The Democratic Party stands at a familiar crossroads. The Democrats have lost the White House, and failed to regain control of the House or the Senate, and their state level losses are even more significant. They face the prospect of a bitter four years with very little practical political or agenda-setting power, made even more painful by the fact that the incoming President is Donald Trump. It is now time for the Democratic Party to search its soul, to reform, and to decide what kind of opposition party they intend to be.
If this sounds familiar that’s good, you’ve been paying attention. In the aftermath of the 2008 election the Republican Party faced a similar dilemma. They had lost the White Hose, Senate, House, and had suffered defeats down ballot as well. They too needed to decide what kind of minority party they wanted to be.
The GOP met on January 29th, 2009, just after President Obama’s inauguration, to discuss this very matter. They settled on a no-holds-barred obstructionist tactic, becoming the “Party of No.” They would be unified, resolute, and absolutely uncompromising. Obama might win the policy battles but they would win the war, simply through attrition. Their goal was to paint the President as something more than a political opponent, but as an extremist ideologue and a threat to the country. “The single most important thing” the Republican Party could achieve, according to then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, “is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
This strategy, morally and ethically dubious as it might have been, was incredibly successful. The GOP closed ranks and ensured that any of Obama’s successes were passed on an almost entirely party-line basis, allowing them to paint Dodd-Frank and Obamacare for example as extreme liberal experiments. Their use of the filibuster reached historic levels. They were successful in rallying their base against Obama and portraying a moderate, centrist Democrat as an unhinged radical socialist (and Muslim too, depending on who you ask), planting the seeds for their successes in 2010 and 2014. Their judicial obstructionism in particular has paid huge dividends, as Donald Trump is now poised to have a massive impact on District and Appellate Courts, as well as the Supreme Court All this despite withering criticism from the media, from the Democrats, and even from vast swaths of the public. History may debate the honor of pursuing such a strategy, but they cannot dispute the outcome.
The Democrats now stand at a similar crossroads as the Republicans did in early 2009. There are many who claim that the Dems need to adopt the “McConnell approach,” standing in the way of everything that they can, judiciously using the filibuster, dragging their feet to deny early and easy victories, preventing Trump from portraying his successes as bipartisan, and painting him as a less than legitimate President, someone who is an ideological extremist and a threat to the Republic.
The temptation to engage in retaliatory obstructionism is high, especially after the anger past eight years, but doing so would be counter productive and sacrifice the moral high ground to Donald Trump and the GOP.
Ever since it became clear that the Republican Party was planning this campaign of obstructionism the Democrats seized on it as an opportunity. Branding the GOP as the “Party of No” and demanding that Republican lawmakers “do their job” was highly effective and taints the GOP even to this day. Every headline about Republican obstructionism makes the party seem less like a serious political party and more like a collection of angry old white men who stand in the way of progress and change. The Democrats have the high ground, despite their electoral losses. To adopt the McConnell strategy, as satisfying as that might feel, would cede that high ground.
So what should the Democrats do? How do they best oppose Trump while not becoming the very thing they railed against for the past eight years?
The best strategy is for the Democratic Party to remain open to negotiation, compromise, and bipartisanship, while still adopting certain elements of the McConnell strategy.
Reforming the tax code, making better trade deals, and trying to provide stable and well-paying jobs to America’s working poor are all ideals that the Democrats can, and indeed need to, get behind. They cannot allow the Republicans to dominate that conversation, and only be working with Trump and the GOP can they remain relevant. They may not end up with an ideal progressive package but they have the opportunity to make an impact, not to mention the opportunity to improve the lives of countless Americans.
That is not to say that the Democrats should roll over and play nice on all issues. Obamacare repeal, Dodd-Frank repeal, Medicaid privatization, and other flawed and troubling policies need to be opposed tooth and nail, but this opposition needs to be careful and nuanced. When fighting the repeal of Obamacare the Democrats need to emphasize the everyday, working Americans who are going to lose their healthcare, the risk to markets if these laws are repealed, and so on. They need to portray the Dodd-Frank repeal as a gift to Wall Street and to rally people in opposition, painting Trump and the GOP as dangerously pro-Wall Street. It needs to be about the people, not the politicians or the politics. The Democrats need to fight these regressive policy rollbacks tooth and nail, with everything that they have, and they need to be loud and public about it.
But when the GOP succeeds, and they will succeed, the strategy needs to change. While it is important, for example, for the Democrats to fight bitterly to prevent the repeal of Obamacare, they need to be honest and bipartisan in crafting its replacement. They need to come to the table, willing to negotiate and compromise, in order to create a palatable alternative that helps the American people recover. The message needs to be “we will do anything to help the American people, whether trying to block a regressive repeal or negotiating to create an alternative.” This message needs to be front and center, and the Democrats need to appear bipartisan. They have the opportunity to hold onto the high ground, to be the “grown ups in the room,” but only if they stay disciplined and on message.
Two elements of McConnell’s strategy stand out as useful and practical tools to combat President Donald Trump. First was the firm unity of the Republican caucus. Internal dissent was just that, internal. To the public they presented a unified front. The Democrats need to be just as unified, with one message and clearly defined messengers. Senators Warren, Schumer, Booker, and Gillibrand, as the Democrats most prolific public presences and powerful stars, need to take the lead here, presiding over a unified party. This strategy of bipartisanship coupled with bare-knuckled opposition can only work when conducted by a unified party. (Not to mention the presence of a select few standard bearers will help the party prepare for the 2020 Presidential race, treating it as a tryout for leader of the Party.)
Second, the Republican Party mastered the art of symbolic votes, something that the Democrats need to adopt as soon as possible. The GOP pushed hundreds of Obamacare repeal bills, even before they controlled the House and Senate, actions that had no purpose other than to drill into the minds of the American people that they were committed to that action, and ensuring constant media coverage. The Democratic Party needs to do the same, constantly pushing bills to raise the minimum wage, index the minimum wage to inflation, expand LGBT protections, restore the Voting Rights Act, and so on. This needs to be constant, aggressive, and loud. It needs to be clear to both the media and the electorate that this is something that the Democrats will not give up on, and that they will never stop fighting for the American people.
Every time the GOP refuses to allow a vote on Democratic bills, blocks them in committee, or votes against them it provides more ammunition for the Democrats. The Democrats need to make it clear that they came to negotiate and compromise in good faith but that the GOP won’t even give them a vote, or bother to bargain.
The Democrats have the moral high ground now, but if they stoop to the level of McConnell and the unprecedented GOP obstructionism that he oversaw they will cede that high ground, sacrificing a unique opportunity. They need to fight the battles that they need to fight, compromise where they can, all while relentlessly marketing themselves as the party of the people. It may not feel as good in the short term, but in the long term it is the best thing for both the Party and the country.
Remember, the Democrats won the popular vote by almost three million votes. The people are behind them, even if that didn’t translate to an Electoral College victory. Now they have to keep the people behind them, protect them, and ready the Democratic Party for the upcoming fights in 2018 and 2020. Politics isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, and the Democrats need to think long term.
