Democrats should have a better slogan than GOP’s ‘America First’
‘A merica First” would be a harmless phrase were it not loaded with dark undertones. It harks back to the America First Committee, a group advocating U.S. neutrality in World War II. Some members were Nazi sympathizers, while others simply wanted to keep America out of another bloody conflict in Europe. The attack on Pearl Harbor put the committee out of business.
One can be sure that few Americans hear that historical echo when President Trump repeatedly talks up “America First.” Packing a strong emotion, the term speaks of leaders protecting the people’s interests. That Democrats would be doing an overall better job of it isn’t the point here. It’s that Democrats are lousy at conveying this message.
Of course the American president is supposed to put America first. The French president puts France first. The Chinese president puts China first. The Russian president puts Russia first.
That doesn’t mean they are all effective. The economy under Trump is, if anything, idling in neutral. His tax cuts have provided economic “rocket fuel” mainly for rich investors and have exploded deficits. True, U.S. oil production has hit record highs, and wages are inching up — but they did under Barack Obama (whom Trump portrayed as a foreigner not looking out for “us”).
Trashing trade deals is a cornerstone of the “America First” program. It’s a sorry scene, big on drama, short on results. Trump’s trade policies are a mess of revolving withdrawals, delays, extensions and insults — sadly aimed at the allies
A few years back, Democrats and some Republicans backed a sensible bill that would have granted legal status to most undocumented immigrants while greatly tightening enforcement going forward. To build the public’s confidence in the enforcement part, President Obama backed a rise in deportations focused on those who committed crimes.
Many Democrats abandoned him, caving to immigration activists demanding virtually no enforcement. Never mind that the vast majority of Latino workers are here legally — more than half are native-born — and many without college degrees suffer the same downward pressure on wages as similarly situated whites, blacks and others.
As for a new slogan, “America First” is taken, and Democrats shouldn’t want it. Whatever they come up with, however, should roll everyone into a single American identity, regardless of race, creed or gender distinction.
Democrats, go ahead and use your identity pitches for grass-roots targeting, but put sea-to-shining-sea imagery in your skywriting. That would be good for America, as well as for you.