A Parable to Describe My Feelings About Today's Democratic Party

[Tom Rinaldo]

OK, this is just my attempt to capture the paradox I experience trying to be a fairly loyal activist Democrat today, as we approach an important election year. That's all it is and it is two dimensional, meaning I'm not trying here to explain the possible motivations of the good guys and bad guys in this tale. Let us assume though that the bad guys have an escape plan involving the use of Black Op helicopters:

So, we find ourselves at sea in a large wooden boat, and it seems that we are in trouble. There are bad guys on it with us, Republicans, and they are busy drilling holes into the bottom of the hull. Water is pouring into our boat from all of the holes that they have already drilled. Fortunately for us, there are good guys in the boat with us also, Democrats, and they are busy too. A few of them are using some sort of wood putty to try to fill in the holes, but most of they have buckets and they are bailing water out of the boat as fast as they possibly can.

It doesn't take long for you to realize that the Republicans can drill new holes a lot faster than the Democrats can repair the old ones, and the only reason the boat is still afloat is because of the Democrats bailing water with their buckets. One of them calls out to you; "We need help to keep from sinking, grab a bucket and start bailing."

The danger of sinking is real, so you grab a bucket and start bailing furiously. After a while you notice that the water is slowly rising in the boat even though you and the Democrats are bailing as fast as you can. So you go running to the guy who recruited your help, to alert him of the threat. "Yes we know, but we have a back up plan" he assures you. "Whenever the water rises too high, we throw a few sacks of food over board to lighten the load in the boat."

Again, in parables figures are two dimensional. Real Republicans and Real Democrats are a lot more complex in real life. Democrats aren't dumb like the good guys on that boat of course, and Republicans not quite so transparent. Clearly in this parable the Democrats are trying to offset the damage that the Republicans are doing; they are not the bad guys, the Republicans are. Democrats are the good guys.

It makes a lot of sense to aid them in their efforts to keep the boat afloat. As you gaze upon the scene those effort are the only thing that has prevented everyone from already drowning, and if they stopped we all would quickly sink.

And yet you just can't hide from the stark conclusion you have now reluctantly reached. If this struggle continues to be fought in the same way that it has, the day is coming when you and everyone else traveling on that boat will face starvation, that is if you don't drown first.

[RegieRocker]

1. The time is near.

[MADem]

2. I don't belong to an organized political party....I am a Democrat.

To misquote WR...

We're a big tent. We aren't all far lefters, or Blue Doggers. Some of us are in the middle (and hated for it by our own party members, too).

I like the discussion from all ends of the spectrum.

When factions demand that everyone be of the same mind, they destroy the thing that makes us great.

Not a bad parable, BTW.

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. I agree with you

One reason why I thought of that parable was a need to find a way of explaining that I don't confuse Democrats with Republicans when I express some alarm over the way the Democratic Party is dealing with the economic threat facing most Americans today. Allowing for a minority of exceptions, I know the Democratic Party is the party that stands for the needs of most Americans. I'm just reading the handwriting I see on the wall and the current course is leading to a very unhappy ending. Something significant has to change in order to prevent that.

[RC]

5. Who the hell is WR? Spell it out!

If you are too lazy, google it then copy and paste.

It is Will Rogers

You didn't misquote him.
I don't belong to an organized political party;
I'm a Democrat.
Will Rogers

[MADem]

15. Come on, everyone knows that quote, and he said it in varying ways over the years.

The fact that I got it close to exact is a bit of a miracle.

All by yourself, you figured it out, though--you'll never forget it, now, because you did the work!

And come on--you can call yourself RC, but you're dogging me for calling one of the greatest and most recognized Americans by his initials in the context of that famous quote?

[RC]

18. Because you and I know something does not mean everyone else does also.

RC is what I chose to go by here as you do MADem. I use my initials because, like you, I don't want to use my real name. It is just a user name, a unique collection of letters to distinguish one from another here.
Spell things out and avoid confusion. Life's not that short. It is a safe bet that not everyone here has heard of Will Rogers.

[MADem]

20. WR is a pretty essential guy. If they don't know who he is, they just might be Republican!

And if they read the full thread, they'll get the info.

And if they really care one way or another, they'll do the Google work, or ask...or not, if they don't care.

I'm not the designated history teacher here, I just comment every so often.

You have a nice one, RC.

[BeFree]

3. Easy solution

Take away the drills.

The drills are the republican owned voting machines that allow them to even have a berth in this boat.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. Or the drills are the money advantage Republicans have, or the drills...

... are the attitude Republicans have to shoot first and ask questions later when they are going for what they want.

What does not seem to be working though is for Democrats to put virtually all of their focus on the holes and the water pouring into them, rather than attacking the source of the problem directly.

[BeFree]

11. Right. Getting elected

Since the stolection of 2000, proving the republicans would do anything, they have placed the voting machines in almost every precinct in the county. Even tho the machines have been proven time and again to alter many elections - and always in favor of republicans, the machines are ignored while the bailing goes on.

[damntexdem]

6. Well, those with a lot of money have paid the Repukes to drill those holes.

And more than a few of the Democrats have been paid to do the same.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[woo me with science]

13. +1

Don't like it so much, but it sure fits about now.

[blindpig]

9. The boat is headed over a waterfalls...

time to bail out.

[Tom Rinaldo]

12. The boat that I'm thinking of can't so easily be abandoned

except by the super wealthy. The boat is where we live, it's not so easy for the average American to jump ship to move to Singapore.

[blindpig]

17. I was thinking more of 'the ship of state'

No hope to be had in that quarter.

There is no running from capitalism, it must be fought.

[Tom Rinaldo]

10. Would one of the several Unrec'ers care to add an actual comment? n/t

[Tom Rinaldo]

14. There's just something about discussing trimming the safety net

in the wake of the obscene fraud of Wall Streets lewd bubble, in response to a manufactured debt ceiling crisis that is just a little hard to take.

[Horse with no Name]

16. I could care less about the upcoming elections--I care more about my family

I was bullied because I was told surer than snot if I withheld my vote, that something terrible would happen---Medicare would be slashed, Social Security would be privatized, and my reproductive rights would be in danger....well, as I stand her staring into the abyss....ALL of these things are coming to pass...and I voted for this shit.

Think about that. So did you.

I am going to worry more about my country and what I can do to make my life more livable...to make my children's life more livable...and the same for my grandchildren.

I am going to work grassroots and my vote will be EARNED...I will not be bullied into voting for shit I cannot believe in again.

[Tom Rinaldo]

19. It takes one hour to vote. That leaves 364 days and 23 hours potentionaly free

for organizing resistance to the class war being waged against us.

[sabrina 1]

21. In that situation, someone has to take control.

One of the good guys has to issue a warning to the bad guys. If they continue to drill holes, there will be no choice but to restrain them physically. They need to plan among themselves how to take over the boat and be prepared for a physical battle if necessary. What is there to lose? If they continue to plug holes, as you say, they will all die. A long slow death. The good guys might not win if they take on the bad guys, but at least they would have a fair chance of winning. To keep going the way are going, they have 0 chance of survival.

Sometimes you have to take a stand and fight for what you believe in.