Democrats have been shadowboxing when they should have been sparring. So fixated on throwing haymakers at an absent President Trump, they have avoided even jabbing at each other. Democrats have been so concerned about not throwing a punch, they have forgotten that they will soon have to take one.
The extended Democratic presidential field has spent eight months avoiding intra-party confrontation. It would be easy to write this discretion off under Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” But these are Democrats.
Democrats’ seeming courtesy really comes from clear weakness. None of the contenders have distinguished themselves from the rest of the field. As a result, each candidate knows they will be dependent on the supporters of another in the future. If they are to advance, they better not sever potential ties by savaging their opponents.
Further, each candidate is running in the same leftward direction. So, there is little inherent political or policy separation. This too is a weakness, because as a group they continue to drift further from the center they will need to pursue to win in November.
Obvious as these weaknesses are, Democrats’ lack of internal fisticuffs raises questions about two more. Can they effectively throw a punch, and more, importantly, can they take one? Both are crucial for a political pugilist.
Democrats will have to sell their nominee and platform to America. Simply being against Trump will not be enough: Come Election Day, you can’t beat something with nothing. Further, because all are coming from the left, they will have to sell that versus Trump’s accomplishments and his inevitable defense of limited government.
The Democratic nominee will also have to endure a withering flurry of blows. Trump’s punches will be ready-made: Former Vice President Joe Biden’s ethics, record and misstatements; Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) exaggerated claims and massive promises; Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) socialism. Yet none have had to really defend themselves against a strident onslaught.
The establishment media has only abetted Democrats’ ability to avoid preparation for the coming blows. Trump will not. He will have incumbency’s advantage, his own social media machine and an enormous funding advantage. His attacks will also finally force the establishment media to cover, at least to some extent, the objects of his attack.
There is an irony – and an anomaly – in Democrats spoiling for a fight with President Trump for three years, but having spent so little time really preparing for one. The point has been driven home repeatedly that Democrats – especially their left – are angry. Yet even voters who are not angry want their president to be a fighter.
But no one knows if the Democrats have a real fighter in their ranks. It is important that they find out quickly.
The fight their nominee will enter is not a boxing match under Queensberry Rules. This will be an MMA fight. The Democratic nominee will be facing the Conor McGregor of American politics.
Simply imagining that your nominee is the better boxer is not enough — like being the better boxer in a UFC match. The rules are few, and different, and they will put conventional politicians out of their zone of familiarity.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton was the perfect politician on paper — Democrats’ consensus best “boxer.” She lost. Clinton lost a bout she never truly understood; she had no idea she would lose, until she did.
Democrats will not have a better nominee than Clinton this time. So they should have an even more battle-tested one. So far, they do not.
Since November 2016, Democrats have desperately wanted a rematch with President Trump. They even imagine they have been having it. Their problem is they have only been having it in their imagination. That is no substitute for having it in a ring with an actual opponent.
Sparring is the most they could have done, but they have not even been doing that. They have only been shadowboxing. It is no way to prepare for what will be the fight of their lives — when they will not be fighting a shadow come November.
J.T. Young served under President George W. Bush as the director of communications in the Office of Management and Budget and as deputy assistant secretary in legislative affairs for tax and budget at the Treasury Department. He served as a congressional staffer from 1987 through 2000.