Opinion | Democrats need to start acting like Republicans

There have been many think pieces written over the past week or so telling Democrats what they must do now to win back voters and stop the Republican momentum of the 2024 election. 

I wrote one of those, begging the Dems to work on messaging and consistency, and I’ve read probably a 100 or more. Most of them have offered really good advice, and they’ve put forth really good ideas for ways to lure back the casual voter who isn’t glued to politics TV for seven hours a day. And maybe, in the long run, those ideas, if put into practice, will help Democrats regain power, hold that power and make life better for every working stiff out there. 

But in the short term, Democrats need to forget most of those recommendations. And they need to do just one thing. 

Act like Republicans. 

I’m being deadly serious here. It’s time for Democrats to do away with the mealy-mouthed, aw-shucks, pardon-me, sane, rational, let-me-explain-that-in-more-detail approach, and start smacking people over the head. 

In your face. Here’s what we’re doing. Here’s why it’s awesome. You’re going to love it. 

Do not attempt to argue this. Because it’s the most effective strategy on the planet currently. 

If you doubt this, let me remind you of one thing: This country just elected Donald John Trump just four years after he tried a coup. 

Because reality doesn’t matter anymore. The reality you sell to people is all that matters. 

To underscore that, right now, Trump is nominating for U.S. Attorney General a walking piece of human garbage named Matt Gaetz – the Florida congressman who tried to kill an ethics investigation into his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and who has been credibly accused of being involved in a sex trafficking ring – only a couple of hours after nominating as director of national intelligence a completely unqualified Tulsi Gabbard, putting the country’s entire intelligence services in the hands of a person unqualified to hold a security guard’s position at a local bank. 

Because Trump knows better than anyone that – and I can’t state this emphatically enough – reality doesn’t matter anymore. 

All that matters is what you sell to people. 

And buddy, people are buying pretty much everything. 

Consider, if you will, that Trump and Republicans just sold the majority of Americans on the notion that President Biden and Democrats were responsible for higher prices. This lunacy conveniently omits that it was Trump that torched the economy, and that Trump, like Biden, also sent out checks to people that helped exacerbate inflation. 

And not a one of you, I’ve noticed, sent the checks back. 

But none of that mattered. All that mattered was the narrative crafted around the struggle that the Republicans sold to voters. 

Prices are up. Here’s someone to blame. Simple as that. 

And the true problem for Democrats is that they just don’t know how to be bold. How to sell. How to get out in front of a crowd and dance. How to be shameless and opportunistic. How to truly pander. 

Instead of making fun of all those Republicans who kept showing up to ribbon cuttings and ground breakings for projects made possible by the Biden initiatives, Democrats should have instead been at those events, shoveling up dirt and snatching scissors from those GOP clout thieves. They should have peeled those “I did that” Biden stickers off of gas pumps and slapped them on bridges and roads everywhere ARPA funds paid for anything. 

Biden should have held a press gaggle every week touting the national improvements made possible by his initiatives and pointing out the jobs created by his programs. He should have been screaming at the press across the White House lawn every morning about the unemployment rate. They should have produced videos and news stories comparing the price of basic goods in America to the prices in other developed countries. 

And that timidity continues. 

On Wednesday, there was Biden, sitting respectfully and welcoming the former coup leader into the White House for a smooth transition. I mean, the peaceful transfer of power is fine, obviously, but in what world should that have been a comfortable, tranquil meeting for Trump? 

The man led a coup. His supporters smeared human feces on the walls of our Capitol. Stop normalizing that. 

Do you think Republicans would be acting this way? Do you think the Republican AG would have sat on these cases for four damn years? 

The fact is Donald Trump and Republicans are in charge again because Democrats failed to act. Failed to do the bold, right things and sat idly by while Republicans did the bold, wrong things. 

That has to stop.  

Stop with the soul searching nonsense. Stop sugar coating what you’re saying. Stop pretending that you’re asking people to do complicated, unsavory things. 

The only thing Democrats have called for are initiatives that seek equality and fairness, and laws that basically tell people to mind their own damn business. Stop apologizing for that. Stop allowing those good things to be twisted into unsavory acts because you’re too afraid to take a stand. 

For the last four years, Democrats have performed about as well as anyone could have hoped. But because they’ve failed to adjust to an over-saturated electorate, they allowed Republicans to paint wins and losses and good things as bad. 

Look, I get that pandering is often icky and unsavory. I know that it’s not natural for most people to stand up and heap praises upon themselves. 

But if Republicans can do it to push bad stuff, you can do it to get some good done.