An American Political Agenda for 2018 and 2020: Six Suggestions for the Upcoming Election Cycles: Part 1

Recently we proposed six topics we’d like to see candidates in 2018 and 2020 emphasize. We disagreed about who might sign on to our ideas, a disagreement we explored in a follow-up post.  Leaving aside who was right or wrong about that, we recognize we must complete the job.  We now begin developing the details of our agenda.  To make our platform mean more than platitudes and slogans, we have to describe it in depth.

We started with restoring Presidential dignity.  The current occupant of the White House has disgraced the Presidency in innumerable ways, large and small.  Any candidate seeking to replace him must assure the citizenry he or she will discontinue the deplorable behavior now on display at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

An Early Start With No End   
Donald Trump’s trashing of the Presidency began with his 2016 campaign.  He mocked disabled persons, claimed an Indiana-born federal judge couldn’t fairly judge his case because of the judge’s Mexican heritage, insulted a Gold Star family, and urged supporters at his rallies to commit violent acts.  A few weeks before the election came the ultimate disgrace – his statements on the Access Hollywood tape in which he promoted sexual assault on women.  This litany tops his greatest hits list, but it’s not the whole story.

Worse than what happened in the campaign, Trump’s behavior has degenerated since he took office.  He equated white supremacists with those protesting bigotry.  He regularly attacks people he doesn’t like or who don’t buy into his world view. We find fighting social media wars with television hosts, athletes, and other private citizens unbecoming the President of the United States.  His targets usually have done nothing more than express their disagreement with Trump’s conduct or his policies.  His name calling ill serves the nation and promotes disrespect for the office he holds. The idea an American parent might need to restrict their child’s access to Presidential communication should dismay us all.  It also should say to anyone seeking the Presidency that, if elected, restoring the decorum of the office represents a high, pressing priority.

Why He Does It   
Trump’s behavior likely springs from his own apparent crassness and from political motives.  No one can do anything about the personal crassness; the fact he carried his uncivil behavior from the campaign into office should make that clear.  Not one piece of evidence exists that the man can change.  The idea taking office would mitigate his behavior was wishful thinking, fantasy, or both.

The political calculation, however, requires more nuanced consideration.  Trump also does what he does because he knows people in his base like it.  Support for this proposition rests in the consistent favorable approval rating he gets from about 35% of the electorate.  These voters see the same conduct we see, but it does not dissuade them from his side.

To the extent Trump’s fellow Republicans encourage his behavior by tolerating it, they bear responsibility for the damage he’s doing to the office.  The time has come for Republican office holders and the Republican rank and file to renounce his bad behavior because it disserves the country and their party.  One day a Republican unlike Trump will seek and win the office.  If current-day Republicans want that President to enjoy the respect the office should command, they need to stand up now and denounce Trump’s uncivil conduct, regardless of political consequences.  In other words, Republicans should understand that having the office won’t mean much if they don’t protect it now. Woodson’s admonition that Republicans should run on this principle rings true.  The President they save may be their own. 

A Pledge   
We think 2020 candidates for President (and Congressional candidates in 2018) should pledge to adhere to a code of conduct if elected.  This code would include:

·      A commitment against launching personal attacks on non-politician public figures and private citizens, including from social media platforms. 

·      Agreement not to insult people based on race, ethnicity, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or other characteristics unrelated to political and policy differences.

·      A commitment to call out bigotry, race-baiting, and religious intolerance without attempting to equate such behavior with anything or anybody. 

·      An absolute prohibition on inciting violence.

Some may regard our code as “political correctness” run amok.  We see this straw man argument as mainly an excuse for uncivilized, uncouth excess.  Treating citizens with dignity and respect does not deserve such derision.  In fact, none of these ideas strike us as particularly provocative.  It seems self-evident a President would, without hesitation, adhere to such norms.  But, right now, the President regularly violates each one and appears to relish doing so.  Since the current President won’t behave, before giving someone else the job, we need a pledge from candidates that he or she will.

Other ideas?