Democrats call the recent midterm elections a triumph and are banging drums with excitement over the “awesomeness” of their victory. Strictly speaking, the “blue wave” was a routine and historically common rebuke experienced by nearly every party in power. If there’s anything “amazing” about the midterms, it’s the sheer number of Americans who prefer a character disordered punk and compulsively inept liar over virtually any Democrat. What can Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer do about it?
They can start by ending the tidal wave of congressional investigations and communicate with the President in strictly transactional terms. Instead of chanting, “Lock her Up!” over Ivanka Trump’s email transgressions, Democrats should offer a free pass for Ivanka (and $20) in exchange for picking the next Supreme Court nominee. Donald Trump will do anything for money—hooray Saudi Arabia! —and can be relied on to take such an offer. Another upside is that Republicans won’t be able to whine about getting picked on.
The same strategy applies to the President’s taxes. We know – everyone knows – that Trump has cheated on his tax obligations for decades. What will he trade for a Democrat pledge not to investigate? Genuine support for the Affordable Care Act? Real environmental protection? The sky’s the limit if Democrats learn how to play the President’s favorite game, Let’s Make a Deal.
They could also sponsor legislation to replace all Confederate Monuments with Trump Monuments. The President will love such a well-deserved honor and Democrats would have an indispensable and lasting reminder of the 30-year period when their party ignored falling wages and the widening income gap between working people and bi-coastal fat cats – thereby assuring the election of a nincompoop. Southerners will go for it too since Trump so ardently grasps and personifies Grand Old Dixie’s cultural, moral, and civic values. Everybody wins.
And Democrats should forget about impeaching Trump. Instead, they should just sit back and enjoy the show as the President serially guts, humiliates, and banishes members of his own party – a’ la Jeff Sessions – when they blunder into telling the truth, inadvertently follow the rule of law, or stumble into a fact or two.