Victory speeches from winning candidates usually follow a similar script: Thank the family, staff and volunteers; riff on how inspiring the campaign was; remind people of the hard work ahead; and extend good wishes to the defeated rival, in the spirit of generosity.
But not all Democratic winners did that on Tuesday night. In Michigan, Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed was not going to let bygones be bygones. Addressing his opponent, Mike Rogers, he said, “So, Mike, enjoy your retirement. I know you got a house in Florida and two yachts. See, you chose hate, and Michigan chose hope. May we never have to see the likes of you in this state again.”
El-Sayed wasn’t done. He moved on to Vice President JD Vance, who had described the Democrat as a “psychopath” and “very, very evil.”
“Habibi,” El-Sayed said with a smile, using an Arabic term of endearment. “There is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January.”
One of the clear messages of this election and the Democrats’ margin is that the voters do indeed view Trump and his party with contempt.
Down in Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff didn’t even bother mentioning his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins — though he did say that “the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the failed lame-duck president, Donald J. Trump.”
Throughout their race, though, Ossoff pummeled Collins mercilessly. In just one debate, for instance, he told Collins “you’ve hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office,” and said, “If John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery, Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club.”
Ungracious? Perhaps. But not only do Republicans amply deserve the opprobrium, it reflects precisely the kind of aggressive spirit Democrats need to adopt in the new Congress.
Not since the post-Watergate midterm of 1974 has the country delivered so emphatic a midterm rejection of the ruling party. One of the clear messages of this election and the Democrats’ margin is that the voters do indeed view Trump and his party with contempt. Democrats should keep that in mind when they talk, when they act and when they fight.
The party will have many decisions to make over the next two years — what legislation to force Trump to veto, which appointments to stop, whether to impeach members of the Cabinet or even Trump himself. Democrats will be far more successful if they approach every day knowing that part of their job is to convince voters that the hate merchants and Trump lackeys that make up today’s GOP must be viewed with contempt.
There’s a difference between promoting hatred in the way Republicans did this year (and have done before) and speaking honestly when your opponents do or say vile things.
It would be a better world if voters were purely rational, just examining the parties’ platforms and deciding which was more sensible and wise. In that world, we wouldn’t even need campaigns, let alone billions of dollars spent on advertising. But as Republicans have long known, that is not the world we live in. Too many campaigns have pitted a qualified but uncharismatic Democrat who prefers 10-point plans to sharp attacks, facing a Republican who points at their opponent and says “this person hates you and everything you stand for.” It’s one of the reasons voters are more likely to see Republicans as strong and Democrats as weak.
Hopefully, that perception is changing. One might argue that the kind of blunt rhetoric some Democrats have used lately is a product of the way Trump has coarsened political discourse; in other words, they have sunk to his level. But there’s a difference between promoting hatred in the way Republicans did this year (and have done before) and speaking honestly when your opponents do or say vile things.
We should want Ossoff to state plainly whom his opponent has hired for his staff. We should want El-Sayed to call out Rogers, Trump and Vance for the bigotry they aimed his way. If they’re looking for civility, they can try to cultivate some of it themselves.
Not every Democrat has to be as pugnacious as El-Sayed or as punchy as Ossoff. While Sen.-elect James Talarico wasn’t shy about calling Ken Paxton “the most corrupt politician in America,” trading insults with the vice president doesn’t seem as natural a fit for the Texan. Some politicians are brawlers and some practice jujitsu. But every Democrat can start from a place of confidence.
The next two years will be a rolling series of conflicts in a divided Washington, and being aggressive and forthright about the GOP’s shortcomings is an important way of establishing the context for the battles to come. It’s no wonder the GOP is already warning Democrats not to engage in unseemly “retribution” against Trump and his administration. Republicans would be much happier if Democrats treated them with respect they haven’t earned.
Holding Republicans accountable for both their boundless corruption and their policy failures isn’t petty revenge, it’s a way to achieve justice and curb future abuses. If the names of the Republicans who made this era in our politics so damaging to both our future and our national spirit are spoken forever with disgust, we will be much better off.
The post Jon Ossoff’s merciless strategy paid off. Other Democrats should take notes. appeared first on MS NOW.
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