How do you solve a problem like the Democratic Party?

[vixengrl]

You don't do a damn thing (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/14/anthony-weiner-s-old-congressional-seat-claimed-by-republican-bob-turner.html), you argue over details (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/us/politics/democrats-in-congress-balking-at-obamas-jobs-bill.html?_r=3&hp) , you fire people (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/44/post/carville-to-obama-fire-your-staff/2011/09/15/gIQATwOdVK_blog.html,) and you hope things turn out for the best!

Um. (What's the old saying about herding cats? Or "I don't belong to any organized party--I'm a Democrat!" Insert your favorite hackneyed political phrase here.) I'm a liberal Democrat. Oh yes, I am. And sometimes I just don't like my party. It's not that I want a third party. Third parties are for nerds, quitters and people who have enough money to make a third party feasible. I just want my own party to work better. And I really think the Democratic party has promise, or I wouldn't have registered that way. But oh, some days--

So here's my list of stuff I'd like to see out of Democrats, sometimes. To be a little better as a party. And win a few more battles. Sometimes. I guess.

1) He's your damn president, isn't he?

People worked their asses off for Barack Obama. They did not want John McCain to continue George W. Bush's policies and worse. Obama turned the world on with a smile. He took a nothing day, and suddenly made it seem so worthwhile. Running for president is a big thing. It's not a great job--people blame you for everything. You don't have to think he's doing the best job ever or refrain from all criticism, but it would look kind of good if more liberal/progressive/Democratic types....well? Rooted a bit. Spunk takes support. Defend him from lies and stupidity and respect the things he does right.

2) Get on the same page.

Party discipline isn't just about not letting pillow fights and games of Truth or Dare get out of hand. The Republican party, in the days before the Tea Party insurrection, used to have really good party discipline. They supported each other. It was like the mob. They didn't put hits on each other and they recognized their common goals. Nowadays, they trash each other and even starry-eyed zombie-Reagan fetishists recognize how far the party has gone to the right even since the heyday of Trickle upon Down economics and Iran Contra and all that. But that doesn't mean some unity in messaging wouldn't be a great idea. In the words of Davy Crockett- decide what's right, then go ahead. If you have to lose, lose swinging and doing something right. Stand for something or you'll fall for anything--that's Malcolm X. I'm feeling eclectic with my quotes.

3) Can we brag?

You know. I feel good about being part of the party of FDR and JFK, RFK, and even Mondale and Dukakis. The point of being a Democrat is thinking we're doing something right. Ending DADT is right. Supporting a female-bodied person's right to choose is right. Supporting the rights of voters to access to and transparency in their voting, and supporting the rights of working people to organize and of consumers to get what they are paying for, the recognition of the government as a tool of the people to do important things well--these are things that need sticking up for, and it only makes sense to do that. Stand if you must on the shoulders of giants--and see a little farther than they even did.

4) Can we slam?

They really did cheer letting a guy die. Alan Grayson was right (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/12/alan-grayson-tea-party-debate-health-care_n_959383.html). I know it wasn't all of the Tea Party audience, just a few loud guys, but still--the GOP is the party that did Watergate, Iran-Contra, Iraq-gate, etc., etc. and the Tea Party is the distilled bile of the GOP. If the way to win is to point out every failed, screwed-up meme and every fallacy, point out every lie, go as strongly negative on the opposition as possible--why the hell not? Go hard. Make it newsworthy. Get it in the papers. Get it repeated. Also--get it deadly accurate and never back down or apologize. Hold the cracked mirror up to them and let them see how distorted they can be.

I dunno. Just that sort of thing. Off the top of my head. Would be nice.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I couldn't have said it better than you if I'd tried.

Well said, and recommended.

It would be nice...

[napoleon_in_rags]

2. "Spunk takes support." The catch 22

The honest truth is, spunk CREATES support.

If I can add one piece of wisdom here, lets all stop laughing at Republicans for how dumb they are then throwing up our hands in confusion when they win. Lets have a little respect, lets look at them, lets see if we can learn a thing or two. The first thing I would do is look long and hard at who they attack: That's what they see as a the biggest threats, and they have good intelligence. Look at what happened to Grayson, they know his spunk would rally people, so they went after him hard, while other Dems took the do-nothing "reasonable" (endless compromise rightward) approach and stayed in office. Those Dems didn't avoid attack because they were politically adept, they avoided attack because the Republicans knew they were too ineffective to do anything. They are so incompetent they are actually useful for them. "Long Game", they tell themselves right? haha.

Life is a long game, but in the end EVERYBODY loses. That's what Dems need to realize. All we've got is what we stood for, what we gave our voices to, what battles we fought but in the end lost because in the end all is lost for everybody in the end. So we need to stop worry about winning, (nobody ever does in the end) and start realizing its about the good fight, its about standing up for those things we really feel in our hearts are right and worth fighting for. Once we have realized that, nothing else matters.

[vixengrl]

4. Exactly--the love you take is equal to the love you make,

to quote some antique rock group. We need more "love-makers". And we need to show those people love--when they get slammed by Republicans--let's make them spend every cent to try and oust them. The next Grayson they want to expend effort on--let's make that a war. Their donors are business people--they want an investment--I don't know if they want a war.

May we need to figure out how, in some districts, to really give them one. Let safe seats be safe, but really try to push for frontiers.

[napoleon_in_rags]

6. Love is fierce.

Some antique rock group went to India, to learn from a guru. That antique rock group had some great songs, but for the guru, the best song was the 'Song of God', an Indian poem that told the tale of a soldier on the battlefield who didn't want to participate in the madness of war, and he wept. God came to him as the Krishna, the Lord of Hearts, love incarnate, and taught him that with love there is nothing to fear, not even in war, not even in the slaying of one's enemies.

What matters is the internal state. We must not define ourselves by our resistance to them. Our mission in any such war is to set slaves free of their materialism, show these businesses that the real source of their wealth is not money. This is how we must liberals fight, as Arjun, advancing the internal awareness of each individual we battle with: Distilling the essence of our compassion and charity into selflessness, and drawing from that its natural consequence of inspiring courage that shows these businesses the best thing that could happen to them is to lose to us.

So yes, love for those who stand up: lets have enough faith that we don't think harsh words will kill Republicans, but stand with those who put forth their values. But also love for those we stand up to, by demonstrating a courage that doesn't come from money or PR, but is innate in our spirits. Lets set them free ideologically through our warfare.

PEace
Nir

[napoleon_in_rags]

7. Long Elaboration

I wanted to make something clear from my last post to you. I said "set slaves free" in regards to the Republicans, and I want to make that clearer. I sense that many Dems in high up positions are seeing the image of the incredible power of Republicans, and think themselves as quite limited because of it, not sure how to proceed. But at some point you have to ask what power really is.

There was a post a few weeks ago on DU, which showed a picture of a scientist being arrested for protesting a recent oil pipeline through Canada he found morally wrong. The post said something like 'look at this hero'. Among the first responses was a Republican styled response, which said "Yeah, that arresting cop sure is a hero".

Everything you need to know about Republicans is right there.

They claim to be anti-government, but when they see a muscular government worker (cop) arresting a private citizen, their tongue shoots RIGHT up his ass. Same with the military, big government guys with guns get the tongue-in-ass treatment. He's a hero, regardless of what he's actually done.

Of course when its a powerful business man with millions of dollars, the tongue goes right up the ass as well, even when his interests are at odds of paying taxes for the government workers like police and military above. Its all about dergulation and lower taxes for him.

So what about the poor? The weak? Let em die. But everybody with power gets the ass kissing treatment. IT has nothing to do with big or small government, nothing to do with values or principles. Its about the raw, naked, pathetic worship of power.

And what drives this? Fear. Fear of punishment from that powerful CEO, from that cop, from that soldier. Fear of the inevitable, death, which awaits us all.

There was a recent DU post documenting a drone strike, and four responses calling it wrong. I myself have seen videos of machines killing poor Afghanis in rags, and found it an abomination. It made me happy to see these people responding. Not because they will 'win', but because they already have; they are free enough from fear to critique the murder of human beings by machines, while the rest move toward trying to tongue the ass of the "winner", which as time moves on will prove more and more often to be a heartless machine run by AI, not a soldier or cop. At least these peaceniks had some moments of joy, at least they smelled the flowers, they didn't spend their whole lifes trying to kiss the asses of machines that don't care. At least they had enough courage to live.

So my point is, Dems need to realize that this whole array of "powers" arrayed against them don't represent any ideology at all. They represent various emergent powers and the army of people trying to kiss their asses, aka the Republican party (minus Ron Paul types who stand for something). Those people look powerful because they make themselves look powerful by aligning themselves by what they percieve to be powerful, but they really exert no influence. They have completely sacrificed their personal freedom for the benefit of looking aligned, they are complete slaves. And what liberal Democrats have to realize is that we have something truly unique to offer these poor souls: a chance to, for once in their lives, really LIVE.

PEace.
Nir

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. As for #1, yes, he IS our damned president, and I did not want McCain

to continue Bush's policies - but I didn't want HIM to continue Bush's policies either.

If Bush policies go forward in Obama's administration it should be ONLY over his veto. Not with his blessings.

[vixengrl]

5. I'm a little tired of the triangulation on his part, too.

That (triangulation) was a part of the Clinton strategy after 1994, and I think Obama was too eager to adopt it in hopes of a 2nd term--when I think the problems the US faces today are different and need a bolder strategy than just "hanging on".

But I wonder what the best way is to create a "leftward surge", and the only thing I can think of is "be encouraging", because this administration seems swift to counter us "professional left" hippie types. I'm not taking it personally, because I'm not even a paid member of the professional left--I'm just here for the love. But I guess communication has to be both ways. I try to understand why Obama's Administration does what it does--and what the political climate is like. Can it be changed?

I think that's where activists need to get our shoes on like we always do. Just, not in suspicion of the Administration, more like cautious alliance. I suspect he's trying to seem mainstream and is overcompensating. Or I hope that's it. Or I think he'd be more with liberal causes if he had to be so--we make him have to be.

[great white snark]

8. Sounds like a plan.

I'm not ready to let this party crash and burn either. As a Marine I was torn down and built back up (hopefully) a petter person for it. We cannot do the same to our party...I fear our nation wouldn't survive the down time.

K&R for this much needed call for unity.



edit typo

[Kablooie]

9. Let the GOP get complete contol of the country, that's how.

Things will become so desperate for a majority of Americans that the Democrats will finally pull together and begin to fight.
Of course the violent Great Revolution that will ensue may overwhelm everything but that's how it goes.