A Democrat Recipe for Political Suicide

Democrat circular firing squad.

From my days years ago as a Republican activist I know one thing for certain: the GOP understands something liberal Democrats are oblivious to, namely, that you have to win elections in order to accomplish goals.  And to win elections, you do not embrace an agenda that will hand you opponents something they can use to bludgeon your candidates with and that has the potential to drive voters into the arms of the competing political party. Lose the moderates and you lose the election. Forget that whites still make up a majority of the electorate, you lose the election. 

The far left in the Democrat Party is clueless about these realities.  Politics involves winning elections so you can implement change. At a time when the Democrats have a perfect opportunity to win back the White House and to take control of the General Assembly here in Virginia, some House Democrats are pushing the issue of "reparations" for African-Americans, a theme which I readily see the GOP using to outrage the very working class whites that Democrats need to win back to win in 2020.  Do things need to be done to assist blacks in achieving the so-called American Dream? Most certainly, but using the term "reparations" is absolute idiocy! Can't you hear Trump and his minions and Fox News talking heads bellowing how Democrats want to take money from some and write checks to others?  Add this to the Democrats' ridiculous "purity" police efforts and the whining of some about the "whiteness" of the current top three presidential nomination contenders in the polls and the Trump and the GOP must be smiling broadly  Democrats are their own worse enemy.  A piece in Politico looks at this issue which may prove radioactive to Democrat election efforts:

Democrats have sidestepped the debate over reparations for African-Americans for decades. But now the issue is bubbling up in the House, and the new majority is wrestling with how to tackle it ahead of the 2020 campaign.

Sparked in part by the support of several presidential contenders, the topic has been discussed multiple times by top House Democrats, including at their retreat in the exurbs of Virginia earlier this month.

But the issue is likely to divide the party — not just by race, but by generation. The Congressional Black Caucus is notably split, with some younger African-American lawmakers clamoring to force the conversation into the open while more senior members worry about alienating moderate voters.

A discussion over reparations isn’t without risk, however, according to Clyburn and some other senior lawmakers and aides. Forcing the issue would likely open Democrats up to attacks from Republicans during the 2020 race.

But avoiding it — especially with Democrats controlling the House with the most diverse caucus in history — could also turn off voters of color who think it’s an important conversation to have, especially with President Donald Trump in the White House and white nationalism on the rise.

“As this administration has seemed to be forcing certain issues, I think that everybody wants to have an honest discussion about everybody who is in this country,” Clyburn said.

That Democrats are seriously entertaining such a response to the bitter legacy of slavery and discrimination against African-Americans underscores how quickly the party has shifted in recent years. While Barack Obama opposed reparations as a presidential candidate, White House hopefuls like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro have warmed to it.

While some Democrats worry even the word “reparations” is too controversial because it could conjure the notion of direct payments to descendants of slaves, supporters note that they’re talking about something potentially much broader.

Some Democrats, including Clyburn, said they support doing the study but note the process would take years to complete — if the bill was ever passed by the GOP-controlled Senate and signed by Trump — and that there are more immediate ways to help African-Americans and other underserved communities right now.

With that in mind, Democrats are expected to use the appropriations process in the coming months to steer more federal dollars toward programs that directly benefit minority communities. Some examples include programs that aim to increase the number of doctors and nurses in minority communities, address food deserts in underserved neighborhoods and pump more money into preserving historically black colleges and universities.

“I’m all for repairing the faults that exist in the country rather than waiting on somebody to do a study and then making recommendations,” Clyburn said.

The issue came up at least twice during Democrats’ retreat in Leesburg, Va., at which the party celebrated 100 days in power and discussed the next pieces of their agenda. But right now, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Cheri Bustos said she doesn’t see it becoming a prominent part of the campaign and the issue hasn’t been raised by voters in DCCC polling.

Other lawmakers said the public isn’t paying attention to the debate.

Rep. Joe Cunningham, a Democrat who flipped a heavily Republican Charleston-area district in South Carolina that is 19 percent African-American, said reparations didn’t come up during his campaign last year.

“It’s not something that came up in our election,” Cunningham said. “Certain things come up for presidential elections and come up every cycle — you know this stuff about the Electoral College — but from the day-to-day stuff I think the people are talking about other issues like the cost of their health care.”

Cunningham hit the nail on the head: talk about things that will win support of a majority of voters of all races, like health care and pocket book items.   No doubt some will call me a racist based on this post, but if your team doesn't win the election, NONE of your agenda gets accomplished.  Far left Democrats, especially from liberal states and cities forget this reality time and time again.