David Marcus:
In the wake of the 2008 election, Democrats had won the presidency. They held 59 Senate seats and a 76-person majority in congress. There was talk of a permanent Democratic majority, and the GOP appeared to be in complete, powerless disarray. In response, a grassroots protest movement emerged. Considered more or less a joke at first, the Tea Party would change the face of American politics. And just eight years later, it would help restore Republican political power.
Now, as Democrats face the dark political wilderness, they too have launched a protest movement, loosely referred to as “The Resistance.” It is tempting to compare these historical moments. Many on the Left have begun to not only compare the Resistance to the Tea Party, but to use it as a model. This means more than protesting and attending town halls—it also means organizing and promoting candidates who will challenge Trump.
But for all the similarities of situation and tactics, there are several specific reasons why the Resistance is unlikely to succeed as the Tea Party did. Becoming the new “party of no” may be the best option progressives have to fight the president—but progressivism has baked into it aspects that make it very different from the Tea Party they seek to emulate.
1. Progressives Have Embraced Intersectionality
For those unfamiliar with the term, intersectionality refers to the ways in which marginalized people overlap in the hierarchy of oppression. So being gay and black makes you oppressed, but if you are cis (not transgender), your gender privilege intersects with your oppression. If that idea gives you a headache, it should. It also helps to explain why progressives so often wind up at each other’s throats.
This phenomenon was on display at the Women’s March on Washington. Originally organized by two white people, calls came almost instantly to diversify its leadership. The problem with this is that it leads to ever more radical positions—when the lesbian, Eskimo, midget, left-handed, ninja albinos demand inclusion of their cause in the platform. This was one of the things that led to the failure of Occupy Wall Street, as more moderate voices were pushed to the side.
The Resistance believes that diversity is its strength. But diversity can also be a profound weakness, one that has haunted many progressive movements. The Tea Party faced almost no similar divisions, and more or less avoided such internecine struggles.
2. They Have No Unifying Issue To Rally Around
Related to the problem of intersectionality is the Resistance’s lack of a unifying issue. The Tea Party was laser-focused on government spending, both regarding the bailouts and eventually the Affordable Care Act. Protests in general are more successful when they oppose something concrete—like a war or a specific law. We saw evidence of this in the airport protests over the president’s immigration executive order. Politicians, the courts, and the media followed their lead. In some measure, they were able to claim victory.
But the Resistance is about much more than immigration: it is opposed to Trump, not any one or two of his policies. This will make the movement a mile wide and an inch deep. The public will not be able to process all their complaints at once, and politicians will not be able to concentrate their fire.
3. Progressives’ Bubble Won’t Help Them
The Resistance likes to point out that Hillary Clinton received more votes than Trump. And it is an important point: Clinton came much closer to winning the 2016 election than John McCain did in 2008. But the disparity between the popular vote and the Electoral College reveals a telling weakness for Democrats in national elections. Progressive voters are densely packed into small geographic areas where they dominate.
It may well be that the Resistance has greater overall participation than the Tea Party did. But it will be focused in progressive cities and on college campuses. This will not give the Resistance the kind of reach that the Tea Party had. Even if it succeeds in motivating voters, it will only enhance already overwhelming advantages in places where Democrats already win.
Hillary only had more votes when the New York Slimes,Washington Compost,Boston Flob and Atlanta Urinal/Constipation counts the votes
I have to agree with number 2. They Have No Unifying Issue To Rally Around
Trump isn’t black.
And to unify the right even more, he doesn’t seem to much care for them.