Fear of ‘Trump 2.0’ not enough for Dems to win, says ex-lawmaker

The “fear of Trump 2.0” will not be enough for Democrats to win elections, former Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) wrote in a guest essay published in The New York Times on Wednesday. 

Perriello, who lost his seat in Congress after voting for the Affordable Care Act in the 2010 midterms, said Democrats should do everything they can to pass the “boldest” version of President Biden’s social spending and climate legislation, arguing it will help their party politically.

“Congressional Democrats, especially those in tough races, should be sprinting to immediately pass the boldest possible version of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Democrats need to look like the party that knows how to govern and produces results that benefit Americans of every race and region,” he said.

The lawmaker was writing after Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s devastating defeat in the Virginia governor’s race. McAulifee sought to tie the GOP winner in the contest, Glenn Youngkin, to the former president, but the strategy didn’t end in victory.

Perriello wrote that while he believed voting for the Affordable Care Act “cost me my seat” in 2010, he argued that the bigger political issue was that the legislation took too long to pass and was watered down from its original inception.

He noted that Democrats were facing a similar obstacle on Capitol Hill today with a spending bill currently stalled among members of his party as moderates and progressives have struggled to overcome their differences.

“Right now, the fight is not just immediately to pass Build Back Better but whether new benefits like child-care subsidies for the working and middle class kick in next year or down the road. Prescription drug reform should be strong enough that voters can see cheaper prices by next year’s election. Democrats need to run on results that families have felt,” Perriello wrote.