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Democrats Return to a Familiar Strategy: PANIC!

You might have noticed that Democrats are, once again, sending out hysterical fundraising emails. Here’s the latest from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee:

That’s relatively tame compared to Paul Begala’s deranged rant about Dick Cheney:

The moon over Washington was blood red. The Ghost of Foul-Ups Past emerged from his cave. Stroking a hairless cat named Halliburton, he moved silently through the roomful of lobbyists, plutocrats and fat cats, his cape trailing in the mist. Though crowded, the room was suddenly cold, chilled from the icy presence of former Vice President Voldemort. As he stood atop the podium to address his minions, flames shot from his fingertips and sulfur steamed out of his nose. His eyes glowed red as he inhaled deeply, sucking in the souls of every man and woman in the room, turning them into his private malevolent army of flying monkeys.

At least that’s what I imagine the Dick Cheney fundraiser for House Republicans Tuesday night was like.

After watching this strategy fail miserably in the 2014 midterms, some liberals are understandably peeved:

But, seriously, what other choice do Democrats have, when deranged fearmongering is the only play they know how to run? Don’t vote for Mitt Romney because he literally killed a woman with cancer! The Koch brothers want to murder bald eagles and beat up your grandmother! Indiana just legalized discrimination! (Never mind what actual legal experts say.)

Even on issues such as the minimum wage, Democrats tend to focus less on their own affirmative support (for raising it) than they do on their opposition to the GOP’s opposition. They’d rather not compromise with Republicans, either, but then they’d lose the issue as a political wedge. This is why the Democratic Senate spent so much time over the past few years voting on pleasantly titled bills like the Paycheck Fairness Act. Republicans are evil for opposing it, obviously. (And apparently the Fair Pay Act of 2009 was a failure.)

Beneath the surface, Democrats are not as united as they’d have you believe. On a host of issues—trade, labor policy, Wall Street, foreign policy, entitlement reform—there are significant disagreements within the party. But there is one thing that never fails to unite them: fear of Republicans. The Democratic base may be growing tired of it, but they’ll just have to suck it up because, in the words of one particularly frantic DCCC fundraising email from 2014, their party is "completely out of ideas."