Right On: Democratic rage leading nowhere

February 22, 2017 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — Where are Democrats headed? What policies do they want followed? What legislation do they want enacted? Post-Hillary Democrats have not answered these questions.

Instead, Democrats have become “The Resistance,” opposing Trump at every turn. Opposition without meaningful alternatives is a political dead end.

Democratic resistance has gone off the tracks. Is Trump a fascist? The liberal Washington Post headlined an editorial with the words, “Donald Trump is actually a fascist.”

Liberals need to look in the mirror before using this epithet. Stanley Payne in his book “A History of Fascism” wrote, “Fascism emphasizes direct action, including supporting the legitimacy of political violence, as a core part of its politics.”

Leftist mobs have used political violence as a core part of their politics since Nov. 8, 2016.

In Portland, Oregon, 26 anti-Trump protesters were arrested after setting fires and smashing store and car windows. In Oakland, California, 30 protesters were arrested after spray painting buildings, smashing windows and throwing rocks and bottles at police. In Los Angeles, California, five people were arrested for vandalism and 200 more for blocking a freeway entrance.

Trump supporters have been ridiculed, mocked, spit on and beaten. School classes have been canceled to allow students to join protest marches. College classes are being taught on how to resist Trump. Liberal protesters are being bussed to Republican town hall meetings.

Since all this “direct action” gets headlines, Democrats see this as confirming their anti-Trump resistance. But current academic research shows that anti-Trump protests with their hateful signs and vulgar hats are counterproductive, driving many in the middle into the Trump camp. Conservatives should hope it continues.

Is the Democratic Party so bankrupt that resistance is all they have to offer? On national television, Tom Brokaw told his fellow Democrats, “Rage is not a policy.” He went on to say:

Democrats have a lot of reconstruction to do of their own party and that’s what they ought to be thinking about and that’s what they should be getting — they ought to be out in the middle of America saying what do we need to know from you rather than sitting in Washington, reelecting Nancy Pelosi after they lost the House three different times.

Democrats rage at losing an election they thought they had in the bag. Republicans were upset about Obama’s 2012 re-election. Dennis Prager explains the difference between how liberals and conservatives reacted:

Unlike much of the left, most conservatives handle despair like mature adults. Most obviously, we didn’t riot. In fact, in America, rioting — not to mention shutting down highways and airports, taking over college offices and protesting at peoples’ homes — is a monopoly of the left.

We didn’t allow our conservative children to take a day off from school to demonstrate. Nor did conservative teachers preach opposition to Obama in their classrooms. Nor did we print posters with the words ‘Not My President.’

Democratic leaders express hope that protests represent a new wave of liberal activism that can be harnessed into their version of the Tea Party. But the Tea Party coalesced around opposition to Obamacare, something specific that could — and will be — acted upon. Today’s Democratic mobs have no program, no way forward, only anger.

Remember “Occupy Wall Street,” a former darling of the liberal media? If you had forgotten them, that’s understandable. It was an unfocused liberal mob with no direction, no positive agenda and as a result, no lasting accomplishment. It’s in the “dustbin of history,” soon to be joined by today’s #notmypresident protesters.

As the minority party in Congress, Democrats have a distinct advantage that Republicans did not have. The mainstream media characterized Republicans as the “party of no” and ignored or ridiculed serious legislative proposals vetoed by Obama. Democrats have the mainstream media (minus Tom Brokaw apparently) in their pockets and could get a lot of favorable coverage for their alternatives, if they have any.

Is it possible that Democratic direction will come from last year’s Democratic primaries and Bernie Sanders? If so, the party could be ready to veer even farther left. Sen. Sanders proposed an annual $1.8 trillion (yes, trillion) tax increase. That number alone indicates where he and the 43 percent of Democrats who voted for him would like to go. Does that sound like a winning strategy?

With Hillary Clinton’s defeat, ultraliberal Sens. Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have become the Democrat’s leading figures. We might have expected Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to assume that role, but a far left mob invaded his office in November (more fascist tactics), calling him a Wall Street Democrat who failed them. If folks like these get their way, Democrats can expect a long slog as the minority party.

Republicans have their own problems and lots of them. Trump does his party no favors with careless remarks that produce negative reactions from Democrats and some Republicans. Along with many conservatives, I have mixed emotions about Trump. But without focus on where they want to go and how to reach disaffected voters, Democrats will find themselves no better off after the 2018 elections.

Howard Sierer is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: hsierer@stgeorgeutah.com

Twitter: @STGnews