As the mainstream media all but declares the 2020 election for Joe Biden, Democrats are making mistakes. They’re saying and doing things that could cause problems — if Republicans step up their game.
Consider the congressional logjam over police reform. After George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, the nation was angry and aghast. Then Rayshard Brooks was killed in Atlanta, and the demand for change grew even stronger.
Yet when the Senate moved to take up the comprehensive police reform bill introduced by Republican Tim Scott, Democrats blocked its consideration, despite the bill’s many similarities with the Democrat House of Representatives measure. Scott guaranteed votes on any amendments Democrats wanted, but no matter.
This intransigence is an opportunity to argue Senate Democrats are more interested in election talking points than giving meaning to the deaths of Floyd and Brooks by passing legislation that reforms policing.
Republicans can broaden the issue by pointing out that while a new law can solve certain pressing problems, the criminal justice system needs a systematic review. A bill by senators John Cornyn (Republican) and Gary Peters (Democrat) creating a National Criminal Justice Commission would do that, reporting to the next congress on additional reform measures. This passed the Senate by unanimous consent in 2018 but died in the House.
By pressing for the Scott bill now and the Cornyn-Peters commission to follow, Republicans can show they’re determined to turn America’s pain into something good. If everybody mobilises, the GOP can regain the offensive.
Another opening for Republicans came on Sunday (Monday AEST), when CNN’s Dana Bash asked senator Tammy Duckworth — who’s being vetted as a possible running mate for Biden — if statues of George Washington should be taken down. For 141 tortured words, Duckworth ducked the question before claiming Donald Trump “spent all his time talking about dead traitors” in his July 3 speech at Mount Rushmore. Actually, the President didn’t mention a single Confederate, but the Democrat may have hoped an incendiary attack would distract Bash.
The interviewer pressed again, saying: “But George Washington — I don’t think anybody would call him a traitor. And there are moves by some to remove statues of him. Is that a good idea?”
Duckworth responded blandly: “I think we should listen to everybody. I think we should listen to the argument there.”
When a prospective Democrat running mate says Americans should consider removing statues of the man who made the US possible, the party is surrendering to its lunatic fringe. The Trump campaign put out a statement on Tuesday, but the moment was worthy of an immediate presidential statement and sustained criticism. It would have been a better way to start the week than attacking Nascar driver Bubba Wallace and defending the Confederate flag.
There was also Biden’s Sunday tweet: “We won’t just rebuild this nation — we’ll transform it.” The former vice-president won his party’s nomination because he seemed to be a mainstream Democrat. He draws support from independents and some conservatives for the same reason. He won’t keep it if he pushes “transformation,” the pet phrase of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
One tweet does not a meltdown make, but it could foreshadow trouble. On Wednesday Biden’s six “unity task forces” released recommendations that will shape his platform. Though Sanders had a seat at the table, he didn’t get his way on several issues, including Medicare for All. He and other leading progressives won’t stop pressing socialist nostrums simply because they’ve been promised good inaugural tickets. It may take further policy concessions for Sanders and his allies to offer unity. This could be another opening for the GOP, but it must seize it effectively.
Then there’s Biden’s response to “America First”. He says that “when America is first, it’s America alone”. This isn’t surprising from someone whose administration practised “leading from behind” and undertook an international apology tour. Republicans can counter that America First means putting workers, families and communities first. Besides, the world depends on America leading the way. The GOP can point to Trump’s successes on trade, getting allies to step up on military spending, and US toughness in dealing with Iran and China, contrasting these with Obama-Biden failures.
So much of this campaign has been non-traditional. America’s attention has been riveted on the pandemic, economic fallout and racial tensions. That has benefited Biden, as the polls attest. But the 77-year-old isn’t an imposing political talent — this will become clearer as the campaign unfolds — and he and his compatriots regularly provide ammunition for Republican attacks. If the GOP wants victory this November, it had better figure out how to exploit this. Time’s a-wasting.
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