# So what should be the Democrats' version of "Make America Great Again?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 8, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734 "2017-07-08T02:36:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/181 "2017-07-17T23:02:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > I defy classification. I’m a registered Democrat who agrees with some views of conservatives, more with liberals, and even more with (little ‘l’) libertarians. Of course, there are areas of overlap, primarily between the latter two. I’m an independent in the true sense of the word. Cool, thanks for the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/182 "2017-07-17T23:17:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I didn’t want to start a big debate about military spending or pro- vs anti-business positions of the respective parties. I picked two common stereotypes to make a quick point. If you can’t see that generally, Republicans are more eager to fund the military and at higher levels than Democrats, and generally, Republicans are more eager to roll back regulations on businesses than Democrats, then I don’t want to argue about it with you today. Your point about “disagree on what resources are necessary to do the job of the military, and which regulations are harmful and useless” is a valid one, and certainly adds some nuance and depth to those short-hand descriptions of the respective parties’ positions. Can we leave it at that, at least for this thread? The point you say is valid is my only point. If you didn’t want this kind of push back, you shouldn’t characterize policy positions in such an obviously partisan (and false, for the side you disagree with) manner. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/183 "2017-07-17T23:17:53Z")
Has anyone suggested “2020 VISION” as a slogan? I really like it. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/184 "2017-07-17T23:45:15Z")
I want to come back to this, if you don’t mind, H-D: > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I thought something like [this video from John Cena](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MdK8hBkR3s) struck the right tone. It’s patriotic, and optimistic, and yet speaks for values that are important to Democrats. I asked if Republicans shouldn’t be in equal agreement with the sentiments expressed in the 4 minute video, and we had this exchange: > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Yeah, I think many / most Republicans are on board with the idea that we should be nice to handicapped people and gays. If you had to pick a party that emphasizes that particular message, I suspect we’d agree it’s something more at the forefront of the minds of Democrats than Republicans, right? > [@QuickSilver](#): > > Strictly from a legislative perspective, that appears to be the case. But I don’t know why that should be. Surely Republicans have the same exposure on a daily basis to handicapped people, minorities, gays, etc. > > Why the difference between the two? > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Different priorities? > > There are lots of issues like this. For example: > > Surely Democrats have the same exposure on a daily basis to members of our military, but they generally don’t seem as enthused about giving them the resources they need to do their jobs properly. Why the difference? > > Surely Democrats have the same exposure on a daily basis to small business owners, but they generally don’t seem as enthused about rolling back regulations that hamper small businesses. Why the difference? > > Etc. In that particular video, nothing is said about military spending or small business tax policies. All it talks about is the diversity of America as a nation and getting people to realize that America is much more diverse than most people realize. Thus, celebrating that diversity is patriotic. But what you got out of my question about what Republicans could possibly disagree with in the message you brought up military spending and small business taxes. So I’m wondering why you thought those issues were relevant in this context. So I ask again, why shouldn’t Democrats and Republicans agree with the premise of that video specifically? What makes the sentiments expressed in the video more appealing to Democrats than Republicans? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/185 "2017-07-18T00:30:07Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t think my use of “yet” is really worth the level of analysis you put into it, but since you seem enthusiastic about it, here you go: So you’re equating patriotism with jingoism. That’s pretty much what I thought. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/186 "2017-07-18T00:32:44Z")
> [@pjacks](#): > > Which makes me wonder, what would be the Democrats’ version of MAGA? FTFY ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/187 "2017-07-18T00:41:49Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Has anyone suggested “2020 VISION” as a slogan? I really like it. Not bad, but it doesn’t seem to hit the inspirational button enough. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/188 "2017-07-18T00:42:50Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > FTFY I loved that Bill Maher segment. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/189 "2017-07-18T02:00:59Z")
Peacey McPeaceface! ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/190 "2017-07-18T03:06:02Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So you’re equating patriotism with jingoism. That’s pretty much what I thought. I’m not equating patriotism with anything. Let’s just focus on the last sentence in the cite: > [@](#): > > According to Gallup, 52 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of conservatives called themselves extremely patriotic; only 20 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of liberals did. They “called _themselves_” extremely patriotic. I’m not trying to foist my definition of patriotism on Democrats (or anyone else) here. They defined it however they liked in their own mind, and then decided if their own definition applied to them or not. Only 20 percent decided it did, as opposed to 52 percent of Republicans. Given that fact, do you think it’s fair to say that Democrats are less “patriotic” than Republicans? I do, because _they_ told us they were. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/191 "2017-07-18T03:07:06Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > The point you say is valid is my only point. If you didn’t want this kind of push back, you shouldn’t characterize policy positions in such an obviously partisan (and false, for the side you disagree with) manner. I don’t mind pushback, but this thread didn’t seem like the appropriate place for it. If you want to debate which party is more pro-military or pro-business, we can do it, but let’s just do it in another thread. I didn’t want to derail what I thought was a pretty cool thread. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/192 "2017-07-18T03:42:14Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I want to come back to this, if you don’t mind, H-D: > > … > > So I’m wondering why you thought those issues were relevant in this context. So I ask again, why shouldn’t Democrats and Republicans agree with the premise of that video specifically? What makes the sentiments expressed in the video more appealing to Democrats than Republicans? My non-relevant examples were an attempt to point out how parties can agree on something, and yet have differing degrees of enthusiasm. In hindsight, I probably should have picked less politically-touchy topics. Let me try again: I might agree with someone that strawberry ice cream is quite delicious, but what I’m really enthusiastic about is a big bowl of chocolate ice cream. It doesn’t mean that strawberry is bad, or that I disagree that it’s good. It’s just that I get more excited by a bowl of chocolate, and others may get more excited about a bowl of strawberry, and that’s ok. Like I said, I think many / most Republicans (and Democrats) agree with the sentiment in the Cena video. It wouldn’t surprise me if Democrats were more … enthusiastic about that message than Republicans. As for what makes the sentiments expressed more appealing to Democrats than Republicans (and I’d express it as varying levels of enthusiasm than degrees of appeal), my answer before was differing priorities. I still think it’s a pretty accurate answer. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/193 "2017-07-18T07:08:21Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Like I said, I think many / most Republicans (and Democrats) agree with the sentiment in the Cena video. It wouldn’t surprise me if Democrats were more … enthusiastic about that message than Republicans. As for what makes the sentiments expressed more appealing to Democrats than Republicans (and I’d express it as varying levels of enthusiasm than degrees of appeal), my answer before was differing priorities. I still think it’s a pretty accurate answer. I have a feeling it had to do with words like gay, bi, trans, and lesbian, and the message of inclusiveness. I tried Cena’s little thought experiment, and he was right. Of _course_ I should’ve thought to picture the average American as a woman, but I didn’t. Btw, I liked the video a lot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/194 "2017-07-18T09:24:47Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t mind pushback, but this thread didn’t seem like the appropriate place for it. If you want to debate which party is more pro-military or pro-business, we can do it, but let’s just do it in another thread. I didn’t want to derail what I thought was a pretty cool thread. If you don’t want to derail it, don’t characterize the positions of Democrats in false and hyper partisan language. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/195 "2017-07-18T10:56:57Z")
2020 We are awaited in Valhalla! Witness us! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/196 "2017-07-18T12:25:15Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > My non-relevant examples were an attempt to point out how parties can agree on something, and yet have differing degrees of enthusiasm. In hindsight, I probably should have picked less politically-touchy topics. Let me try again: > > I might agree with someone that strawberry ice cream is quite delicious, but what I’m really enthusiastic about is a big bowl of chocolate ice cream. It doesn’t mean that strawberry is bad, or that I disagree that it’s good. It’s just that I get more excited by a bowl of chocolate, and others may get more excited about a bowl of strawberry, and that’s ok. > > Like I said, I think many / most Republicans (and Democrats) agree with the sentiment in the Cena video. It wouldn’t surprise me if Democrats were more … enthusiastic about that message than Republicans. As for what makes the sentiments expressed more appealing to Democrats than Republicans (and I’d express it as varying levels of enthusiasm than degrees of appeal), my answer before was differing priorities. I still think it’s a pretty accurate answer. The thing is, diversity in America should not be a “politically-touchy topic”. Diversity in society is an unavoidable fact and should be politically agnostic. But it isn’t, is it? One party clearly prefers to avoid the subject while the other tends to embrace it. What is it about this subject that makes it more touchy for the Republican side of the political spectrum? Or, in terms of ice cream analogies, _preference_ for chocolate is not the same thing as _sensitivity_ to strawberry. Would you agree? ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/197 "2017-07-18T12:49:34Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The thing is, diversity in America should not be a “politically-touchy topic”. Diversity in society is an unavoidable fact and should be politically agnostic. But it isn’t, is it? One party clearly prefers to avoid the subject while the other tends to embrace it. > > What is it about this subject that makes it more touchy for the Republican side of the political spectrum? > > Or, in terms of ice cream analogies, _preference_ for chocolate is not the same thing as _sensitivity_ to strawberry. Would you agree? One party has a plan of using diversity as a way of smashing their political opponents. That’s just one reason the subject is not politically “agnostic”. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/198 "2017-07-18T12:56:45Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > One party has a plan of using diversity as a way of smashing their political opponents. That’s just one reason the subject is not politically “agnostic”. Do you mean to suggest that Democrats are using diversity as a cudgel with which to beat the Republicans? If so, wouldn’t it be a trivial (and politically effective) matter for the Republicans to disarm the Democrats by readily embracing the reality of social diversity? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/199 "2017-07-18T13:21:13Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Or, in terms of ice cream analogies, _preference_ for chocolate is not the same thing as _sensitivity_ to strawberry. Would you agree? If this analogy is moving in the direction of Neapolitan, well, that’s just plain wrong.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734/200 "2017-07-18T13:26:15Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Do you mean to suggest that Democrats are using diversity as a cudgel with which to beat the Republicans? If so, wouldn’t it be a trivial (and politically effective) matter for the Republicans to disarm the Democrats by readily embracing the reality of social diversity? How the heck would do I know what was best for Republicans on this matter? That’s what super-intelligent political eggheads are well paid for, and even these super-intelligent political eggheads get it wrong as much as they get it correct. The success of Trump this election suggests Trump’s policy is just about right _at this moment in time_. However, my main point was simply that there are plenty of reasons why agnosticism shouldn’t be the natural attitude to diversity. The fact that neither Repubs or Dems(both staffed with far more intelligent political operators than you or I) are agnostic in regards to diversity strongly suggests the natural political attitude to diversity is not an agnostic one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-be-the-democrats-version-of-make-america-great-again/790734.md?page=11)