Preserving American Values

Winning elections is in large part a question of which Party is able to define the battle, its terms, and who successfully defines the actors. Certainly, Trump has defined the battle and has effectively defined them for his supporters as the enemy of making American great again.

For Democrats to win the 2026 midterm and 2028 presidential elections, they must take the offensive and show just the opposite–that it is they who are true to core American principles and thus they who will make America great again, while Trump is the Founders’ nightmare come alive.

What is the battle about, as Trump has defined it?  It is about stopping illegal immigration and deporting those already here, it is about removing wokeness from all areas of government and government-funded activity, it is about increasing the power of the presidency, and it is about “securing” our elections.  

These are all issues Democrats can turn to their advantage. I suggest Democrats add two other issues: restoring the lives of American workers and rebuilding the rural economy. 

And all these issues should be advocated as centrist, grounded in the core principles of the Declaration of Independence.

Illegal Immigration: There is no difference between today’s Democratic and Republican parties about the necessity of stopping illegal immigration at the border.  No one should be allowed to enter or reside in the United States except through the legal channels. Period.

The difference between the two parties is on what to do about the 11 million illegal immigrants, many of whom have been living in the U.S. for years, working, paying taxes, etc.  

The Trump attitude is, deport them all—no one is safe, regardless how law-abiding. Trump is wrong on both the facts and American values.

While he rails against illegal immigrants as criminals, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show that only a small number of illegal immigrants have committed crimes, other than illegal entry and DUI. Data from the Texas Dept. of Public Safety further show that undocumented immigrants have substantially lower crime rates than US-born citizens.

The deceitfulness of the far-right attack on illegals can also be seen in a Heritage Foundation report which claims that there is an “undeniable link” between increased illegal immigration and crime.  This link, however, comes from misuse of the data. The reports cited actually show that only a small number were arrested for crimes other than immigration related.

So clearly, the Trump hype about the undesirable character of illegal immigrants is not proven either by data or by anecdotal evidence.  There have been many articles about people being upset because their friends or colleagues were being arrested by ICE and deported.

Democrats should counter that deportation should be selective, based on whether an individual has been convicted of a crime, beyond illegal entry. For all others, a path to citizenship should be provided that requires a minimum mastery of English.  This is in keeping with the Declaration of Independence’s principle that all men have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” See my article, “A Democrat’s Answer to the Immigration Problem.”

Our country was made strong and great by the 10s of millions of immigrants that came here from all over the world, whether they were initially slaves or free men.  The illegal immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and Latin America are likewise mostly law-abiding, family oriented, hard-working, tax-paying people. They are also people that important parts of the American economy/business depends upon, filling jobs that American workers have no interest in.

Wokeness:  Being aware of the discrimination that women, Blacks, people of color generally, LGBTQ people, and others have suffered in their attempt to live their lives and pursue their dreams is wokeness. Given the centrality to the Declaration of Independence of the right of all people to pursue life, liberty, and happiness and government’s role in “securing that right”—wokeness is as American as apple pie.

Trump’s lack of regard for the rights of those who disagree with him is un-American. Most Americans, I believe, would agree that all citizens have the moral and spiritual right to live their lives and pursue their dreams.

What, however, many Americans do not agree with are two outgrowths of wokeness. The one is giving preference to these groups in job and college applications.  Regardless past injustices, this is not equality; one shouldn’t replace one injustice with another.  Democrats must recognize that preferential treatment is not the American way; equal opportunity is.

The second is politically incorrect speech. Many advocates think negative words describing ethnic or racial groups should not be part of the accepted vocabulary because they express bigotry.  And so, people have been castigated for using the “N” word, kike, or spic, for example.

But the 1st Amendment guarantees the right of free speech.  Legally, one couldn’t stop or punish someone for using politically incorrect speech, regardless how offensive. You can preach tolerance, but you can’t punish spoken bigotry.

Democrats should be against both these outgrowths of wokeness. 

The Power of the Presidency:  Trump has expanded the power of the presidency.  He has staffed the executive branch with people who will do anything he asks.  He has turned Congress into a rubber stamp for implementing his wishes. And he is attempting to make the Judiciary subservient to his wishes.

This is contrary to a core American principle. After stating their grievances against the British king’s absolute power in the Declaration of Independence, the Founders designed American government so that no one person would ever be in a position to hold such power.  Under the “balance of power” they created, the three independent branches of government—Executive, Legislative, and Judicial—each provide a check on the exercise of power by the other.

But that balance has been eviscerated by Trump.  He has amassed to himself the power the Founders abhorred.

Democracy – Secure Elections:  The election of representatives by the people is the core foundation of American democracy. One of Trump’s MOs is that he complains in advance that the elections are “rigged.” Yet the court cases and requests for recounts/audits he filed to argue fraud and other irregularities in the 2020 election found there was none.

Ironically, it is Trump and his MAGA allies who are rigging the elections by advocating measures that impede voting by the poor and people of color, and even seniors. He is also diluting the Democrats’ vote by encouraging—demanding—red states to gerrymander so that more House seats are Republican seats.

Despite his losing all efforts to find fraud in the 2020 election, he still did not concede that he lost the election. That led to him to breaching another American principle—the peaceful transfer of power. He attempted to interfere with Congress’ certification of the election, and when that failed, urged his followers to storm the capital to prevent the certification.  

Trump is, indeed, the Founders’ nightmare come alive.  It is instead the Democratic Party whose approach furthers American principles. 

American Workers: American workers have suffered for 50 years as jobs moved offshore and wages stagnated.  Democrats were focused elsewhere.  Many workers voted for Trump because he championed their grievances.  But he has done nothing.  Democrats must champion policies that will help workers rebuild their financial well-being so that they too can pursue their right to “life, liberty, and happiness.”

Rebuilding the Rural Economy: People living in rural America have also suffered over the past 50 years as large corporate farms gobbled up small family farms, as rural industries closed, and as people moved into cities for want of jobs. 

Democrats strengthened the rural economy in the 20th century, but have been largely absent as it has declined.  Democrats must develop a vision and policies that will rebuild the rural economy and bring prosperity back. 

Make America great again by returning to our founding principles, helping the American worker, and rebuilding rural America.

Last, but certainly not least, it’s not enough having a great message if you don’t get it out to the public effectively. That means rebuilding a strong presence in rural America. That means taking advantage of every opportunity for mass exposure, including podcasts of every political stripe. Democrats have nothing to lose and everything to gain by appearing on far-right podcasts; it gives them an opportunity to speak directly to people inclined to vote against them and rebut fake news with their perspective. It gives them an opportunity to show their strength and character.