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On Saturday, millions of women — and men — marched in cities around the country, and the world, in response to the inauguration of Donald J. Trump. At the rally in Washington, demonstrators chanted: “We won’t go away. Welcome to your first day!”
Though the march had been in the works for months, even its organizers were surprised by the turnout. Whether President Trump, newly ensconced in the White House, was surprised, or even noticed, is unclear. Given his reputation, he may not even care. But the Republican Party should.
Though the tone of the march was decidedly left wing, it was made up of women of every background — black, white and brown; moderate and radical; urban and rural; rich and poor; Christian, Muslim and Jew — united in their belief in women’s rights. More important, perhaps, than their message was their intent: Many saw themselves as the nucleus of a legitimate opposition movement that could have a real impact on policy and elections for years to come.
The success of the march, despite having no central leadership, demonstrates the potential for its message to rally grass-roots activism. It’s reminiscent of another grass-roots movement, started in opposition to a new president, eight years ago: the Tea Party.
There are obvious differences. The Tea Party was ideologically unified and further to the right than the women’s march was to the left. And of course, we know the Tea Party succeeded; it’s too early yet to know what will happen with the women’s march. But with anti-Trump sentiment already aboil, there’s every indication that the march will become the movement’s touchstone. Unfortunately, the Republicans have begun to make the same mistakes that Barack Obama and Democrats made with the Tea Party in 2009 and 2010.
Democrats responded to Tea Party supporters by mocking them, dismissing them and even belittling them. The left said that the Tea Party demonstrators were bitter, uninformed, even ignorant. No effort was made to work with them, and when their ranks began to swell, Democrats called them crazy extremists. This type of talk only fanned the flames of dissent, and the Tea Party thrived. It grew in size and strength, becoming a major grass-roots movement. The results were three catastrophic congressional elections for the Democrats, in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Now, with the rise of this new movement, Republicans are taking the same path as Democrats did with the Tea Party in 2009. We are calling the people who participated in the Women’s March outside of the mainstream, and laughing at their actions. The march seems to represent exactly the sort of target the right like to deride — feminists, millennials, “social justice warriors.” Congress and the White House were largely silent, while their proxies in the news media took potshots — saying, for example, that American women should “grow up,” and that women in other countries have it much worse. While such comments might be low hanging fruit for retweets, they are no way to engage with legitimate, widely shared views, even if you disagree with them.
Though the march had been in the works for months, even its organizers were surprised by the turnout. Whether President Trump, newly ensconced in the White House, was surprised, or even noticed, is unclear. Given his reputation, he may not even care. But the Republican Party should.
Though the tone of the march was decidedly left wing, it was made up of women of every background — black, white and brown; moderate and radical; urban and rural; rich and poor; Christian, Muslim and Jew — united in their belief in women’s rights. More important, perhaps, than their message was their intent: Many saw themselves as the nucleus of a legitimate opposition movement that could have a real impact on policy and elections for years to come.
The success of the march, despite having no central leadership, demonstrates the potential for its message to rally grass-roots activism. It’s reminiscent of another grass-roots movement, started in opposition to a new president, eight years ago: the Tea Party.
There are obvious differences. The Tea Party was ideologically unified and further to the right than the women’s march was to the left. And of course, we know the Tea Party succeeded; it’s too early yet to know what will happen with the women’s march. But with anti-Trump sentiment already aboil, there’s every indication that the march will become the movement’s touchstone. Unfortunately, the Republicans have begun to make the same mistakes that Barack Obama and Democrats made with the Tea Party in 2009 and 2010.
Democrats responded to Tea Party supporters by mocking them, dismissing them and even belittling them. The left said that the Tea Party demonstrators were bitter, uninformed, even ignorant. No effort was made to work with them, and when their ranks began to swell, Democrats called them crazy extremists. This type of talk only fanned the flames of dissent, and the Tea Party thrived. It grew in size and strength, becoming a major grass-roots movement. The results were three catastrophic congressional elections for the Democrats, in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Now, with the rise of this new movement, Republicans are taking the same path as Democrats did with the Tea Party in 2009. We are calling the people who participated in the Women’s March outside of the mainstream, and laughing at their actions. The march seems to represent exactly the sort of target the right like to deride — feminists, millennials, “social justice warriors.” Congress and the White House were largely silent, while their proxies in the news media took potshots — saying, for example, that American women should “grow up,” and that women in other countries have it much worse. While such comments might be low hanging fruit for retweets, they are no way to engage with legitimate, widely shared views, even if you disagree with them.
