ECONOMY, CHANGE TRUMPED OTHER ISSUES IN ELECTION: RAHM
WASHINGTON— Without directly heaping blame on Hillary Clinton, Mayor Rahm Emanuel suggested Friday that Democrats made a big mistake by stressing social inclusion over a robust economic message.
Emanuel made the observation at a forum hosted by the Brookings Institution on the consequences for cities following the surprise election of Donald Trump and the equally shocking United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in June.
Emanuel was paired with a member of the British Parliament from the Labour Party, one Tristram Hunt, who is a backbencher.
That term, by the way, originated to describe members of the British Parliament who were low in the official pecking order and sat in the back.
I have no grasp of what Brexit means for London or Liverpool even after the erudite session hosted by Brookings urban governance specialist Bruce Katz, who knows Emanuel from their days in the Clinton administration.
I do have a strong sense of what Trump could mean for Chicago. And the direction Trump is heading in— when it comes to policies helping Chicagoans— is a big potential problem.
Emanuel wrapped up a New York- Washington swing on Friday.
He left Chicago Tuesday for New York. In Manhattan, Emanuel made the rounds of bond houses, and onWednesday, in Trump Tower, he met with the presidentelect, as well as Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and senior adviser Stephen Bannon.
Emanuel’s big pitch at the Trump meeting was to cut a break for Dreamers— youths in the U. S. illegally through no fault of their own. President Barack Obama gave legal protections to Dreamers— protections that Trump threatened to yank, though he is softening some. Trump also is saying he wants to cut federal funds to sanctuary cities, of which Chicago is one.
Emanuel landed inWashington Thursday and attended a ceremony in the Capitol honoring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev., who is retiring. Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton— both former senators— attended.
Emanuel’s main mission here is to squeeze all the federal assistance he can from this town before Obama leaves office on Jan. 20. Emanuel met with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx— DOT is a fertile Chicago federal dollar source— and stopped at the Office of Management and Budget; people there know where to find hidden federal dollars.
In the friendly confines of Brookings, Emanuel fielded no hardball questions specifically about Trump’s impact on Chicago’s pension, crime, tax and education woes.
On the election, Emanuel, Obama’s former chief of staff, did have strong views.
Bill Clinton and Obama won in 1992, 1996, 2008 and 2012 because they had the right messages on the economy.
And 2016? Trump represented change, Clinton continuity, and voters wanted change. Emanuel said Democrats suffered for offering what seemed only a socially inclusive message, “at the exclusion of an economically robust message.”
The elections in England and the U. S. were about failed politics, Emanuel said, “with broken politics not addressing concerns.”
Emanuel noted that the November election in Illinois produced Senator- elect Tammy Duckworth, who is Asian- American; replacing her in her suburban House district is Rep.- elect Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is Indian- American.
“The social policies of inclusion are not a damaging piece with the suburban/ urban coalition,” Emanuel said.
He added: “In fact, if anything, it is a huge opportunity to drive a wedge between suburban and rural voters.”
Emanuel also had an explanation for the disconnect driving the appeal of fake news.
“You say this ‘ fake news.’ Well, to the rest of the world they think the mainstream news is fake. . . . It’s, again, like two ships passing in the dark,” Emanuel said.
“They don’t think the fake news is fake, and we talk about what they’re looking at as if it’s fake, and they think that what the mainstream elite media produces is fake, which is why they’re driven to other alternatives.”