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Short Take Addendum to: "Democrats-Time to Get Tough!"

By Jessie Seigel /March 19, 2024




Yesterday's My Washiington Whispers issue discussed the strategies political scientist Rachel Bitecofer is urging Democrats to use in their battle against the fascism that has taken over the Republican Party.


Today, certain Democratic representatives replied to Donald Trump's attack on Jews. (Trump claimed that Jews who vote for Democrats hate their religion, and hate Israel.) The replies, as quoted in an MSNBC Maddow Blog article, aptly demonstrate the problem in the way Democrats fight the electoral battle and provide an example of how they could and should do so. A perfect example of how not to respond to Donald Trump were the words of Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and North Carolina Rep. Kathy Manning. An Axios report quoted Rep. Schulz as saying:


Trump demonstrates daily his lack of fitness for the presidency by spreading dangerous stereotypes and embracing antisemites.


Rep. Kathy Manning of North Carolina said that Trump's rhetoric is:


particularly disgraceful and dangerous at a time when Jews are facing dangerous levels of antisemitism nationwide.


These are formulaic words that could put a listener to sleep before the sentence is finished. Any outrage is buried in round-about, longwinded phrases. Trump is not "embracing antisemites." By his words and deeds, he is one. And stating Jews face dangerous levels of antisemitism nationwide is too unspecific to have any punch.


One wants to yell: Why don't you simply say: "Trump's statement is disgraceful and dangerous and is going to get Jews killed?"


Contrast their language with that of Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin:


Luckily I don’t know any Jews who look to Donald Trump for advice on how to be Jewish. After all, this is the guy who saw ‘very fine people on both sides’ of an antisemitic riot and entertained the neo-Nazi Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes over at his house at Mar-a-Lago for dinner.


Raskin mocks and dismisses Trump's words--then pivots to attack, exposingTrump's actions.

This response beautifully applies one of the formulas set out in Bitecofer's book. (I am not suggesting Rep. Raskin did so based on her book, only that it was in keeping with her precepts.)


The rest of the Democratic Party should not only read Bitecofer's book, but look to Jamie Raskin's example--on all issues in this 2024 election.



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3 Comments


Guest
Mar 20, 2024

Jamie Raskin and Jessie Seigel—listen to both of them!

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Guest
Mar 26, 2024
Replying to

Thank you! (Such company to be in the same sentence with! 😊 ) Jessie

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Guest
Mar 19, 2024

No wonder Jared and Ivanka are in hiding...

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