Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson urges Republicans to act on climate change.
With the 2018 mid-term elections less than 100 days away, the Democratic Party is showing off a big tent that encompasses a diverse range of people and ideas. The same cannot be said of the Republican Party, which has developed into a Donald Trump protection cult.
On the Democratic side, the big tent can been seen in candidates ranging from the more moderate Conor Lamb to “Democratic Socialist” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who have been winning special elections and primaries, respectively. While the local issues and demographics have varied in these races, there is an overarching theme from the Democrats, one that has has defined the Democratic Party for many decades. That is the idea that government must maintain a basic level of protections for its citizens. These protections include everything from preventing air and water pollution and climate change to ensuring fair taxation, fighting off cyber attacks from Russia, maintaining robust Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, defending and expanding civil rights, gun violence, public education, consumer protection and universal healthcare.
In 2014, we suggested that this theme of standing up for basic governmental protections be boiled down to the message “We Have Your Back.” Since then, it has become apparent that Democrats don’t like being told what specific slogans to use, especially from party leadership. Unlike those lockstep Republicans, Democratic voters are free thinkers, and that’s a good thing. However, if you simply ask a few Democrats why they are Democrats, you will hear them articulate the fundamental Democratic theme over and over:
“Republicans don’t care about us.”
“Republicans only care about the rich, and big corporations.”
“Democrats are for the little guy.”
Responsive Democratic public servants are attuned to this theme. For example, here’s a tweet from Democratic U.S. Senator Edward Markey today:
These images of irreversible damage show us what could happen to the #ArcticRefuge if #BigOil is allowed to ravage this pristine wilderness. I will be introducing a bill to #ProtectTheArctic and repeal the Trump admin’s decision to permit drilling there.https://t.co/8933MoVlu0
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) August 6, 2018
Any of these expressions are good ones to identify Democratic Party values. They all make clear that the broad Democratic theme of protection for the average American is the major dividing line with the Republicans, and it encompasses most Democratic voters and candidates in a very big tent.
Photo by Senate Democrats, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/R6hdMz
