Neil Wollman for BuzzFlash: Democrats Must Convey the Fear of GOP Rule to Drive Turnout
Newt Gingrich (with his third wife) is the modern incarnation of Republican ruthlessness (emokidsloveme)
February 9, 2022
By Neil Wollman
Promoting past/future successes and having a Black female SCOTUS justice (and perhaps even resultant discussion of abortion or otherwise) will help the Democratic cause in the upcoming elections. But with the built in disadvantages for Dems (incumbent party typically losing seats, a very energized R party, though maybe not redistricting), and especially given inflation and other pressing issues and the current Dem/Biden standing, something dramatically more will be needed to energize/convince D’s and independents/moderates/undecideds to vote Democratic in 2022.
That involves shifting attention onto Republicans—going more on offense. Specifically, it means raising fear in these voters about the dire consequences if Republicans take control of Congress (and state legislatures/governorships/secretaries of state). If it means for some voters “If you think you got it bad now, wait till you see what will happen if R’s take control,” so be it. There is good research on the value of fear appeals in politics and otherwise. See the following examples and let your elected officials and your state Democratic Party know you support this proposal.
Non-stop congressional investigative hearings of Biden and Democratic policies will start — two years of agony which will also hurt Biden and Democrats in 2024. And “Trump has privately told GOP lawmakers, congressional candidates, and operatives in recent months that Republicans on Capitol Hill should be prepared to launch a full-blown investigation to ‘get to the bottom of’ how FBI agents supposedly caused violence and mayhem on Jan. 6.” Plus, as payback, R’s are already saying that if they come to power in the House, they will take away committee assignments of some Dem members as Dems have done so with a few radical Republicans.
Sen. Ted Cruz predicted that Republican majorities in Congress after the next midterm election would face “enormous pressure … to begin impeachment proceedings.” saying the odds were 90% and “may even be higher.” Other Congressional Republicans have echoed that inevitability.
With Trump sycophants winning many primaries, if Dems don’t vote, we can expect more mean-spiritedness and increased influence on policy from anti-democracy, anti-science, conspiracy believers in Congress. This will also further disrupt Congress.
Republican control of the Senate would mean Republicans will run hearings and have veto power on judicial nominees, including any new Biden nominees for the Supreme Court. His current strong success in getting nominees confirmed will end.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told reporters that if Republicans win control of the House of Representatives in 2022, he will push to have Donald Trump installed as Speaker. Gaetz added that he has spoken to Trump about the possibility of making him Speaker. If this did happen, the media would have to cover the daily rants given his official position.
Most frightening of all is that Republicans could sabotage the 2024 presidential election, even if Biden wins again. Many in Congress supported that claim in 2020, but if they regain power, their chances of succeeding will be much greater, especially if Republicans gain more control in the states. Elections in state legislatures/governorships/secretaries of state will be vital for our future wellbeing in general and especially for the integrity of our elections (legislation/executive orders of various types, including overseeing of election procedures and certification in 2024). Efforts are already underway in a number of states by Republicans to take over election oversight that may even influence the 2022 elections. That trend must be reversed in the 2022 elections by electing Democrats or there will be further erosions of democracy. And If Trump, specifically, is elected in 2024, there will be no holds barred in his actions since he can’t run for re-election in 2028. This is especially true with supportive courts and a compliant Republican Congress that will support him. and won’t impeach. The havoc he (or any Trump-wannabe) will cause could do incalculable harm, and the damage will be exponentially greater if Republicans regain control of Congress.
No further beneficial legislation will pass, which will also hurt Biden’s re-election effort. With Republicans voting in lock-step (and chastising those that don’t), the chances of passing legislation to save our planet, promote social welfare, support reproductive rights, or support democratic processes will encounter even greater hurdles than we are currently witnessing.
Additionally, Republicans can potentially upend previous legislation in that appropriations are subject to annual funding acts, so they can just not appropriate funding for authorized programs. So there can be potential loses such as the undoing of Medicaid expansions to cover uninsured people, or inadequate responses to the next COVID variant causing more overcrowded hospitals, deaths and other miseries, or the loss of funding for infrastructure projects and whatever funding might be provided in the human infrastructure negotiations now underway.
If Republicans take control of Congress in 2022, they will have a good chance of maintaining that in 2024. If so and Trump or a Trump wannabe wins the presidency in 2024, the most radical-right policy and legislative agenda ever would result.
For those Democratic candidates running against Republicans tightly aligned with Trump rhetoric/policy, there are, of course, many scary things said by Trump constituting subversion of democracy or otherwise that can be cited and pinned to the candidate, asserting that we don’t need another Trump in office.
Neil Wollman; Ph. D.; Senior Fellow; Bentley University; Waltham, MA, 02452; NWollman@Bentley.edu
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