I post on DK here and there. Imma capitalist. I voted for Hillary, but I believe in capital punishment, low corporate taxes, and excessive defense spending. Also single payer, high marginal tax rates, large social spending, and of course, Keynesian economics. I’m what used to be called a Conservadem, or a liberal Republican when there was such a thing. I understand the wingnut mind, such as it is. I wrote on DK 15 months ago about the threat of Trump, and like Michael Moore, I never thought it was even close to a sure Dem win in 2016.
If you want to combat the worst of Trumpism and stand-up a credible Democratic choice, the left MUST unify its messaging. If Hillary’s emails brought down the republic, it’s not a just media failure.
It’s a political failure and it must be addressed somehow. I don’t know how- I already see the absurd purity tests for Howard Dean because he lobbies, or the insane ramblings about Kristallnacht, and utter denial about how badly the left was outplayed over the last 8 years.
It may be inherent to liberals that their self-expression and uprightness trumps(!) practical reality, but that is a luxury that may not be supportable anymore. When they go low, we get our asses kicked. Maybe when they go low, we should go medium, and build our political and messaging structure accordingly.
Y’all better learn how to hold your noses, and to lie, and more than anything, to take some risks, or sooner or later, this won’t be a republic any longer. I’m sure this will be a popular message.
Both literally and ironically; Thanks Obama!