Does anyone else feel a little queasy calling them evil?

[Jim Lane]

64. Yes, I do. Slinging around the term "evil" doesn't help the analysis or the program.

By the analysis, I mean it doesn't increase our understanding. For example, if you want to try to predict what Trump will do about something, don't figure out what he ought to do and then predict the opposite. That's comic-book thinking. I'd look instead at his narcissism, self-delusion, short attention span, focus on what he perceives as his base, susceptibility to manipulation by those around him, etc.

By the program, I mean that I'm less concerned with appearing righteous on a Democratic message board than I am with winning elections. Calling Republicans evil is just preaching to the choir, in that it will thrill people who were already on our side anyway. To do that, we want to get some previous nonvoters to the polls and we want to flip some Trump voters. For the former group, we talk about positive things that Democrats can do if elected. For the latter group, we point out how Trump's governance has deviated so radically from his campaign rhetoric. Calling Trump "evil" doesn't help with either of those projects.