ANALYSIS/OPINION:

From the moment Donald Trump stunned the world and won the 2016 presidential election, Democrats have laid all their chips on the “Resist” strategy. How’s that working out for them?

The political calculation made some sense, at the time. Trump won the White House with record high negatives. He was painted as a polarizing figure and his New York swagger and crass delivery did little to bridge the gap between those who love his style and those who viscerally loathe it. Positioning your party as the embodiment of resistance against an unpopular and untested political pariah gives you an automatic constituency without really trying, so why not embrace it?

The “Resistance” also allowed Democrats to provide gentle, soothing comfort to their fragile, damaged standard bearer, Hillary Clinton at a time when she seemed to teeter on the brink of emotional breakdown in the months following her devastating loss. Democrats and the “Resistance” strategy portrayed Clinton as a victim of Comey and Putin and WikiLeaks and misogyny and racism and bots and… well, you get the picture.

This delayed (and continues to delay) the hard but necessary self-examination a party usually goes through after a major political loss. Instead of getting to the bottom of what the other guy did better and what they failed at executing, Democrats have instead repeated the “we were robbed” lament while marching in the streets in pink hats.

Resistance was much easier than coming up with a positive political agenda. It’s always easier to articulate what you’re against than what you’re for. And if legions are willing to march in the streets on behalf of what you’re against, well so much the better, right?

But now, sixteen months into the Trump presidency, things are actually going pretty well in America. So what, exactly, are Democrats no resisting…? Success?

Deroy Murdock at National Review paints the very real and very positive outlook for the American economy under Trump:

Trump’s economy is stunning. Free-trade turbulence aside, Trump’s tax cuts, regulatory relief, and pro-business tone are working. GDP advanced 2.3 percent in 2017. Unemployment hit 3.9 percent last month, the lowest since 2000. Black and Hispanic joblessness are at or near record depths. And February found just 40 million on food stamps. April witnessed a “record level of small businesses experiencing profit growth,” the National Federation of Independent Business reported. NFIB President Juanita Duggan said, “The optimism small business owners have about the economy is turning into new job creation, increased wages and benefits, and investment.” “The U.S. now has a record 6.6 million job openings,” cheered a headline in Tuesday’s Washington Post. “The United States now has a job opening for every unemployed person in the country,” the Post’s Heather Long wrote. “The Labor Department reported Tuesday there were 6.6 million job openings in March, a record high — and enough for the 6.6 million Americans who were actively looking for a job that month.”

Despite a correction earlier in the year, the Dow is back in positive territory for the year and despite dire warnings from Democrats, government revenues registered a record surplus months into the Trump tax cut regime.

Add to that a new CNN poll showing a 57% positive outlook for the direction of the country and

A new generic ballot poll from Reuters shows Democrats and Republicans in a virtual dead heat just months before the midterm elections, a contest that historically plays into Democrats favor.

All of these factors should serve as warning signs for Democrats, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. They seem to be doubling-down on their 2016 strategy. The party appears to have their entire future wrapped up in one, over-riding message: Resist Trump.

But, with the economy surging and unemployment plummeting and foreign policy successes filling the headlines your average American voter might be asking themselves “What, exactly, are Democrats resisting?”

Good question. They better come up with an answer more compelling than Donald Trump or this “Blue Wave” is going to look more like a pale ripple.

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