On dozens of issues, President Trump deserves criticism. In fact, one of the central challenges of the anti-Trump resistance is that he offers up so many examples of lies, corruption, destructive policies and incompetence that it can be difficult to remain focused on the things that most matter to swing voters who will decide the all-important 2018 elections.
With so much outrageous behavior in the White House, Trump resisters don’t need to overstep. Moreover, overstepping detracts or distracts from more persuasive critiques.
But like the conservative base, the liberal base frequently does overstep with their critiques. Let me count the ways:
Appearance. The President is orange complected, obese and has bizarre hair. We all can see that on our own. Repeating it ad nauseam doesn’t win any converts, distracts from consequential issues, and makes the messengers look petty and small. So just stop.
P.S. The same applies to Trump’s staff. Snarky jokes about the appearance of Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Steven Bannon detract and distract from real issues and make the messengers look like shallow bullies.
Junk. The obsession with presidential phallic matters is wrong on many levels. It’s pure speculation, has absolutely no bearing on his job performance, and makes critics sound like small-minded middle schoolers. Think of it this way: What would liberals think if conservatives constantly commented on some aspect of a Senator Clinton’s genitalia?
Daughter. The fact that Trump says his daughter is beautiful and smart doesn’t mean there’s something creepy going on between them. That’s a leap too far that too many liberals make with absolutely no evidence. It’s not fair, and it hurts them more than it hurts the President.
Wife. Sorry, but you can’t make conclusions about a marriage based on body language alone, something that is done constantly by Trump critics on social media. Besides, plenty of Presidents with troubled marriages were effective. So move on to more important issues.
Golf. Yes, it’s outrageously hypocritical that the man who constantly criticized President Obama for golfing and vacationing too much golfs and vacations much more than Obama did. But Trump is a failure because he is incompetent, an ultra-conservative and corrupt, not because he isn’t sitting at his desk enough. So let’s stay focused on making THAT case.
So please, my fellow progressives, continue to criticize President Trump and his shameless Trumpublican enablers. TrumpCare cruelty. Tax handouts to billionaires and corporations. Russiagate. Foreign bribes. Deficit spending hypocrisy. A racist, unnecessary wall financed by Americans. Obstruction of justice. Medicare and Medicaid cuts. Serial lying. Climate change idiocy. Gun protection obstruction. The sexual assault admission. Racist immigration policies. Childish, dangerous warmongering. There is a very long list of things that liberals should stress in the 2018 elections.
But these five things should not be among them.
Thanks for your smart comments. It’s easy to get pulled down to a lower level of exchange, but as Michele Obama said (and we should all heed), “When
they go low, we go high.”
Agree Mary. That’s one of the wisest things Michele Obama ever said. We all go low sometimes, because it’s cathartic or we want to entertain our friends. But it’s self-defeating in the end.
Joe, when you say “it’s self-defeating,” perhaps you’re being selective, tailoring your conclusion to the measurements of the ethical and moral standards you were taught to venerate and abide by. Is it really the way things actually work?
Now, I must admit to never having read Machiavelli. I plan to get around to “The Prince” one day soon (although I need to plow through Kevin Phillips’ books first–they’re more relevant, I suspect.) However, let’s just look at recent true-life examples.
Trump: lowest road possible. Not self-defeating.
K. Rove and Swift Boaters for Truth: low road. Not self-defeating.
L. Atwater and Willie Horton: low road. Not self-defeating.
There may not be a moral to these stories. History may be amoral.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “The end justifies the means.” I, too, was inculcated with ethical and moral guideposts. I’ll insist however on saying that it looks to me as if the statement that “. . . taking the low road is self-defeating” is refuted by the evidence.