Nobel laureate Paul Krugman distills the GOP strategy into 3 simple concepts — Deception, Distraction and Disenfranchisement. He playfully calls it the GOP 3-D strategy. We can call it the three deadly D’s.
The answer has long been what I think of as a 3-D strategy: deception, distraction, and disenfranchisement. We saw all three this year. 2/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 18, 2018
Distraction: Look over there! Evil caravan! For a while this looked as if it was gaining traction, thanks to a disastrous performance by the mainstream media, which bought fully into an obvious ploy. But in the end it basically fell flat 4/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 18, 2018
It's really shameful that this is how US politics works now. And given the results, Rs will do it even more aggressively next time. The logic of the situation is turning the GOP into the enemy of democracy, and we should all be very worried fin/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 18, 2018
This strategy is nothing new for the GOP; they have been doing it for decades. They are a minority party, firmly in the grip of its wealthy donors; they will never win a fair election. Hence, they will keep doubling down on this strategy and get even more virulent — use RW and social media to spread Deception and Distraction and use state legislatures to enforce Disenfranchisement.
I would add another D — Division; the religious and culture wars fit neatly into that category.
However, the strategy can be defeated, as we did in this election cycle. But, the beast is hardly slain. Deception, Distraction and Disenfranchisement are powerful tools, that’s how a minority party manages to win elections. We have to learn our lessons and adapt our strategies as we go forward. Who knows what will become of the GOP — will they become more virulent and win more elections or will the GOP break down and reinvent itself?
What do you think we should do to counteract the GOP offensive?
- What strategies have worked well in the last and which new ones will work best in the future?
- Will technology be an obstacle or a friend in our mission?
- How can we immunize the electorate against the virus of Deception and Distraction?
- How can we make (most) corporations be better stewards of the economy and of the People?
- How can we maintain and build our majority in Congress and in state legislatures, given that many of the races were won with razor thin margins?
This is a Creative Commons article. The original version of this article appeared here.
The first thing to do is get rid of trump and his gang of thieves.