How to Reconcile with Trump Voters

A 40 year old speech from Jesse Jackson has some clues.

On the anniversary of January 6^th that confirmed Donald Trump will return to the White House, I needed some hope. Who better than that hopemonger himself, Mr. Keep Hope Alive, Reverend Jesse Jackson?

Reverend Jackson gave a stirring speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention meant to heal wounds after a hard-fought presidential primary fight. Forty years later, it offers a worthwhile guide for Americans who don’t just want to spend the next four years being angry. We should look for opportunities to reconcile with some of those who chose another way.

Donald Trump and his henchmen aren’t the ones I’m interested in reconciling with. Hardcore MAGA leaders are intent on denying history, removing rights from Americans and using government to punish enemies. For them, power that results from thuggishness is just rewards.

Some partisans are lost to the future.

Yet, there are millions of Americans who voted for Trump, who aren’t interested in the anti-Americans agenda he promised.

According to a Scripps/Ipsos poll, 64 percent of Americans oppose the President pardoning January 6^th rioters.

A Quinnipiac poll said “(63 percent) think that all children born in the U.S. should continue to be automatically granted citizenship.”

And in a Monmouth poll, 52 percent of Americans say they’d be bothered a lot if Trump “suspend(ed) some laws and constitutional provisions to go after political enemies”. Another 22 percent say they’d be bothered “a little.”

Even mass deportation, one of Trump’s core issues, isn’t a goal shared by all his supporters. According to CNN exit polling “(o)ne-quarter of Trump voters said they favored a pathway to citizenship” for immigrants here illegally. According to other polls, support for mass deportation depends how the question is framed, but most voters say they oppose it if the immigrants have been here for some time.

There is room to reestablish common cause with some Trump voters.

Some Americans felt like they had no great choices. They could either vote to continue along a path not working out for them personally or shake things up.

I told one friend I assumed voted for Harris that I was worried about the future of the country. “I don’t know,” she said, “the rhetoric on both sides got pretty heated.” Then she told me she and her husband had “just been having a really hard time” economically. (Oh no…)

Those of us who rejected Trump could wait around for an opportune moment to point self-righteous fingers at those who did. (“I hope you enjoy your tax cut while American children are being deported with their law-abiding parents!”) Or we can remember being Americans means finding common cause with people we disagree with sometimes.

Some Republicans don’t make it easy (cough**Bruce Fischer**cough), but politics is a game of addition, and our side doesn’t have enough voters to win. We must attract more voters and wagging fingers at people isn’t a great way to woo them.

This is where Jesse Jackson’s speech comes to mind. Reverend Jackson recalled a visit with the late Hubert Humphrey on his deathbed. Humphrey told him:

“At a time like this you are forced to deal with your irreducible essence, forced to grapple with that which is really important to you. And what I’ve concluded about life,” Hubert Humphrey said, “when all is said and done, we must forgive each other, and redeem each other, and move on.”

I’ve spent a lot of time in church recently, including talking to Reverend Dad on TrailBlaze, thinking about forgiveness and redemption. I’m not talking about forgiving other people. I mean being forgiven for my own mistakes!

Accepting our own fallibility is the path to humility and humility makes withholding damnation of others much more appealing.

Reverend Jackson appealed to our common cause as Americans of unique backgrounds:

America is not like a blanket—one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt: many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.

And my favorite line:

We have proven that we can survive without each other, but we have not proven that we can win and make progress without each other.

Democrats need the courage of our convictions. I have no doubt Trump will fail as a leader.

My question is this: When Americans go looking for something new, will Democrats be worthy of their support? What is the agenda for change that invites people in?

Saying “no” to Trump won’t be enough. Will there be a reason for Americans to say “yes” to Democrats?