Why Winning the Little Battles Matter

This is perhaps less relevant to the debate around “Why impeach Trump when Pence is just bad” but my view on all these issues around Republican officeholders is that you win the battles you can and then prepare for the next battle. An example. Trump’s first choice as Secretary of Labor was Andy Puzder, the clownish misogynist who headed Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. He would have been a complete disaster for workers, an extremist who would have pushed a hard-right agenda. His behavior was so extreme that he was the one Trump Cabinet official who couldn’t get through the Senate. At the time, you might have thought, well, whoever replaces him would just as bad. But it doesn’t always work that way. Often in these situations, the next appointee is someone who is an easy confirmation. And they might have more moderate views. Such is the case with Alexander Acosta, who was the second choice for Secretary of Labor and who is now clashing with Trump extremists who want to gut all protections for labor. Basically, Acosta is just a regular corporate Republican who is more concerned with a smooth-running workplace than setting fire to generations of regulations and policy. That’s infuriating Trump insiders. Puzder would have been all-in with the fireeaters. So that’s a win. Acosta’s hardly a great guy and is ultimately bad for workers himself, but given the circumstances, he’s about the least terrible Cabinet appointee in a Cabinet of very terrible appointees. And resistance to Puzder is key to that.