We watched over the past few years as the Republican party went from a big tent to a full on three ring circus filled with clowns. People who varied even the slightest amount from party orthodoxy were branded heretics, and that four letter abbreviation of doom. RINO. Republican In Name Only.
We’ve seen conservatives say that they’d rather stand for ALL their principles and get nothing then to pick and choose what principles they can advance at any one time. That led to so much anger, that Donald Trump is now the nominee, and everyone’s begging to please “unify the party”. In other words, it’s the Republican supporters gnashing their teeth, rending their garments and wailing that they could lose for a generation or more.
Doesn’t sound like a fun time, does it?
So why are a lot of us aching to follow down that path where purism overrides pragmatism? Where we want EVERYTHING, NOW, and if we don’t get it, we want nothing at all?
Bernie Sanders has been a net positive for the Democratic party during the primary season. They have excited the base, and provided a great amount of discussion on what the Democratic party as a whole believes and is working towards.
But I just shake my head ruefully, when I read some of the comments by folks who vow that if they’d rather burn the house down, then see a “watered-down” version of what they believe take the nod.
Here’s two things to think about.
One) The Democratic Base is large and loud. That’s great. But we have to remember where we are as a nation. We’ve made steps forward when we captured the center. And despite the fact that a lot of left-leaning folks have trumpeted for Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton is winning this primary season, by nearly three million votes. Three million. That’s a fairly large margin.
Two) One of my facebook friends, who’s feed is filled with pro-Bernie and anti-Hillary screeds daily, posted this recently:
The way I see it, a Hillary presidency will involve me getting furious about all the underhanded corporatist insider BS she slides past us for four years, building up a (bigger) wall of lies to protect the power and wealth of herself and her friends, doing her best to eliminate any possibility of the revolution millions of people like me are fighting for. With a Trump presidency, I figure I can save myself $60 on buying Fallout 4 (a post-apocalyptic game) by getting to experience it in real life.
While there’s some element of “humor” involved there, I’m sure, let’s look at what we’re fighting for here.
1. Affordable Healthcare under the ACA and programs like MassHealth. Something without which I’d likely be a lot worse off then I am now (been out of work for 18 months due to arthritis and Crohn’s issues), so it is a rather near and dear subject to me.
2. A chance to influence a Supreme Court for a generation. One of the most virulently right-wing folks in the court’s history is no longer on the Court, and we have a chance to reset the Court. THe right-wing are throwing a hail-mary pass that instead of the fairly moderate left-of-center nominee that Obama has offered, they can delay it until the election, in the hopes that they’d get Anton Scalia 2.0 on the court under Trump.
3. A culture war that’s been reignited just when we thought the monster was dead. Sure we have gay marriage (and that’s a huge step), but now we’re fighting bathroom bills, women’s reproductive right battles, and against a party that wants to bar WHOLE RELIGIONS from the United States.
4. A party that wants to go back to eliminating revenue as a ways of fixing deficit. That’s like seeing a spark plug is malfunctioning in your car, so you try to stick your finger in there to get it to work.
So, folks, win lose or draw for your candidate, let’s not throw around DINO’s or “squishies” or “Corporatist insiders”
They say those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it..
Let’s continue to be the smart party.