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Democrats shouldn’t try to find ‘common ground’ with Trump

cigaretteman

HB King
May 29, 2001
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A depressingly high number of elected Democrats are declaring their intent to find “common ground” with President-elect Donald Trump and his crackpot Cabinet picks. Their naive, tone-deaf declarations epitomize an infatuation with bipartisanship for bipartisanship’s sake. Sometimes, it’s better not to bend the knee before the bidding even gets underway.


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Democrats strain credulity if they imagine they can find common ground with someone who vows, among other mind-boggling schemes, to imprison opponents, deploy the military against immigrants, snatch the power of the purse from Congress and pay for tax cuts for billionaires with cuts to entitlements and other programs that serve ordinary Americans. (What would common ground even look like? Deport just 5.5 million people, not 11 million? Cut Social Security only a little bit?)
The fruitless search for nonexistent common ground instantaneously normalizes Trump. Democrats should not propound the dubious assertion that Trump can operate rationally and in good faith. Mouthing this platitude makes Democrats look weak, foolish and unprepared to stand up to an authoritarian agenda.


Moreover, what is the point of declaring their “common ground” aspirations now? Similar aspirational statements were made before MAGA Republicans reneged on the budget deal (later giving up the effort to suspend the debt ceiling when Democrats stood their ground). That should be a wake-up call: There is no bargaining with people who break deals. Democrats must not be in the position of chasing after Republicans. They will find themselves negotiating against themselves to reach the mythical “common ground.”
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Moreover, why is isn’t the onus on Trump — as it consistently was on President Joe Biden — to “unify” the country? Trump has shown no inclination to moderate. (Certainly not by choosing Kash Patel for the FBI or Putin mouthpiece Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.)

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...d=mc_magnet-optrumpadmin_inline_collection_18

There might be times when Trump accidentally stumbles into positions Democrats previously held. After all, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And when Trump by happenstance betrays his base or reverses a ridiculous position, Democrats should know when to say yes. (Consider the times Biden ate then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s lunch in negotiations.) But looking for common ground assumes Trump has an end goal that falls within the realm of normal, acceptable democratic policies. Let him prove his bona fides first.

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And there will be times, as I’ve described, when Democrats are forced to swallow a legislative poison pill: voting to pass a vital bill even if Republicans slip cruel and unacceptable measures into it. Making practical, hard concessions to preserve long-term political viability is not finding common ground. To the contrary, it’s an opportunity to point out how Republicans resort to legislative blackmail to enact unpopular policies.
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times recently admonished Democrats to be not simply the minority party but the opposition party:
An opposition would use every opportunity it had to demonstrate its resolute stance against the incoming administration. It would do everything in its power to try to seize the public’s attention and make hay of the president-elect’s efforts to put lawlessness at the center of American government. An opposition would highlight the extent to which Donald Trump has no intention of fulfilling his pledge of lower prices and greater economic prosperity for ordinary people and is openly scheming with the billionaire oligarchs who paid for and ran his campaign to gut the social safety net and bring something like Hooverism back from the ash heap of history.
And frankly, if Democrats think democracy is in peril, their leaders should act like it. (“Either democracy was on the ballot in November or it wasn’t,” wrote Bouie. “And if it was, it makes no political, ethical or strategic sense to act as if we live in normal times.”)


Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) understood the role of an opposition party when he vowed to make Barack Obama a one-term president. (McConnell managed to pick up six Senate seats in 2010, as well as a net six governorships and 63 House seats to win back the majority.)
What do I expect Democrats to say? How about this: The nominees and proposals advanced by the president-elect should frighten every American. They will hurt ordinary, hard-working Americans. It’s our job to protect the rights and interests of our constituents. I will do whatever I can to block crackpot nominees and schemes. (If they cannot manage to say something along those lines, then better to say nothing. Democrats should learn when silence is preferable to prostrating themselves before Trump.)
If Democrats eschew “common ground” gibberish, they might get credit when they manage to quash Trump’s nuttiest initiatives. There’s no point in setting up Trump to refashion humiliating defeats as magnanimous acts of compromise when he cannot get his way. Forcing Trump to back down, rather than striving for some mythical middle, would be a good way to rally the party for 2026.


Trump falsely claims he has some overwhelming mandate to accomplish a host of rash, antidemocratic moves. As I (along with many others) have written, he does not. He barely won, in part because many of his voters thought he would not do the radical things he promised. But Democrats do have a mandate: to stop him when they can. Instead of “find common ground,” maybe they should strive to “give no quarter.”
 
A depressingly high number of elected Democrats are declaring their intent to find “common ground” with President-elect Donald Trump and his crackpot Cabinet picks. Their naive, tone-deaf declarations epitomize an infatuation with bipartisanship for bipartisanship’s sake. Sometimes, it’s better not to bend the knee before the bidding even gets underway.


Make sense of the latest news and debates with our daily newsletter

Democrats strain credulity if they imagine they can find common ground with someone who vows, among other mind-boggling schemes, to imprison opponents, deploy the military against immigrants, snatch the power of the purse from Congress and pay for tax cuts for billionaires with cuts to entitlements and other programs that serve ordinary Americans. (What would common ground even look like? Deport just 5.5 million people, not 11 million? Cut Social Security only a little bit?)
The fruitless search for nonexistent common ground instantaneously normalizes Trump. Democrats should not propound the dubious assertion that Trump can operate rationally and in good faith. Mouthing this platitude makes Democrats look weak, foolish and unprepared to stand up to an authoritarian agenda.


Moreover, what is the point of declaring their “common ground” aspirations now? Similar aspirational statements were made before MAGA Republicans reneged on the budget deal (later giving up the effort to suspend the debt ceiling when Democrats stood their ground). That should be a wake-up call: There is no bargaining with people who break deals. Democrats must not be in the position of chasing after Republicans. They will find themselves negotiating against themselves to reach the mythical “common ground.”
Follow Jennifer Rubin
Moreover, why is isn’t the onus on Trump — as it consistently was on President Joe Biden — to “unify” the country? Trump has shown no inclination to moderate. (Certainly not by choosing Kash Patel for the FBI or Putin mouthpiece Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.)

O
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...d=mc_magnet-optrumpadmin_inline_collection_18

There might be times when Trump accidentally stumbles into positions Democrats previously held. After all, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And when Trump by happenstance betrays his base or reverses a ridiculous position, Democrats should know when to say yes. (Consider the times Biden ate then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s lunch in negotiations.) But looking for common ground assumes Trump has an end goal that falls within the realm of normal, acceptable democratic policies. Let him prove his bona fides first.

ADVERTISING


And there will be times, as I’ve described, when Democrats are forced to swallow a legislative poison pill: voting to pass a vital bill even if Republicans slip cruel and unacceptable measures into it. Making practical, hard concessions to preserve long-term political viability is not finding common ground. To the contrary, it’s an opportunity to point out how Republicans resort to legislative blackmail to enact unpopular policies.
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times recently admonished Democrats to be not simply the minority party but the opposition party:

And frankly, if Democrats think democracy is in peril, their leaders should act like it. (“Either democracy was on the ballot in November or it wasn’t,” wrote Bouie. “And if it was, it makes no political, ethical or strategic sense to act as if we live in normal times.”)


Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) understood the role of an opposition party when he vowed to make Barack Obama a one-term president. (McConnell managed to pick up six Senate seats in 2010, as well as a net six governorships and 63 House seats to win back the majority.)
What do I expect Democrats to say? How about this: The nominees and proposals advanced by the president-elect should frighten every American. They will hurt ordinary, hard-working Americans. It’s our job to protect the rights and interests of our constituents. I will do whatever I can to block crackpot nominees and schemes. (If they cannot manage to say something along those lines, then better to say nothing. Democrats should learn when silence is preferable to prostrating themselves before Trump.)
If Democrats eschew “common ground” gibberish, they might get credit when they manage to quash Trump’s nuttiest initiatives. There’s no point in setting up Trump to refashion humiliating defeats as magnanimous acts of compromise when he cannot get his way. Forcing Trump to back down, rather than striving for some mythical middle, would be a good way to rally the party for 2026.


Trump falsely claims he has some overwhelming mandate to accomplish a host of rash, antidemocratic moves. As I (along with many others) have written, he does not. He barely won, in part because many of his voters thought he would not do the radical things he promised. But Democrats do have a mandate: to stop him when they can. Instead of “find common ground,” maybe they should strive to “give no quarter.”
Bump
 
Same old same old.

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Someone share this with Fetterman.
Fetterman's being an idiot and fighting the last war. With Harris and Bob Casey losing in Pennsylvania you have to figure he thinks based on 24 that if he sucks up at least a little bit to MAGA nation that it will grease things for him when he runs in 28.

But Trump's gonna be completely radioactive by 28. Dumb strategy.
 
Imagine your 13 year old daughter getting trafficked and forced into sex with a 60 year old man. Now imagine trying to find common ground with the 60 year old man who just raped your daughter.
That happened to nearly a half million migrants kids under biden Harris who are still missing/sold into the sex trade. Look in the mirror.

Didn't sleepy just pardon a guy who had 47,000 child porn images btw? Dems really do love predators.

This next 4 years is going to be so much fun 😂
 
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I don’t mind them finding common ground. At all. If democrats and republicans agree on a bill pass that dang thing.


But Democrats should not compromise. At all. On any single thing. If they think a program should last a year and a day a Republicans think a year, they shouldn’t support it. There should be absolutely no compromise.

Republicans set that tone. Follow their vibe.
 
Fetterman's being an idiot and fighting the last war. With Harris and Bob Casey losing in Pennsylvania you have to figure he thinks based on 24 that if he sucks up at least a little bit to MAGA nation that it will grease things for him when he runs in 28.

But Trump's gonna be completely radioactive by 28. Dumb strategy.

I think they have to pick their battles. Some nominees are fine, even if you disagree with their politics.

Many are just completely out there and deserve steadfast opposition.

I don’t mind them finding common ground. At all. If democrats and republicans agree on a bill pass that dang thing.


But Democrats should not compromise. At all. On any single thing. If they think a program should last a year and a day a Republicans think a year, they shouldn’t support it. There should be absolutely no compromise.

Republicans set that tone. Follow their vibe.
Here’s the thing - say the right things now, and keep the receipts every time Trump shoots them down and other republicans just back him all the way.

Voters have consistently shown they like the bipartisan rhetoric, even if actions don’t always reflect reality.

In the long run this helps their chances to retake the House in ‘26, and better the odds they might have to win the senate as well.
 
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Here’s the thing - say the right things now, and keep the receipts every time Trump shoots them down and other republicans just back him all the way.

Voters have consistently shown they like the bipartisan rhetoric, even if actions don’t always reflect reality.

In the long run this helps their chances to retake the House in ‘26, and better the odds they might have to win the senate as well.
They've been doing this for 16 years. It just doesn't matter.
 
Some Cabinet nominations by Trump are really bad choices.
They should be rejected by both Republican & Democrat
Senators. Trump is too toxic to demand absolute obedience
of the GOP.
 
Here’s the thing - say the right things now, and keep the receipts every time Trump shoots them down and other republicans just back him all the way.

Voters have consistently shown they like the bipartisan rhetoric, even if actions don’t always reflect reality.

In the long run this helps their chances to retake the House in ‘26, and better the odds they might have to win the senate as well.
This has been shown to be incorrect. Voters have consistently shown they desire an unrealistic partisan stance. A stance of non compromise. Of flame throwing rhetoric. That’s how Republicans won in November. Democrats need to adopt this. Absolutely no compromise. If there’s a single thing in a bill that doesn’t meet the ideals of the left, it’s a straight line no vote.
 
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Some Cabinet nominations by Trump are really bad choices.
They should be rejected by both Republican & Democrat
Senators. Trump is too toxic to demand absolute obedience
of the GOP.
He’s been too toxic for 8 years, but he still gets that absolute obedience.

Seems incredible that it’s a viable longterm strategy but here we are.
 
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This has been shown to be incorrect. Voters have consistently shown they desire an unrealistic partisan stance. A stance of non compromise. Of flame throwing rhetoric. That’s how Republicans won in November. Democrats need to adopt this. Absolutely no compromise. If there’s a single thing in a bill that doesn’t meet the ideals of the left, it’s a straight line no vote.
And then after two years voters revert and vote for the opposition in midterms.
 
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To voters it does. Polling consistently shows this.
Voters may say that, but they don’t vote that way. Democrats have been bailing out Republicans on the budget and spending rules whenever the right is in the majority. They just get punished for it. They need to punish Republicans for not being able to govern.
 
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To voters it does. Polling consistently shows this.
It doesn't matter what Republicans do, people still vote for them. If Matt Gaetz were allowed to run in the next election he would win again. Republicans always get away with being belligerent. See MTG. Democrats always get roasted for acting the same way.
 
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It doesn't matter what Republicans do, people still vote for them. If Matt Gaetz were allowed to run in the next election he would win again. Republicans always get away with being belligerent. See MTG. Democrats always get roasted for acting the same way.
To some extent that goes both ways. Let’s not pretend there are districts out there that are voting Dem every time barring major political sea changes either.

In those battleground districts, people like to hear about silly things like bipartisanship, and compromise. Senators like Fetterman also have to play it carefully and say the right things as well, he’s still got 4 years to go but he’ll have a tough reelection battle all the same.
 
History says otherwise. Trump would have never had a political career but for republicvnts constantly caving in to the democrats. It’s where the whole “uniparty” and “both sides suck” concepts originated.
They're supposed to cave. Both sides are supposed to cave. That's the problem, when they don't. That's what the public hates.
 
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