Science event at Fallston Middle School, Harford County, Maryland
A debate has been raging in the Democratic Party, over the best posture to take for the coming 2018 midterm elections. Some supporters advocate a sustained campaign of attacking Donald Trump and the Republicans, while others suggest focusing on positive Democratic proposals. Recently, the Democrats unveiled a midterm strategy of highlighting Trump and Republican “corruption.” We noted that such a focus may only be half the battle. Several days ago, however, Congressional Democrats came up with a rather novel approach that tied together both the positive and negative strategies and two separate issues: they seek to raise teacher salaries by rolling back the Trump tax cuts.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced their new plan last Tuesday. More specifically, Schumer and Pelosi said the Democrats want to roll back the $1.5 trillion Trump tax cuts that Republicans passed last December, which go overwhelmingly to those at the top one percent of income. This tax cut rollback would then be used to fund $100 billion for states and school districts, to be used both for teacher pay raises and school infrastructure and resources, such as textbooks and desks.
The Democrats’ latest idea is rather ingenious both from a policy and a political standpoint. Supporting teachers and opposing tax cuts unfairly geared toward the wealthy (part of what causes income inequality) are two bedrock Democratic policy principles. These proposals are among the more empathetic Democratic policy and value positions that can be described as “We Have Your Back.” Politically, the Democrats’ proposal, while certain to face opposition from Republicans who currently control Congress and the White House, helps unite the different factions who want to either focus on attacking Trump and the Republicans (roll back the tax cuts that disproportionally benefit wealthy individuals and big business), or telling voters what positive changes the Democrats are for (supporting education by raising teacher salaries). The Democratic Party would do well to come up with more proposals like this in the coming months.
Photo by US Army RDECOM, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/ulWUt4
