There is no Red America or Blue America there is the United States of America
Maybe we should listen to those words. We kind of liked them when we were the political minority. We kind of liked them when they launched Sen.. Obama on the national stage. Now that we have the majority is it time to declare that there is only a Blue America? Is there no room in a Progressive America for other points of views? Or are we just like them?
Would it be nice if everyone thought like we did? Would it be good if what we perceive as the obviously right thing to do was agreed to by everyone? Would it be great if a Progressive view of health care - single payer - was acknowledged to be right by everyone because we perceive it as honestly the best way to go?
Wouldn't it be great if everyone was Progressive and thought the way we do? Wouldn't it be great if we just trampled views that don't agree with our own because we're correct and they're not? Isn't that what we were told by the Republicans for years? We were told this was a center-right country. We were told this was a conservative country. We were told that they won and therefore their agenda had to be followed and we were un-American for disagreeing with them.
But now our side won. And what do we do? We demonize the opposition. We complain if the President doesn't do everything that his progressive base wants. We attack our moderates. We call those who vehemently disagree with us fascists. We ignore that we are all Americans and we are all entitled to our views. We attack the President that we fought to get elected as a traitor to our ideals, a sellout to the corporations or not ideologically pure. We attack our president the way conservatives turned on George W. Bush.
And our fellow Americans. We call them wingnuts. We call them fascists. We call them flaming idiots. We call them complete morons. This isn't the metaphorical "we" here, these are terms I throw around myself much to my regret. But we take it too far.
I'm not an idiot. I'm not a RedState plant. I know that there are those on the right that deserve our scorn and our hate and that we should not acknowledge or give any credence to their words. Rush - racist moron. Glenn Beck - pitiful, deluded, racist clown. Bill O - pure, unadulterated moron. Michelle Malkin and Anne Coulter - Brides of Satan. I know this. I'm not saying we owe these people anything.
You people don't know me. I'm not a DINO. Mostly because I never claimed to be a Democrat : ) But also because I am a progressive independent. I gave to Obama-Biden. I gave to my Democratic challenger in the house (and he won, yay). I've never voted for a Republican for the House, Senate or White House since I cast my first vote in a national election in 1992. I've voted Republican. I'm ashamed these days to admit I voted for Rudy Giuliani for mayor. I never have joined the Democratic Party because I am opposed to the two party system and the Democrats for most of my life were too shameful, dysfunctional and weak to consider being a member of it.
But I digress. Yes, their are wingnuts out there - these screamer organizers are out there on the fringe. But some of these people are just confused because although the right's message is a lie their delivery is consistent. There are people who legitimately are opposed to large government. If the far right and astro-turf organizations screams at them enough that the Democrats are going to expand government and have it take over they are legitimately worried. And when the Progressive response is to demonize them, or insult them or give them mixed signals or wishy washy responses like "well there really isn't a bill yet so I can't tell you" of course we're losing them. But these are still people we should be reaching out to.
There are true demons on the other side. Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck deserve to be repudiated at every possible turn and deserve whatever fate God has planned for them, but let's not make all people who here them out to be demons. It's time to reach out to "Red America" - not for watered down, bullshit, never going to happen anyway Senate Finance Committee bi-partisanship but reach out to actual people to explain what is really going on.
We all know conservatives. We know they are not all bad people. Most of us probably number conservatives amongst our friends. Some of us might have even agreed to disagree on our political beliefs. Well, it's time to test friendships and talk about this stuff. I talk. And I annoy. And I piss people off. But I also teach. And explain. And try to get agreement. Or at least get them to listen with an open mind. And yeah, I can't win the guys that quote Glenn Beck. But I can get the ones who are poorly informed and care. And yes, sometimes they can get me. But that's the point, we are America, not red, not blue, just America.
Our secret to winning is the moral argument. Most of the conservatives I know are religious. They consider themselves moral. They are for the most part Christian. And you can appeal to their compassion. And you can hear their concerns and understand that what they are concerned with just needs more information. It's time to stop demonizing the people we don't agree with. The ones on the national stage, we know who they are and we can't change them. There for themselves and their power and positions. The people though, we can talk to them. We can reach them one at a time. We might even be able to convince them we're right.
But we won't convince anyone we're right if we just sit back, call those who disagree with us stupid, crazy, wrong or evil. We need to actually see that they are also Americans with a point of view and a right to it. And be civil and discuss. Like we're all Americans.
Yes, forget the town hall screamers, we're not convincing them. We can keep them quiet, match them in crowds, try to keep them off the sound bytes on the news. But we won't because everyone wants to cover the crazy. But we can try to let our Congressman talk. And then we can talk to people to. I'm not saying we should be wimps, that got us Bush, but we won't win by screaming and demonizing, we need to reach out to the actuallyy persuadable. Even my Congressman's office acknowledged to me they understand that the screamers are never going to vote for them but they still get calls from people who want real information. We can do that for out neighbors. Bi-partisanship can work - just at the grassroots level. Forget the national stage, Congressional Republicans are dead to us. But Republicans aren't. But we need to reach out to our fellow Americans.
For there shouldn't be a red America or a blue America, there should be a Untied States of America.
OK folks. I've said my piece. I'm ready to be flamed and shouted down and told their is "no talking to these people." But I'll just end by saying I've convinced two conservatives this month of the merits of Obama reform. Mostly by just letting them know that what they want is actually already in the House bill. Two people ain't much - and I've failed with a Glen Beck fan - but they are good people who know have some real knowledge. And maybe they'll talk to others and convince them. because they know me, they know I'm honest and honorable and wouldn't make stuff up - they know they can believe me over the media and the astro-turfers. Because we might not share political views but we are all Americans and we need to work together. This is how we can do this.