When you do think about how you are being cheated, you don’t like it. Human beings don’t like being taken advantage of. We understand, deep down, that rewarding the dishonest just increases dishonesty.
The Democratic Party is devoted to the current iniquitous system for one simple reason: it generates more Democrats. In other words, private cheating helps Democrats win in public. It is crucial to point this out whenever discussing the issue. No matter how much they swaddle themselves in their self-anointed righteousness, Democrats do not have a principled stance on this question—just a self-interest in seeing deviousness thrive.
Democrats can’t win a rational debate by defending the current system. It’s indefensible. You’ll notice that many of the more logical liberals, such as Kevin Drum and Matthew Yglesias, simply try to dismiss the entire subject out of hand: Why are Republicans even bothering to bring that up? They shouldn’t waste their precious political capital on that!
The only way Democrats can win on this is through obscurantism, soft-headed sentimental rhetoric, and character assassination.
That leads me to a few suggestions about terminology. As long as we can keep reminding the American public of the reality that they’re being ripped off, we’ll have the upper hand. Therefore, emphasize the dishonesty.
