Timothy Egan had one of the most annoying op-eds in the NY Times yesterday. While he accurately details the atrocities of the Trump administration and the fact that Republicans in Congress and around the country don’t seem to be bothered, he also makes the rather obvious point that Democrats are powerless to stop Trump and the GOP. And while Democrats are feeling good about the widespread and passionate resistance that Trump has generated, Egan warns that this is merely a “sugar high”.
According to Egan, “The Democrats shouldn’t mistake a sugar high for nutrition. They’re still getting their butts kicked. Being Not Trump gained them only a net of six seats in the House in November’s election, and will not be enough to win a majority in 2018. Reliance on identity politics and media-cushioned affirmation, and a blind spot to the genuine pain of the white working class, is precisely what produced a President Trump. For the next year, Democrats should filter their policy initiatives through the eyes of the person Trump claims to speak for — the forgotten American…Democrats also lost 1,034 state and federal offices in his [Obama’s] time. Whites are still 70 percent of the vote. If Democrats continue to hemorrhage voters among the working class, they will never see the presidency, or even expect to govern in one house, for a long time…But they have to be for something, as well — a master policy narrative, promoting things that help average Americans.”
PLEASE! It is no wonder that Democrats continue to lose elections with supposedly insightful analysis like this that merely parrots complete mythology and not reality. In addition, Democratic results up and down the ballot in the 2016 election were critically injured by the press’s obsession with emails and refusal to even acknowledge the actual economic policies Hillary Clinton and Democrats were proposing. And then James Comey struck the fatal blow.
So let’s look at the reality that Egan so assiduously ignores –
actual Democratic policies that were targeted at working class, average Americans. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed that the vast majority of American families, working class especially, would be able to send their children to public universities for free. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed 12 weeks of family leave and 12 weeks of medical leave for all workers, including the working class. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed limiting child care expenses, even for those working class families with children, to 10% of their income. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed doubling the child tax credit, which would again include many working class families. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed expanding Medicare to those 55 and older, including those older members of the working class. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed using the negotiating power of Medicare to reduce drug prices and allow Americans to import drugs from lower-cost countries. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed raising the minimum wage and increasing Social Security. Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed a card check system to make it easier for working class Americans to form a union. Hillary Clinton and the Democrats proposed a real infrastructure plan, not just tax credits for business cronies, and even had real plans to transform the economy of coal country and really
put those unemployed coal miners back to work. And, of course, Hillary Clinton and Democrats proposed maintaining and improving the Affordable Care Act, which has undoubtedly save thousands of working class, average American lives.
It’s possible that Egan is actually unaware of these facts, but I doubt it. Perhaps he thinks these proposals aren’t “promoting things that help average Americans.” If that is the case, then it would be helpful if he could enlighten us as to the policies Democrats need to embrace. Maybe he thinks it’s as simple as having Democrats just say “we’re going to bring those jobs back” and leave it at that. On the other hand, maybe the Democrats’ problem in reaching the American working class has less to do with their actual policies and more to do with the fact that the media, including people like Egan, actually ignore or distort the Democratic message. Rather than asking Democratic party to do things it already does, perhaps Egan should look in the mirror and actually do the job he is paid to do.
