Moving Forward Together or Splintering and Going Nowhere

[MineralMan]

The trend in the Democratic Party seems to be to separate into factions, not to come together to create common cause to defeat the Trumps and altered-Right forces that seem bent on wiping out all progress made in the past 50 years.

If we continue along that path, destruction and regression are almost certain. The 2016 presidential election should be ample evidence that splintering is futile and destructive. It caused us to lose, even in states we were certain we'd win. The Party is in real danger of splitting into two parties, really. Can we survive such a split?

I don't think we can. The Republicans, in their new alt-right, quasi-populist form, seems to be quite capable of turning out frustrated, angry, confused and uninformed voters. The Democrats, crippled by a split between more traditional liberals and idealistic perfectionists, appears to be no longer able to maintain nationwide solidarity among the many groups who have to come together in unity to vote for progressive movement in so many areas.

We're about to have a four-year object lesson in what happens when conservatives have control of all three branches of federal government, along with control of a majority of state legislatures. It's going to be depressing and maddening. In two years, we will have a tenuous opportunity to make some movement to take back at least one house of Congress and some state legislatures. Will we make that happen?

History shows that Democrats are lousy about turning out in mid-term elections. That has often been our downfall. If we do that again in 2018, Republicans will reinforce the gains they made in 2016 and make it even more difficult to reverse this disastrous political change. Will we respond with unity, or will we disintegrate by splintering even further?

Frankly, I do not know. At 71 years of age, my ability to engage in political activism is winding down. I have to continue working to earn a living. That is becoming more and more difficult and taking more and more of my time. Actuarial tables make it uncertain whether I will even be here to vote in 2020. I probably will. My health is satisfactory, but my energy levels are lower than before.

So, here's a message to the two major factions that currently make up the Democratic Party: Get your shit together and find some unity! It's either that or we lose additional elections. There aren't enough people in either faction to carry off a win. Only if we work together and find common ground do we have a chance to reverse the path set in 2016.

We punted on Hillary Clinton, our party's nominee for the office of President. We lost in states we believed would be easy wins. The reasons for that are being debated on another forum on this website. But, the bottom line is that not enough Democratic voters voted for the nominee in enough states to carry the Electoral College. That's it. We can debate why. We can debate the Electoral College's existence. We cannot debate the fact that Donald Trump will take office on January 20. He will.

We will either come together or we will not. Which thing we do is going to determine the future of this nation. I recommend coming together. I'll do whatever I can to help accomplish that. I hope enough people join that effort for it to succeed, but I do not know if it is possible.

Think about this, folks. There are choices to make, and precious little time to make them.

[guillaumeb]

1. Interestingly enough, posts similar to this were being written about the GOP

a few months ago. There was much talk about a splintered party, about never being able to win on a national level, and talk about the GOP splitting into two factions, a Tea Party GOP and a mainstream GOP.

All that speculation vanished of course in the wake of the Trump victory. I italicized victory because between the suppression, and voting list scrubbing, and machine malfunctions, and FBI machinations, I feel that to call it a victory is deceptive.

The Democratic message was completely dismissed and ignored by a sensationalistic corporate media that focused on the optics of the Trump campaign and also on the issue of emails. All else was ignored by the media and much of the electorate.

As to mid-term electoral turnout, that has been a huge problem for years. So in my view, motivation and effective messaging must be the twin foci. Perhaps the Democrats must do more on social media and less on releasing elaborate position papers that many voters ignore.

[Raster]

2. Bravo! Excellent post!

The wolves are at the door.

I will be sixty in just a few days. I have been a liberal, progressive Democrat all of my life. I now know that I will spend the rest of my life actively fighting for those things I passionately believe in.

What I believe:

1. All men and women are equal. Gender, sexuality, color, creed and religion do not make a person better or worse, nor, do I believe, should they exclusively define who we are. IMHO women are not considered equal in today’s America, and I HEAVILY SUPPORT an Equal Rights Amendment and Equal Pay legislation. Further I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH THE RIGHT OF A WOMAN TO CONTROL HER OWN BODY. I believe *passionately* in choice. I trust women to make the healthcare and reproductive decisions that work best for them and their families. Period.

2. I am a Gay man. I believe EVERYONE should be able to love whom they wish and form relationships with whomever they wish and enjoy all standard legal protections and privileges in their relationships, without interference from anyone or anything.

3. I believe we are only caretakers of this amazing planet and all of its wonders. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY to protect this living legacy for future generations. Our goal should be to leave this planet and it wonders in better condition after we leave.

4. I believe in freedom of religion and believe that each persons relationship with their concept of Deity is sacrosanct and non-violate. Conversely, I also believe in freedom from religion. And I believe one of the greatest disservices one can do to another is to force their religious beliefs upon the unwilling, no matter the justification or intent.

5. I believe government should exist solely to serve the people, not the people exist to serve the government. I further believe the government of the United States is being poisoned with the influx of money from those who seek to use their resources to attempt to influence the actions and laws of government.

6. I believe people are people. Period. Corporations and other business entities ARE NOT PEOPLE OR PERSONS, and should NEVER be treated as such.

7. I believe in the general goodness of people, though recognizing that good people can make bad choices. I believe in live and let live, as long as you are not harming anyone else, nor infringing on their ability to live and let live.

8. I believe great power and wealth can corrupt any person or institution if they do not rigidly guard against such corruption.

9. I believe that we should all treat one another as we would like to be treated, and perhaps better, if possible.

10. I believe it is our responsibility as adults, as parents and as members of society to make sure that EVERY CHILD is treated like the precious jewel that they truly are, that each child is loved and cared for and that each child is allowed to find their place in life.

11. I believe that the education and care of future generations is paramount and must never be subject to profit or viewed as a business. Every child deserves a quality education, no matter their gender, their color or the wealth of their parents.

[rzemanfl]

3. Maybe I am depressed today, but I think the next moves will be decided by mobs.

In those mobs the person who hands out rocks to throw might be a Hillary voter, a Bernie or Bust person, a disgruntled Trumpist or an anarchist. Things will get so bad that any of those disparate people will grab the rock. In other words, I think the system is fucked and in the hands of people who cannot govern a nation this divided. I hope I'm wrong. I'm two years younger than you and worry about dying in a police state, or from it.

[think]

4. Some excellent points MM. Both Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders are being proactive in coordinating

groups to get Democrats involved in the political process and put Democrats in office.

In that regards we're getting off to a decent start. I would encourage those that want to see Democratic policies and politicians succeed to consider joining one or both.

We’re community organizers, and we’re proud of it.

With more than 250 local chapters around the country, OFA volunteers are building this organization from the ground up, community by community, one conversation at a time—whether that’s on a front porch or on Facebook. We’re committed to finding and training the next generation of great progressive organizers, because at the end of the day, we aren’t the first to fight for progressive change, and we won’t be the last.


https://www.barackobama.com/about-ofa/

It's time to get back to work.

Our Revolution will reclaim democracy for the working people of our country by harnessing the transformative energy of the “political revolution.” Through supporting a new generation of progressive leaders, empowering millions to fight for progressive change and elevating the political consciousness, Our Revolution will transform American politics to make our political and economic systems once again responsive to the needs of working families.

http://ourrevolution.com/

[pipi_k]

5. In order for unity to happen...

people have to give up the notion that their ideas...their sides...are the only ones that matter.

I don't feel I'm opening any old wounds by saying this, because frankly, I think those wounds are never going to heal, but even now, nearly a month after the election, there are STILL people from both camps...Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton...who are blaming each other for the Trump win.

"Bernie could have won!" blah blah blah

"Hillary could have won if only the Bernie supporters hadn't acted like big babies by refusing to vote for her!" blah blah blah

Damn. How can Democrats win anything if there can't even be agreement on stopping the Republicans by giving up the damned ego trips?

[MineralMan]

9. That is always true.

I've yet to see a Democratic candidate for any office with whom I've agreed on every issue. However, I don't believe I've seen any Republicans with whom I've agreed on pretty much any issue.

In the primaries, I vote for the candidate who comes closest. In the General Election, I vote for the Democrat. I know, from experience that any Democrat will be better aligned with my beliefs than any Republican.

It's all pretty simple, but some people are seeking perfection and refuse to support anything less than that. That's just foolish. That is why Republicans keep winning.

It's all very sad and very unnecessary.

My ideas are my ideas. My vote goes to the better candidate who has a decent chance of winning in general elections, and that candidate is always the Democrat. I will never vote otherwise.

[SubjectiveLife78]

6. The parable of the tribes

http://www.context.org/iclib/ic07/schmoklr/

Imagine a group of tribes living within reach of one another. If all choose the way of peace, then all may live in peace. But what if all but one choose peace, and that one is ambitious for expansion and conquest? What can happen to the others when confronted by an ambitious and potent neighbor? Perhaps one tribe is attacked and defeated, its people destroyed and its lands seized for the use of the victors. Another is defeated, but this one is not exterminated; rather, it is subjugated and transformed to serve the conqueror. A third seeking to avoid such disaster flees from the area into some inaccessible (and undesirable) place, and its former homeland becomes part of the growing empire of the power-seeking tribe. Let us suppose that others observing these developments decide to defend themselves in order to preserve themselves and their autonomy. But the irony is that successful defense against a power-maximizing aggressor requires a society to become more like the society that threatens it. Power can be stopped only by power, and if the threatening society has discovered ways to magnify its power through innovations in organization or technology (or whatever), the defensive society will have to transform itself into something more like its foe in order to resist the external force.

In theory, the Democratic Party is made up of a lot more diversity. Well, diversity is messy. Especially when it's under stress.

[FarCenter]

7. What is your view on the problem of generational change?

I can't find statistics on the 115th Congress yet, but in the current Congress there is a lot of very old leadership in the Democratic Party ranks. I don't think there were a lot of retirements, and the seniority situation will not be much different in the 115th.

It would seem that there is a need for generational change, and that if that occurs, the existing divisions that you describe may no longer exist to the same degree.

[MineralMan]

8. For the Democratic Party to unify, all generations must agree

to work together and keep Republicans out of office. It's pretty simple, really. In every district and for every office, different people of different age groups will run as Democrats for the office. It's not the age of the candidate. It's the willingness for Democrats of all ages to cooperate to elect the Democrat instead of the Republican.

In this country, we have always had people of all age groups in office. For President, generally it takes a long time to build experience and the knowledge necessary to win that office. We've had some exceptions who were in their 40s, of course, but most Presidents are older than that. This year, we had two Democrats of some age running in the primaries.

It's not the age of the candidates. It's the attitudes of the electorate.

Once elected, members of Congress tend to be re-elected again and again. That's just how it is, generally.

[FarCenter]

10. I think you underestimate the problem

In the current House, there are 25 Ds born 1942 or before, but only 5 Rs. While some, such as Charlie Rangel, have retire, I think that most have been re-elected.

The attitude of the electorate is at least partially conditioned on their ability to identify with the candidates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives and click on the "Born In" heading to sort by birth year.

[MineralMan]

11. OK, well, I was born in 1945.

When were you born?

[FarCenter]

12. I also have energy levels lower than before.