Confront Trump With Moderation

First, let me say that Trump’s a wimp. I mean it’s 21 degrees in DC as I write this. It’s three below here. Moving the inauguration indoors is the act of a weak man. And what will the one billion Trump followers who planned to attend the most well-attended inauguration in history (period!) do?

Part of me wants to ignore the events in Washington today, regardless of their venue. It’d be a silent protest, literally turning my back on the convicted felon who will reassume the presidency. We might think of this as the Michelle Obama approach.

Another part of me — the part that couldn’t turn away from a train wreck — wants to pop some popcorn and enjoy the show.

And that, I think, pretty well describes the dilemma faced by Americans in my shoes and for the Democratic Party as a whole. How do we respond to this guy this time?

Over-reacting doesn’t seem to be an option anyone is pursuing this time around and that’s a good thing. In 2017, the Women’s March just reenforced the notion that Democrats were obsessed with identity politics. And “The Resistance” was just melodrama. What? Were we all supposed to wear berets and black turtlenecks while we met in coffee shops to plan blowing up bridges?

There is a view going around that the best thing to do is to go ahead and pop that corn and let Trump and company hoist themselves on their own petard. Also — and don’t discount this — half of what Trump does and says he does and says precisely because he knows that liberals’ heads will explode. He calls it “owning the libs.” Keeping your head will disappoint him.

But I don’t now. I wouldn’t count on the whole petard thing. The thing about being somebody like me, or like most classical liberals, is that we are cursed by respecting facts. So, if my party screws up I write that the Democrats screwed up.

Not so for Trump supporters. Even before Trump, Republicans and conservatives generally never took responsibility for anything. If any of their policies went awry they found a way to blame liberals — all the while harping about personal responsibility. So, I read in the Wall Street Journal that the wildfires that tore through LA were the result of liberal policies on DEI and endangered species and apparently had nothing to do with decades of hard-right climate change denial. Give them credit. It takes iron discipline to be this closed minded.

But Trumpers take this to a new level. It’s religion. They will simply never admit that anything that goes wrong under his administration is his fault. When the price of eggs went up under Joe Biden, it was Biden’s fault. When their price remains high or even goes up under Trump it’ll still be Biden’s fault. Maybe they’ll find a way to blame Gavin Newson, Kamala Harris and DEI while they’re at it. (The truth is it’s nobody’s fault. It’s the bird flu.)

That’s just one example. It’ll be like that for everything. So, the notion that we can just sit back and watch the public turn on Trump as he and the incompetents and nut jobs surrounding him blow up one thing after another is, I think, wishful thinking.

Still, sitting on the sidelines, more or less, and just watching how all this plays out for awhile isn’t such a bad strategy in view of the fact that I can’t think of a better one right now.

We need to face it. A lot of Trump’s policies are popular. Most people do want to crack down on illegal immigration. Most people oppose affirmative action and DEI. Most Americans support Israel. Protectionism and isolationism have always had (an unfortunate, in my view) place in American politics on both the left and right. So, it’s important for Democrats not to look like obstructionists for things that most Americans want.

What would make sense is a moderate Democratic take on all of those popular policies. We should reduce illegal immigration, but it’s unrealistic to rip 11 million workers out of our economy. So, sure, build a longer wall and deport criminals, but let’s revive the bipartisan immigration bill that Trump killed during the campaign. He only ordered its demise because he thought it would help Biden. He might have a different view now.

Affirmative action has outlived its usefulness and it was never popular while even some of the founders of DEI admit that it has become counterproductive. So, let’s not defend the indefensible. Democrats might talk more about simple fairness and merit. Nobody should be denied a job or housing because of their race or gender. Those anti-discrimination laws are still on the books and should be enforced. But let’s not discriminate now to make up for past discrimination.

It was necessary for Israel to respond powerfully to the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, but they’ve gone too far. Let’s keep the ceasefire in place and work toward a two state solution. Israel can’t be killing innocent civilians like this, but Hamas can’t be vowing to wipe Israel off the map.

Protectionism on economic issues and isolationism on foreign policy are tougher, at least for me. There’s no question that lightly regulated free trade is a very good thing. It builds wealth generally and it provides consumers with lots of new products within their reach. It lifts all boats. Moreover, it links countries around the world, making war less attractive. And I believe America should play an active role in promoting liberal democracy everywhere, sometimes, though rarely, with boots on the ground. If we were still in Afghanistan I don’t think Putin would be in Ukraine. But I know that my views on trade and foreign policy are in the minority in both parties and among voters in general.

So, on most things I can see how moderate Democrats could find ways to shape, but not oppose, many of Trump’s most popular policies. On trade and foreign relations, well, that’s a tougher nut to crack. I’m afraid we’ll just have to ride out this latest upsurge in isolationism.

It’s good that Democrats haven’t come out guns a blazin’ this time and that the hard-left groups have only had a few lightly-attended and barely noticed protests here and there. Still, at some point, there needs be a loyal opposition, but also a smart, focussed opposition. The Democrats need to keep in mind that the minority has only one job: stop being the minority.

Postscript. With Trump’s return to office and the rise of hard-right populism, we’re going to run this simple statement of YSDA principles at the bottom of each blog for the foreseeable future.

YSDA stands for

Free speech.

The rule of law.

Reason.

Tolerance.

Pluralism.