Pretty sure my missives to farflung correspondents, such as they are, don't reach any supporters of this regime. Because as far as I'm concerned, there is no moral position that tolerates choosing the policies of fascism over democracy. I realize that people are pissed off and some of them voted for Trump, not because they support what he is now doing, but out of frustration. And those people, enough of them, can be reached. The cult followers are a lost cause, but the voters who believed some of what the Grifter said and voted more against what they perceived as a system not working for them than for this regime, can be reached, and can be brought home to vote for Democrats. But this message is intended for those who need no convincing, but need to be energized to understand that we can't just rely on business as usual. We have to energize our own party and focus on getting out huge numbers of people who had just tuned out and stopped voting altogether. And that the way to do that is to give them something to believe in. Just convincing them that they're being screwed and the regime is not on their side, while essential, is not enough.
This
article by Krugman, and Heather Cox Richardson's
commentary on it, highlight something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. Which is what Democrats need to present to the American people to overcome the general sense of uselessness of the entire political process and lack of hope that anything can make our predicament better. Because the truth is that unless we find a way to get a significant percentage of the big cohort of potential voters who simply
don't vote to come out to the polls and vote for Democrats, the gerrymandering, propaganda, and outright cheating that this regime intends to use to subvert elections and remain in power despite historic unpopularity
will succeed.
Pointing out to people that they're being screwed by the regime is not enough, even if they believe you. Or that our democracy is at stake. Sad truth: only a minority even care about that. People have to believe that if they vote for Democrats something good and positive will happen. We need to say not only are we not going to cut everything important to you and your family, and transfer wealth to ourselves and the billionaires that control American politics, we are going to invest in the future and build a better country, based on reality and real prospects, where our prosperity is assured, where opportunities for eduction, decent health care, jobs, an economy where the law protects consumers, where there is an opportunity to have the means to buy a decent home and avoid crushing debt, and where the ultra rich pay their fair share so that the burden of taxes isn't crushing ordinary people. This kind of message can be truly effective, when delivered effectively alongside the promise to end corruption, self-dealing, crazy trade policies that are making inflation worse and destroying the economy, not to mention the deeply unpopular fascist thuggery of this regime. It can bring out younger voters who in recent elections have just stayed home.
Because, friends, if we don't give enough people hope for a future they can believe in, so that the majorities of Democratic votes are so overwhelming that no amount of cheating and rigging the system can prevent victory... we are screwed. If these people are able to consolidate power through even two more election cycles (midterm and 2028), I believe the slide into long term, corrupt and kleptocratic authoritarianism, and the complete destruction of our Constitutional system, will be unavoidable. This is the fight of our lives, and as Democrats who really care about our country, we can't just sit back and hope that the "midterms will go our way." We have to do our damndest to convince our own leaders to treat this as the epic conflict that it is, and fight like hell as if losing again is completely unthinkable. Because it is.
What can we do? Besides giving money to the same old party apparatus that has failed us repeatedly? I think 1) show up; get out on the streets; show the world and our fellow Americans that we are the many, and we are strong. And 2), mainly, talk to people you know, even if it's uncomfortable. Tell them about how the Trump regime is foreclosing our future but Democrats will invest in infrastructure, technology, jobs, housing, health care... everything ordinary people care about. And instead of building ridiculous ballrooms and monumental arches while raiding your neighbors in the dead of night and shipping them off to foreign prisons mainly because they're brown, we will make the richest 1%, which has four to five times more wealth that the entire Federal government, pay their share of the cost of building a better society, so that instead of getting screwed and getting poorer and poorer in real terms, ordinary people get their fair share of the benefits of honest investment in the future. That democrats will support democracy in the world and not cozy up to dictators and look everywhere for ways to enrich themselves, the American people be damned. That while government is never going to be perfect, it actually can be fair, honest, and run in such a way that it brings actual benefit to ordinary working people. While the regime's lies and duplicity cover up the fact that they care exactly nothing for the welfare of ordinary people, and their policies will make the lives of ordinary Americans worse rather than better. We have to be willing to talk about it to people who we usually don't "talk about politics" with. We can't convince everyone, of course, but we only need a margin... another 5 or 7% of people to actually vote. Mostly we don't really even need to change minds. We are already the majority. We just need to get our voters out to actually vote. There are lots of districts even in "red" states where, unpopular as this fascist regime has already become, we can flip dozens of House seats, win governorships and state legislature seats, even flip several Senate seats. And we have to. If we fail, our country fails. That's what's facing us, and we simply cannot fail to heed the call.
Thank you, as the smelly old Orange Grifter likes to say, for your attention to this matter.
