AMERICANS ARE CAPABLE OF THINKING ABOUT ISSUES OTHER THAN MONEY, APPARENTLY

Navigator Research is a public opinion research firm that's aligned with the Democratic Party, so perhaps we should take its latest survey with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, the survey makes clear that voters are not comfortable with President Trump's assaults on the rule of law. If that's true, it contradicts what Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, James Carville, and other old-fashioned Democrats fervently believe: that only the economy matters to voters.

The survey tells us:

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Americans say that Donald Trump believes he is above the law, including majorities of independents (65 percent) and non-MAGA Republicans (51 percent)....

Driving their concerns: that Trump let Elon Musk and DOGE access the personal health and financial data of tens of millions of Americans, that Trump has violated multiple court rulings, and that Trump is attempting to close federal departments and agencies. Two-thirds find each of these concerning, including majorities of both Democrats and independents.

* Trump let Elon Musk and DOGE access the personal health and financial data of tens of millions of Americans: 66 percent concerning, 53 percent “very” concerning,

* Trump has violated multiple court rulings: 65 percent concerning, 51 percent “very” concerning, and;

* Trump is attempting to close federal departments and agencies like the Department of Education, even though those departments and agencies can only be shut down by acts of Congress: 64 percent concerning, 51 percent “very” concerning....

Nearly 60 percent say each of these poses a threat to democracy, with almost half saying these actions pose a severe threat to democracy.

Respondents also believe Trump's threat to pursue a third term poses a threat to democracy -- 48% say it's a "severe" threat and 60% overall think it's a threat.

I don't want to overstate the importance of this. The respondents are expressing these opinions because they've been asked questions. That doesn't mean that they think about these subjects a lot. I'm sure economic issues are much more important to them.

But the results suggest that regular reminders of Trump's abuses would find a receptive audience in the public. I don't agree with the Carvillean conventional wisdom that Democrats need to focus their attention on one or two issues because the public can't process more than that and other issues are Trumpian "distractions." It appears that everything Trump is doing is dead serious, and if Trump and Republicans are able to focus the public's attention on multiple issues, why can't Democrats?

So it's good to have Senator Chris Van Hollen in El Salvador reminding voters about Trump's flouting of court orders in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, with other Democrats likely to follow. It's good to talk about the possibility that Trump will try to stay in power past January 2029. The public has opinions on these subjects even if many elected Democrats are hesitant to talk about them. If every Democrat highlighted these very unpopular aspects of Trumpism, it could further damage his overall popularity. And morally, speaking out against authoritarianism is obviously the right thing to do.

I'm sure there was never a time when the American public said that the #1 issue in America was the security of overseas diplomatic outposts or the email practices of government officials. But Republicans relentlessly attacked Hillary Clinton on Benghazi and her private email server, and succeeded in damaging her approval ratings. Democratic should treat Trump the same way. Attack him with whatever is at hand. It's good for the Democrats, and fighting the administration's lawlessness is good for America.