Who is our Enemy?
After the brutal 2016 election, when Donald Trump won the presidency despite losing the popular vote, and Republicans won majorities in both the House and Senate, President Obama said this from the White House: “Everybody is sad when their side loses an election. But the day after, we have to remember that we’re actually all on one team. This is an intramural scrimmage. We’re not Democrats first. We’re not Republicans first. We are Americans first. We’re patriots first. We all want what’s best for this country.” Obama, always the unifier, was trying to pull the country together, even as it felt to many like the election of Donald Trump was destined to tear the nation apart.
Obama’s words feel distant today, after the nation endured four years of divisive, hateful leadership from Trump, a violent attempt at insurrection by his supporters, and the wholesale eradication of rights for millions of Americans, most notably through the disastrous Supreme Court decision allowing states to outlaw abortion. It doesn’t just seem like we’re on different teams anymore. It feels like we are on different planets.
But on this question of how we perceive and deal with our political differences, there is still a key distinction between Democrats and Republicans. And this distinction is on display right now, as the government sits on the edge of total shutdown.
I believe that the things the modern Republican Party stands for – the transfer of wealth from poor people to the rich elites, the end of abortion rights, the canceling of voting rights protections, attacks on LGTBQ Americans, to name a few – are a terrible direction for our country to take. That’s why I’m in the Senate – to be at the center of those fights. That’s why I’m running for reelection.
But as a Democrat, I choose to fight within the structure of our democracy. My work is to pass bills and win elections, and do so fairly, without cutting corners or cheating. And certainly without resorting to violence. Republicans are my adversary in these contests. I stand in opposition to their party because the things they believe in are bad for the country, not because I need or want to destroy them personally.
Republicans look at politics differently. They see Joe Biden – not just his policies – as an existential threat to the nation. And they are willing to engage in any tactics, without limitation, to stop him. At midnight on Sunday, the government will shut down because Republicans are putting their hatred for President Biden above their concern for the country. Early in the Ukraine War, Republicans almost unanimously supported American military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. But as the war became more associated with Biden personally and his presidency, Republicans turned against it. They are now threatening to shut down the government as a means to end U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia, mostly because supporting Ukraine might also help Joe Biden.
And of course, this week Republicans aren’t even trying to keep the government open. Instead of trying to pass a continuing resolution to keep funding the government temporarily, they spent the week preparing and holding an impeachment hearing. More evidence that Republicans’ hatred for Biden takes priority over their concern for the country.
But it gets even worse. The January 6th insurrection and Republicans’ ongoing defense of the insurrectionists was and is an attempt to end American democracy. For many (most?) Republicans, loyalty to Trump and hatred of Democrats justifies kicking American democracy to the curb. If democracy elects Democrats (who to Republicans are the true enemy), then democracy just isn’t worth it.
The fight with the left is increasingly framed in exigent, fight-or-die terms by leaders on the right. “What [the left] wants is to destroy us,” explained Rachel Bovard, an influential voice in the new right. “The progressive left is the true enemy. The enemy of all that is good,” said 2022 Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters. In the wake of last year’s FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, conservative websites and discussion boards were full of talk of “war”, and some began to move beyond rhetoric to action. “Violence is not (all) terrorism”, wrote Ricky Shiffer, the man who showed up at a Cincinnati FBI office with an AR-15, on Trump’s social media app. “Kill the F.B.I. on sight,” he wrote.
I have no love for my Republican colleagues who want to take away reproductive health care rights or pass more tax cuts for corporations. But I don’t view them in the same terms as Masters and Bovard view Democrats. I don’t believe suspending democracy, or endorsing violence, is the correct means to the end we seek.
Maybe Obama’s words sound naïve, seven years later. But I still seek to find a world where he is right. The work of our nation should be to try to find common ground and heal divides whenever possible, and when not possible, use legitimate, democratic means – like elections and advocacy – to figure out which side prevails. I don’t view Republicans as enemies of the state. I view them as wrong on the issues, often bigoted and dangerous, and not worthy to govern. But I also hold out hope that time and hard work will win some over to our side, and I still believe that there are opportunities to find common ground, especially in a divided government.
Our government is about to shut down because Republicans view Democrats as evil and illegitimate, and many would rather shut the government down than allow it to be run by a Democratic president. That’s sad, and it's a state of political affairs that we should not accept.