Liberals Suck at Politics

I attended an emergency community meeting the other night sponsored by the AFL-CIO and I came away with one giant take-a-way:  Liberals/progressives suck at politics.  I've actually known this for a while, but it was reinforced by some of the denial that I witnessed.  With the election of Trump, I think it's critical that liberals understand some things.

1. Don't care what the opposition thinks.  There is value in listening to other perspectives and understanding other points of view.  That being said, energy is much better spent trying to get non/low propensity voters to show up to the polls than to persuade conservatives to change their minds.  Are you really going to convince someone who completely disregards the scientific community and thinks climate change is a hoax that climate change is real?  No.  Are you going to persuade someone who thinks that black people have major advantages over white people that racism exists?  Not likely.  Are you going to sway someone who thinks that there is no difference between the two parties that Social Security and Medicare are more likely to be cut if they elect a Republican?  Maybe.
2. Understand the opposition.  If I had to choose Obama's biggest failing as a President, it would be not understanding conservatives.  I think that Obama thinks, that all conservatives are like the ones he met at Harvard (think David Brooks).  They're not. Newsflash:  People who allow your citizenship to become a defining issue for the first part of your presidency are not operating in good faith.  People who impeach a president over lying about a blowjob are not operating in good faith.  People who hold the economy hostage by credibly threatening not to raise the debt ceiling, are not operating in good faith.  People who refuse to even hold hearings for your SCOTUS nominee are not operating in good faith.
3. Emphasize the stakes.  You know what I didn't hear from the Clinton campaign?  I didn't hear about the Supreme Court.  I didn't hear about Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  I didn't hear about climate change.  I didn't hear about college tuition.  I didn't hear about building infrastructure.  Clinton had policies to improve these things, but they rarely if ever came up. Not in her ads, not in the debates.  The only things I heard were "Trump is a monster" (true) and "Go to HillaryClinton.com" which is the single worst phrase a candidate can utter.
4. Bipartisanship is a means not an end.  Working with the other side is fine if it aimed at achieving a greater good even though you don't get everything you want, but that is never where you should begin the conversation.  Working with the other side is bad if it ends with overly complicated policies that barely address the problem and make it easy for conservatives to label government ineffective.   Too often I see Democrats beginning from a negotiated position before negotiations have even started.  Set high goals and aim for them to be implemented broadly (like Social Security), that way if they're repealed they fuck over a much larger chunk of the population.
5. Politics happens more than once every four years.  Generally speaking, if Democrats show up to the polls, they win.  The problem is, they only show up occasionally and usually only for a presidential election.  Republicans show up to nearly every election like clockwork and that is why they control the majority of statehouses, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and soon the Presidency and the Supreme Court.  Democrats didn't even show up in high numbers in the primary where there was the possibility for real divergence from the party elite.  As brilliant film director and sexual predator, Woody Allen said, "80% of life is showing up".
6.  You don't need to like the politicians you elect.  I very seldom vote for someone I like as a human or don't have some serious disagreements with.  You have to be a little off to run for office, so don't expect these people to be perfect.  At the end of the day, you're electing someone to do a job.  Politicians are vehicles for change, not the catalyst.  It's crazy to place a whole lot of trust in politicians, so regard all of them with skepticism.
7. Voting is a collective act, not personal expression, or a consumer choice.  Refer back to rule six.  If voting was supposed to be a form of self-expression, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be anonymous.  Voting is a collective action to assign power.  Nothing more, nothing less.
8. Expect them to cheat.  People cheating to gain power?  Next thing you'll tell me is people lie on their resumes.  Seriously, they cheat because they know the electorate as a whole is not on their side.  What's the best way to respond?  Get more people to vote.
9. Politics is about power.  This is rule number one of political science, but it seems completely lost on many people.  Ultimately, power is being assigned and divided up.  The only difference between democratic forms of government and undemocratic forms of government is how power is assigned.  If you want to understand politics don't watch The West Wing, watch Game of Thrones.

That Time Jim Webb Killed a Man and Other Observations from the Democratic Debate

That was a surprisingly substance filled debate.  I say surprisingly because after CNN's intro with cheesy graphics, weird hype, and Sheryl Crow national anthem intro, I thought I had mistakenly tuned into Big Brother, the Superbowl, or some kind of professional wrestling match.  As it turns out, I had just tuned into a shitty news network.

A few thoughts on our candidates:

Hillary
 

• Best quote: "No" when asked if she wanted to respond to Lincoln Chafee's criticism of her email scandal.
• Hilary is great at seeming to give a firm position on something while not really committing to anything.  A lawyer through and through.
• Hillary is a woman and she is running for President.
• Worst moment: A tie between Snowden would have been given whistle blower protection and she still can't shake the Iraq war vote.
• Overall, I think she did pretty well at least as far as superficial debate commentary goes.  She had a confident answer for everything, even if it wasn't a good answer she sounded as though she believed it.

Bernie

• Whether you agree with the man or not, you can't deny the man is passionate and sincere.
• He's an unpolished, unapologetic, angry old progressive, which is precisely what I like about him.
• Best quote:  Well I don't have the exact quote handy, but it was pretty great when he went after the media for the obsession over Benghazi and Hillary's emails.
• Worst moment:  He stumbled a little over guns.  Also he hasn't articulated the policy differences between him and Hillary clearly enough. 
• Strong showing, but did enough people see it?

Tommy Carcetti Martin O'Malley

• O'Malley is like the little brother of Hillary and Bernie.  He doesn't really differentiate himself from the other candidates very well.
• Best quote: Can't think of one.
• Worst moment:  He endorsed Hillary.
• Boring.

Lincoln Chafee

• Poor Lincoln Chafee.  Chafee seems like a genuinely likable person, but the man is just out of his league. But hey, he's never had a scandal. 
• Best quote:  When asked about his vote to repeal Glass-Steagall: Chafee "I was appointed to office; it was my very first vote. Anderson Cooper: "Are you saying you didn't know what you were voting for?" Chafee: "I'd just arrived to Senate." Chafee you sly dog you.
• Did I mention he's never had a scandal?  I know that's not something to brag about, but the man did hold office in Rhode Island.
• Get out now Lincoln.

Jim Webb
 

• Admittedly, I had only vague knowledge of Jim Webb.  I knew he was a war hero, a somewhat conservative Democratic Senator from Virginia, and that he had written some books.  What I learned last night is that he also (and I say this with no background in mental health whatsoever), is a tad off.
• Best quote:  This is hands down the best quote of the night.  When asked about what enemies he is proud to have made, "I’d have to say the enemy soldier that threw their grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to."  He should have walked out right there.  Seriously, has any candidate bragged about killing a man before?  Possibly, Andrew Jackson.  In fact, there's a decent chance Andrew Jackson killed someone at a debate. 
• Jim Webb, he's killed before and dammit, he'll do it again.