Election 2010: The conservatives march lockstep to victory, using the same memes, the same Frank Luntz language, the same lack of transparency with respect to policies and prospects.
Meanwhile, the progressives sit around and debate the proverbial number of angels on the heads of pins. Observers compare the conduct of many of the campaigns to proverbial efforts to "herd cats." Not surprisingly, there were massive losses across the board.
Result: The nation may not only lose its social support networks of Medicare and Medicaid, but may be traveling down a path toward the subservience of women eerily reminiscent of "A Handmaid's Tale."
It's time to stop acting like house cats and begin stalking like a pride of lions. That doesn't eliminate independence, but it
First, accept the research-based evidence. Conservatives think much differently than progressives do. They accept direction. They march lockstep--even if that means jumping off a cliff, as they did on Thursday voting for the Ryan budget plan.
I know that sounds self-defeating. But they appeal to the folks who have been educated in the post-Reagan, "back to basics" (aka no logic, no inquiry, no diverse opinions) public school system. The memes that Frank Luntz invents appeal tremendously to these folks.
Want a government defined by Scalia and financed by Ryan? Or do you want to live in the nation imagined by Thomas Jefferson? If we believe in the latter (and aren't a paid troll) then we have to accept some self-discipline for the next 18 months.
It's time to re-examine how we approach our tendency to tolerate diverse opinions. I will ALWAYS disagree with not only some members of this community but with the administration on some issues. But I recommend that in order to maintain the country we imagine to be possible, we commit to some ground rules:
First, diaries must be honest. Would anyone write a dishonest diary here? Ya betcha! One example: Last week a diarist said that (sic) the Pentagon chose to finance NASCAR rather than counseling for vets. The budget for NASCAR was an army recruitment effort, the budget for vet counseling a totally different division. No connection. Trying to get attention in a diary without a reasonable analysis of the situation was dishonest!
Second, review your civics. There are many diarists who criticize Obama for not passing bills that he never had the votes to pass. "Why didn't he just jump off the cliff with the lemmings? Or stomp his foot and refuse to do anything...letting unemployment expire to 'show the GOP' his mettle?" Well, because the community organizer from Chicago has sat at the table with folks who had no money coming in at all, and perhaps in the middle of the night he dreams about those folks!
Third, channel your activism where it works. In our household, we no longer donate to DSCC or the Dem Party as a whole, but send a bit to candidates who show spine. (It's the same reasoning that causes us to give to individual Catholic charities and not to the Bishops.) It's an individual choice but you don't have to sit on your hands or your wallet; you can let those who have acted like wusses know that you are saying "no, thank you" and send a message to those who stand up for what's right.
And finally NEVER, NEVER neglect to vote. I just read that only 44% voted in 2010. In the city of Detroit, about 8 percent voted. "You get what you vote for..." and if you don't vote, you are electing Scalia president!
House cats prowl, but ineffectively because they work alone. Lions rule, because they don't give up their independence but when it's vital to the survival of the pride, they work together.