Ten Steps to Defeat the Republican Party’s War on Democracy
If there is one thing that became completely clear during Trump’s impeachment “trial” in the Senate, is that the Republican Party is now engaged in an outright war on the foundations of American democracy.
Republican Senators didn’t even pretend to support the Constitution, uphold their oaths or admit any evidence that might show the head of their party is guilty of high crimes against the country. They were willing to absolve Trump of the most dangerous allegations that have ever been leveled at an American president without even assessing the evidence, hearing from the witnesses or often even attending the trial. They betrayed their oaths in profound ways, something Senator Romney’s speech illuminated by contrast.
We need to understand that Republicans are now engaged in a win-at-all-costs drive towards authoritarian government under a budding demagogue who threatens anyone who crosses him with retribution.
It is a war and if the Republicans win this war, things will go very dark for our country.
As Republican strategist Rick Wilson has written, this trial was the moment where historians will look back on and say “There. Right there. That was the tipping point.”
Now that Trump has been gifted a get-out-of-jail-free card for his strong-arm bribery of Ukraine, our next election will surely involve the dirtiest tricks and the worst assaults on our votes of any election in American history. There will be massive disinformation and vote suppression efforts. With Attorney General Bill Barr’s new edict that no investigation of a presidential campaign can happen without his approval, the decks are clear for anything goes since the FBI cannot even investigate it.
If Trump does manage to win, legitimately or illegitimately, a second term and packs ever more loyal troops into every level of government while patriotic civil servants who won’t pay homage to him are forced out as Vindman just was, we may not even get another chance to right the ship in 2024.
So how do we win this war without sinking to their level? How do we protect American democracy and ideals from the relentless corruption of the rule of law? How do we stop the slide of American democracy into the abyss?
The first step is to admit that the Republican Party has gone rogue. It’s no longer a small-d democratic party. It’s a party that does not support the foundations of American democracy and will do pretty much anything to maintain power, which is the mark of an authoritarian party.
The Republican party’s leadership has been corrupted, cowed, and bent to the will of Trump. At whatever point America can break Trump’s grip on power, the party will face a long period of deep self-reflection that may well include its demise.
For now, though, this is a battle for the soul of our country and we need to be honest about where we are rather than sugarcoat things. The only end to this now is when the Republican party as a whole goes down with Trump as they have chained themselves to his ship now and have followed him into lawlessness.
The second step to winning this war in an ethical way is to simplify the message to the American people about the so-called impeachment trial and repeat it thousands of times until people get the truth: it was a Republican Cover-up.
If Democratic politicians and political writers simply use that as the title for the impeachment proceedings again and again, it will gradually sink into every American’s consciousness. The fact that Republican Senators howled in outrage when Rep. Nadler dared to utter the phrase “cover-up” is a clear indication that this is their Achilles Heel.
If the American people as a whole admit that Republicans KNOW Trump is guilty and are consciously covering up his crimes so they can keep power, it’s all over for the party in the long haul. The fact of the cover-up is the most damaging truth, which means it must be repeated by a million voices a million times.
Trump is good at branding people such as “Low Energy Jeb” because it creates a simple frame of understanding that seeps into our unconscious regardless of whether it is true. Democrats need to take a play from this playbook and keep the branding simple for the trial: it is the Republican Cover-up and use the hashtag #RepublicanCoverUp. This is the simplest level of truth. Simplicity in messaging amplifies its power.
Every Democratic candidate for President should utter this term, again and again, because the average American citizen is honorable and moral and does not believe in covering up crimes. The more the term sinks in, the more that average citizens will question their support or identification with the Republican Party as a whole.
The only thing that will break Trump’s hold on people is a moral awakening and an ethical recognition that they cannot, in any good conscience, aid and abet a criminal or a gang of loyalists who support that criminal. Consistent use of Republican Cover-up as a phrase will advance that awakening and recognition. It needs to be in headlines every day.
Third, every aspiring Democratic candidate for President needs to have an honest and direct conversation with Trump supporters about why it is morally important for the good of the country and the preservation of American democracy that they abandon their support of Trump now that high crimes have been clearly revealed. It cannot simply be about partisanship but about protecting our democracy.
We need to measure their mettle as candidates not based on a guess of how they will fare in the fall against Trump or the purity of their policies but in how effective they are NOW in peeling away Trump’s base of support.
Can they actually get Trump supporters to listen?
If a Democratic candidate is not playing a role in Trump’s downfall now, they have not earned the right to face him in the fall because it is actually far easier to take him down before the full mobilization of dark influences begins helping to rig the election in Trump’s favor, as will surely happen since he’s been let off the hook for his Ukraine bribery.
If a candidate claims they are best suited to take on Trump, they need to prove it by showing they can win his supporters away by speaking beyond party identity to an ethical and patriotic core that, I believe, still exists within most of his supporters.
Fourth, we need to see Republicans who have already broken with Trump as brothers and sisters in this battle. They are more conversant in the language and motivations of the right and we need to amplify their voices and support their attempts to wake up members of their party. Leaders such as Rick Wilson and George Conway or the folks from the Lincoln Project have far more influence over Trump supporters than we do. We need to transcend any partisan allergies to listen to their wisdom, support their work, and mirror their framing of the issues.
Fifth, we need to make it clear that we will forgive those who were blind enough to fall for Trump but are now waking up. Like Senator Romney, they face fierce fires of condemnation and outright threats from those who remain loyal so we need not burden them with more judgment. The truth is that we need more people who awaken from Trumpism and we need to welcome them with open arms. Former acolytes like Anthony Scaramucci will, in the end, play a key role in ending the Trump era. Conversely, we must make it clear that Trump supporters who remain supporters to the bitter end will pay a price for their support, personally and socially. It will be a stain on their reputation that will be difficult to wash off. The fear of shame and future social stigma can help them to wake up now to the perils of hanging on to the bitter end.
Sixth, we need to collectively pour as much energy, money, and organizing power into defeating Mitch McConnell as we do into the Democratic primary. Senator McConnell is at the heart of the degradation of the Republican party, and he simply must be defeated in parallel with Trump.
Seventh, we need to stop the prognostications that Trump will win a second term because they demotivate people and lead them to feel hopeless. The only way Trump can win a second term is if patriotic Americans fail to stop him. Let us hold the vision and work towards the time that Trump will become so discredited that his re-election becomes unthinkable and to do everything we ethically can to support his downfall now. And, if that does not work, then we pour ourselves into the election, regardless of who the Democratic candidate is.
Eighth, if Trump’s support is not in freefall by the time our state’s primaries happen, we each need to vote for the candidate who we believe is most likely to defeat him in the fall, regardless of who excites us the most. Although I am a strong progressive, I am beginning to believe a more moderate candidate is likely to fare better under the withering storm of lies, attacks, and propaganda that will be unleashed by the Republican Party, all powered by dark money and disinformation campaigns. I am not a big fan of the billionaire candidates but having very deep pockets to engage the coming war with more than a billion dollars personally may prove essential and I think we need to consider them as potential worthy standard bearers, especially in a culture that does put a lot of emphasis on success. If Americans can choose an ethical billionaire over a criminal billionaire, that may well turn out to be what is needed.
Ninth, we need to shake off our heaviness and organize regular demonstrations that show the strength of those who oppose Trump’s rule and that pressure Republican officeholders with the prospect of their removal. Trump’s shameless lying and breaking of norms too often leads to paralysis and tuning out. Now is the time to reconnect with our passions again to communicate, organize, and motivate. And let’s have a good time doing it so we can lift ourselves up in the process.
Tenth, let us not hate Trump as that comes across as hatred of his supporters. Instead, let us find the place of clear commitment to American ideals that requires bringing his reign to an end and let us speak from that place.
What I pray is that the aftermath of the Republican Cover-up will hasten Trump’s downfall. The emergence of new evidence of high crimes such as the Lev Parnas tapes or testimony from witnesses like John Bolton can remind voters of the Republican Cover-up and cause damage to Trump’s base and lead ethical conservatives to jump ship one by one.
It’s also up to the House to keep bringing witnesses to testify publicly and bring additional impeachment articles for high crimes and misdemeanors that are uncovered.
If we can trigger a cataclysmic drop in the polls in the coming months, it will help to shake Trump’s death grip on Republican leaders, which will eventually snowball out of his control as more speak their conscience. Most Republican leaders know in their hearts they have badly betrayed their ideals to support him and would love an opportunity to abandon him, redeem their reputations, and preserve their personal legacy in some form. They are simply too afraid right now and while we may judge that fear, the truth is that we have to deal with it strategically by peeling away the power Trump has over the Republican base.
Let us make clear to Trump supporters that the door to redemption is still open but it will close at some point. If they choose loyalty to Trump over loyalty to America and participate in his re-election and the collapse of American democracy, their ultimate legacy will be one of shame for them, their children, and even their grandchildren.