found online by Raymond
From Frances Langum:
There are many Republican lies that float about in the media, and one of the most frequently spouted by Republicans (apart from “both sides do it”) is that Democrats don’t have any policies, they just hate Trump.
As Driftglass said on last week’s Professional Left Podcast, we don’t just hate Trump. We hate that he’s destroying the policies we supported. We Democrats are pro-EPA, pro-women’s rights, pro-human rights, pro-science, pro-Emoluments Clause.
And yeah, the fact that Trump is against all those things and also a colossal liar and likely criminal, yeah we kinda hate him. But it’s based on policies as well as a personal dislike of the guy.
it is strange to hear that when so much of the actual Republican platform amounts to undoing what Democrats have done rather than doing something new and constructive: eliminate or reduce the role of agencies, give up government control of this or that, deny equal protection under the law, reduce taxes to make it difficult to get back to where we were, etc. And for the average modern Republican who seems to hate the government, that’s enough. Of course, Kasich remains a Republican.
It is fair to say, however, that Democrats’ intentions regarding health care, taxes, and the national debt are unclear right now, especially given that they would have to work with Trump and probably Republican Congressmen to change anything. Does the party want single-payer health care or not — and if not, what might it do to address Obamacare’s shortcomings? Would the party restore taxes now that they have been cut? What does the party think is the best way to lower the deficit and debt? Furthermore, who are the current leaders among Democrats who can take a strong stance against Trump, promote positive liberal policies, and potentially run in 2020? In this sense, I do think that Democrats are currently defined simply as “not Republicans,” which will only work in the short term, if at all.