I am willing to bet when you saw the subject line for this post, you thought I might be ranking the latest Donald Trump failed efforts to “Make America Great Again.”  And one knows, the list is endless.

• Putting a climate change denier in charge of NASA.
• Creating a generation of “Ex-Dreamers.”
• Playing nuclear chicken with his emotional twin.
• Having his legal thugs verbally attack journalists.
• Pouring more fuel on his obstruction of justice bonfire.

But notice I capitalized WE.  Today, I’m taking a break about worrying about what Trump is doing to America.  By WE, I mean us card-carrying Democrats who hope to bring some semblance of sanity back to Washington following the 2018 mid-term elections.

I’ve said this a dozen times before.  Winning control of Congress is not about convincing the general populace the current occupant of the oval office is incompetent and possibly unstable.  Even Republican senators, representatives and governors are beginning to admit as much.  But if you listened closely to the recent focus group of Pittsburgh Trump voters there were two distinct messages.  One, we knew he was a flawed individual but we thought he would become more presidential.  He hasn’t and we think he is hurting the country.  Two, but most said they would still vote for him over Hillary Clinton.

Bill Maher said it best.  “We should all thank Hillary for her 30 years of public service, but now it’s time for her to step away from the spotlight.”  It appears she has turned a deaf ear.  And here is why I fear she will once again unintentionally raise the spectre of moral equivalency between Democrats and Republicans.

I do not begrudge Clinton making a ton of money from her book.  I plan to read it myself.  But instead of a traditional book-signing tour, the Clinton machine has lined up major events in 15 cities between September 18 and December 13.  And to make it worse, Clinton is charging a fee to attend these events.  I know it’s not illegal to do that, but it affirms the Republican campaign charge that Trump was not the only candidate who was profiting from public service. Now, if you are as ticked off as I am that Trump is holding 2020 campaign tours to energize his base and raise funds to pay his legal defense team, you have to be equally angry that Clinton is holding such rallies.  The press release announcing the tour promises:

Come join Hillary as she lets loose about her experience as a woman in politics, and other topics, in a way she never has before… She’ll connect with audiences with a story that’s personal, raw, detailed, and surprisingly funny. She’ll take you with her on her journey and talk about what happened, what’s next, and what’s on your mind.

Talk about a Democratic Party public relations nightmare in the making.  I hate to think how Trump and his minions will use images of large crowds chanting, “I’m with Her!” or “He’s a creep!”  If you want a preview of the alt-right response, just take a a look at the comments accompanying the article in Rolling Stone Magazine covering the book release.

As John Kennedy said in his 1961 inaugural address, “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.”  Ironically, the congressional hearings into the Trump/Russian connection have introduced Americans to some future leaders of the Democratic Party.  These include Senators Christopher Coons (DE), Kamala Harris (CA) and Chris Murphy (CT) and Representatives Adam Schiff (CA) and Jackie Speier (CA).

We have the messengers.  Now we need the message.  Today, Joe Scarborough reminded his viewers that the public opposes virtually every Trump policy position by a margin of two to one.  Immigration.  The wall.  LGBT rights.  The list goes on and on.  The message is there for the taking, “If you believe (public opinion on any major policy issue), you should be a Democrat because we share your belief.”

There is one more thing the party needs.  The space to make its case.  Sadly, the upcoming Clinton book tour will fill that needed space with content and images which do not help the cause.

At a time when we Democrats are imploring Republicans to put country before party, Hillary Clinton, you have the rare opportunity to put country AND party before self-promotion.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP