You Better Think (think)

Three thought experiments on a Saturday night.

Thought experiment I:  Hillary is elected in November ’16 & then proceeds, for months, to make ludicrous, inflammatory, and plain-old guano-infused nonsensical comments online and at public and private events.  How many Democrats within and outside of the Beltway would be saying it’s time to give VP and harmonica-enthusiast Tim-Bo a shot at the Big Chair?  I would wager far more Democrats than the number of non-alternate reality feckless GOPers who can barely manage to give America’s unhinged Chief Executive even a mild side-eye. 

Thought experiment II:  If our country had a parliamentary form of government, would Trump have made it this long?  As weak as he really is, I personally believe that Republican back-benchers would have ousted him a couple of months ago, just like Thatcher was bounced by a Tory revolt in ’90.   

Thought experiment III: A hurricane devastates Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and ANY of the other 2016 presidential candidates, Democratic or Republican, resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  How would they be faring in terms of relief and recovery efforts for our fellow Americans: better or worse than the current occupant of the Oval Office?

In solidarity.

F#$% “Civility”

From the Desk of Slats MacCune: Professional Dreamweaver.

Done clutching the pearls yet?  We live in times that are too brutal for more genteel phrases such as “de-select civility.” 

Civility should not be an excuse for pusillanimity in the face of fascism, or authoritarianism of any stripe.  Sometimes, direct action is the only way to roll.

Stripping ideology aside, bullies take comfort in the expectation of measured responses.  When I was in the 7^th grade, a cul-de-sac tormentor named Frank put me in a head-lock and would not let go.  He thought that I would not react strongly to his aggression.  When I wheeled around and punched him in the face, the dynamic shifted immediately.  From that point on, I earned the wide berth I was given.  It wasn’t a time for a polite debating society.

Shifting to far more serious and systemic matters, Brittany “Bree” Newsome was a hero for climbing that flagpole in South Carolina and removing that evil Confederate flag.  The protestors were right to pull down the “Confederate Soldiers Monument” in Durham, NC recently. Those who call for moderation for the sake of moderation in word and deed are abdicating their moral responsibility to speak out against the hate mongers who have a) always plagued America and b) are re-asserting themselves quite vigorously in the Trump era.         

I know you folks in Howard County put a premium on (some might say fetishize) the concept of civility as an end in-and-of itself.  Civility should not be exercised automatically. Not everyone deserves it.  Nazis certainly don’t.  The “alt-Right” doesn’t.  Frankly, these fascists and their fellow travelers rely on “reasonable” people who choose to act “civilly” as opposed to taking a stand and fighting back. 

As Dante wrote about those who “in a time of moral crisis” opted to “preserve their neutrality,” there are people “who made, through cowardice, the great refusal.”  Now is not the time for equivocation or vacillation in the face of those who embrace the dogmas of hatred.  And if that means not turning the other cheek, then so be it.

    

2016: Let Us Smash this Rehash

Frankly, the Republicans are the only ones who benefit from the constant re-articulation of a narrative that puts the blame on Secretary Clinton’s loss on the 12% of Sanders primary voters who went with Trump in the General Election.* 

What is particularly tiresome about this line of argumentation, although it possesses a kernel of truth to it, is that there absolutely would have been a significant number of Clinton primary voters that would not have cast their ballots for Bernie-as-D-nominee (and gone as far as voting for Trump) in November.  Would it have been 12%, probably more like 6%-8%, but I would argue that 1) Bernie would likely have not have turned out as many white Democratic women as Clinton, 2) the GOP corporatist machine (functionally aided by many New Democratic-inclined well-heeled fundraisers who would have sat at home) would have decimated Sanders with a predictable (read: socialist-baiting) and brutal line of attack in the Fall campaign, and 3) many of those Sanders primary voters-Trump general election voters possessed an anti-neo-liberal worldview (which, at times, seemed to be closer to where Trump stood on trade, if you believed what he said).  Without Sanders or a similarly situated candidate, most probably would have sat out the primary election entirely.

The current-day finger-pointing and blame-shifting is painful to witness when the threat to our Republic is so abundantly clear. Outside of personal ego trips, it does the Democratic Party (no matter where one resides within this noble faction) little good to criticize a substantial percentage of the Party’s 2016 electorate.    

Frankly, with high-profile Democrats, including potential 2020’ers like Senator Kamala Harris and Senator Elizabeth Warren, announcing their support for Medicate-for-All legislation, those who belong to the Party of the People should be overjoyed that we might be able to run on a coherent and compelling platform against what is likely to be a weak GOP nominee.

Yes, Virginia, the ’20 Democratic nominee is likely to be someone with backing from Establishment players.  Yes, this person will probably not be a social democrat.  But, given what our nation has experienced since 1/20/17, I for one would gladly take a half-loaf for stable, moderately progressive governance in the Executive Branch.  Right now, given the President we have, he makes Congressman Delaney and Governor McAuliffe look like very appealing options.    

In short, let us bury the unproductive arguments of 2016.  The stakes for the 99% are too high to worry about the past actions of the 12% of one sub-set of voters.  The right candidate, with the right message, can bring them into the fold.

In solidarity.

*For the record, I voted for Senator Sanders in the primary.  It was not an easy decision but ultimately, he was closer to where I stood on a variety of issues.  And yes, I “came home” for the general election and voted for Secretary Clinton, as she was, at the very least, qualified to hold the office, sufficiently progressive on enough issues, and not demonstrably insane like the GOP nominee.  So don’t refer to me “Bernie Bro.”