Scorched earth or tactical retreat? The decision facing Democrats

The plight of the Democratic Party today reminds me a bit of the opening crawl for my favorite of the original Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back. "It is a dark time for the Rebellion" can easily be replaced with "It is a dark time for the Democrats."

When the film was first released, that crawl came as a jolt, particularly in the wake of the triumphant end to the first movie. In the same vein, few could have predicted this state of affairs for Democrats six months ago, when many predicted it would be they controlling all the levers of power in Washington following Barack Obama's groundbreaking presidency and the many seeming meltdowns of Donald Trump's campaign.

Now Democrats face a stark choice that also echoes the Battle of Hoth at the beginning of the Empire Strikes Back. Adopt a "scorched earth" policy in opposing every element of Donald Trump's radical and increasingly unhinged agenda, even though they lack the votes in Congress to stop much of that agenda without Republican help. Or stage a tactical retreat, picking battles carefully where they have a chance to garner public, and hence Republican, support, while ceding the ground (such as in the Supreme Court nomination) where the odds are heavily stacked against them. Instead of focusing on stopping Trump now, this plan would look largely toward regrouping and building the legislative muscle they will need to regain control of Congress and the Presidency down the road, where they can really make inroads.

Any Star Wars fan knows what the Rebels chose in The Empire Strikes Back. Outmanned and outgunned, they chose tactical retreat. The Battle of Hoth wasn't about defeating the Empire, it was about escaping in one piece in order to regroup and fight another day, while inflicting whatever damage they could.

Of course, parallels between science fiction and the reality of today's world only go so far. Trump is  already proving himself to be so dangerous to world and national security, and long-held American values, that a strong argument can be made that the Democratic Party has a moral obligation to oppose him with all its might on all fronts. And it's not outside the realm of possibility that such a strategy could work. A president's power ultimately hinges on popular approval, and it's clear after two weeks that Trump is still deeply unpopular with much of the American electorate, and perhaps growing more so by the day. Republicans are wary of challenging him so early in his presidency for fear that it will threaten their chances of working with him to unravel much of Obama's legacy. But they also need to be wary of remaining silent while millions of Americans increasingly express alarm over his words and actions.

But the tactical retreat strategy could actually be more effective right now in containing Trump's right-wing radicalism, in that it gives Democrats a better chance of enlisting at least such measure of Republican support on issues where he is clearly outside the mainstream views of both parties or the American people. By going scorched earth, it's likely the polarization in Congress will grow even worse, and Republicans will become so incensed that they'll side with Trump even on matters where they're not fully in agreement. As a hypothetical, if Democrats extend Republicans an olive branch by agreeing not to filibuster Trump's Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, perhaps they can extract some concessions in working to roll back the draconian Muslim ban or moderate Republican attempts to undo ObamaCare. Of course, there's also the risk that such concessions will net them nothing, and Republicans will continue to milk their majority control of Congress for all it's worth, placing party above country.

Which way should the Democrats go? I honestly don't know, as either course is fraught with risk and potential. But regardless, they need to start looking to 2018 and 2020 right now to figure out a strategy for winning back at least one of the levers of power in Washington. Until that happens, it is the American people and the courts who will probably have to do the heavy lifting in restraining Trump. Democrats' focus will quickly need to shift to finding a way to connect with red and swing state voters that they've increasingly alienated over the past decade. While all the focus may be on the fights in Washington right now, this war will ultimately be won on the campaign trail and in the minds of voters in two and four years.

Until then, Democrats might be wise to heed the advice -- at least to some degree -- of a sage Jedi Knight from another Star Wars film in deciding their next move, "You can't win. But there are alternatives to fighting."