Democrats Spanking Democrats

The great blogger Steve M recognizes

The Democratic Party's poll numbers are bad. Ever wonder why? We know that dyed-in-the-wool liberals and progressives are frustrated by the party's weak response to Trump. We know that Republicans have been told for decades that Democrats are history's greatest monsters. But what about the people in the middle? Why don't they say nice things about Democrats?

I think one big reason they don't is that they keep being told that Democrats suck by Democrats.

He notes the

story about Rahm Emanuel's all-but-declared run for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Emanuel apparently intends to run on the slogan "Rahm: Because Democrats Are Bad." (I made that up, but it's very close to the truth.)

Emanuel may be the biggest and most prominent offender but the blogger cites also Kentucky governor Andy Beshear. The WSJ reported "Saying someone has defeated “substance abuse disorder,” he said, minimizes the sheer human triumph of beating addiction; decrying “food insecurity” fails to convey the tragedy of hungry children." 

Similarly, there are Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin and Arizona senator Ruben Gallego. The latter, Steve M. points out, is "denouncing the use of 'Latinx.; (I'm not a huge fan myself, but I can't think of a single Democratic politician who's ever used it, except Gallego himself, pejoritavely.)" 

Gallego is an old hand at this. Here he is on a 2022 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, stating "it's something that's used by white liberals and a small amount of Latinos but largely it's to satisfy white liberals, not necessarily..." After an approving comment by Maher, Gallego continues

Think about this. I had a little marketing firm when I was way younger. If I was working for a firm and I said "I'm going to use this term that only 3% of the population identify with and 40 of the population hate" that firm would probably get rid of me because, like "what are you doing? How are you actually reaching out to them? Why are you reaching out to them this way?"

Which is, of course, why nearly no Democrat used the term then and none does now. The tell is when, between remarks by the Senator, Maher comments "stop doing this. We have polling on it. And like, an extraordinary number, sometimes up to 99% of Latinos, either don't know it or when they here it, don't like it."

Or when they hear it, don't like it. Most people, even most Latinos, had not heard of it- until the likes of Maher and Gallego criticized Democrats for saying what they weren't even saying.

As with Gallego, Slotkin and Emanuel believe they're the smartest guys in the room, scoring political points while running down their own Party. (Slotkin probably wouldn't object to being considered one of the guys, and Beshear, bless his heart, never seems to believe that he has all the answers.) 

And maybe they are the most clever, elevating  themselves while, and by, demeaning their own Party, something which such progressives as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joaquin Castro, Ayanna Pressley, and even Jasmine Crockett avoid doing. Following the mid-term elections of 2010, President Obama contended that the Democratic Party had taken a "shellacking,' a word- concept, even- Republicans know never to apply to themselves. It brought joy and optimism to Republicans but Obama didn't himself suffer politically, eventually winning a second term.

I haven't heard any recent remarks by Gallego. However, he still is trying to carve out an identity as a moderate or centrist. "White liberals, white liberals" he likes to excoriate, perhaps figuring that his political viability in Arizona is instead dependent upon Latinos and left-leaning Independents.

Whether that is his motive, white liberals, except myself and a few others, won't complain. But instead of analyzing  liberal whites, Gallego, a second-generation Mexican-and Colombian- America, might want to analyze the behavior of a different segment of the electorate.

Nonetheless, Gallego and others might want to ponder why Donald Trump pulled down 42% of the presidential vote last November. That would be the same Donald Trump who in December of 2023 condemned President Biden by claiming "They let- I think the real number is 15, 16 million people into our country. When they do that, we got a lot of work to do. They're poisoning the blood of our country.

They're poisoning the blood of our country. Not all Latino citizens of the USA are the same. They may be Mexican, Colombian, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or of another descent. And not all immigrants are Latino, though they comprise the largest group of recent immigrants.

Trump went on to argue that he was talking about immigrants from all over but one suspects he wasn't thinking about Norwegians. The candidate protested that immigrants from Latin America (and elsewhere) are poisoning the blood of native-born Americans. Poisoning; blood. No  dog whistle there; only pure racism.

And that was O.K. with more than two of five Latinos who voted. Although some undoubtedly were unaware of the remark, it was not out of character for Donald Trump. It was not out of character for him to believe it, nor out of character for him to promote hostility among his supporters toward those individuals.

Exploring that reality would be helpful. However, as long as there are progressive Democrats to bash, the anti-Democrat Democrats will leave reality untouched.

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