Members-Only Article
In bleak times amid onslaughts from the right there’s a tendency for many Americans on the liberal or leftward side of the political spectrum to attack the Democratic Party. Certainly the Democratic Party merits lots of criticism. But we should be clear on the particular roots of this reflex. When you feel angry and outraged you want to attack someone. The right doesn’t care about your attacks or your rage or your fears. Indeed, in our trolling era they relish them, laugh at the them, taunt you with them. The party that at least broadly lines up with your views, on the other hand, cares a lot. So it’s a much more appealing target.
I say this because it is a toxic tendency that we are all vulnerable to but should try to overcome. And I raise it here as preface to what I hope will be viewed as constructive criticism. Hopefully it is constructive because time is of the essence.
Over the last couple days I’ve gotten numerous fundraising emails from Democrats pressing for donations over the Dobbs decision. Money is what you need to run campaigns. So that’s all to the good. But I wanted to note the pitches. They come with a mix of griping personal stories, attacks on their opponents, pledges of commitment to abortion rights. But they almost all come down to the same vague and open ended statement. They will “keep fighting.”
An email from Sen. Gary Peters ends with “With our fundamental rights on the ballot this November, it’s imperative that we elect Democrats up and down the ballot who will fight for those freedoms. So that’s why I’m asking you.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock, after noting that he and his opponent Herschel Walker are on the opposite sides of the issue, asks for contributions with these words. “Our razor-thin Senate majority is one of the last lines of defense to protecting access to safe, legal abortion, and we must do everything in our power to save it … Will you split a donation between my campaign and the DNC today to help elect Democrats nationwide ready to fight for choice?”
From Vice President Kamala Harris: “We must now come together to show what kind of country we want to live in and reject the notion that our rights are up for debate.”
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says in various emails that “we need to elect more Democrats to the Senate this year so we can codify abortion rights and save the right to choose.”
That’s at least a bit more specific. But all of these pitches come down to: we’re on the abortion rights side. So send money to elect more of us.
I would encourage everyone to send lots and lots of money. But this is vague and doesn’t point to anything specific. Sure, you’ll fight. Got it. But what’s the plan? There’s no discussion of why Democrats can’t do this now since they’re in the majority, what they’ll do in the next Congress to change the equation. It’s vague and feckless. There’s no two ways about it.
It’s true that there’s only a subsection of the larger electorate which fully grasps the importance of the filibuster or what “reforming” or getting rid of it even means. I’ve heard this criticism a lot. But you don’t need to know the word filibuster to see that even when in power, the pro-choice party can’t do anything to protect abortion rights. People see at least nominal Democratic control in Washington. They see poll after poll that show big majorities of Americans oppose this. And yet nothing happens.
That’s deeply demoralizing and requires explanation, even if you don’t care or know anything about Senate procedure. That’s why “we’ll keep fighting” will never sufficiently move the electoral dial. You need a specific commitment, agreed to publicly by all 48 senators, and a clear statement of what’s needed. Two additional senators. Easy to accomplish? No. Doable. Yes. If anything the bigger challenge is holding the House. But it’s all one message, as critical for House as Senate races: Keep the House and add two Senate seats and we will do this in January 2023.
