Welcome back!

[DonCoquixote]

241. bitter, but not broken

Yes...there is a lot to talk about in the postmortem, however, we do need to remember that even as much as we argued and disagreed, we do need to work in the present. Now, I am not saying to gloss over the errors that were made. In the upcoming months, I know I will say things that may offend because the truth of President Donald Trump is offensive. To quote a far better man than I, Jon Oliver, we cannot allow ourselves to forget this is not normal. However, it is very clear that the GOP knew how to pour gasoline on our home fires, turning us against each other when we should have stood together. It is also clear that many people, in the pursuit of their ideal (be it Clinton as immortal and inevitable goddess or Bring back Bernie) wound up letting the Trumpkins laugh all the way to the bank.)

The best thing to do is support each other, both in the way we help each other deal with the Trump noise machine and the real hard, give money and time help that needs to be done to those that are now very vulnerable. The only thing close to a silver lining is that now that this is over, we can turn our eyes towards the real enemies. Yes, the facebook pages are swarming with the arrogant little men and their shieldmaiden wives, "all going I told you so", and using this moment to take more shots at Obama, and ignore the real damage their good ol boys and gals elected have done and will do. Look at Nikki Haley, after Ann Coulter called her not an American, groveling and getting a job that the GOP considers useless anyway. See the way their cheerleaders like Coulter and Milo try so hard to beat up liberals, while ignoring the fact that most GOP voters would, and eventually will, slap them and say "get in your place!" Hell, look at how Mitt Romney kisses Trump's ring, and the way so many of those "principled" Nevertrump supporters are leaping on the bandwagon, praising Trump as if he was King Arthur pulling Excalibur from the stone.

The thing to remember is, like all Bullies, they have NO core. Yes, we should remind the Evangelicals that they would up supporting a banker, philander and political novice from New York. Yes we know they are praying Trump decides or is forced to quit so that Pence gets in, but their hands are bloody, and they need to be reminded of it. That SOB swaggering on Facebook, trying to look like Nashville's version of a working man, he will be the first to wonder where his jobs went, where his mama's medicare went, and why the banks get to have yet another spasm where he loses his shirt.

On the other side, one thing we genuinely did fail to do is secure the "Blue Wall." There is plenty of room for family arguments, but if we do not want to help Trump, we have to focus them on what to do now, instead of "well you did this and you did not do that" because that is exactly what Trump and Bannon want. We need to deploy a true 50 state strategy, and we need to unleash the Michael Moores and Jim Hightowers and put them front and center, so they can speak to the heartland. Yes, we do need to kill the myth that democrats are just people in Brooklyn townhouses or LA, but on the other hand, we do not need to "dumb things down" because the simple facts are ON OUR SIDE. We know whose tax-cutting and Military spending made the national debt, and we also know that if we did not try to cut taxes for the rich and wage a war, we would have paid much of that debt off. We know that mixing religion and government does not work, because it invites corruption of both religion and government. We know that our schools need to be rebuilt in many ways (not the least of which are half the actual schoolhouses) and that yes, we do get the government that we pay for, which will be needed as the Russians, Indians and Chinese do know that government can give the edge to businesses, as is shown by the fact they are eating our lunch, and that the GOP are the cafeteria workers.

I am not saying forget the past, nor am I denying that the Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Bernie wings are going to have to have a sit-down, and a lot of long, awkward conversations, as well as outright sparring. We need to define our brand, clearly, cleanly and be able to say "The Democratic party stands for.." We also need to have space so that those who wish to push things right or left get a chance to truly have a say, but, have rules and standards that all observe.

Boxing is a brutal sport, but even Ali and Frazier knew you could not head butt, throw elbow shots or kick. Even though sparring is a part of boxing, and it can be brutal, the point is to help the person learn how to take a punch, and then land some of their own. We need to keep in mind that even those within our family that drive us crazy are still going to have much more in common with us then even the nicest Republican, because while we Democrats actually DO give a damn about principles, most in the GOP will fold like a cheap Trump suit, made in Mexico.

Let us fight, and also improve the methods by which we fight. Do not be fooled by Trump howling about CNN and NBC, we know the media kowtowed and also made Trump a cash cow. For all the nasty talk about DU that was said on the facebook, and all those people saying "we need to stop going into echo chambers" we need to talk, get together and share ideas and actions. This is where the real politics begins, and frankly, we will not go down without a fight, especially since we know that the GOP has a glass jaw just waiting for the right bit of truth to hit it.

sidenote: I am very happy to be back here. I do plan to do things a bit different, to adjust for the fact that the internet IS the news media now, and that forces from Trump Tower to the Kremlin have learned to game it. However, I still plan on being the person who can be the sholder to cry on, and the gadfly ready to sting contended behinds.