Renée Graham’s “Hey Dems: Fight Trump, not each other” (Ideas, Jan. 19) should persuade Democratic candidates and supporters to stay focused on the objective that unites them: defeating Donald Trump. As Graham alludes to the “morally bankrupt . . . party-over-country” Republicans “still buckled into Trump’s corrupt and sinking ship,” she reminds me of another equally important objective. We have no certain date for this ship’s sinking, and this makes the second objective—electing a Democratic House and Senate—crucial.
Imagine a second Trump term, with both houses of Congress controlled by Mitch McConnell and his ilk. Now imagine a Democratic president, facing Republican control of one or both chambers. How many qualified, non-ideologically driven judicial nominees would have their nominations voted on? How many Democratic proposals—for health care, climate action, voter protection, etc.—would get a hearing?
Now imagine a Congress with both House and Senate led by Democrats. This Congress could fight back effectively against Trump, and this Congress would be essential to any Democratic president’s proposals. If we—Democrats, socialists, liberals, moderates, progressives—don’t work as hard to elect Democratic congressional majorities as we work to defeat Trump, we won’t undermine Trumpism or have hope for real change.
Robin Riley Fast
Malden
Note from KBJ: Overuse of long dashes is the mark of disjointed thinking. Good work, Robin!
