, anti-NATO, anti-government, anti-deep state and pro-Christian white nationalist, authoritarian, populists.  Now, I know that is a mouthful but as we’ve said many times, this isn’t your grandmother’s Republican party anymore!

Once you engage on the culture war issues—book/curriculum censorship, the anti-public school movement that shifts funding to vouchers, denys climate change, DEI and exhibits prejudice toward LGBTQ people and minorities and immigrants, you have a different America.

The election of Joe Biden did not totally end the Trump era but it did accomplish incredibly important things with an evenly divided congress.  Biden and his team of amazingly capable and competent people navigated the country through COVID, saved the economy, created record jobs, put in place an infrastructure program that will be felt for decades, and put us on the road to saving our planet.  Plus, Biden reengaged America with other nations, bringing us back from isolation and regaining the respect of world leaders.  Even the concerns about inflation are abating and we are nowhere near under the economic and inflationary pressures our counterparts are experiencing. America is strong and our citizens are faring so much better than those in other developed countries.

If there is an overriding issue that plagues us it is the growing divergence between those at the top getting richer and those in the middle and lower end of the economic ladder unable to advance.  The tax system is geared to the wealthy, the education system is geared to the wealthy, the opportunities for housing are geared to the wealthy, the chance to save and build for retirement are geared to the wealthy, everyday expenses and credit and emergency costs hit those who are struggling.

It is up to the Democrats to take that decades-old trend and turn it on its head.  Biden had a good start:  if you make under $400,000 we aren’t going to raise your taxes but if you are in the millionaire and billionaire class your taxes will go up.  We will not extend the Trump tax breaks set to expire next year that’s for damn sure.  In fact, the tax breaks for the average family will be expanded and we will use the money by making sure that the wealthy pay their fair share. The plan Harris has been touting to expand the child tax credit will be put in place; the chance to go to community colleges will be expanded and more Pell grants will help students get the education they need; and by the way we will strengthen Head Start, not cut it; we will also expand help for those who want to start and expand small businesses and we will use the funds that come from closing fancy loopholes that now help people on Wall Street and hurt people on Main Street.  We will expand family and childcare so Americans can afford to work and we will ensure that home health care is available and affordable to seniors who need it.

The Democrats bottom line:  we will turn around the Trump policies that have stuck it to the middle class and hurt working families by giving away even more tax breaks to the super wealthy. We will continue to contrast our support for programs and policies that benefit working people while Trump MAGA efforts cut those programs and squeeze the middle class.

If we make these arguments in the coming two months, we win. Yes, when we fight we win!