Buck Up, Democrats, and Fight Like Republicans – The New York Times

David Silenus
December 16, 2016 at 3:50am

As I’ve been saying … at least so far, Trump has NOTHING to fear from the Democrats … his biggest danger comes from RPBs who don’t like him and don’t need him for anything — eg, McCain and Lindsey Graham, and the entire RPB “national security” “elite” … Dems are gutless and totally lacking in principles …

“Though Trump lost the election by nearly three million votes and almost daily generates headlines about new scandals, the Democratic Party is doing little to stop him.

If you’ve been asking yourself “Where are the Democrats?” you’re not alone.

Since the election, top Democrats have been almost absent on the national stage …

“We have recently learned that President-elect Trump has ethical and business conflicts that seem to violate the Constitution;

is skipping his national security briefings while dangerously departing from longstanding bipartisan foreign policy [sic];

has criticized union workers and protesters on his Twitter feed;

and plans to staff much of his cabinet and high-level leadership with billionaires dedicated to eradicating the very programs they are tasked with overseeing.

In the meantime, the most recent reports from the C.I.A. are that Russia interfered with the election.

There’s no shortage of legal theories that could challenge Mr. Trump’s anointment, but they come from outsiders rather than the Democratic Party …

The most we’ve seen is a response to the C.I.A. revelations, but only with Republicans onboard to give Democrats bipartisan cover …

Contrast the Democrats’ do-nothingness to what we know the Republicans would have done.

If Trump had lost the Electoral College while winning the popular vote, an army of Republican lawyers would have descended on the courts and local election officials.

The best of the Republican establishment would have been filing lawsuits and infusing every public statement with a clear pronouncement that Donald Trump was the real winner.

And they would have started on the morning of Nov. 9, using the rhetoric of patriotism and courage.

How can we be so certain? This is what happened in 2000.

When Florida was still undecided after election night, the Republicans didn’t leave their fate in the hands of individuals or third-party candidates.

No, they recruited former Secretary of State James A. Baker III to direct efforts on behalf of George W. Bush. They framed their project as protecting Bush’s victory rather than counting votes. They were clear, consistent and forceful, with the biggest names in Republican politics working the process.

Moreover, they didn’t cop to the possibility that their theories might lose or look foolish in retrospect.

Take the theory that ultimately succeeded in the Supreme Court. There was no precedent for the idea that the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause required a uniform recount within a state.

However, the Republicans pressed that theory and convinced a majority, even though the justices acknowledged that the argument was both unprecedented and not to be used again. It was a win for pure audacity.

Fast forward to 2016, and the Democrats are doing nothing of the sort.

Instead, they are leaving the fight to academics and local organizers who seem more horrified by a Trump presidency than Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.”

The Democratic Party has avoided fighting the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s election. This is a mistake the Republicans would not have committed.

Source: Buck Up, Democrats, and Fight Like Republicans – The New York Times