Grave dysfunction

[cilla4progress]

here in America.

We must begin by acknowledging this. It's been here, sometime under the surface, since our inception. It is now not only out in the open, but our would-be dictator is stoking it for his own purpose.

I imagine this coincides with historical models.

It's extremely dangerous and potentially even deadly. The only way to stop it is to activate a majority of the populace. This will take consensus building and effective marshalling of communication and justice systems.

I sure hope we are up to it.

[mountain grammy]

1. Agree, grave dysfunction and it's not new,

it's just on steroids.

[dameatball]

2. Still early, but I don't like the look of disunity amongst Dems at the moment. No clear message.

I always liked some of Bernie's ideas. He used to be a fairly frequent guest on Randi Rhodes during my commute. However it seems to me that he can become a divisive force as well. Stein was trouble enough. There are quite a few young guns coming on but I don't see anyone that is going to rally the troops and get them in the voting booth.
Maybe Joltin Joe?

[Nay]

5. IMO, the disunity you see is a symptom of deeper problem(s), not a problem itself.

For too long, the Democrats have been relying on their ability to weasel around, trying to make everyone like them -- even such whackos as evangelicals, diehard Republican racists, etc. This has made your average Democrat say "WTF??" to himself way too often. Even those of us that know how politics works are saying that to themselves. What does that tell us?

It should tell us that the old way is not going to work. Leading Democrats cannot act like frightened sheep when Republicans call them names; their mantra needs to be: "When they put one of us in the hospital, we put one of theirs in the morgue" every time there is a confrontation, at least until the Pubs stop acting like nothing can hurt them. CAUSE PAIN UNTIL THEY STOP.

Obama inviting a psycho evangelical pastor to his inauguration?? Never should have happened. RWers in his Cabinet? Never should have happened. GIVE NO QUARTER TO THESE LUNATICS.

Also, stuff like universal health care should be in the forefront of our talking points list, along with civil rights, abortion rights, etc., all the normal, usual Dem beliefs. NO APOLOGIES, NO DISCUSSION.

I could go on and on about where the Dems have dropped the ball over the years, but you get the picture. It's Trump's picture, everywhere. After years of waffling by people who should be leading instead of backing down and making deals. You can only make realistic deals with normal people, and these fascists aren't normal. NEVER DEAL WITH THE DEVIL.

[rainy]

3. Good post!

[redstatebluegirl]

4. It has been the plan for years, as republicans destroyed public education.

They have rewritten history in many states. With an electorate who cannot determine fact from fiction you get Trump.

[cilla4progress]

6. I couldnt agree more with these comments.

Unity is extremely important, obviously, for votes. Though we did win the popular vote. Hard to counteract Republican cheating.

At the same time, rather than equivocating our core values, I would rather “go down” fighting, if it comes to that.

I will be extremely disappointed if there is no person of color on our next national ticket. And woman, which goes without saying. It’s who Dems are.