It worries me that democrats are not making the case for democratic policies. Look at the front page, the recommended diaries, the Abbreviated Pundit Roundup, or any news aggregator or social network, and you’ll see nothing but Trump and his habit of sexual assault. While understandable, I believe this is harmful to our party and our country.
I want to hear about issues. Of all of the disservices that Trump has done us this year, I think robbing us of the opportunity to have any real national discussions or debates is one of the most harmful. Every time you click on a link to the latest ridiculous thing that Trump has done, or write a diary about it, or recommend a diary about it, you are contributing to this problem. We hear enough about Trump’s terribleness. Talk about something important.
I’ll go out on a limb and posit that Clinton will win the election whether you spend more time talking about Donald’s assaults or not. But our national conversation right now will impact what happens after the election. If voters are voting for Hillary because she is not a sleazeball, then
- ...they may well split their ticket to avoid giving her too much power
- ...they may support non-disgusting republicans in the future
- ...the media will (rightfully) argue that she has no mandate, regardless of her margin of victory
- …we lose the opportunity to discuss the issues, and thus the ability to change our minds or others’ minds about the best way forward
I want to hear about tax reform, and to see real discussion about the tradeoffs between lowering or raising tax rates, and real information about the kinds of loopholes that can be closed and the kind of simplification that could happen. I want to argue that Democratic administrations have increased prosperity while Republican administrations preside over recessions.
I want to hear about infrastructure. I want to see people get excited about the 21st century transportation and energy systems that we could and should be developing. I want to hear arguments that increased infrastructure spending will improve the economy. I also want to hear counterarguments that increasing the deficit will have a negative effect. I want to see people arguing about it, so that I and others can learn something.
I want to hear about racial justice. I want to see discussions about the connection between drug policy, violent crime, incarcerations, and race. I want to hear arguments that putting those things in the same sentence is part of the problem. I want to be talking about implicit bias, in society in general and in the police system.
I want to hear about energy. I’m tired of arguments about whether climate change is real, but what about discussions on fracking for natural gas? Switching to a new fossil fuel is certainly short sighted, but how does it compare to sticking with coal? What are the actual tradeoffs between switching to natural gas, switching to nuclear, or switching to wind/solar? How do these decisions interact with economic policy? What about education?
Sexual assault and rape culture are important. But Trump’s affairs are not. If we must talk more about sexual assault, let’s discuss reforms to the criminal justice system to make it easier for victims to prosecute privately. Let’s talk about educational programs that can help our youth learn the right way to think about sex. Let’s talk about ending rape culture, not about punishing one particular person.
As hard as it is, I think we’d all be better off if we read our Trump Dump once a day and then tried to read, write, and think about real things the rest of the time.