Monday, May 22, 2017

Grumpy Blue Dogs

I’ve gotten into arguments with plenty of right-wingers on Facebook, etc., but sometimes I piss off the other side too, especially when it comes to Hillary Clinton. In the last couple of months I had someone on Twitter and someone on Facebook block me because I wasn’t really with her.

The first time was when some lady on Twitter complained about Bernie Sanders’s ideas. And my response was: At least he has ideas. What great ideas did HRC have—except those she pilfered from Bernie? And this lady was like: she has ideas! Tons of ideas! Like what? Go to her website and find out, I don’t have to tell you! Which to me seems pretty funny. I mean, if you can’t name one idea she had then that’s kind of a problem. And then she blocks me, still without providing one idea HRC originated.

And then a month or so someone on Facebook posted a link to an article about HRC coming out of the New York woods to make a big speech and I made a snide remark about her Wall Street speeches. And then it was on! You’re the reason HRC lost! (I voted for her in the general election.) So on and so forth. Then finally: We’re not friends! Go away! And then finally blocking me.

The disturbing part of this second encounter was the attitude of if you’re a progressive who wasn’t on Team HRC, you should just shut up and vote for whoever The Party tells you to vote for. Which it’s like, that’s Republican thinking. Democrats aren’t supposed to be authoritarian; we’re supposed to be inclusive.

As long as you have this core of “moderate” corporate Democrats with an attitude of shut up and do whatever we tell you, it’s going to be hard to bring the farther left Bernie faithful into the mix. Those people don’t want to be told “This is fine” or “let’s just try to inch forward a little;” they want real change. And so do disgruntled “independent” voters in states like Michigan; they wanted real change so badly they voted for a lying, pussy-grabbing “billionaire” who made a bunch of crazy promises he had no intention of going through with. While it would be nice if these people woke up and realized that the Republican Party cares only about making rich people richer (see their “health care” bill that was just an excuse for a big tax to the rich), you can’t realistically expect people to stop believing what they want to hear. Had the corporate Democrats actually listened to Bernie supporters instead of just trying to suppress them or make half-assed attempts to placate them, HRC might be in the White House right now.

It wasn’t a good sign when they pushed through another corporate Democrat as DNC chair and then demanded everyone working for the DNC tender a resignation. It’s just more authoritarian bullshit. Cleaning house like that is something dictators do.

I’m still not sure if the corporate Democrats have really learned their lesson. They seem to think the problem was not campaigning hard enough. The real problem is you tried to water down Bernie’s platform and make the face of it someone few people trusted to actually try to enact that platform. So in 2020 if you try to run another corporate Democrat (like, say Cory Booker who has ties to Big Pharma) and think you can just demand the allegiance of Bernie supporters, it’s going to be hard to unseat…whoever will be president by then.

Last month there was a third one, though it wasn't exactly because of Hillary.  After US ships bombed a Syrian airbase, this one corporate Democrat was whining about progressives who weren't rolling over to heap praise on Trump.  "You guys are like the Tea Party after the bin Laden raid!"  It's like, hold on man, the Tea Party were just a bunch of racists; progressives complaining the Syria attack was a smokescreen could point to that the FBI was investigating Trump's Russia ties.  So it's not just some tinfoil hat conspiracy.  He tried to big stuff me by saying he works in Washington, so he knows way more than peons like me.  If people like him are in charge, it's no wonder Democrats lost.  His response was, Well Hillary said we should bomb Syria too, so checkmate!  Which really didn't make a lot of sense.  Just because Hillary thought the same thing doesn't have any affect on the Trump administration's thinking.  Also, Hillary thought Iraq was a good idea, so not exactly the best judgment.  Then of course he blocked me. 

The moral is that corporate Democrats can't stand being challenged by those who don't share their wishy-washy views.  So when they can't shout you down or roll over you, they just ignore you, which is ultimately self-defeating.  HRC’s slogan was “Stronger Together” and that’s true; we just need all progressives to actually put that into practice.

This Rolling Stone article on the book Shattered, an analysis of HRC's failed campaign, backs up some of what I've been thinking.  Because she had no ideas or vision, her campaign was completely stymied on coming up with a reason why she was running. In addition, she and Bill had gone through to pick out "disloyal" Democrats and in some cases even try to make sure they were voted out. That's not exactly "Stronger Together" is it?  More like "My Way or the Highway."  And that's unfortunately the attitude of too many corporate Democrats yet.  Instead of listening to progressives, they hope to just ram their watered-down Republican agenda down people's throats.  As long as they stay out of touch, it's going to be a long road back to the top.

3 comments:

Cindy said...

I don't think friends should unfriend over political views. People should just discuss their differences and if you can't agree let it go. Not everyone is going to agree politically with each other, and we shouldn't let that ruin friendships. However, I know not everyone can do that and that's why I avoid posting anything political. I just don't want to offend anyone. So in general if you go to social media with politics you are going to take that risk of getting into arguments and offending people.

Christopher Dilloway said...

I had a couple friends unfriend me because they are suckling at the slop pit of the current administration's propaganda. One I called on her bullshit and the other just suddenly was gone. I've unfollowed people who defend and support what's happening but peek in every so often. People tend to lose perspective when discussing politics (or really just about anything these days) and the parties have made it hard to be a moderate or in the middle...the battle lines are drawn and it's like WWI trench warfare out there; the guy in no man's land is just fodder. However, I don't let that stop me; I don't side with either of the two main parties. I liked Sanders' ideas...we NEED to become more progressive in this country. We NEED universal health care. We NEED to do something about the student loan issue. We NEED the younger generations to be able to earn, own, and spend, but they are going to do it differently than the boomers...but the boomers don't like that idea. The only hope is that Boomers are dying while the millenials and even the generation that follows now, are starting to take note and vote...eventually there will be a tipping point, I just hope I live to see it.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

I think it's perfectly acceptable to unfriend people over political views. Just like I think it's perfectly acceptable to go to civil war for what you believe in. Anyway, I'm one of the moderate democrats. There's a lot that's hard to stomach in the far left. For example, I think that the pendulum of feminism has swung too far left and threatens to demonize men for just being born men. I think that's a problem, and I feel sorry for some straight guys I know that are starting to be...essentially...shamed for being born male. I'm for equality, but that balance is really tricky to hold.

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