Posted: Jun 23, 2017 4:50 pm
National Democrats did not lose the four special elections for House seats since President Trump was elected. They surrendered three without a fight in Montana, South Carolina and Kansas and ran a campaign in Georgia that was shallow, risk averse and content free.
The biggest single problem for Democrats, and what enrages so many Democrats outside Washington about Democrats inside Washington, is that Republicans play politics like war while Democrats play politics like badminton. Doing little to help the Democratic candidate in Montana, and doing nothing to help the Democratic candidate in South Carolina, was a stunning example of political malpractice.
Had Jon Ossoff won in Georgia, national Democrats would have been trumpeting the victory as the beginning of the end for the Trump presidency. But Ossoff, in another astonishing example of political malpractice, said the election was not about Trump but was about “local issues.” While the Trump forces worked to drive their turnout higher and a right wing PAC suggested Ossoff and liberals favor the shooting of congressmen, Ossoff campaigned like the nowhere man with a campaign that lacked toughness, theme or the fierce urgency of fighting for a great cause.
Instead of worrying about offending sensitive Republicans, Ossoff should have quoted prominent Republicans who warn against the grave dangers, extreme actions and banana republic tactics of the Trump presidency.
Instead of treating Trump as though he barely exists and running a campaign on “local issues,” Ossoff should have openly asked voters to create a check and balance against Trump’s crude politics of crony capitalism, conflicts of interest, national division and isolation from America’s democratic allies around the world.
Democrats outside Washington are madder then hell. Democrats inside Washington need a war plan to turn public outrage into the great cause of restoring democracy and winning back control of Congress.
http://thehill.com/opinion/brent-budows ... -than-hell