|
It is easy to pronounce Betsy DeVos’ confirmation as Secretary of Education a Democratic defeat. After all, Democrats used all the means at their disposal to stop the confirmation of this ultra- right, anti-public school activist. Democrats used DeVos’ confirmation hearing to show that she had used her fortune to finance the elections of other far right politicians, seek the privatization of public schools to the benefit of corporations in which she had invested, and to promote an extreme, Denominationalist Christian dogma. Most importantly, the hearing demonstrated beyond doubt that DeVos did not possess even the most rudimentary knowledge about education policy. Despite DeVos’ inadequacies, Democrats even with a massive outpouring of public opinion opposing her confirmation, could not stop her.
Nonetheless, resistance to the DeVos confirmation had three positive effects for the welfare of the Democratic Party. First, it showed Democrats how to capture the media and promote their framing of issues. Too often Democrats have attempted to use press releases to tell their stories, or worse, assumed the media would discover the truth about their stories. Because Democrats resisted the DeVos confirmation by publicly and loudly confronting her inadequacies in a disciplined way, the media was forced to cover the Democratic position and report the questions they raised. Second, resisting the DeVos confirmation showed Democrats the effectiveness that a minority can influence the Republican majority when they present a unanimous opposition. Also, having successfully influencing the majority builds cohesion and discipline among the minority Senators and rank and file Democrats for future fights. Third, because of DeVos’ obvious inadequacies, her ultimate confirmation demonstrated the extent to which Republicans will go to avoid challenging Trump. Only two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, re-elected in 2016 and Susan Collins, facing re-election in Maine, were willing to vote against DeVos. While the defection of two Republicans may show how obviously disqualified DeVos was, more clearly it shows the dedication of the other 50 Republicans to the Trump Administration. And, in light of the Administration’s rampant conflicts of interest, Islamophobia and white nationalism, and commitment to business, it also clearly shows the extent to which the Republican Party has become authoritarian, if not fascist. |