Voters
have two things to consider in choosing a nominee to take on Trump: Who is best
suited to take on a bully and liar in public, on social media,
and on the debate stage? And how to craft a simple message strong enough to
neutralize Trump's use of race and immigration as a bogeyman capable of scaring
his base? That message is Russia – a foreign adversary that Trump has made
a friend.
A
canon of literature exists on how to deal with liars. It unequivocally counsels refuting lies promptly with
facts and not necessarily being polite about it. Trump's lies are predictable.
He also makes things up to suit the moment, regardless of the facts. The
Democratic candidate has to have the skills to master the rebuttals to his
lies, and be able to rapidly, both in person and on social media, respond to
them.
In the recently concluded Democratic debates there were barely two references to Russia, and no emphasis on its ongoing attacks on our electoral process. Cory Booker and Bill De Blasio mentioned Russia once. Julián Castro made a reference to "Moscow Mitch", alluding to Mitch McConnell's refusal to bring legislation countering Russia's attacks to the floor of the Senate. This lack of focus on Russia was a huge mistake.