Laura Washington: Waving the flag could turn the tables on Donald Trump and the GOP

Chicago Tribune

21-05-2025

Waving the flag is as American as apple pie. For years, Republicans have painted Democrats as far-left extremists and America haters, to disastrous effect. It's time to turn the tables.
Flag-shagging, as it's known in the United Kingdom, is the 'uncouth vernacular for overt displays of patriotism,' according to a recent essay in The Economist. Last year, it helped the British Labour Party regain a majority in Parliament.
President Donald Trump's caterwauling about the Democrats' hatred of the military and the nation is epic. He has called Democrats 'treasonous' and 'un-American.' Trump's rants have no basis in fact, but if you bellow loud enough and often enough, it sinks in.
'They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much. It's very sad,' Trump said. Such accusations are echoed up and down the ranks of the Republican leadership, running wild and freely.
At a campaign rally in his Ohio hometown, then-Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance attacked prospective Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by questioning her patriotism. When Harris gives a speech, Vance claimed, 'she talks about the history of this country not with appreciation but with condemnation.'
He piled on: 'Not everything's perfect. It's never going to be. But you, if you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it. You should feel a sense of gratitude. And I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris.'
It was an echo of attacks leveled at former first lady Michelle Obama during her husband's 2008 presidential campaign.
The Republicans are particularly good at this trope.
Back in 2020, a first-term congressman from Texas targeted U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw criticized Duckworth for suggesting that the issue of removal of statues and monuments of controversial Founding Fathers should be debated.
Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, said Duckworth was supporting the 'destruction of America.'
'I think a general message that the left stands for the destruction of America and the right doesn't probably works pretty well with veterans, even liberal ones, because even liberal veterans probably don't agree with that, unless you're Tammy Duckworth,' he declared.
Duckworth is a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel. She lost her legs serving in combat in the Iraq War.
Democrats have work to do. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 41% of adults said they were 'extremely proud' to be American, and another 26% said they were 'very proud.'
Over the years, patriotic pride among Republicans 'has consistently outpaced that of Democrats,' according to Gallup. In 2024, 59% of Republicans, 34% of Democrats and 36% of independents said they were 'extremely proud' to be American.
Flag-shagging, by wrapping yourself snugly in the American flag, is what the Democrats should do. There is no downside.
They need to stop being the party that stands up for the protester who burns our flag. Let the U.S. Supreme Court deal with the free speech issues. Flag burning cannot be the Democrats' epithet. They don't have to support massive military budgets, but they should staunchly support our troops and veterans.
Democrats might consider the example of Rahm Emanuel, the prominent Democrat, former U.S. ambassador to Japan and former Chicago mayor. He is back in town and on a political redemption tour.
This month, Emanuel held an event to showcase a program he is spearheading to support Chicago Public Schools students who are enrolled in ROTC. He announced that he and his wife, Amy Rule, are establishing an ROTC scholarship and naming it after Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who was the first woman to serve as chief of naval operations and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, until she was inexplicably fired by the Trump administration.
Twelve graduates of the CPS Junior ROTC received a scholarship check from Emanuel to fund $10,000 a year toward their college education. Franchetti appeared with Emanuel to congratulate the students.
I'm no Rahm fan, but that's savvy politics.
Last August, the politicians were falling all over themselves with patriotism at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Their floor speeches were laced with odes to America. 'USA' signs flooded the zone at Chicago's United Center.
In return, the Democrats enjoyed a post-convention bump in the polls. Their flag-shagging had Trump on the run.
Since then, not so much. The Democrats must overcome their natural inclination to duck.
Erring on the side of patriotism is not a political sin. It's a virtue. It's sort of like being in favor of motherhood. Who's against that?
Railing against the oligarchy will get the Democrats only so far. Instead, go full tilt into waving the flag.