Axlerod trips over the truth, and 14th Century German swordplay helps with the metaphor.
As liberals and progressives, we generally seek to define ourselves as reality-based. We have lofty ideals, but require fact-based analysis and solid, objective evidence to support those ideals. As liberals and progressives we have watched the millstone of an ever rightward political shift grind away at those ideals until they are unrecognizable.
David Axlerod, talking about continuing the Bush tax breaks, essentially argued that we have to deal with the world we live in, and not the world we want. I, too, have made that argument before. I was wrong.
Forging the world into what it ought to be is not inconsistent with a reality-based outlook. FDR faced stiff opposition to his progressive agenda. He knew that the common wisdom held that government should play no role, and that the market would correct itself. Like Galileo, his ideas were radical and unheard of, but he pushed ahead with force and conviction. He did not look at the world and declare himself the world's slave. He looked at the world and took it by the horns. He forced the world to conform to his vision, and in so doing he saved us from our complacency. Dr. King also refused to accept the world as it was, and instead fought for the world he dreamed could exist.
The key difference between the conservative movement and the progressive movement is a fundamental disconnect in terms of how each movement views reality. For conservatives, reality is completely malleable. Death panels exist because conservatives say they exist because they heard from a conservative that a conservative read that Death Panels exist. In the absolute lie of that thinking rests the power of persuasion. It doesn't matter if it's a lie, it matter if it's said with conviction and absolute faith. If people believe the lie, then it's true for them, and it may as well be their reality.
Progressives get caught a step behind as a result. We spend our time trying to debunk the lie instead of doubling down on the truth. Where were our screamers at the Town Hall meetings? What was more important to us - keeping a cool tongue or protecting the public option and defending the single most important piece of legislation in the last several decades? We chose to keep our tongue civil, quiet, and calm. And as a result, the people with more faith in their reality won the day. While the bill was passed, it was not anywhere near as good as it could have been. And as a result, the Conservative movement can now pivot on the bill's inevitable shortcomings and use that to their advantage.
14th Century German fencing masters taught a concept to their students that progressives can learn a lot from. The concept was simple - there are two places to be in a fight; the fore and the aft. In the Fore, you have the advantage, because you have the initiative. You control the time of the fight because you are acting and they are reacting. In the Aft, you have one goal - to put yourself back in the Fore and in a stronger position where in you control the fight's parameters.
We are in the Aft. Even in victory, we fight from the Aft. Which means that our victories are not solid, and they do not last. We get lucky. Until Progressives can learn this lesson and take the initiative away from the Conservatives, we will continue to remain a step behind. We must accept the truth that individual Conservative voters vote with their hearts, and in their hearts they vote for people who state with conviction the things they want to hear.
There is really only one way to combat this. We need to get out of the Aft and into the Fore, where we can double down on the objective truth of our message and then fight powerfully to see that vision made a reality. That means a vocal and loud movement, one that stands up for labor and the environment, gay rights and military moderation. It means coming together as progressives and liberals and staking out what we are for. It means coming up with a cohesive frame and standing by it. It means not yielding an inch of ground, even if we are destined to lose. It means abandoning compromise until we redefine the parameters and create the playing field that suits our needs and lends us the advantage.
We need to stop fighting the safe battles and start pushing hard for the difficult ones, even if we are unlikely to win. We need to stop giving ground without gaining advantage in doing so. We need to start moving people to be loud, powerful, and committed. And we need to start doing it now.