Should Dems 'go low'?

[portlander23]

Should Dems 'go low'?
Bill Knight
Canton Daily Ledger

First Lady Michelle Obama's rallying cry for progressives has been, "When they go low, we go high." But after enduring eight years of Republican obstructionism going so low it bordered on treason, Democrats may see a Trump administration and a GOP-majority Capitol Hill ahead and concede that refusing to cooperate in governing may have resulted in historically low approval ratings for Congress but also few negative consequences at ballot boxes.

During the George W. Bush years, Democrats worked with Republicans, approving John Roberts as the Supreme Court's Chief Justice, and a few steps toward reforms in education and immigration. But when Americans elected Obama, such compromise was scorned, reason dismissed, and governing sacrificed for Machiavellian cynicism. Now, there may be a sense that progressives - even a few Democrats - have tired of surrendering.

Should "Just say 'No!' " become a Democratic strategy?

After all, at the GOP convention, Trump said, "I alone can fix it."

Have at it, then.

Fix it without confirmation of Cabinet appointees or judges, without repeals of laws or maybe budgets, unless some quid pro quo is attached.

[world wide wally]

1. FLOTUS was right when it comes to how we live our lives and treat each other, but as I said

yesterday, "we are playing politics. They are playing war".
When you fight a war, you have to fight to win. This includes everything from rhetoric to outflanking to outright overpowering the "enemy" (and I am not using that word lightly).

[niyad]

2. you have to talk to these assholes (if, indeed, you must talk to them at all) in language

they understand.

[Chasstev365]

3. To me "Going Low" implies lying

The Democrats don't need to lie; they need to brutally amd harshly explain to average people that the GOP has been playing them for chumps since 1980.

No more playing nice: go for the jugular with realities.

[kentuck]

4. Depends on what the definition of "low" is?

[Rollo]

5. The high road is better...

In the long run, the high road will be better.

Once the electorate wakes up to how they've been conned by Trump, and realize all the lies he's told to win the election, there will be a major backlash. The Dems need to keep things on a high level to minimize getting tainted by this backlash.

Without rehashing the 2016 election, the mistakes the Dems made were not being aggressive enough, but rather assuming that Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania were in the bag, and spending time trying to build up the popular vote in already deep blue states instead of spending that time and resources in the upper midwest where it could have brought victory in the Electoral College.

It was not a matter of not lying enough, not being aggressive enough. It was more a matter of just not being where it counted.

The Dem candidate who can beat Trump in 2020 will probably be young, relatively inexperienced, but with a compelling story and vision. In our crazy system, less experience is an asset because it means less baggage. Not being easily rattled by a blowhard bully like Trump will help, too.

By 2020 Trump likely will have generated a lot of chaos in the economy and the society in general. He'll try to have everyone pointing the finger at scapegoat(s). A calm above-the-fray approach will likely be successful in drawing a contrast and helping people realize what a psycho he really is.

Getting down to the Trump/Bannon level will only cover everyone with mud, and the pigs will enjoy it.

[OregonBlue]

6. I disagree. The GOP has absolutely no honor left at all. There is nothing that they can do to

go any lower other than herding liberals into concentration camps and I firmly believe they would do that too if they thought law enforcement would go along with it. It's time we started calling them out for the hateful, bigoted, vulgar, greedy, harlots that they are.

If every time one of us hears one of those disgusting Teahadist making nasty comments about someone who is poor or sick or a different race we call them out for their hatred in the loudest way possible, we can turn this around. But not unless we are willing to call them out no matter what the personal cost and no matter where we are. They are hate. They are trying to spread hate. We need to stop them or we are no better than the "good Germans".

[Lithos]

7. Define low?

I don't mind speaking my mind when it comes time to speak it. Sometimes this is counted as not taking the "high road"

L-

[DonnaRx7]

8. Absolutely!

Whatever it takes!

I learned too late what being soft gets one.

[smirkymonkey]

9. Yes!

Going high has never gotten us anywhere. It is time to take the gloves off and play dirty for once.

[gopiscrap]

10. YES

Dwell in the sewer it's the only way we will win

[0rganism]

11. is that even possible?

it would be a different Democratic party from the one i'm familiar with
the party's been "going high" for so long i'm not sure we have any lowballers left, kinda figured they died off with LBJ

[TheFrenchRazor]

12. they may HAVE TO hack votes on our behalf, simply to counteract the GOP/russian hacking. nt

[Raine]

13. Yes, taking the high road has gotten us the Dumpster

the lowest of the low. If we don't do something different we'll get even worse next time (if worse is even possible).

[malaise]

14. Let me put it this way

From the first day he used Crooked Hillary, the entire Democratic Party should have renamed him DON THE FUCKING CON (OK leave out the expletive) and exposed the cons over and over and over.

[Tatiana]

15. They only understand power and might.

Anything contrary to that is weakness in their eyes.

While I don't think we need to swim in the gutter on their level, we absolutely need to get a little dirty.

We need to oppose everything. And I mean everything.

[Maru Kitteh]

16. YESSSS. We have to get MEAN AND DIRTY. We have to throw their own hypocritical BULLSHIT

right in their faces. We have to quit being nice and fighting "fair" because it has won us a trip to hell in a handbasket full of deplorables.

[Iggo]

17. High and Low.

It's not an either/or situation.