Let's Not Eat Sour Grapes This Thanksgiving

Are you a liberal dreading the idea of spending Thanksgiving with a family divided about the recent election? Are you worried about how you are going to deal with the conversation when the focus on food, family, and football is abandoned for a rehash of the election? My suggestion is to resist your urge to refight the quarrels of the past year. Those arguments are done, and there nothing that can be said to alter the votes that have been cast. Instead, steel yourself against your emotional reactions and refrain from lashing back. Rather, use these encounters as an opportunity to gather information; information that will be essential in altering the outcome of elections yet to come.

It is crucial that you restrain your impulse to defend the righteousness of your position. Instead of engaging in a pointless rehashing of facts upon which you will never agree, deflect the conversation. Now is the time to gather knowledge and insights that will help us be more effective in contests to come, now is not the time to change minds. Don't get drug into relitigating the election; try to move past discussions of all that has transpired. Instead, get the Trump supporter to focus on their vision for the future. Get the Trump voter to outline their hopeful vision of what a Trump administration will do over the next four years. Have them describe, in as much detail as possible, their positive vision for the good that a Trump Presidency and a Republican Congress will bring this nation. Resist your natural inclination to refute the likelihood that their Utopian vision will be fulfilled. Instead, probe deeper and gather as much detail as you can. Look for those elements in their vision which are compatible with your own view of a progressive future.

I suspect that you will find some common ground even as you profoundly disagree on the methods for achieving it. For some, that common ground may include a vision of a vibrant economy in which workers make a decent wage; an economy in which each generation’s prospects are better than the last. With others, that common ground may take other forms. The key is getting to the root of it.  I believe that some element of common ground can be found once you get down to specific, practical outcomes. And, of course, there will be many elements of their vision that you do not share. That is ok too as it is not realistic to believe we can come to terms on every issue. You must be strong and not engage in battles that cannot be won. Use this as an opportunity to develop skills and to gain knowledge that will aid us in being more persuasive later on.

Be prepared to hear bigoted and potentially ugly opinions. I do not believe that all Trump voters supported his bigotry; many supported Trump in spite of those views. But it is likely that a portion of Trump supporters did shared his bigoted views of the world. While this past election cycle has eroded social inhibitions governing the expression of bigoted ideas in public, it has been my experience that those inhibitions seldom extend to internal family interactions anyhow. I know I have endured the bloviating ‘Archie Bunker’ protégées at family gatherings at one time or another. This Thanksgiving, don’t try and change their minds. Instead, try to glean an understanding from whence their concerns lie. Is their bigotry derived from closely held animus? Or does it derive from fear of external threats, the absence of any real experience with these ‘others’ and a perception that some groups are being singled out for special treatment and privileges which they find inherently unfair?

In the coming elections, progressives will need the votes of many who supported Trump if we are to flip the House and Senate, and to eventually take back the White House. We must win over some of these voters if we want to retake State Houses and governorships. We may never win over the true believers, but we must find ways of appealing to those that can be persuaded. Progressives must understand the visions and desires of the Trump voter and those with Republican leanings. Where possible, we must addresses the concerns of those who currently oppose us while still remaining true to our progressive values. Our goal should be the construction of a platform those individuals we currently are not reaching can support despite their differences with us on the particulars of some issues.

Our arguments going forward must acknowledge the negative perceptions held by the other side. Progressives must counter the other side’s perceptions, not with name calling and condescending arguments, but by telling a more compelling story that won’t get blocked by an automatic defensive reaction. We must emphasize how the positions we advocate will achieve outcomes that we and they both desire. But this can only be achieved if we understand exactly what they perceive our differences to be and where we have the potential for common ground. We must find a way to stop exclusively ‘preaching to the choir’ and instead actively address arguments that speak directly to the core concerns and visions of the Trump voter on which we can agree.

I firmly believe that Republican and Trumpian policy outcomes will come to be viewed unfavorably by those who voted for them. The most likely results of their proposed policies include attacks on entitlement programs, assaults on worker’s rights, and moves that erode individual constitutional protections. None of those outcomes are going to be popular. This country’s foreign and trade policies over the next four years are likely to result in widespread instability abroad and economic upheavals at home. We must remain engaged and try to mitigate those negative outcomes, but there is only so much that can be achieved from the minority seats at the table. As a result, these unfortunate outcomes will present an opportunity to shift to a new, more effective direction.

Progressives need to be prepared to deliver a better alternative that will resonate with the future disillusioned Trump voter. We must offer solutions that speak to the concerns of his supporters. We need to begin working now on an agenda that speaks to the core concerns that we all share. We need to package that agenda so that it clearly resonates with the persuadable Trump voter. The information you gather at these Thanksgiving encounters, and throughout the coming months, will be the essential building blocks required to craft a program that speaks to disaffected Trump supporter’s core concerns while still remaining true to the progressive vision for America.    

Where Do We Go From Here

If you are a Progressive and you don’t like the outcome of this election, then join me and do something about it. We need to overhaul the Democratic Party so that more American’s feel that it is addressing their concerns. We need less divisiveness and less knee-jerk reactionary responses to every thought we don’t like. What we need to do is to be engaged and organize. I don’t mean taking to the streets with anger and destruction. Coming together is great, but it should be done peacefully and with respect for differing views.  Anger is ok, but anger should be directed into productive action or it will work against us. It is misdirected anger and frustration that got Trump elected. That and apathy.

This was the most divisive election in my lifetime, yet more than 45% of eligible voters didn’t bother to cast a ballot. In past presidential elections, you could argue that there wasn’t much difference between either of the candidates. While I don’t agree, if you truly believed that was the case, then perhaps you could rationalize not voting. But this election was different.

This election was different. The two Parties provided clearly different choices but were alike in one respect. They both selected polarizing, un-liked and unlikable candidates. The vast majority of American’s didn’t want either candidate. But, a lot of American’s wanted to move in a different direction and the Democrats didn’t persuade them that they had the answers to their concerns. And I know that Clinton won the popular vote. However, I think many of the folks who voted for her were holding their nose in the same way that many Trump voters did.

Whether or not you like the Electoral College, it has been a feature of our system since the beginning. The system was not rigged (as asserted by our President elect), it operated as designed. Both Parties knew what was required to win the election. Whether the Electoral College system is the best we can do is a question for another day. The point is, every vote was counted in accordance with the rules, Democrats just failed to mobilize the votes where they needed them the most. Senator Elizabeth Warren said “There are many millions of people who did not vote for Donald Trump because of the bigotry and hate that fueled his campaign rallies, they voted for him despite the hate. They voted for him out of frustration and anger and also out of hope that he would bring change.”

Our system still works, but the Democratic Party is out of touch and we must address the overall lack of voter participation. We need to engage in dialog (which means both listening and talking) and we need to do a better job of persuasion. We still have free speech, a free press and the right to assembly. Our system of checks and balances still exits.  Our representatives still respond to popular pressure, especially if they think you are motivated to vote.  The key is organizing and persuading others to join with you. That is seldom possible when you start by name calling and not truly hearing what others are saying. Free speech isn’t pretty and people have some pretty terrible notions (including me I suppose). However, the point of free speech is that it allows differing voices to be heard. Sometimes what you hear will be appalling and you will be shocked and dismayed. Sometimes you might learn something that matters. Sometimes you might even be persuaded to change your mind.

The point is, according to the exit polls, many people who voted for Trump didn’t agree with much of what he was saying and didn’t care that he didn’t have concrete plans. They felt that he heard their frustration and was more likely to do something “different” than the status quo. Now to me, that is a scary thought, and I voted accordingly. However, I wonder how many Trump supporters could have been peeled off if any attempt was made to listen to them? What would have happened if the Democrats had ran a candidate that droves hadn’t despised for decades? Was the hatred of Hillary Clinton rationale? Perhaps not, but it was real, and it got in the way of persuading the non-ideologically fixed voters (you know, the undecided) from considering the Democratic platform.

Remember, there was very little substance in Trumps agenda and he has a history of wildly changing his views on both sides of every issue. The real substance is in Paul Ryan’s plans. And, like it or not, the Speaker’s platform is widely popular with the majority of Americans who turned out to vote. In this election, more votes were cast for Republican Congressman than for Democratic congressmen, and that has been true since 2010.  I think that is root of the frustration that brought Trump into office.

For the past six years, the majority of American’s felt like they weren’t being heard. The Democrats didn’t organize and perused those voters that they had an alternative that addressed their concerns. I think much of Ryan’s plan will be terrible for our country, and many of the Republican supporters will soon have buyer’s remorse with both their choice for President and Congress. But that buyer’s remorse will not matter in next Congressional races or in the next Presidential contest if the “loyal opposition” doesn’t listen, learn, organize and persuade.

Mr. Trump said many things during the campaign that concern me, but I believe a lot of that was ill considered ephemeral thoughts that will fall away in the face of the practical obstacles of governing. His authoritarian leanings scare me, but I have faith that our institutions will not bend and break under such pressures. The government is complex and the real challenges our country faces cannot be solved with posturing, gesturing, and braggadocio. I did not vote for Donald Trump, but I am an American, and he is going to be the American President.  It was wrong when Republican’s tried to invalidate President Obama’s legitimacy, and it is wrong now. But, every action has a reaction, and radical Republican policies will quickly erode any support the President and the Republicans have due to the very consequences those programs will beget.  I hope and trust in the little ‘c’ conservatism of our county. Radical change is hard, the minority has a role in the process of government, and there certainly isn’t a consensus for much on the right. Change will need to make it through those wickets.

Now I truly hope the Mr. Trump and the Republican Congress succeed in Making America Great. I personally thought it was great already, but more greatness can’t be bad. I am a patriot and I believe in the American system and the promise of the American Dream. I will give this new administration a chance to win me over. I will evaluate each policy on its merit and will support those that make sense and I will oppose every action that strikes me as wrong. I plan on staying engaged and energized.

The Democrats have 24 months to find candidates who can resonate with the people to unseat the Republicans in Congress. They have 4 years to get their stuff together to take back the White House.  We must band together to chart a more compelling alternative vision.

I believe in a Progressive vision for America. I believe all Americans should be treated equally before law and in all public endeavors no matter their race, ethical origin, sexual orientation, religion or creed. I believe in an America that has freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I believe the Second Amendment provides for the right to bear arms but I also believe it also provides room for sensible gun regulations. I believe in an America that is strong enough to maintain stability in the world but that does not commit our Armed Forces to unending, ill-defined conflicts. I believe that all Americans should be able to work and feel they are progressing to a better future. I believe we must encourage entrepreneurship, encourage small businesses and capital investment. I believe in 
capitalism and market driven resource allocation that is constrained by sensible regulation that dampens capitalism excesses. I believe in taxes because we must collectively pay for the common defense and to advance the common good. However, I believe the government must spend our tax dollars wisely. Every program and every department must be under pressure to perform and deliver in the most efficient means possible. And some governmental roles cannot be outsourced. I believe that the profit motive has no place in our criminal justice system. I believe we can do more to make our Justice system fair for all, and I believe we can be more sensible in the application of criminal punishment. I believe in universal access to healthcare whose delivery and availability isn’t governed by a profit motivated health insurance industry. However, I also I believe that, with the exception of the defense of personal rights, incremental progress is better than radical change and that all change must be tempered by the consideration of, and compromise with those with whom we disagree.

Moreover, I believe most Americans share some of my vision, and I believe we can engage in a dialog to bridge the gap where we differ. I believe the Democratic Party, as the Progressive movement standard bearer, can build a movement that manifests this vision and that takes back the levers of power if all like-minded individuals stay engaged and focused on that end.