Good sense advice on the debates from Rahm Emanuel

This time, don’t fall into the traps that had many of us shaking our heads during the debates in Miami. Before our party promises health care coverage to undocumented immigrants — a position not even Ted Kennedy took — let’s help the more than 30 million Americans who are a single illness away from financial ruin. Before we start worrying about whether the Boston Marathon bomber can vote, let’s stop states that are actively trying to curtail voting rights of citizens. And before we promise a guaranteed minimum income to healthy adults who prefer to stay home and play video games, let’s increase the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit to benefit the millions of people who work hard and still live near poverty.

Most important, you need to convince us you have what it takes to win in the general election. Democrats and independent voters both believe Trump is the ringleader of the three-ring circus we call Washington, and we are all exhausted. We know that the country’s future is at risk. What we’re looking for is a candidate of character, competence, and capacity — someone with the vision and fortitude to be president of the United States. To prevail in the primary, you need to demonstrate you’re that candidate. Think of it as a five-step process.

First, remind people that our country has always won when we’ve invested in America. When the Russians launched Sputnik, we answered with Apollo. Fifty years later, Moscow is still looking at our flag. When the Soviets tried to spread repressive authoritarianism, we successfully championed democracy and free enterprise to close out the “American century.”

People understand that what’s past is prologue — so apply that wisdom. Today, China is practicing the worst kind of industrial espionage, stealing ideas from every sector of the economy. There’s a reason they’re so fixated on the U.S.: Our system is uniquely equipped to unleash the power of entrepreneurial innovation. But Trump isn’t about investing — much of his 2017 tax cuts went to foreigners. In the meantime, American taxpayers have spent the last 20 years both in blood and treasure building roads, schools, and hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan. All the while, American wages continued to stagnate. People are tired of being treated as chumps. It’s time to invest in America again.
As Donald Trump spews hatred and divisiveness, offer unity through universal national service.

Second, every American knows that our schools aren’t hacking it. If we’re going to meet the goal of investing 3% of our GDP in biomedical research, artificial intelligence, and quantum physics, we need a well-trained workforce. To get there, every four-year-old should have a seat at a public pre-K, and every high school graduate should have a seat at a community college. If we start investing in American education again, the kids in Beijing will once again have to fear the kids in Battle Creek. We should make clear we know we’re in a global contest, and we intend to win again.

Third, everyone who spends their days stuck in endless traffic knows that the nation’s roads are going nowhere fast. This fact alone should be enough to convince people that we need to invest in our infrastructure. Most voters will take comfort knowing that we have to hire American workers to pave American roads; rebuilding America can’t be outsourced to New Delhi.

Fourth, as Trump spews hatred and divisiveness, offer unity through universal national service. Nothing would better unite our country like serving alongside each other.

Finally, make sure all Americans are aware that Trump’s only real idea on health care is Medicare cuts for all. No president has ever proposed to slash the program as drastically as this one. Rather than championing ideas that threaten to upend existing coverage, Democrats should promise to build on the success of the Affordable Care Act by allowing anyone over the age of 55 to buy into Medicare. That would both extend insurance to more Americans and strengthen Medicare.

When you’re looking into the camera at the coming debate, imagine you’re speaking to a voter in Grand Rapids or Green Bay who holds two core beliefs in her head: that the economy is OK — not bad — and that Trump’s presidency is worse than bad. Showing that you understand those two points will yield electoral gold. You need to convince that voter to fire a president who is acting like the leader of a circus rather than the leader of the greatest nation on Earth. While at her kitchen table, explain why you’re the candidate best equipped to secure her family’s future. Her vote is how you win the nomination and the White House. Everything else is secondary.

Good luck. We’re counting on you. Let’s make Detroit the place where we send Trump and the B-team packing.