The election of Donald Trump has pushed many people to ask
how progressives should respond to his presidency. Should we critique and mock all of his
actions and statements or should we try to give him the benefit of the doubt
and work with him on common interests? I
believe the proper response is to not only hold him accountable for his words
and actions, but more importantly, we need to equate him with the Republic
party. In other words, instead of seeing
him as some oddity or anomaly in the political system, we have to show how he
embodies the truth of the conservative counter-revolution.
One of the biggest mistakes the Clinton Campaign made and
others continue to repeat is to separate Trump from the traditional Republican
politicians. What we need to do is show
how Trump exemplifies amoral capitalism, and this combination of selfish greed
and a lack of morality has been driving the Republicans since the time of
Reagan. What Trump helps to clarify is
that behind all of the talk of religious values and fiscal responsibility, we
find a small class of people trying to enhance their power and money at any
costs. The fact that many Christian
fundamentalists supported the blatantly amoral Trump shows that the Republicans
don’t really care about religion or morality.
One problem is that even though Trump does not believe in
most of the core conservative moral issues, he is still appointing people and
supporting policies that will result in destructive restrictions of human
rights and government support for those most in need. The problem is that he controls all of the
branches of government, and he believes that his power resides in giving what
he thinks his base is demanding. What progressives then have to do is try to
convince Republican voters that Trump and his supporters in Congress really do
not care about their values and issues.
Progressives also have to make the case that not only their policies will
help disgruntled Trump voters, but their values are more in line with the
values of these voters.
As George Lakoff insists, Democrats have to focus on values
over policies because this is what affects voters in a more direct manner. For instance, by always using the term “the
Affordable Care Act” instead of “Obamacare,” the value of affordability is
highlighted over the notion that a liberal president is forcing people to do
things they do not want to do. Likewise,
Lakoff insists that we should use the term “protections” instead of “regulations,”
when we are discussing rules and laws that serve to fight against bad behavior
by corporations and individuals.
Although we most continue to fight against racism, sexism,
and homophobia, it is important to show how these modes of prejudice are related
to economic issues concerning poverty and inequality. In terms of values, the stress should be on
making things more fair and equal at the same time that individual rights are
protected. Moreover, the problem with some versions of identity politics is not
that they focus on discrimination and prejudice, but they can make it hard to
build coalitions among different identity groups. What we need to do then is to always keep our
eyes on the prize and seek to organize diverse groups to develop sustainable
political power.
One problem that tis progressive agenda faces is that it may
not be supported by many of the liberal institutions who are often focused on
maintaining power and wealth and not creating a more just and equal
society. This is why we have to fight
to transform our own political parties, universities, unions, and media to make
them more democratic and progressive.
