Demonize Them!
On Friday, a loyal reader (thanks JD) sent me a text commenting on President Trump’s tenacity in the current governmental stalemate, and I would agree, certainly, that Mr. Trump is one “tough hombre”. Unfortunately, however, I don’t think, at least up until this weekend, that he’s managed the P/R on the shutdown well.
Now, I think it’s fair to assume that neither hard core Democrats, nor hard core Republicans, for that matter, will be swayed to change their positions on the border wall by the exigencies of the government shut down. Independents (the largest voting block right now in America), however, might be. Accordingly, the posturing by both sides is designed solely to win their “hearts and minds”. The closure strategy can work only by turning public opinion against the “bad guys”, so, for it to work for Trump, the Democrats have to be clearly identified, at least in the minds of independents, as the VILLAINS in this showdown. It has to be clear that every “heart wrenching” shut down related hardship that the media uncovers (workers without pay, children without school lunches, etc., etc., etc.) is to be blamed on THEM. In short, to win on this, Mr. Trump, you must demonize the Democrats.
With this exigency in mind, I’m afraid that Mr. Trump started out very badly. Incredulously, early in the process, he announced that he would be “proud” to shut down the government, and that he would take “full responsibility” for it. I’m sure that what Mr. Trump MEANT this verbiage to imply, was that he would be very tenacious about funding the wall, and that Democrats should not underestimate his resolve. Instead, what his ill chosen words DID do, was establish HIM, by his own admission, as the culprit. What he SHOULD have said is how RELUCTANT he was to shut down the government, and what a “tragedy it would be for America”, etc., etc., etc., but that security and humanitarian concerns, together with the DEMOCRAT’S REFUSAL to negotiate in good faith, have FORCED him to do so. He should then say, at EVERY opportunity, how the Democrats could end all the suffering in 15 minutes by agreeing to the border wall that our nation needs and that he was elected to build. And, because the American populace can sometimes be a bit slow on the uptake, he needs to continue casting blame on the Democrats at every opportunity EVERY SINGLE DAY.
They won’t give in easily. And although reopening the government would make the Democrats very happy, it will certainly NOT motivate them to negotiate. In my opinion, they will NEVER negotiate in good faith on this issue, unless forced, because they see naturalized aliens as the key to their party’s long term survival. They’ve watched significant numbers of their “core constituency” (blacks, Hispanics and blue collar workers) defect to Trump, and they are very concerned that the improving economy will encourage more constituents to do the same. It would appear that the Democrats see runaway immigration as the key to their very survival. So, given this state of affairs, I don’t think that “playing nice” is going to work. He’s got to demonize them.
Now, in addition to the petty tit-for-tat that’s been going on between the President and the Speaker of the House, there’s even some speculation that Democrats might boycott the upcoming State of the Union Address. If they actually do so, it would be a perfect opportunity for the type of demonization I’m talking about. He can point to their intransigence, their lack of bipartisanship, their lack of respect for governmental tradition, and their lack, even, of simple decorum. He should, for example, ask loudly: “What in the world was Speaker Pelosi DOING by attempting to leave Washington at this critical juncture and going on a junket to Afghanistan when vulnerable Americans are suffering so much hardship? How could she be so cavalier about the well being of OUR citizens? Is she more concerned about the welfare of FOREIGNERS, rather than that of our own citizens? Etc, etc., etc.
With all this in mind, I think Mr. Trump’s televised naturalization ceremony and subsequent address from the Oval Office on Saturday are steps in the right direction. The naturalization ceremony nicely hammered home the point that neither he nor the Republicans are against immigration; it is only illegal immigration that they abjure. The subsequent address from the Oval Office nicely hammered home the fact that both he and the Republicans are VERY willing to negotiate a solution to end the shut down and, to that end, have made a series of very reasonable concessions. Since the Democrats are not responding in good faith (Pelosi called Mr. Trump’s proposals “non starters”!), it should become crystal clear that THEY are the intransigents, that THEY are the obstructionists, and that THEY are the uncaring bureaucrats. If the ire of the independents gets focused on the Democrats, as it should be, they will, feet to the fire, begin to negotiate. Demonize them Mr. Trump. DEMONIZE them!