TRUMP

APPENDIX 313
fact-checkers to a culture war.” 129 That’s true as an assessment of
the problem, but the question is how Democrats intend to win that
culture war. Do they intend to win it by trying to get people who
already agree with them to half-heartedly drag themselves to the
polls, and by portraying Trump’s working class constituency as the
enemy? Or do they intend to win it by offering an actual principled
contrast that deals with the real problems that people have?
The selection of Tim Kaine as Clinton’s running mate is not a good
sign here. Kaine has no potential whatsoever to craft the kind of
inspiring alternative platform that Democrats need. Hillary Clinton
has not just admitted Kaine is boring, but says that she “love[s] that
about him” because he fits her “fondness for wonks.” 130 But wonks
are precisely the problem; they are incapable of understanding
voters’ emotions. Such people will puzzle over why Americans
are “stubbornly negative” about the economy, 131 failing to even
recognize that large parts of the country are characterized by massive
inequality 132 and poverty. 133
Kaine certainly doesn’t help with the Democrats’ need to reclaim a
progressive populism, since he infamously tried to help banks evade
consumer protection regulations. 134 Trump will (accurately) seize on
this as a reflection of Democratic obliviousness. Indeed, just hours after
the pick was announced, the Republican National Committee sent
out a statement pointing out that “Kaine has castigated opponents
of free-trade agreements as ‘losers’ and strongly supported the War in
Iraq.” 135 By selecting Kaine, Clinton shows that she has no intention
of trying to rechannel the working class anxiety fueling the Trump
campaign into something positive. Instead, she’s simply hoping that
people will be so afraid of Trump that they have no choice but to join
her. Perhaps they will be. But consider: Trump tells people he will keep
them safe from joblessness, terrorism, and crime. Clinton tells people
that joblessness, terrorism, and crime aren’t problems, and that she’ll
keep them safe from Trump. Which scare tactic is more compelling?