If Democrats regain power in 2028, the real test will not be how hard they strike back, but whether they rebuild the norms and laws that make government legitimate.
Messaging will be a major challenge, if not an art form. Elegant and firm simplicity would land better than aggression. That said, however one defines the opposition, they will label it as they wish.
The poles of the right and the left will be biased towards retribution. That’s the nature of extremes. There is a fine line between accountability and retribution. Following the assumption of my piece, my hope would be that the next president leaves the choice of how to assert accountability to the new attorney general and keeps their distance. If every Trump transgression is met with a response, the majority in the middle will increase their disgust of politics. Retribution doesn’t come for free and even actions of accountability will be labeled as retribution so why fan the flames?
I particularly like stewardship versus victory. Stewardship has been largely absent from our national conversation for the last 20 years.
But with your opening message of options, I struggle with whether those two are really the only options available. I would love to see a broader discussion of two additional threads/concepts.
Restitution/recovery
If there is no restitution for all the grift, double dealing, death and murder, I would argue that no lessons will be learned, Democrats will forever continue to be perceived as weak and the cycle will simply continue.
Accountability
There are lots of debates about whether there should be a Nuremberg style approach to turning over rocks, exposing the filth to the public and hold officials accountable. I don’t know what the proper framework is here but without exposing the fundamental and potentially lethal blows to democracy, the Musks, Thiels, and plethora of apparatchiks that have enabled this damage will continue undeterred.
Restitution and Accountability and different than Retribution, if managed by transparently honest people (where is this generation’s Sam Nunn?)
Without these elements, I fear that that the rest of your well-thought out ideas will go nowhere.
I am so disheartened by how quickly norms of civility have been crushed by a single president's personal behavior. But the country elected him in spite of that behavior, and it grieves me to think that he is the manifestation of our own shadows - manifest destiny, slavery, Jim Crow, McCarthy, and bringing "Freedom" to the world through violence. I want to help elect a President that embodies the norms I imagined we had when I was a boy, overhearing dad talk about Eisenhower.
A very well argued thesis. I would add just one other item, Congress must do their Congressional duties. Executive power must be curtailed. Laws, not the pen should be the norm. Both parties are guilty of reigning by Executive authority. This has to stop. Just the rambling thoughts of an old hermit. (Hope I haven't upset anyone. )
Great piece Chris. How do you think new leadership messages both the harms done to the country and the solutions required to assure the behavior cannot happen again.
Thanks Chris. You state exactly the issue we should talk about: how to move forward and not get caught up in the doom loop of an arm for an arm, an eye for an eye.
Messaging will be a major challenge, if not an art form. Elegant and firm simplicity would land better than aggression. That said, however one defines the opposition, they will label it as they wish.
The poles of the right and the left will be biased towards retribution. That’s the nature of extremes. There is a fine line between accountability and retribution. Following the assumption of my piece, my hope would be that the next president leaves the choice of how to assert accountability to the new attorney general and keeps their distance. If every Trump transgression is met with a response, the majority in the middle will increase their disgust of politics. Retribution doesn’t come for free and even actions of accountability will be labeled as retribution so why fan the flames?
Reconstruction vs retribution…
Hi Chris, very interesting piece.
I particularly like stewardship versus victory. Stewardship has been largely absent from our national conversation for the last 20 years.
But with your opening message of options, I struggle with whether those two are really the only options available. I would love to see a broader discussion of two additional threads/concepts.
Restitution/recovery
If there is no restitution for all the grift, double dealing, death and murder, I would argue that no lessons will be learned, Democrats will forever continue to be perceived as weak and the cycle will simply continue.
Accountability
There are lots of debates about whether there should be a Nuremberg style approach to turning over rocks, exposing the filth to the public and hold officials accountable. I don’t know what the proper framework is here but without exposing the fundamental and potentially lethal blows to democracy, the Musks, Thiels, and plethora of apparatchiks that have enabled this damage will continue undeterred.
Restitution and Accountability and different than Retribution, if managed by transparently honest people (where is this generation’s Sam Nunn?)
Without these elements, I fear that that the rest of your well-thought out ideas will go nowhere.
I am so disheartened by how quickly norms of civility have been crushed by a single president's personal behavior. But the country elected him in spite of that behavior, and it grieves me to think that he is the manifestation of our own shadows - manifest destiny, slavery, Jim Crow, McCarthy, and bringing "Freedom" to the world through violence. I want to help elect a President that embodies the norms I imagined we had when I was a boy, overhearing dad talk about Eisenhower.
A very well argued thesis. I would add just one other item, Congress must do their Congressional duties. Executive power must be curtailed. Laws, not the pen should be the norm. Both parties are guilty of reigning by Executive authority. This has to stop. Just the rambling thoughts of an old hermit. (Hope I haven't upset anyone. )
Great piece Chris. How do you think new leadership messages both the harms done to the country and the solutions required to assure the behavior cannot happen again.
Thanks Chris. You state exactly the issue we should talk about: how to move forward and not get caught up in the doom loop of an arm for an arm, an eye for an eye.