Folks who call themselves Democratic Socialists may want to understand that the word “socialist” polls about as well as “root canal”.
A faux movement on social media is afoot, probably intiated by the Russians or Republicans, to entice liberals to revolt against the Democratic establishment. Their primary targets are millennials on social media which can explain why we are seeing a drop in their support for the party. The motives of the campaign to woo them is dubious. As dubious as the Russian bot attacks on Hillary and the targeting of Bernie supporters with misinformation in 2015/2016.
If you are one of those who ignore the facts and still think that Sanders would have beat Hillary save for some diabolical plot perpetrated by the DNC, consider yourself hacked. Sanders is not a Democrat, yet he received the benefit of funding and support from the Democratic Party. He never raised a dime for them prior to his run, the Clinton’s raised a mint. Bernie Sanders owes some of his rise to serious good will from the Democrats. That there was some advantage provided to Hillary is not the reason he lost.
I love what Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren stand for, the same way that I loved Eugene McCarthy when I was in high school. I cried when he lost but I grew up politically. I understand now that revolution is not a singular event. It’s a series of incremental changes that evolve over time. There is a societal homeostasis that asserts itself and controls the amount of change to small wins that accumulate to bring about critical mass.
Revolutions tend to burn hot and then fizzle out. They rarely gain the support of the majority that is needed. We have short lives and things seem to take longer than they should, I get it. It is the consistency of prolonged effort that brings about positive change. Many strikes of the flint lights the fire. Maybe think about lending a hand to push an ideal up the hill instead of complaining down at the bottom.
Democrats may want to pay attention to Republicans who are playing the long game. They began building their think tanks and media strategy in the 1970s. They understood that the state houses and judiciary were where they could gain control in a changing society that would eventually tilt demographically against them.
Anyone who thinks “there’s not a dimes worth of difference between the Democrats and Republicans” to paraphrase Ralph Nader, only need look at what’s happening right now with regard to the Supreme Court, healthcare, inequality, the safety net and taxes.
I’m no fan of the Clintons but Bill gave us Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. Hillary would have put a couple of liberals on the court and protected the things progressives care about. Presidents come and go but these judges will be tearing down progress on human rights, justice for the vulnerable, healthcare and environmental protections for decades to come.
Voters who demanded ideology purity from their candidates in 2016 are seeing that perfect can be the enemy of good. Pragmatic politics is not selling out or giving up on a dream. It’s protecting the progress that’s been made and living to fight another day.