U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who has called for national unity

Now that Joe Biden is the President-elect of the United States, Republican supporters of Donald Trump, along with their candidate, are suffering the various stages of grief. It’s tempting for Democrats, after years of disgraceful treatment from many Republican voters, simply to tell Republicans, “I really don’t care, do u?” However, there are several reasons why some Democrats will want to take a less belligerent approach toward Republicans. For example:

–Some Democrats have Republican friends and/or family members, and want to repair and maintain their relationships.
–Some Democrats, perhaps taking the lead from Joe Biden, believe it’s in the best interest of the country to at least try to reach out to Republicans and create some national unity going forward, given the ongoing COVID pandemic and other big challenges we face.
–Some Democrats uphold the party value of empathy, and just cannot be jerks toward the Republicans, even though they would surely suffer Republican incivility if the tables were turned.

For these Democrats, therefore, the question becomes, what to say to Republicans that strikes the right balance between “shove it” and sacrificing their own principles? Here are some ideas: