DEMS’ DUKES ARE UP Some say get tougher with GOP
WASHINGTON — As Democrats look to build momentum into the midterm elections and all the way to their 2020 attempt to unseat President Trump, some are calling for a scrappier approach to do battle with a GOP led by a president who fights with barbs and insults.
“It is time for us as Democrats to be as tough as they are, to be as dedicated as they are, to be as committed as they are,” said former Attorney General Eric Holder, who has stoked 2020 presidential buzz.
Speaking at a campaign stop for a Georgia state house candidate Sunday, Holder turned former First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2016 DNC speech on its head.
”Michelle says, ‘when they go low, we go high.’ No. No,” Holder said. “When they go low, we kick ’em.”
Holder added that he didn’t mean that “we do anything inappropriate. We don’t do anything illegal. But we got to be tough.”
But his words represent a growing call for a “new Democratic Party,” different from the “Yes we Can” party of hope and change embraced by President Obama, to beat Republicans who have a penchant for political street fighting.
On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton told CNN: “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about.”
Still, the early field of potential presidential candidates varies widely in approach. Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing the adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels, frequently spars with Trump on Twitter — and even challenged his son Donald Trump Jr. to a charity mixed martial arts bout — as he flirts with a 2020 run.
Bay State U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said she is also considering a presidential bid, has had nasty public exchanges with Trump, who she tags as a “bully” who won’t “shut me up.”
Others, such as former Bay State Gov. Deval Patrick, who is also hitting the campaign trail to stump for midterm hopefuls, aren’t sure that Democrats need to get in the mud to come out ahead.
“Look, it’s not that I’m not angry enough to hit, and kick and so forth,” Patrick, who has neither confirmed nor ruled out a 2020 bid, told the Herald at an Austin, Texas event.
Patrick noted that he has fight in him. “I’m from the south side of Chicago,” he reminded.
But, he said: “I can solve problems and I have. I can build bridges and I have.”