In just the last day, we've had it revealed that Trump's incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn, a batshit insane actual leaker of classified material, had been in phone contact with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. just before President Obama ejected 35 Russians in response to the DNC hacking. And then today, House members had an intelligence briefing with FBI Director James Comey and others, and the Democrats left the meeting feeling angry and openly hostile about what they'd been told. This is not to mention President-Elect and lost Crayola color Donald Trump bugging the fuck out on Twitter this morning about Russia, the media, the intelligence community, and Hillary Clinton.Why don't Democrats have a coordinated message on this? Last month, Politico attempted to explain why Democrats don't seem to have a coordinated answer on anything:
And, if you're like me, you sit here and wonder, "Where the fuck are the Democrats? Where is their messaging? Why aren't we at Def-Con Watergate?" You go to their website and there is nothing about it. Their public statements are all over the place.
If Democrats were any good at this game, they'd already have a strategy: Forget about the odious cabinet picks, forget about the business conflicts, forget all that other shit that people either don't care about or don't understand so they don't care about it. Instead, hammer Trump and the Republicans on the one goddamned thing that is easy to understand: Was Trump elected because of the Russians?
The party loses its standard-bearer once President Barack Obama leaves office, and the Democratic National Committee won’t get a permanent chairman and staff until March, two months into the presidency. That Democratic power vacuum has raised concerns about the party's ability to provide a united message -- or even to stand up a centralized rapid response operation -- for the president's first 100 days in office....This raises a couple of questions. How was it decided that the Democrats wouldn't pick a party head until March? I know this is America, so we're used to interminable election campaigns, but you realize that others country elect heads of government after six-week campaigns, right? It's crazy that this has to take so long.
“It's a very serious concern. I just went on TV twice today on Fox and MSNBC on the Cabinet appointments and I winged it,” said Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor and 2008 presidential candidate. “You need something right now. Trump every day is doing something outrageous. What do we do? Criticize everything he does? Hold back a bit? I know we need to develop an economic message but that's long term. We need something now. Most of the Democrats I talk to are down, and they're asking who's in charge.”
... the question of message coordination is an immediate one for those who are faced with spouting the party line with the Trump train barreling down the tracks.
In the words of one Democrat who remains a frequent television commentator, but who has noticed the ranks of prominent party surrogates shrinking as the number of talking points and centralized messaging memos wane, “People are afraid to go out there."
But the more important question is: Do you really need message coordination before deciding to talk about the Trump's obvious treasonous loyalty to Russia? Do Democrats really need to check with higher authorities before raising an alarm about that subject? Just wing it! How hard is that?
But too many Democrats are afraid to improvise a shout of "Fire!" even when the country is on the verge of burning to the ground. I'm reminded of what Johnny Carson once said disdainfully about Chevy Chase, whose comedic skills he didn't respect:
He couldn't ad-lib a fart after a baked-bean dinner.The Democratic Party is the political equivalent of Chevy Chase.
