Alan Grayson's hilarious diary about Sarah Palin has hit the rec list. Is it not constructive? Does it go too far? Yesterday I wrote a diary that got a fraction of a fraction of the comments Grayson has received, and only one was critical, but I'm sure there were many of that opinion who did not comment.
The common refrain is that such rhetoric alienates voters. It makes us look bad. It's childish.
The latter, perhaps, is a valid observation. I'd argue that if there's a place one can be childish about the GOP, it's among Democrats, on a Democratic website. But does it really make us look bad? Does it alienate voters?
You'd have a hard time proving that thesis. After all, there is a party that not only makes blunt, crass statements on a regular basis -- and they also blatantly lie in ways that are extremely easy to prove. Despite the "best efforts" of our milquetoast legislators, we often lose to these people. There is a party that plays politics like it's a WWE match, and a party that plays politics like they're choosing the right shade of paint for their living room. Which is more appealing to the masses? Which would people rather watch?
Maybe it's a sad statement about our country. But that doesn't make it a FALSE statement. There is an emotion gap between the parties. That emotion gap was closed sharply in 2008, only to reopen in the next two years. I've heard the saying campaign in poetry, govern in prose. Many of our Democratic politicians govern in calculator readouts.
In a way, I get it. We're Democrats. If we were willing to sacrifice reason for emotion, we'd probably be Republicans. A level head and a willingness to entertain rationality is part of what separates the Democratic Party from the GOP, and we must not lose that. But we can be truthful and be blunt and passionate at the same time. Alan Grayson did not say anything that most people in this country weren't already thinking.
Sure, bluntness and a dash of incivility will anger some voters. But you can't please some voters. We all know of the stubborn 20%. The people who believe Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya, the people who supported George W. Bush to the last minute of his term, the people to whom Sarah Palin is a golden-haloed savior of everything pure and American. It would be nice if we could convince those people to support our candidates - but it would also be nice if I found a map to One-Eyed Willie's buried pirate treasure. I'm not holding my breath, and you shouldn't either.
We have our own base, and we also have the big wide middle of America. They're waiting for someone to fire up their emotions again. They like people who tell it like it is. They like people with a spine. They're ready for marches, they're ready for rallies, and they're ready for a laugh. We have an opportunity here - let's not drown it in withering self-doubt.
I guarantee you the Republican party isn't sitting around worrying about what people think of them -- or else the Ryan budget would still be a twinkle in the hungry cash register he calls a brain, and the 8 years we suffered through Dubya would just be someone's bad dream, not historical fact.