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once upon a time, war was fought in a way now regarded as genteel -- armies assembled in rank and file and faced off against each other across a field. the front row knelt, aimed, and fired, then returned to the read to reload and wait their turn at the front.
this was effective when your opponent did the same, when aiming was hardly an exact science, and when larger area weapons didn't exist yet.
the british tried this against the americans, but we took advantage of the wooded terrain and hid, took our pot shots, and fled before they could react. the british decried such tactics as uncivilized, but they proved effective and their insistance on moral outrage in lieu of developing an effective response was one of several ingredients of their eventual downfall.
similarly, the republicans have developed infuriating political tactics over the last few decades. instead of sitting calmly for an intellectual debate, they shout and call us names. instead of picking a consistent position, they practically celebrate their own rampant hipocrisy. instead of acknowleding the occassional human error, they refuse to ever give up an inch. instead of respecting the other side, they label us traitors, socialists, or fascists.
now it's all well and good to express our moral outrage, and at least in 2008, the shot themselves in the foot through classic overreach. but return they will, with the same tactics and worse, and we must adapt. we can't rely on them royally screwing up the economy to put us in power. that's hardly a long term political strategy. nor can we rely on tremendous charisma and speechmaking. we can't even rely on effective governance, because POLITICS and POLICY are not the same thing when it comes to retaining power.
decry the republican tactics though we might, we must abandon our old methods and recognize that they no longer work. attempting honest debate SIMPLY DOESN'T WORK when the opponent shouts over you, calls you names, and the moderator refuses to call them out on it. complaining about their hypocrisy SIMPLY DOESN'T WORK when such accusations don't lead to apologies or even acknowledgements and again, moderators refuse to shame them for it.
BY ALL MEANS, let's find a LONG TERM way to return to fair, honest, mutually respectful discussions of policy. but in order to GET THERE, we need to be rather more tactical about it.
- we need to mock republicans more - we need to develop catchy snark to counter their catch phrases - we need to push wedge issues that divide them - we need to ATTACK them rather than let them attack us all the time - we need to build our own set of words and phrases that pack more punch, and not accept their terms - we need to be the ones picking the issues, not them - we need to set the terms of the debate - we need to declare victory more often - we need to point out how they lost the debate (e.g., if they refuse to answer a question) - we need to show strength
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