Dealing With a Democratic Snowflake
Yesterday, I put up a post on this blog titled “Too Many Tribes Spoil the Country.” I also post my work on the Daily Kos, a Democrat-only site.
The thrust of it was — and I was intentionally blunt — that I don’t care what generation you’re a part of, and that foolishness like that needs to stop because all Democrats need to be totally united against the existential threat to our country presented by the Trump administration.
I said this: “This is a call to end this stupid labeling and a warning that it tends to pit one group of people against another and could help defeat a purpose we should all hold as singularly critical for the future of our country.”
Well, somebody read the Daily Kos post and commented that it was offensive that I wouldn’t care what other generations (for the record I’m a baby boomer) would think. I responded that I didn’t care about their views because there’s no time to reconcile it with everybody else’s. That didn’t satisfy this individual.
So, we went back and forth and, frankly, I embarrassed myself with both the content and number of my replies to this person who apparently couldn’t understand what I was saying. I should have shut it off right away.
But it made me think this message is so important that I ought to say it again. So, here we go:
Democrats, the only thing that matters is winning, and winning on the federal level is controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House — although it certainly would be a good thing if you at least retook the House next year.
You can sit there and say I don’t like this Democrat because he doesn’t back Medicare-for-all or some other issue. You can say I’m never voting for a “corporate” Democrat. Okay, that works in the primary but in the general election I hope you’ll change your mind, because all you’re doing at that point is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
It doesn’t matter what part of the Democrats’ “big tent” that you sit in. It only matters that everyone in the tent is working together, and that you don’t let some purity test cause you to turn away help from them or anyone who isn’t in the tent. Again, that’s because the only thing that matters is winning.
Right now, Democrats have no power, at least in terms of being able to pass something in Congress or to legislatively stop the historical corruption we’re seeing out of this administration. The GOP lawmakers certainly aren’t going to do anything. That’s what happens when your party is a criminal enterprise run by a mob boss in the White House.
So, stop jockeying for position within the party, because unless you win your position doesn’t mean anything — maybe for you but not for the country. The No Kings events showed there are a lot of people who want to stand up to Trump. The problem is the folks in charge of that have presented no plan of action that has a chance of working — at least so far. I hope they figure it out.
So, yeah, I don’t care what your generation is, or what your position is on any issue. That’s because I need you on my side. Because until Democrats win nothing changes.
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Back in 2016, was it the disgust of the Bernie Bros that kept them away from voting for Hillary Clinton, or did those who just didn’t like Clinton for some reason stay home, allowing Donald Trump to be elected?
Just think how different this country would be if more people not satisfied with the candidate understood that they needed to support her when you considered the alternative.
Here’s the thing, if you’re worried about the pecking order when Democrats get back in power that will sort itself out. The voters will decide who they want in office, and the makeup of the group they choose will decide what the collective body does once it has the power to do so.
Joe Biden started terribly in the 2020 primary, but when more diverse states got their turn to vote he won in a landslide, not the more Progressive candidates he was facing.
Who gets this seat or that is the least of your worries. Just get the damn seat first.
That means understanding we’re all on the same side here. That anything beyond a person’s willingness to work toward the common goal is inconsequential. I’d say if you’re on this site you pretty much hate Trump.
That’s a good start. Whether we get a good ending will be decided in large part if we can silence the snowflakes seeking the perfect over the good, and understand that when Kamala Harris said, “We have so much more in common than what separates us” she was absolutely right.
Within the spectrum of the Democratic Party there is plenty of room for compromise. Let’s look forward to the day when that’s the party’s major concern, not saving our democracy and rule of law from this president and his cronies.
Until then Benjamin Franklin’s quote, “We must all hang together or, assuredly we shall all hang separately,” seems pretty appropriate to me.
And by the way, winning in future elections certainly isn’t assured. Republicans right now are working to rig the 2026 election and those that follow. If that doesn’t cause you to set aside your bruised feelings then I don’t know what will.
I’ll be blunt again: It’s time to grow up, understand what’s going on, and do what has to be done.
That’s what serious adults do. Hopefully we have enough of them to get the job done.
Thank you for reading my post. You can see my other writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Also, please check our video blog: Musings of a Nobody — The Podcast.
