democratic candidates, particularly the next presidential one, should run on this *one* issue:

[unblock]

forget individual programs and policies. yes, we always win on those, and i'm not saying we don't answer questions on those.

but *the* message and *the* issue to make is this:


"what kind of government do you really want"?


do you want government by partisanship or cooperation?
do you want near-dictatorship or democracy?
do you want politicians to sell you fantasies or to tell you exactly what they're going to do in office?
do you want politicians looking to grab power for themselves or statesmen trying to make america the best it can be?
do you want laws making voting difficult or easy?
do you want politicians trying to divide us and make us hate each other or statement who know we're all americans here?
do you want government by character assassination or statesmen trying to do what's best for america?


we need to bring it up to a higher level. it's not about any one policy, especially not one republicans can just reverse next time they get in, like obamacare. we're going to continue to lose if voter id laws stick, voting roll purges continue, the media continues to dwell on character assassinations and phony investigations, and everyone acts like the lies and fantasies of republicans should be taken at face value.

we have to get a mandate to change all that crap at all levels. the oval office is important, of course, but we can't win until we fix the media and state-level voting laws and so on.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

1. Sorry, but the party that won big in this recent election

has proven itself to want government by partisanship, dictatorship (as long as the dictator is a white, Christian male.

They obviously prefer politicians who sell them fantasies
and clearly express their intention to grab power for themselves.

They clearly support laws making voting difficult and divisive politicians who preach hate and use character assassination as one of their main communication tools.

The citizens of this country who have the power to exert their will over the majority have spoken. They want the lying, cheating, belligerent, divisive, power-grabbing, tyrant. And now they've got him.

[unblock]

2. they haven't really been called out on it in a coordinated fashion.

good governance was never made into an "issue".

yeah, a strategically placed sizeable minority voted for a bigot, but only after a circus campaign when gave the bigot free reign.

it wasn't made into a broad political issue, it was never really more than a personal character trait of one candidate.


we have to change that.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

3. The Dems have been calling out the obstructionist, government-hating

Rs for years and years. They've been predicting doom for the Republican party, saying things like, "Ooooooh, the Rs shut down the government. They'll pay big for that!" So, what, gaining control of all 3 branches of government is their punishment?

One of the RW's main philosophies was expressed by one of their darlings, Grover Norquist, when he said, "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."

I agree that the RW has a vastly superior propaganda machine and that the Dems have failed to get their message out there. Sadly, it seems to me that far too many people do not have the ability or the will to pay attention to or to even recognize reasonable arguments. TLDR is a thing. If the policy doesn't fit on a bumper sticker or meme, they can't be bothered.

And they are swayed most effectively by psychological manipulation, and the RW are absolute masters.

[unblock]

4. that's why i'm suggesting we come together under this unifying philosophy.

make government work. for you.


i agree that we've objected, but in a way that comes of as complaining or trying to score political points. not as a matter of philosophy or principle. we need to connect the dots each time they do something odious, and remind everyone that they're inept (or worse) at making government work for all of us.