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| Source:Michael Smerconish talking about James Carville's advice for the Democratic Party. |
From Michael Smerconish
"Democratic strategist James Carville called on Democrats to make a "strategic political retreat" in a guest essay for The New York Times on Tuesday, telling members of his party "to play dead."
"Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight, and make the American people miss us. Only until the Trump administration has spiraled into the low 40s or high 30s in public approval polling percentages should we make like a pack of hyenas and go for the jugular. Until then, I’m calling for a strategic political retreat," he wrote.
"With no clear leader to voice our opposition and no control in any branch of government, it’s time for Democrats to embark on the most daring political maneuver in the history of our party: roll over and play dead," the strategist continued.
"Carville compared his suggestion to a "tactical pause," and argued the Democrats needed to stop regularly playing defense against the Trump administration's actions.
"It’s a vision move — get out of the hour-to-hour, day-to-day combat where one side (ours) is largely playing defense and struggling to defend politically charged positions (like explaining D.E.I. or persuading voters to care about foreign aid), and take time to regroup, look forward and make decisions about where we want to get to over the next two years," Carville said.
He said Americans were likely not waiting around for lawmakers and commentators to make the same old arguments to criticize the president.
"They’re tired of it, and our Democratic voters are tired of watching us moan and groan to cover up our impotency out of power. They want us to be smarter than that," he added."
From Fox News
I apologize if I ever said that Fox News is "completely useless".
Something else from James Carville's NYT essay:
"The whole thing is collapsing. The Democratic Party doesn't need an Elizabeth Warren or somebody else pacifying, or advocacy groups in Washington, (which by the way, I wish these people were useless, they're actually worst than useless) they never learn to shut up, and this whole thing...
Someone who commented on Carville's NTY essay:
"I don't think we should complain about every decision that Donald Trump makes...
From what I wrote about this on Tuesday in response to the so-called Political Girl Leigh McGowab:
"See, whatever you think of what Leigh McGown is proposing here, it's the wrong approach, even if you like what she's proposing. At least the politics of it, even if you agree with her ideas. What she's talking about is proposing an alternative to what House Republicans are trying to jam through the House right now, but seem to be short on votes.
I'm with James Carville on this:
When you see your arch-enemy is drowning in the ocean. don't throw them a lifeline. Let them drown.
When you see your arch enemy's house is on fire and no one is there to do anything about it, don't even offer to spit on the fire, let alone dump your own water on it, or call 911. Just let the house burn down.
Right now, Republicans control The White House and both chambers of Congress, not just the House and White House. They have everything, including the Senate and Supreme Court. They are in complete charge and completely responsible for the nation's welfare as far as what passes and what doesn't...
From The New Democrat
Look, what do left-wing Democrats expect Chuck Schumer and company to do:
filibuster every piece of legislation that Republicans try to bring to the floor, just to prevent Republicans from passing anything at all?
Perhaps threaten government shutdowns unless Trump and company gives the Left everything that they want on every issue on every piece of legislation that is brought up?
Silly question. Of course the left-wing of the Democratic Party expects the Democratic Leadership to do that.
Maybe they want Hakeem Jeffries to tell all of his 215 members in the House to walk out every time House Republicans bring a bill up to a floor for vote. No maybe there. That's what the Democrats version of the political escaped mental patients (a phrase that was coined by The New Democrat) expects the Democratic Leadership to do for them.
But, just as Leigh McGowan is wrong about Democrats (who are the minority party both in the House & Senate) need to offer alternatives to the bad legislation that Trump and company are bringing up, so is the rest of the left-wing of the Democratic Party is wrong about how the Democrats should act as the opposition. As the great political humorist P.J. O'Rourke said many times:
"The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.”
That's exactly what the Trump Administration and the Republican Congress is doing right now:
They're raising prices on hard-working American families. They're weakening economic and job growth with their tariffs, which also affects the cost of living in this country.
They're laying off air traffic controllers, right when we're having more plane crashes.
They're denying emergency disaster relief resources to their own voters in West Virginia (of all states) and North Carolina. You are not going to find another state that drinks Donald Trump's Kool-Aid more than West Virginia.
They're kissing the feet of dictators like Vladimir Putin, while threatening to invade with military force our allies and abandoning our allies, like Canada, Mexico, Europe, and now Ukraine.
And they're pardoning violent criminals, when crime is going up in this country.
I guess I part company with James Carville, but only on this point: Democrats still and will continue to oppose the Trump Administration, but in court, every time the President writes another unconstitutional executive order.
And Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries will not only not deliver a single Democratic vote in either the House or Senate, every time Republicans try to pass something on their own, but they'll lock in all of their 215 members in the House and 47 in the Senate to vote against everything that Republicans try to pass on their own. But as far as offering their support, or offering compromises, or even alternatives, to whatever the President and Republican Congress tries to do on their own... I go back to 1 of my main points from Tuesday:
When you see your arch-enemy is drowning in the ocean. don't throw them a lifeline. Let them drown.
When you see your arch enemy's house is on fire and no one is there to do anything about it, don't even offer to spit on the fire, let alone dump your own water on it, or call 911. Just let the house burn down.
Let MAGA burn our national house down. Hopefully they don't destroy the country. But don't help them do that, or try to get in their way, outside of what's going on in the courts and at the state level. Show American voters this is exactly who you voted for and the consequences of that fateful decision. And tell them and show them there's a better way on the campaign trail and why you deserve to be in power again.
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