Democrats Could Build a Message Around Competence if We Didn’t Have DEI Stink on Us
We blew it, part 4,906
Much of the conversation on the left has already become: “Yep, orange man bad — so, how do we beat him?” This makes sense because, first: Orange man very bad. He’s bad enough that “orange man bad” takes are boring — they’re similar to “Earth very round” takes or “salt somewhat salty”. Chronicling Trump’s misdeeds is like tracking the precise movements of an entire colony of bees, it’s a project for the obsessive and insane, so I’d rather take “it’s bad to have a borderline-retarded person running the country” as a given and focus on solutions.
(And if you disagree with my characterization of Trump as “borderline-retarded”, read this article about Trump’s self-produced Gaza plan and see if you disagree with any word in that characterization other than “borderline”.)
A lot will happen before we go to the polls two years from now. But if you asked me today for the best message to counter Trump, I think the answer is obvious: It should be about competence. Trump’s circus won’t improve anyone’s lives — he’s a narcissist focused on the cable news cycle, not a public servant who can deliver results. He can ignite self-harming trade wars and fantasize about invading Greenland, but he can’t improve health care, make housing more affordable, or position America to lead in the 21st century. We’ve hired a plumber who ignored our leaky sink, made a bunch of changes nobody asked for, and came up with an insane plan for our house’s plumbing that looks like something a child would draw. It’s time to hire a competent plumber who can fix the fucking sink.
I think that message could work. But I also think a lot of people will hear that message and say “Sure…but didn’t you spend a decade telling us that hiring the best person for the job is racist?”