Incompetent, corrupt, unfit, unstable. Choose your own words to describe Donald Trump and his Administration, but we are approaching (if not at) a constitutional crisis. And, let’s be clear about what we face, as frightening as that may be. “First-term Trump” will be a walk in the park compared to an emboldened, unleashed and totally unhinged “Second-term Trump.”
USA TODAY, in a recent article, reported on how Democrats can win in 2020. The newspaper’s analysis comes from interviews with more than two dozen Democratic National Committee officials, county Democratic chairpersons, elected officials and rank-and-file activists in the key battleground states of Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Some think that stopping Trump is as simple as picking the right Democratic presidential candidate. But, who is the “right” candidate anyway, and even if we could select him or her, will that really be enough to prevent the nightmare of a second Trump term?
The Indivisible organization doesn’t think so. They’ve put together an excellent resource – Indivisible 2020 Grassroots Playbook – “aka everything you need to make your voice heard during the 2020 Democratic primary.” And, they have some thoughtful words about the issue of “electability”:
“One thing we’ve been hearing a lot in media narratives around 2020 is that Democrats care most about finding a candidate who’s “electable.” A lot of the time, that’s code for older, white, and male.
Honestly? We don’t buy it. No one was considered less electable than Donald Trump in 2015 (bold emphasis from your Newsletter editor). There’s no paint-by-numbers code to crack to find the perfect candidate to beat Trump next year. The most strategic thing we can do is nominate a candidate who’s able to genuinely excite a broad multiracial coalition of voters – and the way to do that is to find the candidates who are speaking to the issues we think will drive the next election cycle. This isn’t just based on our opinions: we saw this strategy work in 2018, when grassroots engagement wound up retaking the House and – at the same time – electing the most diverse freshman class in the institution’s history.
So don’t let pundits tell you who’s electable – look at who you find most exciting, and make it happen.”
So, what do you think? You’ll have the opportunity to let us know at tomorrow’s Membership meeting, where we’ll be discussing this Newsletter topic. We look forward to seeing you there!