Good Advice for Centrist Democrats
Jonathan Bernstein has some wisdom and sound advice to share with centrist Democrats in Congress. He says it’s a “serious political error” to think “that Democrats can avoid attacks from Republicans by being careful about their actions.”
Democrats can be assured that Republicans will attack them, regardless of what they do. Democrats could eliminate the estate tax permanently, slash the capital gains tax, repeal the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, invade Iran, and pass a Constitutional Amendment outlawing abortion, and Republicans would still attack them — with exactly the same vehemence and vigor that Republicans have now. That’s politics.
[...]
My advice to Democrats unsure about what to do is this: think about the actual bill, and what its effects would be if it became law. If in your judgment those effects would be bad for your constituents, then odds are they will dislike it, blame you for it, and you’ll be in trouble. If those effects would be good for your constituents, then vote for it. Then figure out how you’re going to sell the thing and yourself, based on that vote. But don’t back off of it because you think it will open you up to attacks; you’re wide open right now, and you’ll remain wide open regardless of what you do.
Comments
Leave a Reply
About Me
- I write this blog.
-
My twitter feed:
