The Democrats’ Victory Can Save the Republican Party
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir
New York
The retaking of the House by the Democrats will soon allow them to exercise checks and balances and stop the Republicans from going down a slippery slope. Otherwise, the party would have slid into complete self-implosion as they blindly but willingly followed a chaotic political agenda.
The fact that the House will soon be under Democratic control offers Republicans the chance to redeem themselves by working across the aisle to begin the process of healing a dangerously divided country. Under any circumstances, however, the Democrats must focus on four major crises facing the nation that have a direct and indirect impact on every American.
Healthcare
Making healthcare a central issue in the mid-term election was a winning strategy, precisely because healthcare is a fundamental issue for every American. Healthcare, to be sure, is a basic human right that must be granted by either the federal government or the state. It is nothing short of a travesty for any American, regardless of age and preexisting conditions, not to have accessible and reliable healthcare.
The Democrats must remain relentless in pushing for comprehensive healthcare legislation, particularly revising the Affordable Care Act in the context of universal healthcare, and invite the Republicans to support it. The prospect for success and the potential for failure, should the Republicans decide to oppose it, will serve the Democrats’ interests come 2020.
Immigration
The source of America’s greatness is in its people and their backgrounds, sets of beliefs, cultural riches, diversity, and differing resourcefulness that immigrants bring with them, which together made America not only great but unique. The Democrats must present all-encompassing immigration laws that will address the millions of undocumented immigrants, DACA, asylum seekers, and the regular flow of legal immigrants, and finally pass the DREAM Act.
Regardless of Trump’s disdain for immigrants of color, the demographic composition of America is changing. Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans will become a majority within three decades, a trend that Trump cannot stop, and his embrace of white supremacists is a stain on America. The Republican Party must make their choice, and the Democrats must press for what America stood for—as the country of immigrants.
Climate change
It is time for the Republican Party to wake up to the indisputable scientific evidence that climate change is a reality that must urgently be addressed. Indeed, only totally ignorant and morally corrupt people do not recognize that climate change is already upon us. The unprecedented ferocity of fires (particularly recently in California), hurricanes, tsunamis, rising sea levels, and pervasive destruction of the coral reefs are a direct result of climate change and is obvious for all to see.
Environmental deregulation is criminal and no Republican, including the President, has the right to contaminate our air, water, and land only to make the rich richer. The Democrats must make climate change a national emergency and leave no stone unturned to ensure that no business can financially benefit from deregulation, at the expense of the health and well-being of every American, who will suffer greatly from chronic diseases related to climate change. Rejoining the Paris Climate Accord will offer a good start.
Infrastructure
The fourth thing the Democrats must focus on is the disastrous conditions of infrastructure throughout the country. Roads and bridges are crumbling, with over 54,000 bridges rated structurally deficient; more than two out of five interstate roads and highways are over capacity and can no longer accommodate the massive congestion, which is consuming more fuel and costing the economy $120 billion annually. Thousands of small and medium sized towns are disintegrating and are in need of major revitalization. Moreover, the country’s railway network is in sorry condition, vastly underfunded and cobbled together with freight and commuter rail lines, putting us to shame compared to countries like China, Japan, and most European states.
The Democrats must remain unyielding until infrastructure legislation passes. The Republican Senate will be hard-pressed not to work with the Democrats on such a critical bipartisan bill as 2020 hovers around.
The Democrats’ focus on these four major national projects (including education and gun control) is central to maintaining the viability of the party. This is precisely what’s needed to change the lives of ordinary Americans for the better, instead of demonizing the Republicans. The Democrats’ victory in the House offers Republicans in the Senate an opportunity to redeem themselves by collaborating with Democrats on major issues that face the nation, saving the party from disintegration.
In 2020, the Democrats should be running on their achievements, or at a minimum, on their genuine efforts to deal with issues of great concern and urgency to the American people, and clearly demonstrate that the national interests take precedent over party politics.
(Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies)
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