By Debra Houston | Democrats and Republicans can learn from one another.
Democrats are strong on emotion, but often short on reason. Republicans are just the opposite. They are strong on reason, but often short on emotion.
Empathy is entirely appropriate in politics, but sometimes Democrats twist it into something hateful. They exploit the emotions of minorities when they portray Republicans as “the enemy,” as did Mrs. Clinton at a rally in October.
Republicans are hard-wired realists who think they stand on higher moral ground. We should vote for them because they’re right. Yet they seldom go into inner cities to ask for votes. The best way to find out what makes Americans struggle is to go into the neighborhoods where they live.
The perfect candidate would combine the best qualities of both parties. Hard facts paired with genuine empathy go hand-in-hand. Build on that premise and you have a candidate who can reason, inspire, and persuade.
This election cycle, Republicans have several good candidates who demonstrate both reason and passion. My favorite is Senator Marco Rubio. He has great oratory skills and a pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps story about his Cuban parents who came to this country and worked menial jobs so he could achieve the American Dream.
I saw Mrs. Clinton respond to a “Black Lives Matter” activist on the evening news. The young man spoke of changing people’s hearts. Mrs. Clinton said she wasn’t interested in changing hearts. She was interested in changing laws.
At first I liked her straightforward answer. She sounded downright Republican in that she spoke matter-of-factly. Yet the more I thought about her comments, the more disturbing they became. She made it clear she had no plans to persuade anyone. She would change laws as she saw fit, discussion over.
She might want to work on that if she plans to be the next president. Ask the Republican National Committee how far that attitude will take you.
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