A Broader Base

Before the recall vote in California even started, Larry Elder was crying foul. But he conceded and hushed up when election results showed the recall had failed substantially. Perhaps he was advised by those in his party who still want to promote another election as fraudulent. If everyone in the party cries wolf, even some of the base might tire of it.

I think there is a lesson here: with enough pressure from reality, even the most deluded may revert to acting reasonably. Some will continue to believe all the lies along with the big one that all the smaller ones were leading up to. But gradually more and more people are becoming skeptical and disgusted. And, in California at least, enough took the time and effort to vote to make a difference. Had it been closer, the Republicans might still be contesting.

Some Democrats advocate for using Republican tactics to beat them at their own game. But some of us prefer not to play dirty. We just need to show up. And we need to invite others to join us.

Many Republicans accept that Biden won the election and are (almost) as appalled as the rest of us that his opponent thought he could and should get away with overturning the will of the people. Republicans like Adam Kinzinger and Ed McBroom may be an often-despised minority among Republicans who prefer power to responsibility, but they have not disappeared.

In a choice between our country's two parties, where is a decent conservative to turn?

Kinzinger has consistently said and demonstrated that his integrity is more important to him than his job. But if he loses his next primary, who will he vote for? Who will his supporters vote for?

A traditional conservative has a hard time voting for many of the policies promoted by Democrats. But the conservative tradition also did not peddle in the lies, cheating, and bullying that have become the trademarks of the dramatically changed Republican party. Anyone with moderate political views is no longer welcome in the Republican party unless they pretend otherwise. The definition of a Republican is not what it was.

The Democrat party has problems of its own. Some members are distinctively progressive. Others represent the majority of moderates still left in Congress. On many issues, the two ends of the party continuum don't see eye to eye. Again, some Democrats want us to be more like the Republicans, with almost no one breaking ranks on a rigid set of views.

But, for now at least, the Democratic party has a bigger role. It needs to embrace a larger constituency. It needs to allow for the differences of perspective among all who have been expelled from the Republican personality cult. And we need to provide those voters caught between with a reason to vote for Democratic candidates.

I understand and share frustration with Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinnema. But if we demonize them, we are saying there is no room for debate. We are likely turning away a bloc of voters who are wondering if they can comfortably vote for a Democrat, perhaps for the first time in their lives.

If Democrats cannot find a way to tolerate the views of the center left—and now the center right—and to embrace the ensuing debates, we are unlikely to make the gains needed to undo voter suppression and gerrymandering that are already leaching votes from our base. Without a firm majority we will not address health care, immigration, climate change, and other issues of our time. And we won't gain that majority without making it clear that our party is willing to welcome and respect a broader base.

True, there's too little time to deal with rising temperatures, and we need to listen to the voices of those telling us to hurry. But if we rush without bringing enough people with us, we will fail even faster.

Especially now, as we approach the 2022 mid-term elections, there is too much at stake to vilify good people whose support we want and need. We need solid margins to quiet radical Republicans who are eager to cry foul at fair balls.