I’m not saying I am for or against that position. But political writer John Judis makes some good points in advocating for it.
Politics is not a simple matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of priorities. Yes, Trump did wrong, he is a bad guy. But the country is in the grips of a pandemic – over 4000 people died on Thursday – and in December, the country lost 140,000 more jobs. The Democrats have to focus on that not on Trump. . .
There is a simple political lesson here. By giving all their attention to halting the pandemic and making sure the economy bounces back, Biden and the Democrats will be doing what the nation needs and wants. It is also what the Democrats need to do if they want to retain control of the Congress in 2022. If they allow the budget fight to drag on, and the pandemic and recession to drag on, they could lose control of the Congress in 2022 – recall how narrow the margins are. In that case, whatever good they will be able to do can easily be undone by Republican majorities in the House or Senate. And Democrats might lose the White House in 2024. Think again of Obama’s first year and how by not paying sufficient attention to the politics, the Democrats lost the House in 2010.
Sure, people in Washington and Democratic activists around the country want to punish Trump. In that case, censure him. But don’t allow him to continue to dominate the nation’s political agenda for the rest of the month. Don’t throw him in his briar patch of attention.
