During the general election, the seemingly sensible consensus was reached that Hillary Clinton would reign victorious, due to her opponent’s gross incompetence, blatant bigotry and corruption. Trump is so historically unpopular, homophobic, racist, misogynistic and dim-witted that it seemed as though he would endure a massive loss and Clinton and the Democrats would win in a landslide victory.
Thus, Clinton centered her campaign around abstract personal characteristics, not on a clear outline of the policies that she would pursue in office and the devastation that her opponent’s agenda would result in, as epitomized in one her campaign slogans, “Love Trumps Hate” and her constant characterization of Trump as a “loose cannon.” Hillary’s character-driven argument was clearly correct, but it did not satisfy voters’ demands concerning progressive policies, such as tuition-free college and Medicare for all, that candidates like Bernie Sanders catered to in the primaries. Clinton’s apprehension towards progressive policies and failure to offer tangible proposals to change the system resulted in voters’ lack of enthusiasm towards her campaign and mistrust in her ability to pursue policies that would bring about substantive change. These shortcomings led to her loss in the general election and ultimately cost her the presidency.
Amid the short time he has been in office, Trump has proven that he is just as unfit for the job of President as was previously assumed, which is made evident by his utter incompetence and seeming capacity to find himself in the middle of more scandals than any other modern president in such an early period of his administration. Of all the various scandals that have emanated during these first few tumultuous months of the Trump administration, the most damning is perhaps the President’s alleged relations with Russia.
Incontestably, the troubling possibilities of foreign connections and obstruction of justice warrant an investigation into the Trump administration and may even result in being grounds for impeachment. Trump’s dubious firing of the former FBI director, James Comey, and the financial and diplomatic ties that former and current Trump administration personnel possess raise great suspicion into the possible collusion between the President and the Kremlin. As a result of these allegations, congressional Democrats are fully focusing on the investigation and are politically capitalizing on the scandal to hopefully enthuse future Democratic voters. However, in return, Democrats in the House and Senate are putting legislative issues on the back burner in favor of moral and character judgments of the administration.
Yet, as a solely political approach, is this not the same strategy that led to Clinton’s devastating demise in the general election? To the average American voter, Trump’s alleged connections to Russia seem just as removed and non-concrete as the claims that were the basis of Clinton’s failed campaign, as the use of Trump’s Russia allegations as a political strategy mainly fixates on the personal and moral deficiencies of his character. Amidst all the buzz surrounding the Russia scandal, Trump and the Republicans are quietly pursuing a rapacious agenda that assaults the middle class and the most vulnerable while bringing even more wealth to the 1%. The Democratic Party’s current obsession with Russia distracts voters from the appalling current agenda of Trump and his party that restores power to Wall Street, delegitimizes the pressing issue of climate change, strips families of healthcare and dehumanizes immigrants. This alienation of voters that occurs as the result of when Democratic politicians ignore the issues that vital to them and do not offer the progressive solutions that these issues demand, such as in the general election, engenders a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base and, ultimately, electoral losses for Democrats.
To secure a victory in the 2018 midterm elections, it is imperative that Democrats focus on offering clear progressive alternatives to the issues in order to mobilize and galvanize their increasingly progressive base. Instead of focusing on the fruitless and unsuccessful past strategies, congressional Democrats need to address, not overlook, progressive policy alternatives. Ambitious legislative initiatives such as Medicare for all, policies that propagate environmental justice, criminal justice reform and expanded social security will renew disenfranchised voters’ faith in the Democratic Party.
Yes, the administration’s foreign connections merit independent investigation and concern. However, Democrats must refrain from sacrificing their focus on the issues and their progressive policy solutions that mobilize voters in order to fixate on the administration’s Russia scandal. If the Democrats want to remain a viable political force into 2018 and beyond, they must look forward – not to the past.
