Don't let the GOP cloud reality: Democrats are the ones with the winning ideas & values.
The GOP propaganda machine has created a thick fog of lies and disinformation. We all need to to look past it to find the truth.
Even when the map is clear and the direction certain, travelers can make terrible mistakes in the fog. It might be hard to see the turn off on the road, or the channel marker that indicates the way to the harbor. Disasters happen in thick fog.
Navigating a democracy is no different. Elections the times we decide what direction to go. We look at the policy choices on offer and we examine the values the candidates embody like a driver looks at a map, and then we choose our path forward. For most of our history we have fared well. But this year the fog is thick, and it is hard to see.
Democrats and Republicans differ on policies and values, and with a little help from fog penetrating radar we can see these differences clearly:
On abortion, Democrats will leave decisions to women and their doctors. Republicans will use the power of government to outlaw the practice.
On business, Republicans believe tax cuts to the wealthiest along with deregulation of industry will bring prosperity to all. Democrats say the wealthiest should pay their fair share and believe businesses should operate in a regulatory environment that promotes competition and to protect consumers and the environment.
On inflation, Democrats want to ease supply chain bottlenecks, reduce domestic demand, and protect ordinary citizens from corporate price gouging. Republicans want to make permanent previous temporary corporate tax cuts and put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block.
On crime, Republicans say they are pro-police and pro-gun. Democrats are expanding funding for police departments, adding training to improve policing, and fighting for gun safety laws.
On climate change, Democrats are for a transition to clean fuels and have already passed landmark legislation to get us there. Republicans want to continue to subsidize fossil fuel companies.
On Democracy, in a break with our history, Republicans are actively campaigning to reduce voting rights, to allow elections to be overturned by state legislatures, and spreading lies aimed at undermining confidence in our democracy. Democrats are firmly in the mainstream here, trying to protect the integrity of elections and fighting the dangerous lie that elections do not work. Further, Republicans support the use of unlimited dark money in politics. Democrats support campaign finance and disclosure laws.
On immigration, both parties were near to a deal before the dark money started to flow. Democrats still support that deal, which will strengthen border security while providing a citizenship path for immigrants who have long resided in the US.
On foreign policy, there is more unity between the parties, though Democrats take a stronger stand against global authoritarian rule and for organizations like NATO.
It turns out that large majorities of Americans support the Democratic positions on each of these issues. And that explains why the Republican positions are such thin gruel. They have done as much as they possibly can to avoid telling Americans what they will do, opting instead for culture wars and policy retreads.
In terms of values, there are many decent candidates in both parties. But this cycle the GOP has fielded a handful whose values are not widely shared. These are the election deniers, the conspiracy theorists, the ones who normalize political violence. I will not further name them.
Besides policy choices and values, one other thing matters, though voters seldom notice. That is competence to govern. Democrats get things done. Just consider infrastructure. The GOP likes the idea but could not pass a bill even with majorities far larger than the one Democrats had when they did pass an infrastructure bill.
What is the GOP to do when policy choices and the values we expect our leaders to demonstrate all favor Democrats this cycle? How can they stop us from seeing the choice for what it is?
Fog. The great FOX fog machine is working overtime in concert with the GOP and all manner of social media actors to make it harder to see the road signs and the harbor lights.
In this last week of campaigning, let’s all do what we can to remind everyone what’s beneath all that fog, and vote.