I guess this means that the answer to the ALT-Right is the ALT-Wrong
There's a big difference between a dissident faction within the majority party and a dissident minority party.
2
And what is to be done about hate radio? It blasts hate and lies 24 hours a day in every radio market in America. How do you counter that?
31
This is the usual animal cage liner that finds its way into the OP-ED pages of The Times and The Washington Post. In a stunning revelation to the three authors, Donald J. Trump is still a private citizen. He will not become POTUS until sometime after 12 Noon on 1/20/17.
This is also the usual hysterical over-reaction by liberals who now find themselves scrambling to have any influence in DC.
I also make what is an obvious point to those of us who live in Flyover Country. Yes, Secretary Clinton defeated Mr. Trump by about 3 million votes nationally. In a shocker, this margin was built on super-majorities won by Secretary Clinton in California, Illinois, and New York. Her margins of victory in three states more than offset what Mr. Trump had secured in the 30 states that he had won (some with relatively tiny pluralities).
My overarching point to the authors of this OP-ED is that if the Electoral College went away, then those in the largest, most liberal states in our Union would ensure that such "popular vote victories" would be determinative. The bottom line from Flyover Country is that when our values are ignored by those whose Hubristic Arrogance knows no bounds, then what had previously made America great is likely not only gone, but possibly gone forever.
This is also the usual hysterical over-reaction by liberals who now find themselves scrambling to have any influence in DC.
I also make what is an obvious point to those of us who live in Flyover Country. Yes, Secretary Clinton defeated Mr. Trump by about 3 million votes nationally. In a shocker, this margin was built on super-majorities won by Secretary Clinton in California, Illinois, and New York. Her margins of victory in three states more than offset what Mr. Trump had secured in the 30 states that he had won (some with relatively tiny pluralities).
My overarching point to the authors of this OP-ED is that if the Electoral College went away, then those in the largest, most liberal states in our Union would ensure that such "popular vote victories" would be determinative. The bottom line from Flyover Country is that when our values are ignored by those whose Hubristic Arrogance knows no bounds, then what had previously made America great is likely not only gone, but possibly gone forever.
16
It is unlikely that this new group, "Indivisible: a practical guide for resisting the Trump agenda" will be nearly as successful as the tea party voters. They should have taken action much earlier as it is a bit too late. The voters voted against the liberal progressive agenda of the Obama administration and as a result we have Donald Trump taking office in a few weeks.
The Democrats took the rural and middle America voters for granted and did not listen to their pleas for help with employment and their being against illegal immigration. Their liberal policies were unwelcomed and they said enough and voted them out of office.
These voters want to return to a more conventional time when our country was more conservative and less left leaning. The Democrats excluded many of these people and in return lost their support. The country was heading in a progressive direction and they had had enough.
Can the Democrats win them back? If they stop their liberal policies and listen to the needs of the people. They appear to not want to do so and want to continue down this liberal path. If they lose more seats in Congress it is because they had themselves to blame.
There is a faction in the Democratic party that feels they must remain progressive at all costs. That cost will be to lose more elections.
The Democrats took the rural and middle America voters for granted and did not listen to their pleas for help with employment and their being against illegal immigration. Their liberal policies were unwelcomed and they said enough and voted them out of office.
These voters want to return to a more conventional time when our country was more conservative and less left leaning. The Democrats excluded many of these people and in return lost their support. The country was heading in a progressive direction and they had had enough.
Can the Democrats win them back? If they stop their liberal policies and listen to the needs of the people. They appear to not want to do so and want to continue down this liberal path. If they lose more seats in Congress it is because they had themselves to blame.
There is a faction in the Democratic party that feels they must remain progressive at all costs. That cost will be to lose more elections.
9
A good way to wrest power away from red state legislatures (who seem to come mainly from the Neanderthal wing of the Tea Party) is through ballot initiatives. Virtually all of the measures that passed in 2016 were progressive: Marijuana legalization, minimum wage, soda taxes, renewable energy portfolio mandates, etc.
14
Racist rhetoric and physical threats? Don't remember Tea Partiers being arrested. We will see how the New "Coffee" party acts. The thing with liberal gatherings is that all these Socalled victimized groups come together and ruin the focus.Good luck.
8
One crucial difference between the Tea Party and the rest of us: the Tea Party's interests *just happened* to align with those of the billionaires who funded them. Funny that.
32
It also helped that the Tea Party was the creation of a long-running, well-funded and -organized effort of the Koch network. It would help if progressives had a similar semi-covert organization to draw from but perhaps the Tea Party example will be sufficient inspiration and example to allow a similar but real grassroots organization to arise.
33
Does anyone else remember the Benghazi "Special" hearing that went on for
11 hours and was meant to try to break Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton? They intended to keep her there until she needed a "break" so they could attack her. A couple of democrats on the committee finally objected and, most importantly, the public finally got outraged and started calling and e-mailing committee republicans, especially the obnoxious Gowdy. The tweet #freehillary went viral and within an hour they stopped the hearing.
The reason the hearing was called off was never reported by most media. They do not want the public to know how much power WE have. WE have it all when we take action to stop abuses to OUR systems and governments.
Do not wait for the media or a few politicians and/or organizations to "take a stand" to save democracy in America. The media money is in reporting that it is failing then reporting on the clean-up. DO make sure that your actions, and those of your friends, family, neighbors, and groups get attention through social media and as much press as can be mustered.
Actions speak 1000 times louder than words and when WE take enough action the media will be forced to report it or lose even more audience.
11 hours and was meant to try to break Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton? They intended to keep her there until she needed a "break" so they could attack her. A couple of democrats on the committee finally objected and, most importantly, the public finally got outraged and started calling and e-mailing committee republicans, especially the obnoxious Gowdy. The tweet #freehillary went viral and within an hour they stopped the hearing.
The reason the hearing was called off was never reported by most media. They do not want the public to know how much power WE have. WE have it all when we take action to stop abuses to OUR systems and governments.
Do not wait for the media or a few politicians and/or organizations to "take a stand" to save democracy in America. The media money is in reporting that it is failing then reporting on the clean-up. DO make sure that your actions, and those of your friends, family, neighbors, and groups get attention through social media and as much press as can be mustered.
Actions speak 1000 times louder than words and when WE take enough action the media will be forced to report it or lose even more audience.
30
It is a wonderful time to be a conservative in America and President-elect Donald Trump has been the force behind this occurrence. I have been talking to friends who are like minded and they agree. We are more comfortable to admit that we do not agree with the liberal progressive agenda and now speak out.
The people have spoken in voting out the Democrats and electing Republicans to the presidency and both houses of congresses. They were strongly against the left-wing agenda that had been put in place by the Obama administration such as Obamacare, unfettered immigration, liberal social policies, etc.
The tea party was a success in America and had an impact on Donald Trump's winning the election by many Democratic voters. A lot of Americans supported the tea party because they were upset with the direction our country was taking. They were not being taken seriously by the politicians and their voices were not heard. The Republicans were better than the Democrats in listening to the people once they heard their outcry and took action. They knew they had better listen or they would not get elected. They were smart and finally took the people seriously.
Donald Trump won in middle America and rural areas because he took an interest in the cries of the people and promised change and a better tomorrow. He is slowly delivering on his promises and is effecting positive change.
The Democrats will lose even more seats if they refuse to change their policies.
The people have spoken in voting out the Democrats and electing Republicans to the presidency and both houses of congresses. They were strongly against the left-wing agenda that had been put in place by the Obama administration such as Obamacare, unfettered immigration, liberal social policies, etc.
The tea party was a success in America and had an impact on Donald Trump's winning the election by many Democratic voters. A lot of Americans supported the tea party because they were upset with the direction our country was taking. They were not being taken seriously by the politicians and their voices were not heard. The Republicans were better than the Democrats in listening to the people once they heard their outcry and took action. They knew they had better listen or they would not get elected. They were smart and finally took the people seriously.
Donald Trump won in middle America and rural areas because he took an interest in the cries of the people and promised change and a better tomorrow. He is slowly delivering on his promises and is effecting positive change.
The Democrats will lose even more seats if they refuse to change their policies.
5
"It takes a few pages from the Tea Party playbook... while dispensing with its 'viciousness'."
"...rather than cutting deals with a petty tyrant."
Well, you made it nearly two paragraphs. It was a good run.
"...rather than cutting deals with a petty tyrant."
Well, you made it nearly two paragraphs. It was a good run.
7
All the grass roots local organizing in the world won't help progressives because in our big money system they will fight a continual up hill battle against huge pro corporate forces. And against media who know who butters their bread. The t party was financed by big money, not opposed by it.
Reform of election financing back to the people with short campaigns, and free media time---common abroad--- is the 1st basis for any reform of our politics back to support for the middle class that we enjoyed generations ago.
Polls show majorities favor reversing CU. Many politicians hate the constant fund raising from the rich they're forced to do. Of course others want to continue it. Let's push for independent redistricting so we can vote out the ones most tethered to big money. See Hedrick Smith's Times op ed on this, re can the states restore democracy from last august.
Anticipate the objections of interfering in corporate freedom of speech and the capitalist system. The retorts have to be strengthened and publicized. Where are the pro democracy millionaires to fund new media to compete with Fox News, and set an example for timid main media to follow?
Reform of election financing back to the people with short campaigns, and free media time---common abroad--- is the 1st basis for any reform of our politics back to support for the middle class that we enjoyed generations ago.
Polls show majorities favor reversing CU. Many politicians hate the constant fund raising from the rich they're forced to do. Of course others want to continue it. Let's push for independent redistricting so we can vote out the ones most tethered to big money. See Hedrick Smith's Times op ed on this, re can the states restore democracy from last august.
Anticipate the objections of interfering in corporate freedom of speech and the capitalist system. The retorts have to be strengthened and publicized. Where are the pro democracy millionaires to fund new media to compete with Fox News, and set an example for timid main media to follow?
8
As a charter member of the Tea Party and a Trump voter I am reminded of a statement by a political mentor that if shared would not be acceptable to most commenters here who are in denial that grass root activity is a proprietary function of liberal progressives. The problem for them simply stated: Not only did they believe it, they also thought the PC lid had effectively sealed any momentum of opposition e.g., liberal progressive Tea Party swan songs and "85% Clinton."
7
On the day after Trump takes the Oath of Office an impeachment effort must be established as an ongoing maneuver to keep him in line and to secure a modicum of safety for ourselves and for our country,
How else can we keep Trump in line - other than closing down his access to his Twitter rumblings.
The "Impeach Trump" declaration must be introduced in the House of Representatives on Day One ...... as a tactical imperative.
Doing so on a regular basis, prompted by Trump's behavior - whatever it may be - should be a strategic and never ending plan for the country's greater good.
Win or lose but build momentum is the overall plan.
The GOP wrote the playbook on this tactic and it is now their turn to be on stage for their close-up.
Seating Trump beneath a Damocles sword that hangs by a hair, over the hair on his large and swollen head, should be a reminder that if he goes too far ....... well another vote will be taken just as a reminder that we the people may well have the last word on any issue he may wish to advertise, promulgate, or toss around as his latest bullying behavior.
Polls to evaluate this action can be mounted to take effect immediately after each impeachment effort.
Trump has no mandate and he lost the popular vote by a substantial margin.
Our mandate is in our numbers and the time to make this point is on Day One after the Oath of Office is administered.
How else can we keep Trump in line - other than closing down his access to his Twitter rumblings.
The "Impeach Trump" declaration must be introduced in the House of Representatives on Day One ...... as a tactical imperative.
Doing so on a regular basis, prompted by Trump's behavior - whatever it may be - should be a strategic and never ending plan for the country's greater good.
Win or lose but build momentum is the overall plan.
The GOP wrote the playbook on this tactic and it is now their turn to be on stage for their close-up.
Seating Trump beneath a Damocles sword that hangs by a hair, over the hair on his large and swollen head, should be a reminder that if he goes too far ....... well another vote will be taken just as a reminder that we the people may well have the last word on any issue he may wish to advertise, promulgate, or toss around as his latest bullying behavior.
Polls to evaluate this action can be mounted to take effect immediately after each impeachment effort.
Trump has no mandate and he lost the popular vote by a substantial margin.
Our mandate is in our numbers and the time to make this point is on Day One after the Oath of Office is administered.
9
Just saying it isn't enough. You have to believe it. Even little kids can tell when adults are telling them something the adults don't really believe just to get the little kids to do something. Or, at least, little kids who were not raised on Fox-like 'news.'
If the Democratic Party tells me it's going to take me for ice cream if I support them, I expect a cone of black raspberry. A lot of people think they're going to get banana splits (with two cherries and extra whipped cream) thanks to DT. I predict many will be sitting at the table quite a while with nothing but a glass of water and a paper napkin.
If the Democratic Party tells me it's going to take me for ice cream if I support them, I expect a cone of black raspberry. A lot of people think they're going to get banana splits (with two cherries and extra whipped cream) thanks to DT. I predict many will be sitting at the table quite a while with nothing but a glass of water and a paper napkin.
4
I have am joining a local group and plan to use the Indivisible Guide to fight Donald Trump's agenda.
8
Thank you for this op-ed! I have felt the same for weeks now. We need to harness the energy and emotion of all the people who filled the streets with the "Not My President" protests. They are out there, and they are probably feeling as much despair as I feel. Yes, we need to start at the local levels, but we also need a national alliance of like=minded people, choosing core values we can all agree on, like Truth, Inclusiveness, anti-racism, and a campaign of exposing the results of the disastrous decisions Trump will make. You know that wnen his decisions have bad results, he will find a way to blame somebody else. We need to get ahead of that curve.
12
The authors wrote a great piece. One thing was missing.
What's the group you are starting or are recommending we gather around?
What's the group you are starting or are recommending we gather around?
7
Don't forget the Tea Party was founded and organized by Koch front groups, and nurtured to support their agenda.
They wanted tax cuts for the rich, and a free hand to abuse the environment and their employees for profit.
Simple as that.
Remember also that the Kochs got their start providing fossil facilities for Stalin and Hitler, and were active supporters of the KKK.
They organized and continue to organize voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the takeover of local authorities and courts. They are now moving into credible universities.
The rank and file have no idea that their unfocused resentment is killing the messenger rather than addressing the problem.
They wanted tax cuts for the rich, and a free hand to abuse the environment and their employees for profit.
Simple as that.
Remember also that the Kochs got their start providing fossil facilities for Stalin and Hitler, and were active supporters of the KKK.
They organized and continue to organize voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the takeover of local authorities and courts. They are now moving into credible universities.
The rank and file have no idea that their unfocused resentment is killing the messenger rather than addressing the problem.
13
The authors of this article have given anybody who cares about your country and it's people the operating plan to speak truth to power. It starts with realizing that you the people do indeed have the power, but only if you use it constructively and peacefully. More articles like this and ensuing action will go a long way to mitigating the disaster of November 8th. That is the American spirit the world recognizes and respects.
12
Paul Ryan says, "we hear you, we will deliver!" Deliver what? Dirtier air and water, broken third-world infrastructure, declining schools and educational standards, minimum wage part-time jobs, no access to healthcare for millions of people, a declining middle class, tax cuts for the 1%?
16
These are excellent ideas, but the Tea Party was not as grass roots as it initially appeared. It was funded behind the scenes by the billionaire Koch brothers. Our first battle should be to get dark money out of politics.
15
The issue with this "call to arms" is that Congress requires that constituents work through their Senators and Representatives. When I tried what was suggested, by emailing, calling, and mailing (USPS) other members of the house and Senate the reply was the same, "We only consider communications from our constituents".
Since we have an epidemic of safe districts and gerrymandering there is no "outside view" that Congressman are going to be sensitive to. Kansas and California may as well be on different planets. There will be no "movement to the center" only extreme crazies out-crazy-ing the one's already on the right.
I think the hope here is that states and cities, and local governments work around Federal government, until legal battles embroil our dysfunctional Congress into total stasis
Since we have an epidemic of safe districts and gerrymandering there is no "outside view" that Congressman are going to be sensitive to. Kansas and California may as well be on different planets. There will be no "movement to the center" only extreme crazies out-crazy-ing the one's already on the right.
I think the hope here is that states and cities, and local governments work around Federal government, until legal battles embroil our dysfunctional Congress into total stasis
6
Author notes "Politics is the art of the possible,"
Others have posited “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. ”
To each their own, but weigh which is more apropos.
[In less than three weeks, this Congress will join with President-elect Donald J. Trump to claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support. Together, they will seek to enact.....
Revisit the electoral college versus populist divide all you want but that argument is specious when it comes to Congress; and as to the declared assertion of bigoted and undemocratic is, at best, disingenuous and incitement at worst. Or is the Times so prescient as forgo reasoned discourse; even this country's founders recognized there would be differences of opinion and motivations! ]
Others have posited “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. ”
To each their own, but weigh which is more apropos.
[In less than three weeks, this Congress will join with President-elect Donald J. Trump to claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support. Together, they will seek to enact.....
Revisit the electoral college versus populist divide all you want but that argument is specious when it comes to Congress; and as to the declared assertion of bigoted and undemocratic is, at best, disingenuous and incitement at worst. Or is the Times so prescient as forgo reasoned discourse; even this country's founders recognized there would be differences of opinion and motivations! ]
1
Ah, isn't it a little too late to stop Trump????
2
not at all. It's not so much stopping him as it is stopping a congress bent on enriching the 1% with a supposed 'mandate'.
13
A defensive strategy is fine but is only a half measure. Progressives also need to continue to strongly advocate for effective climate change legislation, just immigration policy, improving the ACA. We should be doing all things possible to get progressives elected in the states coming up in 2018 so as to take the senate.
8
In the spring of 2009 my small town of 35,000 manage to organize 800 tea party supporters in one gathering. Our area was at that time in the midst of the Bakken boom, What those 800 people were protesting I cannot imagine. There was no health care law to protest, the economy was in recession, but not here in ND. I will always believe that what really motivated them was the election of Barack Obama. Right wing radio and Fox News sustained the drum beat against all things Obama for 8 solid years. They won only in the electoral college sense and we can only hope that they overreach and are punished for it.
17
Time for a vigilante electorate.
No more re-posts of articles to you Facebook page. Your friends probable already agree with you.
Call your elected representatives and be heard. Lighting up the switchboards gets the attention of staffers and your Congressional representatives.
No more re-posts of articles to you Facebook page. Your friends probable already agree with you.
Call your elected representatives and be heard. Lighting up the switchboards gets the attention of staffers and your Congressional representatives.
7
Actually Democrats are the Real Tea Party. The original Tea Party in revolutionary times was fighting for no taxation without representation. States like New York and California and big cities in red states around the country send much of the tax revenue to Washington, but do not have commensurate representation. In fact these tax paying states did not even get their choice for president--Hillary Clinton. Instead the winner was was the loser in the popular vote. This is unfair and must be reversed.
10
My representatives are already representing me. It's other people's representatives who aren't representing me, and they don't care what I think because I can't vote for them.
10
I have tried to figure out just what it is that has caused the fall of the Democratic Party and have realized that it is largely due to the combination of two phenomenon.
1. The Democratic Party is truly perceived as driven by the elitist neo liberals on the coasts who are trying to force their vision on simple working class people. Their plight has worsened significantly during the Obama's reign. While unemployment rates have improved, the percentage of Americans working has plunged and those who are resent the wage gap that has grown during Obama's presidency. People who want to work are much worse off under the Democrats.
2. Democrat leaders have launched war against corporate America (Sanders, Frank, Warren & Obama) over the past 8 years. Diminished employment opportunities are a direct result of Obamaattacking the economic foundation our country rather than doing everything possible to support US corporations.
Democrats have focused on providing assistance to those who are not contributing to society and have over looked those who are working. It is time to help the working class by stimulating the economy with real job opportunities by helping rather than attacking corporate America..
1. The Democratic Party is truly perceived as driven by the elitist neo liberals on the coasts who are trying to force their vision on simple working class people. Their plight has worsened significantly during the Obama's reign. While unemployment rates have improved, the percentage of Americans working has plunged and those who are resent the wage gap that has grown during Obama's presidency. People who want to work are much worse off under the Democrats.
2. Democrat leaders have launched war against corporate America (Sanders, Frank, Warren & Obama) over the past 8 years. Diminished employment opportunities are a direct result of Obamaattacking the economic foundation our country rather than doing everything possible to support US corporations.
Democrats have focused on providing assistance to those who are not contributing to society and have over looked those who are working. It is time to help the working class by stimulating the economy with real job opportunities by helping rather than attacking corporate America..
4
The candidate who got small donations and votes from millions of average citizens, was the one who demonstrated democracy in action. The others demonstrated oligarchy in action. As pres Jimmy Carter has said, we veer toward oligarchy because it takes huge corporate backing to run for office in the US. Or self financed billionaire incipient dictators, Carter could have added now. .
This is the huge fact that the Times op ed page and the rest of the cable TV media never talk about. To challenge big money directed elections is avoided in our media, while they lament all the problems it causes, and pretend they are humanitarians so concerned about inequality and injustice. Bashing the rw without practical solutions is easy.
This is the huge fact that the Times op ed page and the rest of the cable TV media never talk about. To challenge big money directed elections is avoided in our media, while they lament all the problems it causes, and pretend they are humanitarians so concerned about inequality and injustice. Bashing the rw without practical solutions is easy.
5
When will the Left wake up? It was Barack Obama THE MAN [and his lovely wife and family] that was popular, NOT his policies. Need proof? Didn't you just run a candidate who promised to continue those SAME POLICIES? Against a candidate who had groped women and refused to disclose his finances. So, how'd she do? Except for California Island, she went down for the third time, with a good chunk of the party in tow.
This is a generational thing and unless the Left suddenly realizes that Americans don't want to hear that we Americans aren't born Special, that it isn't racist to object to millions of outsiders just wading into the country and that "Hope and Change" can move too fast, then we can look forward to another decade of Republican victory after victory, another decade proving Tony Blair right about when "a traditional left-wing party competes with a traditional right-wing party, with the traditional result."
Emulate the Tea Party? I'd say the Dems better start a Coffee Party, as in "wake up and smell it."
This is a generational thing and unless the Left suddenly realizes that Americans don't want to hear that we Americans aren't born Special, that it isn't racist to object to millions of outsiders just wading into the country and that "Hope and Change" can move too fast, then we can look forward to another decade of Republican victory after victory, another decade proving Tony Blair right about when "a traditional left-wing party competes with a traditional right-wing party, with the traditional result."
Emulate the Tea Party? I'd say the Dems better start a Coffee Party, as in "wake up and smell it."
8
The problem with this strategy is that The Tea Party centered far right-wing voters on key issues that united them: small government, gun rights, etc. The present day Democratic coalition is fundamentally different in that the components are united by multiculturalism and progressive values, but they mean different things to different constituent groups from a practical vantage point.
The Democratic party has grown into the party for different minority groups to fight respective injustices. For example, Hilary Clinton took on the Black Lives Matter cause, DREAMers, Muslim immigration, and the like, which are noble stances but there is nothing that binds them in such a way that can mobilize all of these disparate groups around one another's causes. Since the coalition includes groups fighting for their own issues under the banner of The Democratic Party, a grassroots campaign has to begin by uniting these groups under common cause.
The Clinton Campaign suffered from focusing too much on Donald Trump and not enough on her own message, and I fear that the grassroots campaigned outlined here suffers from the same problem. Politics, from the top-down and bottom-up, works best when people have skin in the game and fight for the causes they care about. It is the skill of politicians to weave such passions into voting coalitions that work towards a common vision for the future—that is the key to messaging and effective campaigning.
The Democratic party has grown into the party for different minority groups to fight respective injustices. For example, Hilary Clinton took on the Black Lives Matter cause, DREAMers, Muslim immigration, and the like, which are noble stances but there is nothing that binds them in such a way that can mobilize all of these disparate groups around one another's causes. Since the coalition includes groups fighting for their own issues under the banner of The Democratic Party, a grassroots campaign has to begin by uniting these groups under common cause.
The Clinton Campaign suffered from focusing too much on Donald Trump and not enough on her own message, and I fear that the grassroots campaigned outlined here suffers from the same problem. Politics, from the top-down and bottom-up, works best when people have skin in the game and fight for the causes they care about. It is the skill of politicians to weave such passions into voting coalitions that work towards a common vision for the future—that is the key to messaging and effective campaigning.
10
Excellent comment and if anyone disputes your argument, point them to 1994 and 2010, off-year elections when, only two years after capturing all three elected branches, the Dems were ROUTED by the GOP.
3
The Dems' effective message is to publicize other world advanced nation democracies and explain their social democratic policies in concrete terms voters can relate to their own lives --in h/c, regulations, taxes, unions, worker protections, family leave, etc. What's left wing here is more centrist abroad. Positive role model examples in real people terms are more effective than than lectures.
Sanders didn't explain things well, and left himself open to media distortion of his policies as radical, unpractical etc. He could have explained how free state college tuition was a US reality for decades. That high corporate taxes and regulations were once centrist. Re h/c, he kept the same line over and over---we are the only country without h/c for all ...etc.
But Sanders never explained how the various systems abroad finance and use their h/c. Not all single payer either, but using govt regulation and non profit insurance. They've had this for generations already--the models are there, but never discussed in our media. Why do they avoid this?
Sanders didn't explain things well, and left himself open to media distortion of his policies as radical, unpractical etc. He could have explained how free state college tuition was a US reality for decades. That high corporate taxes and regulations were once centrist. Re h/c, he kept the same line over and over---we are the only country without h/c for all ...etc.
But Sanders never explained how the various systems abroad finance and use their h/c. Not all single payer either, but using govt regulation and non profit insurance. They've had this for generations already--the models are there, but never discussed in our media. Why do they avoid this?
2
Ah, now we Democrats can assure that self-government does not work - just as the Republicans did for the last eight years.
Somewhere, the demons cheer.
Somewhere, the demons cheer.
2
We as Democrats had our chance back in 2008, when in control of Congress our leadership opted for complacency. With a fully progressive agenda, unloading the proverbial can of whip oz, we just might have secured support of those voters who've been deserting the Demo Party for quite some time. Sure those people have left the frying pan for the fire, but there would have been no Trump today either. Republican lite gets you nowhere.
4
Tea Party supporters and activists were a group of poor and low middle class mostly less educated white people, financed by Koch brothers and other right wing billionaires, supported by the Republican party and FOX news, right wing talk radio shows gave big media support. How the Democratic party can organize similar militant protesters. It has no billionaires to finance and has no mega media. Moreover, the Democratic supporters are more or less lazy and the party does not have homogeneous group of people. So it is fantasy for the Democratic Party to have something similar to Tea Party.
2
As you recently reported, liberals have a real basis to become the new "Tea Party" because many blue states contribute much more in taxes, but, thanks to the Electoral College, receive much less political representation. We should demand that our taxes are proportional to the amount of political power given to each citizen's vote. Let's see how long the Electoral College lasts when people in Wyoming pay 3.6 times as much in federal taxes as people in California do.
9
Or demand that a new Economic Output legislative branch to run in parallel with the Senate and House be created. The idea of "one man, one vote" as the foundation of American democracy has been flawed since 1776.
Senate is proportional to the number of states - "one state, one vote."
House is proportional each State population (at least intent to) - "one man, one vote."
New Economic branch proportional to State's Economic Output - "one dollar, one vote."
Senate is proportional to the number of states - "one state, one vote."
House is proportional each State population (at least intent to) - "one man, one vote."
New Economic branch proportional to State's Economic Output - "one dollar, one vote."
1
A friend sent me a link to Indivisible about a week ago and I read it closely, liked most of the ideas, and hope to organize a group of elderly female Democratic gadflies to attend town halls, etc. While preparing for that, I still think there may be some benefit to simply giving our majority Republican, right wing, largely white male, mainly Christian (with a couple of Jews) Congress the opportunity to over reach to the point where their poorly informed base can no longer ignore their loss of health care and black lung benefits, the closing of ERs and hospitals in their small rural communities, their reductions in Social Security, and the inadequate vouchers given to replace Medicare. When the coal mining and steel jobs promised by Trump don't instantly materialize, when Trump orders our military to invade Syria and/or Iran (after Netanyahu nukes them), it will make for a very interesting mid term election.
5
well, it will happen anyway. The point is to resist it, be shown to resist it, and hopefully 'regular' voters will remember this when it fails to 'make America great again' (whatever that means).
3
The Tea Party was bankrolled by Koch Brothers and affiliated groups. We should not forget that. It was as much Astro-turf as grass roots. That said, were effective and could be a model for #TheResistance. We should just keep in mind the Tea Party wasn't a spontaneous response to the ACA and the financial crisis bail-outs.
4
The berniecrat is the tea party on the left. Using unrealistic policy to woo the ignorant public.
3
Comment is superficial without credibility. what specific policies are unachievable?
2
Hmm, seemed to work for the tea party, seemed to work for Trump.
1
Who cares what Dems oughta do? Those of us who care about a generalized 'New Deal' platform for governance gave up on them 30 years ago when the party -under Bill Clinton's guidance along with 'First Cheerleader' Hillary- opted for 'Third Way' nitwittery. The process gave us two corporate parties instead of one, and sequentially disenfranchised low-income people, working people, people of color, the middle class, and ultimately everyone not in their donor class.
It is beyond redemption, the same way we've seen Republicans since Richard Nixon first crossed the radar. The two-party system needs a stake through it's heart.
It is beyond redemption, the same way we've seen Republicans since Richard Nixon first crossed the radar. The two-party system needs a stake through it's heart.
8
And how does presidential candidate Andrew Cuomo feel about this?
1
Perhaps a house-cleaning [formerly known as a "purge"] might be in order before submitting ourselves to the electorate again. Kicking out the elitists, the Hilary factor, and organizing working people could be a start. Sanders actually looked like a guy with a job, not some career mouthpiece with a bachelor's degree in bribery.
8
Well, I for one can't wait to meet this new Democratic party. Reflexive opposition to Republican policies even when they are things you agreed with as little as 10 years ago. Ignorant, inflammatory, and occasionally racist rhetoric. Meaningless and contradictory policy pronouncements. Falling over themselves to have the most extreme position in order to appeal to an ever shrinking base. Bait and switch governing where you care about things like the deficit during the campaign and then blow the budget when you are actually in office. "Sincere" belief in crazy ideas in order to oppress and harass regular folks. Where do I sign up?
Feel free to go the direction of the Tea Party if you want but you will have lost my vote.
Now, you may say that things won't be that bad if "we" do it. That's where you are wrong because the biggest flaw of the Tea Party isn't the specifics of what they believe, rather it is the lack of respect for anything that informs them about the world or has the power to change it for the better. You may think you won't follow them down that path, but you will. Sure, you might not end up racist, but you will destroy yourself all the same. You will have no choice but to take up the mantle of "individual freedom above all else" because they are now the ones in power. And, when you do, it will destroy you as it has them.
Feel free to go the direction of the Tea Party if you want but you will have lost my vote.
Now, you may say that things won't be that bad if "we" do it. That's where you are wrong because the biggest flaw of the Tea Party isn't the specifics of what they believe, rather it is the lack of respect for anything that informs them about the world or has the power to change it for the better. You may think you won't follow them down that path, but you will. Sure, you might not end up racist, but you will destroy yourself all the same. You will have no choice but to take up the mantle of "individual freedom above all else" because they are now the ones in power. And, when you do, it will destroy you as it has them.
1
And should our resistance be funded by billionaires like the "Tea Party"? How about a party that represents the vast majority if Americans that want progressive policies unfettered by the demands of the extremely wealthy and corporate interests? The fight will be most effectively by offering something better than what "New Democrats" have been pushing for 30 years.
2
Seems to me that our two dominant political parties are always ast war with each other, instead of coming together in the best interest of the country.
1
It wasn't that way until Gingrich started us down the road of the politics of destruction.
5
In my view this is a dangerous approach to addressing the Trump presidency. One of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century was the death of the Weimar Republic in Germany. The death was caused partly by economic distress but the major cause was political leaders who supported a politics of polarization. The left and right abandoned the center, attacking moderation and compromise.
In that conflict the voices of ethnic nationalism, military strength, unfettered capitalism and national supremacy won out over voices for tolerance of minorities, social welfare, regulated capitalism and being a member of a community of nations. Adopting Tea Party tactics may seem appealing at this time - and might work - but in the long run my fear is that America will lose the moderates, the centrists, the compromisers and end up in a very tragic place.
In that conflict the voices of ethnic nationalism, military strength, unfettered capitalism and national supremacy won out over voices for tolerance of minorities, social welfare, regulated capitalism and being a member of a community of nations. Adopting Tea Party tactics may seem appealing at this time - and might work - but in the long run my fear is that America will lose the moderates, the centrists, the compromisers and end up in a very tragic place.
4
I, for one, started writing, calling, emailing elected officials so they know that my vote in next elections will go to the candidates who stands up and says "I don't make deals!". I will attend the Women's March on January 21st. I am attending local groups that have joined together for the first time to resist the cabal in Washington. I also recommend Ralph Nader's "Breaking Through Power. It's easier than we think."
8
I agree with the opening paragraph--"In less than three weeks, this Congress will join with President-elect Donald J. Trump to claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support." The voting majority should resist the radical agenda that is probably coming and organizing locally would seem to be a good place to start.
10
I'm in, and I greatly appreciate the User Manual. What I will not do is sign another petition, read another groveling "we need your support" email, or open up my checkbook to the Democratic Party's status quo. The party is broken. Nancy Pelosi needs to step aside, as do the other members who have been around too long to accept that a massive change must happen. Much of America spoke. Nobody listened—or understood—until November 8. I'm ready to do something more than whine. I'm ready to do.
9
"To Stop Trump, Democrats Can Learn From the Tea Party"
Like anybody with a brain didn't know this 4 -- no, 20 -- years ago. The problem isn't just with the milquetoast, stand-for-nothing, fight-for-nothing Democratic party and its unrelenting, lean, mean losing machine of cowardice. It is with their enablers - those comfortable Baby Boomer whiny white wimp supporters who will outright tell you that they'd rather lose than "be like them." Never mind the difference being that Democrats don't have to lie; they simply have to stand up for evidence and reason as resolutely as Republicans/conservatives/libertarians stand up for manufactured narratives and the crony-est of capitalism. But the stand-down Democratic whiner supporters are as dispassionate and self-certain of the imaginary arc of history as the wingnut/neo-Nazi/white supremacist are reactionary and tribal. There is no arc of history. There is only the fight and the American political faction to the left of Ayn Rand can't be bothered lest they miss a cup of Celestial Seasonings.
Like anybody with a brain didn't know this 4 -- no, 20 -- years ago. The problem isn't just with the milquetoast, stand-for-nothing, fight-for-nothing Democratic party and its unrelenting, lean, mean losing machine of cowardice. It is with their enablers - those comfortable Baby Boomer whiny white wimp supporters who will outright tell you that they'd rather lose than "be like them." Never mind the difference being that Democrats don't have to lie; they simply have to stand up for evidence and reason as resolutely as Republicans/conservatives/libertarians stand up for manufactured narratives and the crony-est of capitalism. But the stand-down Democratic whiner supporters are as dispassionate and self-certain of the imaginary arc of history as the wingnut/neo-Nazi/white supremacist are reactionary and tribal. There is no arc of history. There is only the fight and the American political faction to the left of Ayn Rand can't be bothered lest they miss a cup of Celestial Seasonings.
6
All of you that are hopeful Trump will be impeached seem to be unaware that Pence will be Pres and Ryan will be VP. What you'll have then is the Pres and VP, and the House/Senate on the same page pushing true Conservative. At least with Trump, there will be confict between him and Congress. Be careful what you wish for.
10
The dems and liberals could only offer weak resistance because they are dependent on big money financing to run for office. So how far can they go in opposing the rw? Look at our Dems---Bill, Barack and Hillary---compromising with repubs on banking rules, monopoly laws for media, health care, job offshoring and trade deals. This gives encouragement to the rw to double down.
And when the main dem candidate goes around making speeches to Wall St banks for 250,000 each, while she prepares to ask for the votes of millions of downwardly mobile working/middle class voters---what does that tell you? Our standards of democracy itself are compromised.
Only campaign finance reform, to rebalance the power of the people with power of elites, will allow other reforms to happen. We will never know if Hillary would have pushed to reverse Citizens United, as she promised. But what kind of politics can we ever expect if the S. Court equates big money politics with free speech per 1st amendment?
And when the main dem candidate goes around making speeches to Wall St banks for 250,000 each, while she prepares to ask for the votes of millions of downwardly mobile working/middle class voters---what does that tell you? Our standards of democracy itself are compromised.
Only campaign finance reform, to rebalance the power of the people with power of elites, will allow other reforms to happen. We will never know if Hillary would have pushed to reverse Citizens United, as she promised. But what kind of politics can we ever expect if the S. Court equates big money politics with free speech per 1st amendment?
3
You must remember, the tea party was successful because they were working against an African American president. So, unless you have another such president in office, your plans and strategies are for naught. Look at who was elected - can you imagine Obama getting away with just a smidgen of what Trump has said or done and most likely will continue doing. All I can say is GOD HELP US.
6
The majority of voters voted against the outrage that is Trump. The majority of the country doesn't like him, and they don't even need the false power of racism to propel them to act
2
Democrats should learn from the Tea Party experience not to allow their anti-Trump grassroots movement to be hijacked by an unrecognizable alternative.
The Tea Party began in 2008 as a reaction against the TARP and Fed bailouts of the likes of Bear Stearns, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. It gathered steam with the 2009 stimulus package that needlessly added $800 billion to the national debt.
But then in their 2010 "Tea Party" march on Washington, organizers Sarah Pail and Glenn Beck declared that the movement was not really about economics, but about getting God back into politics. The result was a resurgence of social conservatism and evangelical politics.
The Tea Party began in 2008 as a reaction against the TARP and Fed bailouts of the likes of Bear Stearns, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. It gathered steam with the 2009 stimulus package that needlessly added $800 billion to the national debt.
But then in their 2010 "Tea Party" march on Washington, organizers Sarah Pail and Glenn Beck declared that the movement was not really about economics, but about getting God back into politics. The result was a resurgence of social conservatism and evangelical politics.
3
In another Op-Ed the writer put forth the idea that what democrats needed to do was convince the masses to believe what they say is true. This article is centered on one purpose, stopping Trump. The Tea Party went after members of both parties because. They wanted to have some say so about how government affected their lives or those areas they wanted government stay out of. But so far the message from the Democrats is to convince everyone they are always right and stop anything the president they elected tries to accomplish while in office. Not one thought that the democrats could improve their status by trying how to help the people that rejected them. The Democrats continue to shout about the popular vote, It sounds like they want to return the power to the two coastlines. One thing about Trump is that he won't play nice with them, He will expose every blockade in the harshest tone .He doesn't care if it is republican or Democrat, the gloves are off when it comes to him. If the Democrats are to restore the some of what they have lost, The may need to try to help the people in the areas the people believe will help them. They need to give up the concept that the people should let them decide what's best for them
3
Ya ain't gonna stop him!
2
Watch Us, Garz from Mars.
5
To effect meaningful political change, progressives must first acknowledge an ugly truth about their political behavior: they are, too often, not serious about winning political contests. If they would be candid about their attitudes and efforts during political campaigns, progressives would admit that their deep passions about issues are at a crescendo only during “important” elections. In between elections, progressives mostly prefer to remain politically inactive. And even at those elections they deem to be “important”, their ardor for victory is subdued if the obvious, logical candidate for their causes is “imperfect”. The progressive’s error always seems to be that a loss, “this time”, is bearable. Thus, progressives often seem to go into battle just to be in there, but not to win to advance causes in which they believe. As dilettantes, they approach elections not as serious people intent on advancing their issues. After the loss, when unpalatable public policies of the other side loom ominously on the horizon, progressives then prattle on about organizing, and on and on. VP Hubert Humphrey, Mr. Liberalism himself (vs Nixon?); VP Al Gore (vs W?) and Hillary (vs Trump?) were all “imperfect” but great fighters for progressive ideals. Against their respective opponents, they seemed logical and obvious choices for progressives. Many progressives, however, chose to ignore them. Dilettantism, thine name is Progressivism!
2
SA you say, "To effect meaningful political change, progressives must first acknowledge an ugly truth about their political behavior:"
Yes, WE must realize that people like The Con Don and his Top 1% Global Financial Elite Robber Baron Party will do ANYTHING to "win". They are basically thieves with no social conscience and cannot see beyond their greed.
Fortunately WE Progressives far outnumber them and will use our own ethical means to stop them in their corrupt paths - BEFORE they can destroy the global economy for their personal benefit as they did during the Nixon/Reagan/Bush/Bush, Jr. years.
Yes, WE must realize that people like The Con Don and his Top 1% Global Financial Elite Robber Baron Party will do ANYTHING to "win". They are basically thieves with no social conscience and cannot see beyond their greed.
Fortunately WE Progressives far outnumber them and will use our own ethical means to stop them in their corrupt paths - BEFORE they can destroy the global economy for their personal benefit as they did during the Nixon/Reagan/Bush/Bush, Jr. years.
4
As someone once said (Woody Allen?), 95% of success is just showing up. The indivisible strategy is a good one if people will commit their time, lungs and shoe leather. If local success is widespread, can a general strike be far behind?
3
While the call to action is admirable, it unfortunately reinforces the myth that progressives lack the passion and determination to effect change and that good government can be achieved of we only work harder. The Tea Party is not, nor has it ever been, a grass roots organization. It was a sophisticated media campaign funded by corporate interests to promote the agenda of the 1%.
For those of you who have worked for progressive causes over the years, imagine "organizing" when your only task is to bring people to gatherings where you never ask for a dime, hand out free hats, signs, t-shirts and flyers, and then turn over your list of attendees to a well paid staff of marketers who then spend limitless cash bombarding them with direct mail demonizing your opponents. Now add to that a 24 hour news network that echoes your message a thousand times a day.
We're not being out-worked or out-smarted, we're being outspent; until that changes nothing else will either.
For those of you who have worked for progressive causes over the years, imagine "organizing" when your only task is to bring people to gatherings where you never ask for a dime, hand out free hats, signs, t-shirts and flyers, and then turn over your list of attendees to a well paid staff of marketers who then spend limitless cash bombarding them with direct mail demonizing your opponents. Now add to that a 24 hour news network that echoes your message a thousand times a day.
We're not being out-worked or out-smarted, we're being outspent; until that changes nothing else will either.
8
The people running the Democratic Party do fund raisers or give talks at think tanks, colleges and liberal organizations. They excel at writing long position papers. Who knows? Maybe one of those position papers includes a section, "Options for a Democratic Tea Party"-- accompanied by graphs and tables to support the options.
3
Organizing is a great idea but a boatload of money to get the world out is just as important. The Tea party started locally and small but were soon funded with huge amounts of Koch money. George Soros: are you listening?
3
The modern Tea Party was born and well on its way to coalescing prior Obama, and was unrelated to his election. It was a reaction to financial panic, and the Wall Street/Big Auto bailouts being bandied about and initiated by the Bush administration. Further, while the two had much in common on the surface, the real differentiation between WS and its faint mirror image, Occupy Wall Street, was the former blamed Wall Street AND the Feds for getting into that mess. The latter blamed only Wall Street.
If a movement develops where the Democratic Party abandons it furthest progressive impulses and returns to its liberal anti-anti-American roots, it would be a force to be reckoned with.
And it could certainly count on support from the MSM which will cut it every slack, and wont brand it as racist, misogynistic, homophobic, yada yada, yada, without any real evidence or proof.
If a movement develops where the Democratic Party abandons it furthest progressive impulses and returns to its liberal anti-anti-American roots, it would be a force to be reckoned with.
And it could certainly count on support from the MSM which will cut it every slack, and wont brand it as racist, misogynistic, homophobic, yada yada, yada, without any real evidence or proof.
1
The rw has always been more organized than the liberals. They are much more fervent ideologues, with paranoid attitudes against big govt itself. The big money powers take full advantage of this.
The rw is much better financed than liberals. There’s hardly any frankly progressive media. There’s very little true progressivism on the NYTimes op ed page. They’re all afraid of looking in any way like Bernie Sanders types, so they stay safely in the middle, just more humanitarian than the rw.
Look at the money and organization that went into creating the FOX News monopoly from coast to coast, made easier after anti monopoly laws were dismantled by Bill Clinton and the Republicans. Hate radio increased. Rush L became influential enough to be quoted by the NYT in the same sentence as the US president—thus increasing the talk show host’s power and prestige, and reducing that of Obama!
Public media is underfunded. It ‘s crucial to increase progressive media, because the rw media has pulled centrist media with it, defining what’s left wing in their terms. Thus in the long campaign we heard little realistic discussion on the media re climate change, unions, true universal health care, job offshoring and retirement. These are the issues a democracy is supposed to solve for voters, or why vote? Well, our turnout is very low compared to other nations. Our democracy remains stuck due to big money financing both parties and dominating policy making.
The rw is much better financed than liberals. There’s hardly any frankly progressive media. There’s very little true progressivism on the NYTimes op ed page. They’re all afraid of looking in any way like Bernie Sanders types, so they stay safely in the middle, just more humanitarian than the rw.
Look at the money and organization that went into creating the FOX News monopoly from coast to coast, made easier after anti monopoly laws were dismantled by Bill Clinton and the Republicans. Hate radio increased. Rush L became influential enough to be quoted by the NYT in the same sentence as the US president—thus increasing the talk show host’s power and prestige, and reducing that of Obama!
Public media is underfunded. It ‘s crucial to increase progressive media, because the rw media has pulled centrist media with it, defining what’s left wing in their terms. Thus in the long campaign we heard little realistic discussion on the media re climate change, unions, true universal health care, job offshoring and retirement. These are the issues a democracy is supposed to solve for voters, or why vote? Well, our turnout is very low compared to other nations. Our democracy remains stuck due to big money financing both parties and dominating policy making.
3
I read the 1st paragraph and I had to stop. a few days ago the nyt ran an op-ed that talked about how they and the rest of the media failed at objectively reporting the issues. and now this article? apparently the end of the world is nigh. give me a break. the dems have forgotten that different opinions are not necessarily wrong, they are just different. dems don't hold exclusivity to being "right" all the time on everything.
8
Didn't you know that the left is always correct and others are deplorable?
3
“To Stop Trump, Democrats Can Learn From the Tea Party”
To Stop Trump, Democrats Can Learn From Bernie Sanders
Sanders’ positions are supported by a majority of Americans. They support raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations, their effective tax rates are the lowest in decades. They are opposed to the disastrous Citizens United decision and support public funding of elections. They believe that college has become unaffordable for many young people. They believe that climate change is real, is caused by human activity, and we need to reverse its effects.
There is no question that Sanders would have won the general election against Trump. He would have garnered support from more Millennials and Independents than Clinton, some support from Republicans (he won his senate reelection with 71 percent of the vote in 2012, receiving about 25 percent of the Republican vote), and those who typically vote third party or stay home because Washington does not represent them.
To Stop Trump, Democrats Can Learn From Bernie Sanders
Sanders’ positions are supported by a majority of Americans. They support raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations, their effective tax rates are the lowest in decades. They are opposed to the disastrous Citizens United decision and support public funding of elections. They believe that college has become unaffordable for many young people. They believe that climate change is real, is caused by human activity, and we need to reverse its effects.
There is no question that Sanders would have won the general election against Trump. He would have garnered support from more Millennials and Independents than Clinton, some support from Republicans (he won his senate reelection with 71 percent of the vote in 2012, receiving about 25 percent of the Republican vote), and those who typically vote third party or stay home because Washington does not represent them.
8
RLS - "They support raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations, their effective tax rates are the lowest in decades."
That is exactly why the Democratic Party was instrumental in killing any chance Bernie had to run for president.
That is exactly why the Democratic Party was instrumental in killing any chance Bernie had to run for president.
3
America is in a deep depression. I am not talking about an economic depression, a la 1929. The stock market is at record highs. I mean a clinical depression, a la Vincent van Gogh and Dostoyevski. Fifty-two per cent of Americans believe the presidency was stolen from them by the abuse of office of James Comey; the Russian hacking of emails personally directed by Vladimir Putin; the barrage of lies, groundless accusations against Hillary, and invective spewed by Donald Trump; the voter suppression laws enacted by Republican state legislatures; the gerrymandering of voting districts by Republican legislators; and above-all, the anti-democratic (small d) results of an anachronistic and corrupt Electoral College.
There is nothing that can stop Trump for four years except impeachment. If you want to stop Trump, study the emoluments clause in the constitution, demand Trumps tax records, and audit every one of his financial holdings to see if he has personally profited, even indirectly, from his political office.
There is nothing that can stop Trump for four years except impeachment. If you want to stop Trump, study the emoluments clause in the constitution, demand Trumps tax records, and audit every one of his financial holdings to see if he has personally profited, even indirectly, from his political office.
10
if you do not have your Senators' and Congressperson's phone numbers on your speed dial, you have no cause for complaint over the next four years. Speak up. Today. Every day. As long as it takes.
4
The Tea Party tactics were taken from the long history of the left. Unions and suffragists organized marches, radicals made trouble. They were more vicious and intolerant but they were not especially inventive. Us lefties know how to put on the pressure. And we will.
1
People, read the link to the Indivisible guide. It's very well thought out by people who used to work as congressional staffers.
One of the Indivisible goals here in Austin is to work against the gerrymandering that's crippling Democrats in Texas by coordinating Democratic efforts across the six districts that Austin is sliced up into. That's why the concept of Indivisible is so important - we face divisions that the Tea Party didn't have.
The Tea Party was well-funded by the Koch oligarchs. And Republican voters are conveniently massed together in hundreds of districts in every state with a Republican-dominated legislature.
We don't have big money backers, so this is really a grass roots effort. Democrats are waking up to the fact that they have been disenfranchised by gerrymandering, and that they are going to have to work together to effect change.
The Indivisible manifesto rightly notes that we can't survive circular firing squads. So if Dems really want to get moving on restoring the balance of power, we all have to get on board, and put aside all of our critiques to focus on a few major goals. One is getting rid of gerrymandering altogether, in every state. Another is electing more progressive representatives to Congress in 2018 and 2020.
Long term, long haul thinking, folks. Stay focused, and stick together. There is more strength in numbers, and if we liberals are as clever as we think we are, we will swallow our individual egos and work for the greater good.
One of the Indivisible goals here in Austin is to work against the gerrymandering that's crippling Democrats in Texas by coordinating Democratic efforts across the six districts that Austin is sliced up into. That's why the concept of Indivisible is so important - we face divisions that the Tea Party didn't have.
The Tea Party was well-funded by the Koch oligarchs. And Republican voters are conveniently massed together in hundreds of districts in every state with a Republican-dominated legislature.
We don't have big money backers, so this is really a grass roots effort. Democrats are waking up to the fact that they have been disenfranchised by gerrymandering, and that they are going to have to work together to effect change.
The Indivisible manifesto rightly notes that we can't survive circular firing squads. So if Dems really want to get moving on restoring the balance of power, we all have to get on board, and put aside all of our critiques to focus on a few major goals. One is getting rid of gerrymandering altogether, in every state. Another is electing more progressive representatives to Congress in 2018 and 2020.
Long term, long haul thinking, folks. Stay focused, and stick together. There is more strength in numbers, and if we liberals are as clever as we think we are, we will swallow our individual egos and work for the greater good.
8
Don't concentrate on the big Orange Oz blowing smoke on Twitter.
It is the men behind the curtain, Ryan, McConnell, and Schumer who will do the real damage, Trump will just sign their laws.
Trump will be the distraction, while the global corporate mass media keeps sayingying how reasonable Ryan is as he gives social security to the big banks, etc.
Block the looting. It is not reasonable. They will try to steal everything.
It is the men behind the curtain, Ryan, McConnell, and Schumer who will do the real damage, Trump will just sign their laws.
Trump will be the distraction, while the global corporate mass media keeps sayingying how reasonable Ryan is as he gives social security to the big banks, etc.
Block the looting. It is not reasonable. They will try to steal everything.
5
As I understand, the Tea Party was secretly funded by the koch brothers and their friends. Army helped with insider knowledge. The Dems need to first some sugar daddies and then get someone with organizational skills to lead. A retired member of congress would be a logical pick.
3
As someone who will sorely miss President Obama and as someone who has heard more than enough gibberish from Trump and his sycophants to last a lifetime, I would urge caution on this strategy. The means by which Democrats accomplish their political goals (whether passing their own legislation or thwarting the legislation of political opponents), matters to me and many others. The Tea Party was effective, yes, but not just by showing up. Tea Party supporters and the politicians beholden to them were willing to disrupt legitimate functions of government for purely political reasons.
To put it bluntly, the Tea Party and the loudest and most ambitious GOP politicians would happily burn the country to the ground if it meant they could rule over the ashes. All political norms, all protocols, all standards of decency are on the alter if it means they can obtain power over their "enemies" (Trump's description of political opponents). This is not a strategy that can be used by the left wing or liberals because ethical principles are, at least ostensibly, inherent to liberal policies. Super PACs, big money donors, etc. have already eroded some of the shine on that idea and we have seen how the base reacts to shady tactics. What the left wing needs to do is hold to their convictions and allow the GOP, to dig an even deeper hole for themselves. Having obtained almost total control of government, they may now be held totally responsible for what follows over the next few years.
To put it bluntly, the Tea Party and the loudest and most ambitious GOP politicians would happily burn the country to the ground if it meant they could rule over the ashes. All political norms, all protocols, all standards of decency are on the alter if it means they can obtain power over their "enemies" (Trump's description of political opponents). This is not a strategy that can be used by the left wing or liberals because ethical principles are, at least ostensibly, inherent to liberal policies. Super PACs, big money donors, etc. have already eroded some of the shine on that idea and we have seen how the base reacts to shady tactics. What the left wing needs to do is hold to their convictions and allow the GOP, to dig an even deeper hole for themselves. Having obtained almost total control of government, they may now be held totally responsible for what follows over the next few years.
5
"claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support. Together, they will seek to enact a bigoted and anti-democratic agenda, threatening our values and endangering us all." But isn't this what we voted for??? If not, what does that say about our Democracy?
When was the last time you saw Bilionairs protesting in the street claiming poverty over their taxes? TEA party movement may have started out with a reasonable cause, but it was quickly taken over by the billionaire class of capitalistic bullies.
How is it that the tax paying public does not own their government while those who avoid or pay nothing in taxes gets to dictate to our government? Now we have a mega tax dodger in chief as commander in chief of a government he has never(?) paid into like the rest of us.
Republicans first priority above all else? To give themselves immunity for all the illegal and immoral plans they have in store for the rest of us. Welcome to totalitarianism Republican style.
When was the last time you saw Bilionairs protesting in the street claiming poverty over their taxes? TEA party movement may have started out with a reasonable cause, but it was quickly taken over by the billionaire class of capitalistic bullies.
How is it that the tax paying public does not own their government while those who avoid or pay nothing in taxes gets to dictate to our government? Now we have a mega tax dodger in chief as commander in chief of a government he has never(?) paid into like the rest of us.
Republicans first priority above all else? To give themselves immunity for all the illegal and immoral plans they have in store for the rest of us. Welcome to totalitarianism Republican style.
4
Our freedoms and, perhaps, our very lives are at risk and we need to respond to those threats. I'm going to begin to organize people on my block and in my church this week. I think that most Democrats tend to try to compromise to get things done. That is not acceptable under the current conditions. We need spines of steel and we need to demand that our representatives stand up for us with spines of steel as well.
Thanks to the authors of his op-ed for defining the problem and giving us a tool to become part of the solution.
Thanks to the authors of his op-ed for defining the problem and giving us a tool to become part of the solution.
4
It’s not Trump’s fault if you were the kid who was picked on in school. Someone stronger should’ve protected you. Blame them; not Trump.
1
If Trump was the kid that picked on you, it's a whole different ball game then, no? And if the people in charge wouldn't do anything because they were afraid of Trump's daddy, his lawyers and his wealth, that might give you a whole different outlook on securing justice and fairness.
I'm all for politeness and the rule of law, but if someone's got their foot on your neck, it might take a good kick in the genitals before you can get around to a productive discussion of values, appropriate behavior and what constitutes decent treatment. At least I've found that to be the case in the past (since Ed seems to be speaking from personal experience--as either bully of victim, it's really hard to tell with Ed).
I'm all for politeness and the rule of law, but if someone's got their foot on your neck, it might take a good kick in the genitals before you can get around to a productive discussion of values, appropriate behavior and what constitutes decent treatment. At least I've found that to be the case in the past (since Ed seems to be speaking from personal experience--as either bully of victim, it's really hard to tell with Ed).
5
The right wing mobilized, via the Tea Party, to prepare this very congress to receive...Ted Cruz! knowing that a right wing cohort needed a RW president to accomplish anything...and vice versa. That the presidency was hijacked by the joker in the deck does not change the manifest utility of their 10 year campaign. In contrast, like the biblical reference to grain sown on infertile ground, the pop-up nature of Bernie Sanders' campaign had no real roots and withered. Even had he been elected he would have been completely ineffective because of congress. This is how far behind progressives are, but hey...better late than never.
1
Won't work. The Democratic Party is a coalition of racial grievance groups, academics, public union members, and coastal cocooned elites. Not the type for small to medium scale demonstrations.
As you can see, a lot of progressive demonstrations over the last year or so just turn into "victimhood olympics." Racial groups call out their erstwhile allies for their "white privilege" and the whole thing falls apart
As you can see, a lot of progressive demonstrations over the last year or so just turn into "victimhood olympics." Racial groups call out their erstwhile allies for their "white privilege" and the whole thing falls apart
5
To stop Trump Democrats need to learn from Italy. I won a bet with a WSJ reporter during the DNC that Trump would win based on what I was hearing at the convention, what I was getting from the media and what I knew about Europe (e.g. that polls underestimated Trump's votes.) Most of all, about Italy. We had the Northern League and Berlusconi. Entire districts, strongholds of the Left voted en masse for the League. In the 90s.
I have been deeply involved in politics for 35 years on both sides. I have been in the Leadership Council of Italy's Dem Party.
Democrats will not defeat Trump by protesting, lawsuits, Attorneys General etc. Like Berlusconi, the more you try to demonize him the more you will get a strong reaction from his supporters. And lose.
Trump can only be defeated in the voting booths. Period. In order to do it Democrats need to be back in sync with the weak and the defeated and the jobless. Whether black, white or blue.
Leaders and activists (well anyone really) need to get out of the US bubble and look outside. I suggest a series of internships in a few European countries. Americans are still too oblivious of what happens abroad and miss a ton of insights and opportunities. If Hillary's campaign gurus had done a tour of a few European countries - not capitals, not with the elites, but in the provinces - and if at least activists read just a little from foreign papers (some are in English) they'd be way more effective in both politics and policies.
Gianluca
I have been deeply involved in politics for 35 years on both sides. I have been in the Leadership Council of Italy's Dem Party.
Democrats will not defeat Trump by protesting, lawsuits, Attorneys General etc. Like Berlusconi, the more you try to demonize him the more you will get a strong reaction from his supporters. And lose.
Trump can only be defeated in the voting booths. Period. In order to do it Democrats need to be back in sync with the weak and the defeated and the jobless. Whether black, white or blue.
Leaders and activists (well anyone really) need to get out of the US bubble and look outside. I suggest a series of internships in a few European countries. Americans are still too oblivious of what happens abroad and miss a ton of insights and opportunities. If Hillary's campaign gurus had done a tour of a few European countries - not capitals, not with the elites, but in the provinces - and if at least activists read just a little from foreign papers (some are in English) they'd be way more effective in both politics and policies.
Gianluca
5
Americans are still too oblivious of what happens abroad and miss a ton of insights and opportunities. If Hillary's campaign gurus had done a tour of a few European countries - not capitals, not with the elites, but in the provinces
=================
They couldn't even be bothered to travel around the US - just stayed in Brooklyn.
=================
They couldn't even be bothered to travel around the US - just stayed in Brooklyn.
6
Yes the Dems should play like the Tea Party and should expect the same results.
As this op-ed indicates, the Tea Partiers cried "no socialized medicine" yet Obama and the Dems hastily pushed through the AHA, aka "Obama Care".
Granted the AHA is not totally socialized, but eventually would have had HRC been elected.
So if Dems need to learn anything, they need to learn to listen to the majority and not play for the popular trends being pushed as ideals.
As this op-ed indicates, the Tea Partiers cried "no socialized medicine" yet Obama and the Dems hastily pushed through the AHA, aka "Obama Care".
Granted the AHA is not totally socialized, but eventually would have had HRC been elected.
So if Dems need to learn anything, they need to learn to listen to the majority and not play for the popular trends being pushed as ideals.
2
Better yet, every single American who is worried about the destruction of OUR democracy must pick one thing they value most about it and fight like hell to preserve it. This must not be left to politicians - of any party - or organizations.
WE the people must speak loud and clear both locally and, more important right now, nationally since that is where the clear and present danger is.
The links below list the phone numbers for every single U.S. House Representative and Senator in OUR U.S. Congress. Every time we learn of something that may harm our cause WE must contact the politicians from our states in both the House and Senate and tell them NO - do NOT try to destroy this social good.
Please bookmark these links and be ready to use them to defend OUR democracy. They will be updated in the next couple of months with the 115th Congress information.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact%5finformation/senators%5fcfm.cfm
WE the people must speak loud and clear both locally and, more important right now, nationally since that is where the clear and present danger is.
The links below list the phone numbers for every single U.S. House Representative and Senator in OUR U.S. Congress. Every time we learn of something that may harm our cause WE must contact the politicians from our states in both the House and Senate and tell them NO - do NOT try to destroy this social good.
Please bookmark these links and be ready to use them to defend OUR democracy. They will be updated in the next couple of months with the 115th Congress information.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact%5finformation/senators%5fcfm.cfm
3
Perhaps it is time for a third party, one free of the stigma of being owned by the oligarchs. Remember that, whatever their religious fervor, the tea party was successful in large part because it was backed by the dollars of the oligarchs, effectively a stalking horse for the Republican party. That enabled primary fights and defeat of responsible candidates. We really do need a populist party, one like what Obama hoped for - where donations from millions of people supported a candidate who told the truth and supported decency. Bernie almost got there, he was an effective speaker and advocate. Better story lines, powerful messages and freedom from the reins of existing parties will help bottom up candidates and the reformation and saving of our government.
4
Hands up don't shoot was true? That lie only caused police officer deaths. No big deal?
2
"While dispensing with its viciousness." Viciousness is why it worked for the Tea Party. A softer, gentler version of obstruction will not work.
7
I suggest the use of GUERRILLA MARKETING, which worked to the Tea Party and for Trump.
For example, Democrats might try wearing Trump masks. But Donald Trump wears a mask he can't take off!
Perhaps, the Democrats need to out trump, Trump!
======================================
For example, Democrats might try wearing Trump masks. But Donald Trump wears a mask he can't take off!
Perhaps, the Democrats need to out trump, Trump!
======================================
1
You cannot repeat the Tea Party experience twice. There is not the intellectual energy on the left to do so, nor the genuine grievances which motivated Tea Partiers to get together to exert considerable political influence. What motivated the Tea Party was the anger of primarily little whites, victims of off shoring,H-1-B visa schemes, a profound belief that they had been overlooked in the American dream in favor of the foreign man and woman, and a candidate that appeared ill suited to retail politics and who looked down on us.We who voted for Trump were not duped,not r we "useful idiots,"nor rabble ,and above all ,not deplorable.Liberal elites' gripe is that they lost, but they continue to hold Trump aficionados in contempt, still seek to make it appear that minority causes which they support are also will of the majority, which is not so. Left will be in limbo for at least 4 years. Get used to it, pal!
6
Really hard to say what the majority will in this country really is as it is very compartmentalized. More people voted Democrat than Republican however, just due to gerrymandering, or high density cluster states, or electoral college uneven vote distribution those votes don't count where they need to. We will see if Trump can pull off an economic miracle and defy all expectations. The deplorable statement is appropriate for the percentage on the fringe of Trump supporters who rejoiced at an opportunity to openly express their racial hatred--kkk, neo-nazi, those longing to restore the confederacy--intended or not, Trump's rhetoric unleashed a dark racial bias in SOME supporters who are pushing a deplorable agenda. That's who Clinton was referring to, certainly not the worker who has seen his livelihood slip away. H1B visas are a problem, I hate hearing of the workforce training their replacements and don't quite understand why nothing could be done to prevent this....loopholes that need plugging. On the other hand there are some H1B visas for job areas that do need expertise that our workforce is not quite prepared for, in which case they should be training us to replace them when appropriate. The Dems have long supported the working class, the union workers, wage increases, overtime, employer paid health insurance, issues that got buried in an election that focused on the celebrity of Trump and those emails. Will Trump bring real jobs, or was it all just talk.
2
@Alexander Harrison: I think you're going to be surprised.
So, just what will you "little whites" do when you find the cost of your clothes, food, drink, new TV, car, health care, pharmaceuticals zoom while you are still making $8/hour (or nothing) while the rich get richer. Will you grab your beloved gun an lead a revolt in the streets? When you see SSI and Medicare cut to the bone or killed like or nascent national health care plan, will that make to finally understand that the Republican Party is not your friend, as it is currently controlled it is death to all of us. Or will you simply stand for the parade that marks the nuking of N. Korea and a restart of a draft that marches your child or grandchild off to be yet more cannon fodder. Wake up, democracy as we think we know it is four years away from dying. I hope you'll like authoritarian rule, because it will be in your neighborhood soon.
8
It's interesting that Republicans (who appose government) have been able to use the political process and get conservatives to the ballot box with stunning success in achieving their goals. Democrats on the other hand (who believe in government's role to do good) have failed miserably in getting their supporters to actually show up to support candidates who espouse the liberal cause. Liberals love the concept of voting and will march against any obstacles to voting. They just won't bother to show up to vote.
6
The Tea Party succeeded to the extent it did, because of civic ignorance. People don't know how government works, who is responsible for anything, or whom to blame for failures. Worse, voters don't understand how party policies affect their daily lives.
The worst indictment of the Republican Party is they will enact "policies that most Americans do not support."
Whose government it this, anyway?
The worst indictment of the Republican Party is they will enact "policies that most Americans do not support."
Whose government it this, anyway?
9
The problem is that the Democrats would like to believe that politics is or should be an Ivy League debate or at it's worst a boxing match with Marquess of Queensberry rules controlling it. The Republicans have made this a bare knuckle bar room brawl, with the Democrats shouting foul! foul! What the Democrats need are a few Lyndon Johnson's who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do whatever it takes to pass their agenda's. Kick people in the shins, twist arms, grab people by their shirts, or otherwise coerce people into doing what they want.
6
Good in theory. But you know that Democrats are unwilling or unable to be rude enough for such tactics.
What about 'rent-a-mobs'?
What about 'rent-a-mobs'?
5
Here's the problem. The media covered the Tea Party because it was horrifying, insulting, crazed, semi-racist and plenty colorful. That's what gets on the evening news. You think the media will care of Liberal protesters have a quiet, organized protest march saying we need universal health care? Or even protesting that a local Congressman betrayed the voters because he sided with Trump? Where's the color? Where are the visuals? If we're so creative, we'd better get a lot MORE creative. Send in the drag queens?
11
On the contrary, it was the negative portrayals of TEA Party supporters that further galvanized its supporters. Those false claims backfired just as they did during Trump's campaign.
Democrats don't need better protestors or stage props, they need better reasons to protest. The "usual suspects" of racism, sexism, etc., have been so badly overused and falsely applied that they've lost meaning.
Democrats don't need better protestors or stage props, they need better reasons to protest. The "usual suspects" of racism, sexism, etc., have been so badly overused and falsely applied that they've lost meaning.
3
Thanks to the Electoral College (apparently a college for the ignorant) it is possible to elect an incompetent candidate not wanted by over 2.9 million voters whose votes were effectively discarded by the system. All the Teaparty and its titular head, D.T., needed to do was to continually apply the eight rhetorical tricks for effective propaganda recognized by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis.
1. Fear.
2. Glittering generalities.
3. Testimonials.
4. Name-calling.
5. Plain folks.
6. Euphemisms.
7. Bandwagon.
8. Transfer.
Propaganda killed Jesus, six million Jews, thousands of black humans and it
now seems quite possible will bring a quick end to our so called democracy. So enjoy yourself those of you who voted for the lie that's D.T., it's later than you think.
1. Fear.
2. Glittering generalities.
3. Testimonials.
4. Name-calling.
5. Plain folks.
6. Euphemisms.
7. Bandwagon.
8. Transfer.
Propaganda killed Jesus, six million Jews, thousands of black humans and it
now seems quite possible will bring a quick end to our so called democracy. So enjoy yourself those of you who voted for the lie that's D.T., it's later than you think.
9
A super useful comment. Thank u.
2
Your list needs to be expanded by one:
9. False equivalency
9. False equivalency
4
Grassroots efforts need money, but we Democrats in SC have been short on is money from the DNC. Nonetheless, we are trying and succeeding in some small measure. What we need are progressive billionaires to back us as conservative ones backed the tea party.
4
Thanks for mentioning money - that is key. We have to start the flow toward active groups that can build strength at the grass roots. NOW!
2
The Tea Party, like its Republican big brother, successfully used fear, bigotry, lies and racism to champion its causes, which included a New Risen South. Democrats typically don't fall for such demagoguery, so I can't see the party having much success from here on out. Now that ignorant, fearful "Christian" hillbillies are running the country, I believe America is done for.
3
I would say the authors of the article have completely misunderstood where the tea party got its power or what its objectives are. For starters, the tea party got its power from promulgating outright lies, distortion, removal from context, doctored photography. A classic example was a photo of Obama incorrectly honoring the flag by placing his left hand over his chest. Unfortunately for the low life creators of this slander, they neglected cropping out the marine standing behind the president, saluting with his left hand. There are countless examples of this practice, which follows the doctrine of Goebels, that being of promulgating falsehood in such volume that it can be believed.
Of course, we Democrats can stoop to the same level of vileness, at the cost of sacrificing our own values. A better tactic would be to expose these liars for what they are.
Of course, we Democrats can stoop to the same level of vileness, at the cost of sacrificing our own values. A better tactic would be to expose these liars for what they are.
2
We have the same situation in Canada to a lesser extent. The difficulty as I see it is that the liberals are slowly becoming illiberal in their behaviour and their demands of the people. When you cater to every group you cater to none in the end. Perhaps if the liberals behaved some what more conservative things may have turned out differently. It is easy to be a conservative and still behave compassionately. In this case keeping your enemies close, in a ideological way, may have been best for the Democratic party and HRC.
6
Progressives, in their intolerance, have alienated many people, fellow democrats included. It is they who need the soul searching, but they seem to be always the last to know.
3
The tea party is a homogenous group of white people who feel America is under siege by liberals and unbridled mass immigration. They are united by their identity.
Liberals are a multi-cultural group of disparate peoples and backgrounds that have few unifying interests. There is nothing the tea party can teach liberals because they don't have unified agenda.
Liberals are a multi-cultural group of disparate peoples and backgrounds that have few unifying interests. There is nothing the tea party can teach liberals because they don't have unified agenda.
4
Read Jane Mayer's "Dark Money." The Tea Party was started by billionaire libertarians who started funding similar thinking libertarians in scholarship, foundations and think tanks. The Tea Party was brainchild of Kochs, not grassroot organization, and a process that took place over several decades.
9
The Democrats have, as expected, started off with exactly the wrong choice as Senate Minority Leader. Electing Schumer, who has been in the Senate for as long as I remember, and apparently ineffectively to boot, does not reflect a need for change for the party. He is just another long time politician who is tone deaf to the problems in this country and will not "lead" us anywhere.
Who will become the leaders of the Democratic Party? Where are they? Is the mainstream press ignoring them or are they so timid as to be hiding under the bed?
Who will become the leaders of the Democratic Party? Where are they? Is the mainstream press ignoring them or are they so timid as to be hiding under the bed?
5
Too many replies to this piece have been derailed by mention of the Tea Party. Republicans in Congress and their concentrated effort over the last eight years to denigrate any Democratic initiative with anger and ugly language contributed greatly to the election of Trump by an angry, poorly informed electorate. Any concerted effort that gets individual voters to speak out and make their voices heard helps rebuild the Democratic Party from the ground up. Every single action and every single voice makes a difference.
In addition to the actions delineated by the authors, we need advice on how to make our voices heard with Congressional leadership and committee chairs. Certainly they represent more than just their state constituents?
Thanks to NYT for publishing this piece! Please includes similar calls to action in the future.
In addition to the actions delineated by the authors, we need advice on how to make our voices heard with Congressional leadership and committee chairs. Certainly they represent more than just their state constituents?
Thanks to NYT for publishing this piece! Please includes similar calls to action in the future.
5
Our representatives respond to our calls, letters, and personal visits. They respond because we are persistent enough to keep calling, getting to know their aides, and informing them about what is important to us. Like everything, it is the personal relationships that matter. Money matters of course, but small donations and volunteer hours are very important - if you make yourself known.
Petitions have very little effect with legislators, so legislative aides say, except for the organizations that use them to collect contact information for future donors.
So say the aides who have recently written about how to advocate successfully with your representatives and senators. Potential voters and contributors and local organizers matter --- not random names on a list.
I suppose the random names on petitions might matter if they were sorted by zip code and voting precinct and presented to legislative aides in that format ...still and all 'getting to know you' is better, as long as voters keep in mind how busy the aides are.
Petitions have very little effect with legislators, so legislative aides say, except for the organizations that use them to collect contact information for future donors.
So say the aides who have recently written about how to advocate successfully with your representatives and senators. Potential voters and contributors and local organizers matter --- not random names on a list.
I suppose the random names on petitions might matter if they were sorted by zip code and voting precinct and presented to legislative aides in that format ...still and all 'getting to know you' is better, as long as voters keep in mind how busy the aides are.
2
It is important to know what the tea party was. It was an effort, funded by billionaires secretly and partly organized by Republican political veterans and operatives. It harvested the anger and fear brought on by the near collapse of the United States and world economies and the looming loss of houses and jobs that millions across the country were facing. People needed someone to blame. They needed a channel for anger. Obama and the Democrats became the easy target.
In a larger sense, the tea party was a propaganda effort of the Republicans to undermine the new president. The first major demonstration, in Washington, DC, in March of 2009, came less than two months after Obama had taken office. What had he done at that point that caused what appeared to be a popular uprising? Being in office was enough.
Fox News covered that first demonstration live and the fact the other media did not treat it like an earthshaking event was used to criticize other outlets as biased. This, in turn, caused major news organizations to bend over backwards trying to treat the tea party efforts as some new, national uprising of great import.
The tea party has virtually disappeared. It never moved from being a random collection of small groups into being a coherent force in national politics. Why? The money supply was cut off and Republicans did not want it as a permanent thorn in their side.
Democrats need a plan for dealing with Trump. The tea party isn't the best model, to say the least.
In a larger sense, the tea party was a propaganda effort of the Republicans to undermine the new president. The first major demonstration, in Washington, DC, in March of 2009, came less than two months after Obama had taken office. What had he done at that point that caused what appeared to be a popular uprising? Being in office was enough.
Fox News covered that first demonstration live and the fact the other media did not treat it like an earthshaking event was used to criticize other outlets as biased. This, in turn, caused major news organizations to bend over backwards trying to treat the tea party efforts as some new, national uprising of great import.
The tea party has virtually disappeared. It never moved from being a random collection of small groups into being a coherent force in national politics. Why? The money supply was cut off and Republicans did not want it as a permanent thorn in their side.
Democrats need a plan for dealing with Trump. The tea party isn't the best model, to say the least.
29
The media was also a huge help to the Tea Party, especially Fox News and CNN. They helped spread the lies and misinformation.
2
What the Democrat Party needs first and foremost is a platform. Try this one:
1. a lean, competent, professional civil service, and elimination of political appointments below cabinet level.
2. A decentralized executive branch of government with administrative, management, and military functions distributed geographically throughout the nation.
3. a Federal income tax code with a simple schedule of rates for types and levels of income, and no tax deductions and tax subsidies.
4. a value-added tax to replace the fictional corporate income tax.
5. monthly grants to veterans, families, dependent adults, and children, to replace the many splintered welfare and assistance programs.
6. elimination of the income cap on SS tax, as a permanent fix to the Social Security “funding problem”.
7. all tax rates and benefit payments, including Social Security, indexed to the national GDP.
8. Medicare extended to children under age 17, and to young people 17-21 who are enrolled in a certified education program.
9. Medicare-administered health care insurance, offered at an age and cost-based premium, to those who are otherwise ineligible for Medicare.
1. a lean, competent, professional civil service, and elimination of political appointments below cabinet level.
2. A decentralized executive branch of government with administrative, management, and military functions distributed geographically throughout the nation.
3. a Federal income tax code with a simple schedule of rates for types and levels of income, and no tax deductions and tax subsidies.
4. a value-added tax to replace the fictional corporate income tax.
5. monthly grants to veterans, families, dependent adults, and children, to replace the many splintered welfare and assistance programs.
6. elimination of the income cap on SS tax, as a permanent fix to the Social Security “funding problem”.
7. all tax rates and benefit payments, including Social Security, indexed to the national GDP.
8. Medicare extended to children under age 17, and to young people 17-21 who are enrolled in a certified education program.
9. Medicare-administered health care insurance, offered at an age and cost-based premium, to those who are otherwise ineligible for Medicare.
15
Contact me at [email protected], or text me at 2068603534. I want to join you and assist you in reacjing your goals--I am especially interested in utilizing numbers 7 and 8, and in helping you find voters and teens who will work hard to create a better counary for all of us.
Thomas Murphy
Thomas Murphy
4
Good article, but it's already descriptive rather than prescriptive- people on the progressive left started doing exactly what's recommended here the day after the election. I've lost count of the number of active local, regional and national groups I'm aware of organizing in the ways described here. My local group is Rise Up Mystic, and we've been calling, writing, and visiting newly elected Republicans, participating in coordinated broader actions, and networking since the middle of November. Let's GO!
5
The progressive left was organizing long before this election.
Moveon.org was organized during the Clinton impeachment, with the goal of getting the country to move on from the impeachment.
The progressive left has been pushing the Democrats since the time that the Democrats were the party of Southern racism.
The progressives had a weekly meeting with the Obama White House. Unfortunately, the White House response was insults that I can't repeat in this newspaper. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703808904575025030384695158
The Democrats under Obama, and even Bill Clinton, compromised (and usually surrendered) to the Republicans, moved to the right, and attacked the left instead.
If the Democrats attack my basic ideas, I'm not going to vote for them.
You can't vote for the war in Iraq, and make up for it on election day with a barrage of warm and fuzzy (or fear-mongering) tv spots.
Moveon.org was organized during the Clinton impeachment, with the goal of getting the country to move on from the impeachment.
The progressive left has been pushing the Democrats since the time that the Democrats were the party of Southern racism.
The progressives had a weekly meeting with the Obama White House. Unfortunately, the White House response was insults that I can't repeat in this newspaper. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703808904575025030384695158
The Democrats under Obama, and even Bill Clinton, compromised (and usually surrendered) to the Republicans, moved to the right, and attacked the left instead.
If the Democrats attack my basic ideas, I'm not going to vote for them.
You can't vote for the war in Iraq, and make up for it on election day with a barrage of warm and fuzzy (or fear-mongering) tv spots.
4
"anti-democratic", "petty tyrant", "would-be dictator"... can you explain how you're better than the Tea Party again?
3
If the progressive agenda is "stop Trump," then we are holding ourselves to a very low standard. In my view, a key component of Mrs. Clinton's defeat was her focus on winning at the expense of explaining her agenda.
I'd like to see progressives move away from the "horse race" politics that have so damaged our republic, and move toward holding both our candidates and our representatives accountable for explaining their views of the issues and the impact of their policy proposals on The People. That's the real way to "drain the swamp," and one that stands up to the progressive ideal.
I'd like to see progressives move away from the "horse race" politics that have so damaged our republic, and move toward holding both our candidates and our representatives accountable for explaining their views of the issues and the impact of their policy proposals on The People. That's the real way to "drain the swamp," and one that stands up to the progressive ideal.
15
I heard Mrs. Clinton explain her agenda much more often and much more clearly that did Mr. Trump. While she didn't spend enough time in key states she thought were in her pocket, I think the hacking of the DNC and the FBI's public attention to the email server that never contained anything significant enough to warrant such public attention were more damaging.
5
Talk about bringing a knife to a gun fight, this is a way to bring a term paper to a gun fight. Most Americans don't want to know about policy, they already "know" everything they have to. Even living our politics, which has accomplished prosperity in the Democratic states, does not convince anyone living in Republican areas that Democratic policies work and Republican policies don't. I think our best chance is to try to ignore them and live our own lives as examples.
2
In my view, Clinton lost because she spent 12 years as an elected or appointed official, and focused on the needs of her campaign contributors and Democratic Party internal politics rather than the needs of her constituents.
The Iraq war was the most shameful example.
Then when the election came up, she tried to make up for it with polls, focus groups, and TV spots telling voters what she thinks they want to hear.
She's like a student who skips class all year and tries to make up for it by cramming for the finals in the last week. Doesn't work.
The Iraq war was the most shameful example.
Then when the election came up, she tried to make up for it with polls, focus groups, and TV spots telling voters what she thinks they want to hear.
She's like a student who skips class all year and tries to make up for it by cramming for the finals in the last week. Doesn't work.
2
It's true that the Tea Party was not grass roots but connected to the Koch brothers. However, the Viet Nam protests and the Civil Rights Movement succeeded and to my knowledge they were genuine grass roots protests.
20
Do we really think becoming more like the GOP/Tea Party is the answer? Three million more people voted for HRC than Trmp (there's no "U" in Trmp-only him) so there is a base and it is growing demographically. I believe a critical need for Dems is to recruit and develop better candidates at all levels. Bayh, Feingold, Strickland...why keep retreading candidates who offer little more than name recognition? (This could even be said of HRC.) Reread Roger Cohen's piece from September, "We Need 'Somebody Spectacular'" and see what gets people excited enough to vote.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/opinion/sunday/we-need-somebody-specta...
That "hopey, changey" thing has been missing from Dems message for too long. Payback and obstruction will not make the Dems stronger or broaden our appeal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/opinion/sunday/we-need-somebody-specta...
That "hopey, changey" thing has been missing from Dems message for too long. Payback and obstruction will not make the Dems stronger or broaden our appeal.
3
It was bad enough to watch the Republican Party obstruct Obama at every turn, even where there was plenty of common ground, just to deny him any victories. I would hate to see the Democrats do the same thing. Stealing from the Tea Party playbook will only ensure the US remains ungovernable until some major catastrophe occurs.
Absolutely, Democrats should vigorously oppose any attempt to dismantle Social Security, Medicare and the many of the other far right wing Ayn Rand dream policies that are certain to come up after January 20th. But Democrats would look ridiculous in my opinion to oppose something like infrastructure spending, something they have been trying to get through for years, just to oppose Trump and the Republican Party. We need to improve our infrastructure and it will create jobs so enough said.
The Democratic Party should remain the sane party and support or oppose policies based on the merits of the policy and not to score political points.
Absolutely, Democrats should vigorously oppose any attempt to dismantle Social Security, Medicare and the many of the other far right wing Ayn Rand dream policies that are certain to come up after January 20th. But Democrats would look ridiculous in my opinion to oppose something like infrastructure spending, something they have been trying to get through for years, just to oppose Trump and the Republican Party. We need to improve our infrastructure and it will create jobs so enough said.
The Democratic Party should remain the sane party and support or oppose policies based on the merits of the policy and not to score political points.
12
Being the "sane" party has gotten the Dems nowhere. No credit for saving the economy, jobs, the government, no new wars, no substantial terrorist attacks, booming stock market, healthcare for millions, rising wages. Nothing but losses in election after election.
Dems have to do something different like "own" who they are. Turning their backs on the people keeping them in what little power they have is not the answer. Last I looked most people of color and single women were working class.
So Dems need to change the narrative, through mindless repetition, I cannot stress that enough(!) from the Republican narrative that the "liberal" media just parrots.
Those not willing to do this basic thing will not get my vote.
Dems have to do something different like "own" who they are. Turning their backs on the people keeping them in what little power they have is not the answer. Last I looked most people of color and single women were working class.
So Dems need to change the narrative, through mindless repetition, I cannot stress that enough(!) from the Republican narrative that the "liberal" media just parrots.
Those not willing to do this basic thing will not get my vote.
3
With all due respect for your earnestness perhaps the problem simply is that most Democrats in Congress represent their weak kneed Republican counterparts who rather than stand up to the tea parties enabled and embraced them. Democrats in Congress have grown spineless and flabby. Maybe the real solution is for the Demcratic base to form an imsurgency much like the tea party and confront not only Republicans but Democrats. Much like the tea party that insurgency can begin to run its own candidates under the Democrats umbrella.
4
Three functionaries of a party that separated itself from its natural constituency are now advcocating that Democrats need to take "a few pages from the Tea Party" because politics "is the art of the possible" and the Tea Party's success "should give up hope." ?? All three of you should consider working for Donald Trump.
Democrats are too fractured to organize as a single group. The number of radical special interest groups in the Democrat party prevents them from consolidating into a group with an organized agenda. That's what happens when you are unable to say no to spending on every wacky social cause under the sun.
6
This is a great idea, but yet it lacks the struchural framework that birthed the Tea Party name and actions.
I have downloaded the guide and will read it looking for that way to promote and discemenate the ideas. Thank you!!
I have downloaded the guide and will read it looking for that way to promote and discemenate the ideas. Thank you!!
2
The Democrats are neither as aggressive nor as vocal as the tea party clowns. It's not like it would be difficult to mount an effective campaign against the conservatives. Just point out the lunacy and inhumanity of their various policies. Do something. What if we wound up with somebody like Donald Trump as president?
1
The Democratic Party needs to change at a grass roots level. I have looked for ways to make a contribution to our local party here in Scottsdale - but apart from canvassing at the last election - all the party wants is money. We need to change that. You need activists who are charged up about changing things and can contribute time and energy.
11
That is a recurring theme.
2
" In less than three weeks, this Congress will join with President-elect Donald J. Trump to claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support. "
By whose measure? That of the New York Times?
Look at a map. Its bright red. Look at the House, Senate, and White House
(the latter the three weeks) ... majority red.
The American people supported their policies where it counts ... the polls.
The New York Times DOES NOT COUNT.
Theyare not " bigoted and anti-democratic agenda". They are enacting the WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
Its the Democrats who are racist baiters ... that's why they lost. They ignored
ordinary people.
Thge Democrats need to ask ordinary people ... not Black, not here illegally,
not LGBT, but ordinary white, Asian, and Hispanics here legally (e.g. Cubans),
what matters.
By whose measure? That of the New York Times?
Look at a map. Its bright red. Look at the House, Senate, and White House
(the latter the three weeks) ... majority red.
The American people supported their policies where it counts ... the polls.
The New York Times DOES NOT COUNT.
Theyare not " bigoted and anti-democratic agenda". They are enacting the WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
Its the Democrats who are racist baiters ... that's why they lost. They ignored
ordinary people.
Thge Democrats need to ask ordinary people ... not Black, not here illegally,
not LGBT, but ordinary white, Asian, and Hispanics here legally (e.g. Cubans),
what matters.
4
When one quarter of the voting public is the number of votes it took to win the election, I don't think you can say there is a broad mandate. It is a divided nation at this time.
And are not Black, LGBT people also "ordinary"??!! Are you saying that only white, Asian, and Hispanics here legally are what defines "ordinary"? I agree we need to talk to everyone but I vehemently disagree with your definition.
And are not Black, LGBT people also "ordinary"??!! Are you saying that only white, Asian, and Hispanics here legally are what defines "ordinary"? I agree we need to talk to everyone but I vehemently disagree with your definition.
Ummm, so "ordinary" people are only those who are white, asian and cuban?
But you're NOT being bigoted and anti-democratic?
Did you even read what you just wrote??
But you're NOT being bigoted and anti-democratic?
Did you even read what you just wrote??
2
If the measure of support is the polls. More Americans voted Democratic than Republican. The Republicans only won because of the Electoral College and gerrymandering of Congress. The people themselves are for the Democratic Party.
3
Great initiative!
I'm from the Netherlands and think that Trump and his nutters not only ruined the American society but also the rest of the world.
I'm from the Netherlands and think that Trump and his nutters not only ruined the American society but also the rest of the world.
4
Ruined the World, lets keep some perspective please. Anne from Ireland
3
The Tea Party was not a grass roots development. It was funded and organized by the Koch brother network and Dick Armey was the director.
16
Oh how I wish the NYT would stop allotting space to novice *writers*. NYT should not be a training ground- that's what personal blogging is for.
3
What "liberals" still don't get is that the "Tea Party Spring of 2009" was a gut reaction to Obama's selling off our health care system on the cheap (without even a Public Option for competition) to the PROFITEERS...which, we see (as The Salesman-in-Chief leaves office) have cranked up the premiums from between double digits to even 100%. Plus CEO salaries will no doubt spiral into the stratosphere while its TECHIES accelerate their perpetual UPDATES to further dehumanize & alienate patients with ever more remote, robotic-on-line-communication while the cost of their PROFITEERING pushes medical centers like our Dartmouth-Hitchcock into multi-million-$ deficits...and MEDICARE (our only health care system truly serving citizens) into collapse? Another LIBERAL DO-GOOD SOCIAL ENGINEERING project down the drain!...like its Orwellian BUSING FOR RACIAL INTEGRATION which all but precipitated the election of the first Demagogue for President: George Wallace in 1972. That year, the DO-Good Liberals dumped our capable-electable New England neighbor, Ed Muskie, (just as they sabotaged Sanders in behalf of their Warmongering-Russia-Hating-For-Political-Gain Hillary) in favor of their limp-handed candidate who won only Massachusetts & produced a landslide for Nixon who was forced to resign the year after his inauguration. So "LISTEN LIBERAL", as Thomas Frank shouted long before the election. We need a RED, WHITE & BLUE REVOLUTION, not another Liberal Tantrum.
Perhaps you should stop with your revisionist history. The ACA was not even developed in April 2009.
And I'm supposed to have a rational conversation with people like you?
And I'm supposed to have a rational conversation with people like you?
1
For a liberal tea party to succeed, it would have to be active in states where the tea party did succeed in 2009, that is the South and mountain states. Which remain today as reactionary and anti progressive as ever. In other words it can't happen, unfortunately
3
The Democrats now have the least representation in the US for nearly a century.
Perhaps some trenchant self examination, please, instead of breast beating.
Perhaps some trenchant self examination, please, instead of breast beating.
8
Excellent. We need Democrats, to keep Republicans honest. But the way it's been looking for some time, I fear living to see the last elected Democrat.
1
Probably way off topic, but I don't know where else to put this, so...
This whole Nixon monkey wrench business has me sick. Maybe everyone can trace their mistrust of government back to whatever war was going on during their childhood. I'm sure people who go back further than me knew there were things going on in the background that were less than copacetic during WWII. Arthur Miller seemed to know it.
But when I think of the Paris Peace Talks (and I get that I wouldn't want to see sausage being made) being scuppered in an attempt to 'rig' an election (where have we heard that before?), it makes me want to scream.
All those young soldiers on every side, all those civilians - people in cities and villages, people planting rice, for goodness sake. The monks self-immolating. For what? For freedom? Give me a break.
Now all these years later, instead of having fixed the problem of imperialism, the new consolidated global cadre has us on our knees through digital occupation. We're 'educated,' pandered to, spied upon, and punished by digital guerrillas on whom we can't draw a bead.
And then the creators of the mistrust flip it to the generationally unaware and convince them that pure unadulterated capitalism with no regulations, no consumer protections, no social safety net, and little governing apparatus other than daily 'from the desk of the president' tweets is the way to go.
A monkey wrench in the peace talks? Just shoot me.
This whole Nixon monkey wrench business has me sick. Maybe everyone can trace their mistrust of government back to whatever war was going on during their childhood. I'm sure people who go back further than me knew there were things going on in the background that were less than copacetic during WWII. Arthur Miller seemed to know it.
But when I think of the Paris Peace Talks (and I get that I wouldn't want to see sausage being made) being scuppered in an attempt to 'rig' an election (where have we heard that before?), it makes me want to scream.
All those young soldiers on every side, all those civilians - people in cities and villages, people planting rice, for goodness sake. The monks self-immolating. For what? For freedom? Give me a break.
Now all these years later, instead of having fixed the problem of imperialism, the new consolidated global cadre has us on our knees through digital occupation. We're 'educated,' pandered to, spied upon, and punished by digital guerrillas on whom we can't draw a bead.
And then the creators of the mistrust flip it to the generationally unaware and convince them that pure unadulterated capitalism with no regulations, no consumer protections, no social safety net, and little governing apparatus other than daily 'from the desk of the president' tweets is the way to go.
A monkey wrench in the peace talks? Just shoot me.
10
It *is* a simply strategy: Just...Say...No.
1
So, we're still calling the nation racist, or at least those that opposed higher taxes and larger giveaways. We're still calling the 'tea party' movement (or whatever it really was) a bigoted bunch of Americans, and we praise the Progressives and all that they want along with their opinions that may or may not make sense in practice.
More continued divisiveness out of the NYTimes and the readers that take their bait. Is it even possible that some ideas from Progressives are poorly thought out? Possible that some Reps have bad ideas that should not be implemented? Will the day ever come back where we vote on or discuss ideas for change that are not tied to red or blue, but in fact reflect compromises that are good for the majority vs. the special interests? Ever?
More continued divisiveness out of the NYTimes and the readers that take their bait. Is it even possible that some ideas from Progressives are poorly thought out? Possible that some Reps have bad ideas that should not be implemented? Will the day ever come back where we vote on or discuss ideas for change that are not tied to red or blue, but in fact reflect compromises that are good for the majority vs. the special interests? Ever?
8
Indeed, let's have a real debate. Certainly not everything progressives come up with deserves support, but the name calling and bigotry didn't come from the Dems. The Tea Party and their supporters did engage in racist displays at meetings, I saw that first hand. In this election, DT showed on more than one occasion that he could use bigoted and completely ignorant imagery of others (Mexican rapists, blacks living in inner city hell), while encouraging the worse from his supporters (taking out protesters on stretchers.) And yes, if you voted for DT, at best you ignored the racist and misogynist overtones, at worse you endorsed them.
6
Please name the organizations you mention in Ft. Collins, Hershey, Houston, etc. I would like to look into getting involved!
1
Along with "repealing Obamacare" repeal Government supported "socialized medical care" for members of the house and senate.
13
I thought "progressives" already had this.....Occupy Wall Street?
Or did a bunch of drugged out hippies getting in peoples way not bring the kind of political power you thought it would?
Or did a bunch of drugged out hippies getting in peoples way not bring the kind of political power you thought it would?
2
"A bunch of drugged out hippies" succeeded in bringing about changes in the 60's. These progressive kids are the future moving forward, like it or not, old man.
2
Thanks for letting us know about this. I'm all in except that I live in one of the most liberal Congressional districts in the county, represented by Barbara Lee.
If you're serious about this, though, I'd strongly suggest reading Dark Money, by Jane Mayer. The Tea Party didn't just appear out of thin air. It was hugely funded by the Koch Brothers and their ilk. The funding available to them is where the real organizing needs to take place.
That being said, where do I sign up?
If you're serious about this, though, I'd strongly suggest reading Dark Money, by Jane Mayer. The Tea Party didn't just appear out of thin air. It was hugely funded by the Koch Brothers and their ilk. The funding available to them is where the real organizing needs to take place.
That being said, where do I sign up?
4
I'm all for this. But why the claim of being morally superior to the Tea Party. We have two identical situations. A group of passionate people who want to organize to defend their rights and beliefs under a government which nominally has both the will and the power to suppress them.
Your personal view is that this time the defenders will be on the good side while last time they were the bad guys. But I'm sure they would say the opposite.
It is laughable to claim that a group which has won the Presidency, Congress and the Senate, which work by three different electoral procedures, does not have a mandate from the people.
So there are two possible conclusions:
1. you truly believe what you wrote, which I hope is not the case, OR
2. you have already started using the Tea Party tactics, one of which was to deny even facts and data that didn't suit their purpose. In which case, good job!
I would love to think that someday we'll have a political system in which compromise will reign and common sense will prevail. But until that happens, it is our duty to make sure that we're willing to defend and obstruct every bit as much as the Republicans!
Your personal view is that this time the defenders will be on the good side while last time they were the bad guys. But I'm sure they would say the opposite.
It is laughable to claim that a group which has won the Presidency, Congress and the Senate, which work by three different electoral procedures, does not have a mandate from the people.
So there are two possible conclusions:
1. you truly believe what you wrote, which I hope is not the case, OR
2. you have already started using the Tea Party tactics, one of which was to deny even facts and data that didn't suit their purpose. In which case, good job!
I would love to think that someday we'll have a political system in which compromise will reign and common sense will prevail. But until that happens, it is our duty to make sure that we're willing to defend and obstruct every bit as much as the Republicans!
3
Except for that whole stealing of elections through unconstitutional Gerrymandering, voter suppression and so on. Yup! Even with all that they still got fewer votes at all levels of government.
But I can see why that state of affairs does not trouble you in the "greatest" democracy on earth. Yes, it is clear to me now.
But I can see why that state of affairs does not trouble you in the "greatest" democracy on earth. Yes, it is clear to me now.
1
So something valuable came out of the Tea Party after all!
3
What motivates human beings more than anything else is F-E-A-R.
Members of the tea party have it in spades, and hence their success. Progressives tend to believe in the power of reason. We'll see if the election of a self-absorbed, thin-skinned, boorish demagogue to the highest office in the land and the empowerment of a Congress where pandering to whites and to the wealthy (especially to wealthy whites) is fundamental will finally get people's heads out of their books, their think-tanks, their commenting to the already converted and get them to come up with a plan which is as equally effective in pandering to the fears of the MAJORITY of voters.
Members of the tea party have it in spades, and hence their success. Progressives tend to believe in the power of reason. We'll see if the election of a self-absorbed, thin-skinned, boorish demagogue to the highest office in the land and the empowerment of a Congress where pandering to whites and to the wealthy (especially to wealthy whites) is fundamental will finally get people's heads out of their books, their think-tanks, their commenting to the already converted and get them to come up with a plan which is as equally effective in pandering to the fears of the MAJORITY of voters.
4
Wow. Talk about not getting it. The Tea Party movement was based on a return to the values expressed by our Founding Fathers in the US Constitution. The only reason it was a rejection of Obama's policies is due to the fact he was moving away from American precedent, American sovereignty and American exceptionalism. PEOTUS Trump is reclaiming the values that America stands by and any rejection of those values will fall flat. And by the way, the Tea Party resistance was a PEACEFUL movement.
2
What tea party values? The founding fathers were mostly slave owning racists who wanted only land owing white men to have the right to vote. Women were chattel. Remember that ladies who voted for trump. Oh, and America isn't that exceptional anymore unless you talk about children in poverty, declining life expectancy and the most expensive health care in the developed world.
6
The Tea Party value is that maintaining their wealth mattered and the poor should be because well they are smarter off shore account and all. The Tea Party is just bunch of self-absorbed wealthy folks who were concern with their interest only and not the welfare of a nation. They refused to negotiate or compromise on anything, nothing patriotic about that.
5
Dems will find it a lot harder to block common sense policies that will work than the illogical, socialist nanny state lunacy of the early Obama admin that the tea party confronted. There is also the discipline of 2018 when a successful Trump admin will produce unprecedented wins at the mid term ballot box. America is divided, but a majority are not stupid and will deeply appreciate long lost successes for the Country.
3
These are turbulent times, but a mostly peaceful revolt is underway. Dems and GOPeers already agree -- upwards of 90% -- that cultural cleansing in our elections REQUIRES Big Money Out. And it works: legislation is no longer a commodity paid to play. in a decentralized way.
1
(sigh).
The Press Corps continues to use their own creation...the spectre of the boogyman called.....GASP!......The Tea Party.
Important real world observations....
1. The Tea Party, so-called, not by like-minded citizens, but only used by the Media to identify "the enemy"....despite the fact that like-minded citizens accepted the insult and used it with Pride.
2. No actual citizen identified as "Tea Party" has actually been elected to any national office. NONE.
Only cynical Republican career politicians...who basicly LIED to their constituents about "values"....and then, once re-elected, proceeded to play the same greedy, patronage game that the Democrats play.
3. The DNC has been using the Tea Party Strategy successfully for years already!! The Tea Party Apparition scares people who imagine themselves powerless, into voting for their Patrons......the Democrats.
The Press Corps continues to use their own creation...the spectre of the boogyman called.....GASP!......The Tea Party.
Important real world observations....
1. The Tea Party, so-called, not by like-minded citizens, but only used by the Media to identify "the enemy"....despite the fact that like-minded citizens accepted the insult and used it with Pride.
2. No actual citizen identified as "Tea Party" has actually been elected to any national office. NONE.
Only cynical Republican career politicians...who basicly LIED to their constituents about "values"....and then, once re-elected, proceeded to play the same greedy, patronage game that the Democrats play.
3. The DNC has been using the Tea Party Strategy successfully for years already!! The Tea Party Apparition scares people who imagine themselves powerless, into voting for their Patrons......the Democrats.
1
The Democrats could begin by ceasing to have contempt for people who did not attend Ivy League colleges. That won't happen so the Democrats cannot learn anything from the Tea Party.
5
Yes, I think Ivy League schools should stop accepting people like Ted Cruz and all of the conservative Supreme Court justices
You people need to stop with this false narrative. And be called on it at every opportunity.
You people need to stop with this false narrative. And be called on it at every opportunity.
1
The 26 page manual can be summarized as:
Show up.
Speak up.
Never give up.
Show up.
Speak up.
Never give up.
3
This is a great strategy if your goal is revenge and a continuation of the gridlock the nation has faced for the last eight years.
How about a suggestion that would involve leadership and statesmanship with an eye towards the 2018 elections?
How about a suggestion that would involve leadership and statesmanship with an eye towards the 2018 elections?
6
As I read this article, that is what's being suggested. Work locally with other like-minded citizens.
2
So your suggestion is to reward the Republicans for 8 years of bad behavior, including a stolen supreme court seat.. And the lesson you draw from the last eight years is that they lost all of those seats and the presidency because they were not statesmen and caused gridlock. But oh wait, they won control of congress and the presidency by causing gridlock.
Before the midterms, they will try to loot the nation. If the Democrats help them by compromising with the corruption, dems will never have any power to do anything ever again.
Before the midterms, they will try to loot the nation. If the Democrats help them by compromising with the corruption, dems will never have any power to do anything ever again.
6
I will spend time calling my representatives on the phone with my liberal opinions. I've heard that works better than petitions. Time to speak truth to power. The people are watching you vote away their best interests. Time to protest, loudly.
8
"It’s the Tea Party inverted: locally driven advocacy built on inclusion, fairness and respect."
Nice idea but why do I have the feeling that this movement will force all participants to sign on to every loopy left social issue or be excluded and disrespected as racist, homo/trans-phobic, sexist, etc. e.g. You will force an Evangelical who wants to help save Social Security and Medicare to sign a pledge advocating repeal of the Hyde Amendment, promoting same sex locker and shower facilities, etc.
Nice idea but why do I have the feeling that this movement will force all participants to sign on to every loopy left social issue or be excluded and disrespected as racist, homo/trans-phobic, sexist, etc. e.g. You will force an Evangelical who wants to help save Social Security and Medicare to sign a pledge advocating repeal of the Hyde Amendment, promoting same sex locker and shower facilities, etc.
3
No faith-based legislation is constitutional. End of story.
1
The problem is only partly getting Trump-Ryan-McConnell out. The Democrats need a clear plan, and a clear commitment to that plan, that will plainly get Americans working for a living wage.
That plan is not repatriating jobs lost to outsourcing and automation a la Trump. It could include rebuilding infrastructure and the many jobs not considered worth paying for by Republicans The crux of the matter is making obvious the need to remove corporate control of Congress through troglodyte Theocrats. The same applies to state government in most states.
Because of Citizens United and financial intrusion by billionaire 1/4%ers and right-wing disinformation radio and TV, it'll be uphill all the way. Separating the Theocratic pushing of narrow-minded religious issues from economic reform will require a clear economic purpose and program.
That plan is not repatriating jobs lost to outsourcing and automation a la Trump. It could include rebuilding infrastructure and the many jobs not considered worth paying for by Republicans The crux of the matter is making obvious the need to remove corporate control of Congress through troglodyte Theocrats. The same applies to state government in most states.
Because of Citizens United and financial intrusion by billionaire 1/4%ers and right-wing disinformation radio and TV, it'll be uphill all the way. Separating the Theocratic pushing of narrow-minded religious issues from economic reform will require a clear economic purpose and program.
6
I ridicule every last presumptuous halfwit who claims to know what some "God" thinks about human concerns. These people cannot even tell the truth to themselves.
The Constitution denies Congress any power whatsoever to treat any of these claims to know what God thinks as credible.
The Constitution denies Congress any power whatsoever to treat any of these claims to know what God thinks as credible.
@Steve Bolger: Whether or not Ryan and McConnell are "presumptuous halfwits" they are running things now.
The Tea Party also had a couple things that democrats don't -- Fox New and Talk Radio. And let's not forget that the Tea Party didn't grow as a grass roots movement, it was laid down as astroturf with the support of some very deep pockets in Kansas and elsewhere.
We already know that talk radio doesn't work for liberals who actually think about the discussion and research what they don't know. Just ask the former hosts of Air America. The hope is to capture the dialog through the internet and traditional sources.
With the current drive, still in its infancy, to remove the financial motive for generating fake news, hopefully that noise will stop drowning out real news. Then the real news needs to spread as far and wide as the fake news did. The real press needs to also hammer home the message that they do their diligence to present honest and balanced news. Call out those, like Trump, who lie and say that the press is the generating fake news and is biased against him and his supporters.
As for the deep pockets -- Soros vs. Koch? Bloomberg vs. NRA? Cuban vs. Adelson? The money is there, it just needs to be directed in an efficient way.
All politics are local but the supporting infrastructure is national and international.
We already know that talk radio doesn't work for liberals who actually think about the discussion and research what they don't know. Just ask the former hosts of Air America. The hope is to capture the dialog through the internet and traditional sources.
With the current drive, still in its infancy, to remove the financial motive for generating fake news, hopefully that noise will stop drowning out real news. Then the real news needs to spread as far and wide as the fake news did. The real press needs to also hammer home the message that they do their diligence to present honest and balanced news. Call out those, like Trump, who lie and say that the press is the generating fake news and is biased against him and his supporters.
As for the deep pockets -- Soros vs. Koch? Bloomberg vs. NRA? Cuban vs. Adelson? The money is there, it just needs to be directed in an efficient way.
All politics are local but the supporting infrastructure is national and international.
10
It's true we don't have Fox News and the Nazi talking heads, but if we make a lot of noise on the streets and point to the anti-American strategy of the right, the local networks will report it, and since most politics is local, it will make a difference. Even Fox News will be forced to report 500,000 women marching on Washington on January 21, even though their take will be stupidly infantile. Still, it will be out there, and as I said above, most Americans including those that voted for that guy want a level playing field.
2
And now Megyn Kelly is coming to NBC -- there is a starting point!
Thank you for this op-ed. Steve Rattner was on Morning Joe today showing the graphs of the Democrat's policy accomplishments compared to their loss of seats on every level of government since 2008. Counterintuitive to say the least. And I've been personally frustrated by what seems to be a lack of "gumption" by the Democrats in messaging compared to the GOP. Yesterday the WaPo had an article about what the Dems plan to do regarding the ACA and Chris Murphy was quoted as saying in essence "not much we can do in a minority." I was so discouraged. That is certainly not what Mitch McConnell thought in 2008. As a result, as Steve Rattner pointed out, the more you accomplish, the worse it is for your party because the other party does nothing other than organize, protest and fine tune their messaging. If the Dems cannot parlay the lies, hypocrisy, unkept promises into a blood bath in 2018, then it is political malpracctice.
12
According to the comments to this opinion piece, just keep calling half the country racists especially without knowing the people, understanding them, or to be blunt, liking them. That will stop Trump no problem. No, it won't. Beyond my belief, Trump won the 2016 election. But I can see that he might win again. The Left is addicted to Identity Politics. You cannot tell someone how inferior, racists, and ignorant they are and expect them to vote your way.
6
The left is into equal protection of the law regardless of identity.
You people don't even know who we are, your heads are so stuffed with the straw of your own scarecrows.
You people don't even know who we are, your heads are so stuffed with the straw of your own scarecrows.
Trump told his base how to be (more) racist, bigoted and ignorant/crude and they voted for him.
1
I think you're partly right on identity politics, but see Joe Arena's comment above. If we (our representatives in Congress) continually advance counter proposals that we know most Americans desire, it will make a difference. Look, many Trump voters voted for him to stop abortion rights, voting rights, and mainly immigrants, but many want the same things we do - a fair and level playing field. That's not what the Republicans have planned. Call them on it, and many of the Trumpists will notice, not all but enough.
1
Plenty of actions that the Democrats can take to gain ground again with independents plus to rally the base. A good basis for strategy is to meet every GOP policy, legislation, talking point proposal NOT just with opposition but also with a reasonable counter proposal of their own, even if they have no chance of passing. In many instances, the proposals can straw man, populist counters. Doing so, even with no chance of passing, at least establishes a reasonable/popular opposition that appeals to and can rally a majority of Americans, and serve as a platform basis for 2020. Democrats aren't simply going to be able to oppose and obstruct - they need popular solutions with broad appeal.
For example, on tax policy, counter-propose the Ryan/Trump tax cuts by coming out saying you want larger tax cuts for Middle/Lower class workers and smaller cuts for the wealthy. On corporate taxes, come out saying you want the cuts exclusively targeted to small business NOT big corporations and refuse big corporate rates that are lower than personal rates. Say that you'll vote for a corporate tax repatriation holiday, but ONLY if a portion is guaranteed to be given to new jobs or employee salary increases.
On items like trade, health care, infrastructure for example, you can bait Trump on his populist promises. Penalties for offshoring? Start proposing them. Negotiating better drug rates with big phama? Start proposing them. Infrastructure investments? Here's a list of priority investments
For example, on tax policy, counter-propose the Ryan/Trump tax cuts by coming out saying you want larger tax cuts for Middle/Lower class workers and smaller cuts for the wealthy. On corporate taxes, come out saying you want the cuts exclusively targeted to small business NOT big corporations and refuse big corporate rates that are lower than personal rates. Say that you'll vote for a corporate tax repatriation holiday, but ONLY if a portion is guaranteed to be given to new jobs or employee salary increases.
On items like trade, health care, infrastructure for example, you can bait Trump on his populist promises. Penalties for offshoring? Start proposing them. Negotiating better drug rates with big phama? Start proposing them. Infrastructure investments? Here's a list of priority investments
15
I agree with all you said but who will do this??? The people, not a chance, you need grass root organization to get some of the Democrates off their high horses and get into the fight which some of the dilettantes seem to want to avoid.
1
There already is a Tea Party type populist movement in the Democratic Party - the Bernie Sanders wing. They are very effective at raising money from individual small donors and ignoring the concerns of Large Corporations, Defense Contractors and Very Rich Billionaires. Since Bill Clinton, Democrats have been the party of Wall Street-lite and the party of the Military Industrial Complex-lite.
This past election has been a sharp rebuke of that ideology, and the Dem leadership needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Until they actually become the party of the working class and the 99% in more than just rhetoric and lip service (the kind shown half-halfheartedly by Hillary this election), they will simply be a less-bad version of Republicans. That does not motivate anyone to get out and vote, and it certainly doesn't in the midterms. If Donald Trump can weasel his way to the presidency by being a dishonest and fake champion of the working class and the common man, imagine what an actual progressive agenda that supported common sense policies like single payer health care, labor protection, actual tough financial regulation, infrastructure stimulus, monopoly busting, education and job training overhaul, drug policy reform and wage increases could do. Even if they aren't economically feasible, if you start your negotiations at the already-compromise position you lose your bargaining power. Don't you people watch pawn stars?!
This past election has been a sharp rebuke of that ideology, and the Dem leadership needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Until they actually become the party of the working class and the 99% in more than just rhetoric and lip service (the kind shown half-halfheartedly by Hillary this election), they will simply be a less-bad version of Republicans. That does not motivate anyone to get out and vote, and it certainly doesn't in the midterms. If Donald Trump can weasel his way to the presidency by being a dishonest and fake champion of the working class and the common man, imagine what an actual progressive agenda that supported common sense policies like single payer health care, labor protection, actual tough financial regulation, infrastructure stimulus, monopoly busting, education and job training overhaul, drug policy reform and wage increases could do. Even if they aren't economically feasible, if you start your negotiations at the already-compromise position you lose your bargaining power. Don't you people watch pawn stars?!
8
The Democratic Party lost the election to Trump. #1. They chose the wrong person to support. They were ignorant not to choose the best person, Bernie Sanders who had massive support from all the younger activists. The party ignored Bernie and his support that would have easily beat Trump.
Why were the insular party leaders so blind to this.?
As a disabled veteran, who could not support the woman that voted us into the stupid Iraq WAR. Hillary sided with the Republican war. Dumb move.
How could the party be so stupid.? We really need to change the Democratic party leaders. Do not trust them, they will vote for party losers again. I will support Bernie again, over anyone else. He is the man, our man.
Why were the insular party leaders so blind to this.?
As a disabled veteran, who could not support the woman that voted us into the stupid Iraq WAR. Hillary sided with the Republican war. Dumb move.
How could the party be so stupid.? We really need to change the Democratic party leaders. Do not trust them, they will vote for party losers again. I will support Bernie again, over anyone else. He is the man, our man.
7
With all due respect Ezra, Leah, and Angel: as others have commented here, followers and supporters of Bernie Sanders have already taken a page from the Tea Party playbook. Yet they were not allowed to be heard by the oligarchs at the DNC. So, here is my proposal: put pressure on the Clintons and the leadership to take their overdue leave and at the same time work hard and bring a new, younger generation of true democrats in to reform the Democratic Party into a viable and compelling progressive and just alternative to what is very likely to be an economically, socially, culturally, psychologically, and spiritually wrecked America created by the Trump Administration and GOP Congress by 2020. Imitating the Tea Party is a nice and perhaps comforting idea, but nothing more than that. The Democrats are suffering from implosion similar to that befalling liberal and socially progressive parties all over Europe. If anything, the slide backwards to 19th and early 20th century nationalism has in its wake a silver lining on the dark horizon: the young women and men of the next generation who, shocked out of complacency by the recent triumphs of re-emergent fascism, discover that they, their lives and their future matters. In other words: perhaps it is better for the present Democratic Party to die and then resurrect with a rejuvenated and 21st century-appropriate platform. Taking a page from Bernie's playbook is a start. Then you will be ready and ahead of the GOP when it dies.
5
There is no need for the Democratic Party to be reborn. It has simply to recognize that minority rights and dignity, important as they are, are a secondary concern for the unemployed and poorly paid. The focus has to be uprooting corporate control of Congress for the benefit of the 1/4%. That will distance the Democratic Party from Wall Street, but that's just a "sacrifice" that must be made.
1
It's relatively easy to say no, what's hard, as the authors no doubt understand, having "been there" during the 111th Congress, is to get others to say yes to legislation. The Dems were a single vote shy of control of the Senate and yet were unable to get things done. It wasn't the Tea Party and the House that obstructed, it was one Republican senator.
So we can go another four years with the Democrats this time being the nay-sayers. It won't be hard and it won't require Tea Party tactics. In fact, it'll be business as usual. Trump and his pals will steal as much as they can from the public trough and in 4 or 8 years it'll be the Democrats turn again.
I agree with organizing locally, but that means electing local politicians and House members who are smart, progressive, and NOT corrupt, not simply saying no.
So we can go another four years with the Democrats this time being the nay-sayers. It won't be hard and it won't require Tea Party tactics. In fact, it'll be business as usual. Trump and his pals will steal as much as they can from the public trough and in 4 or 8 years it'll be the Democrats turn again.
I agree with organizing locally, but that means electing local politicians and House members who are smart, progressive, and NOT corrupt, not simply saying no.
6
Echoing what others have written here, the Tea Party was anything BUT a grass-roots movement. It was a highly orchestrated, well-funded, and Fox News-endorsed corporate decision. Follow the money, people.
10
While Debbie and Dona (D&D) are still not removed from the top positions in the party for their misdeeds, I see no future not only for democrats but for the country either. In the meantime I will wait and not vote for anyone.
6
Why stop Trump? We elected him to do what we want.
3
Lest you forget that "we" was 46% of the total votes (which was considerably less than the number of total eligible voters) and most certainly did not include me.
3
I couldn't agree with this more, except for one thing. Dems should not completely shun viciousness, nor should we be shy about obstruction. The Republicans win because they play hardball, and they count on Democrats playing nice and being fair. Donald Trump did not play nice and fair.
Democrats don't need to lie and cheat and sell their souls for the win, but they must fight fire with fire in order to prevent the Republicans from setting progress back a hundred years; and that will surely require a good measure of viciousness and obstruction.
If we can get though the next 2 or 4 years by obstructing the Republicans so they can get little or nothing done, that will be a huge win.
Democrats don't need to lie and cheat and sell their souls for the win, but they must fight fire with fire in order to prevent the Republicans from setting progress back a hundred years; and that will surely require a good measure of viciousness and obstruction.
If we can get though the next 2 or 4 years by obstructing the Republicans so they can get little or nothing done, that will be a huge win.
12
"Democrats don't need to lie and cheat and sell their souls for the win"
Then why did they lie so much about the PPACA and the Iran Deal?
Then why did they lie so much about the PPACA and the Iran Deal?
3
I have been frustrated with the Beltway Democrats since 2000.
All but one voted for the Patriot Act. Most of them voted for the invasion of Afghanistan. Enough of them voted for the Iraq War to allow Bush to claim "bipartisan support." Ted Kennedy helped Bush craft the "No Child Left Behind" fiasco. The DNC promoted centrist candidates--including ex-Republicans--over popular, more left-leaning grassroots candidates for Congress. The Democratic Party failed to join the minor parties in their suit against voting irregularities in Ohio in 2004.
Obama carried out Bush's bank bailout plan with no penalties for the banksters, saying that "contracts are sacred," but he had no trouble voiding the auto workers' contracts. When Obama had the only clear majority that the Democrats had enjoyed in over 30 years, he continued to try to placate the Republicans by twisting the arms of the Progressive Caucus to accept a national version of Mitt Romney's corporate welfare plan for the insurance companies. He signed a renewal of the Patriot Act, didn't even try to close the Guantanamo prison camp, and widened the war in Afghanistan. He intervened on one side in Syria, a country where none of the factions are "good guys," and there are only innocent victims of various factions of "bad guys."
How is the average voter supposed to tell the Democrats and Republicans apart?
How does the DNC expect the loyalty of voters whom it ignores except when it wants money?
All but one voted for the Patriot Act. Most of them voted for the invasion of Afghanistan. Enough of them voted for the Iraq War to allow Bush to claim "bipartisan support." Ted Kennedy helped Bush craft the "No Child Left Behind" fiasco. The DNC promoted centrist candidates--including ex-Republicans--over popular, more left-leaning grassroots candidates for Congress. The Democratic Party failed to join the minor parties in their suit against voting irregularities in Ohio in 2004.
Obama carried out Bush's bank bailout plan with no penalties for the banksters, saying that "contracts are sacred," but he had no trouble voiding the auto workers' contracts. When Obama had the only clear majority that the Democrats had enjoyed in over 30 years, he continued to try to placate the Republicans by twisting the arms of the Progressive Caucus to accept a national version of Mitt Romney's corporate welfare plan for the insurance companies. He signed a renewal of the Patriot Act, didn't even try to close the Guantanamo prison camp, and widened the war in Afghanistan. He intervened on one side in Syria, a country where none of the factions are "good guys," and there are only innocent victims of various factions of "bad guys."
How is the average voter supposed to tell the Democrats and Republicans apart?
How does the DNC expect the loyalty of voters whom it ignores except when it wants money?
10
In response to the many comments, I'm glad that somebody is organizing something to fight Trump and the increasingly disingenuous Republican Party. Don't throw out the good in the pursuit of the perfect. I'm in.
12
I have been promoting the following:
(1) Pay Attention - on both the federal and state government levels
(2) Act to Protect your Interests and Rights - e.g., donate regularly to your favorite causes that promote human rights, good government, justice, etc. Here are a few - the ALCU, Public Citizen, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Mother Jones Investigative Fund (independent investigative journalism). Participate in local organizing events.
(3) Contact your congress people's offices by phone on a regular basis (both Dems GOP) - tell them what issues you are concerned about
(4) Speak UP - don't let lies, false news, propaganda etc. win the day (as it temporarily has)
(1) Pay Attention - on both the federal and state government levels
(2) Act to Protect your Interests and Rights - e.g., donate regularly to your favorite causes that promote human rights, good government, justice, etc. Here are a few - the ALCU, Public Citizen, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Mother Jones Investigative Fund (independent investigative journalism). Participate in local organizing events.
(3) Contact your congress people's offices by phone on a regular basis (both Dems GOP) - tell them what issues you are concerned about
(4) Speak UP - don't let lies, false news, propaganda etc. win the day (as it temporarily has)
4
Take that money and use it as toilet paper.....it will be better spent.
If you can beat em, join em, right? That only proves that they completely won, so why even pretend to fight anymore? It's over.
Why don't we let the voters decide who should lead or government. Oh that's right, the voters did decide.
1
With less than 50% of the vote. The electoral college is outdated. More people would vote if their vote counted but red votes carry very little weight in blue states and vice versa. The Electoral College provides a Super Vote to smaller states.
The most important Strategy deployed by the TP was to ensure the issues they addressed resonated with people like them.It's high time Democrats came out of denial, the first stage of bereavement following the outcome on Nov 8th.When millions of Americans are worried about paying rent and putting food on the table they have little time for civil rights or climate change.Add to that a deeply flawed candidate and a "feel good ,mean nothing"message and you have a recipe for TP victory.These learnings are much more critical to future Democratic success than saying no or showing up locally.
3
Yep. And the Republicans can learn from the Democrats. Look for McConnell & Co. to abolish the filibuster rule for SCOTUS appointments.
Huge mistake by Reid & Co. in tampering with tradition, notwithstanding his "protest too much" OpEd of a few weeks ago.
The third branch will be in the hands of the conservatives for many, many years.
Huge mistake by Reid & Co. in tampering with tradition, notwithstanding his "protest too much" OpEd of a few weeks ago.
The third branch will be in the hands of the conservatives for many, many years.
When I think back to Tea Party days I am reminded of the ragtag nature of their membership - an incongruous mix of the dissatisfied. Their priorities varied from state to state, region to region and included rude behavior and elements of unabashed racism.
If this model is what Levin, Greenberg and Padilla are advocating, I wish they would go back to the drawing board. We've already had a second coming. We know it as the Trump campaign and presidency.
If this model is what Levin, Greenberg and Padilla are advocating, I wish they would go back to the drawing board. We've already had a second coming. We know it as the Trump campaign and presidency.
The Democrats do not have the discipline or the ruthlessness required to serve as a foil to the Republicans. The are a loose confederation of divergent interest groups and minority advocates who cannot work cohesively to achieve their agenda. We witnessed the failure of President Obama to work with a Democratic majority during his first two years in office, a time when he truly had public support and momentum to achieve serious change in national policy. He was often thwarted by his own people, who could not have organised a children's T-ball match, let alone run a national government. Witness the ineptitude and failure that led to adoption of a thoroughly inadequate bill for health care reform, due in part to the loss of Senator Ted Kennedy, when the Heritage Foundation model for universal health insurance was not fully enacted. (Republican obstructionism surely played a role in this; however, lack of Democratic unity and discipline hosted a greater percentage of the failure.)
I believe that, should attempts to protest become more common, the Republican government will simply criminalise such protests. During the G.W. Bush Administration, many people whom I worked with had told me they could not risk their employment or their family's economic stability, including health insurance, to the threat of arrest and criminal sanction for civil protest.
Should Democrats attempt to employ the tactics of the TEA Partiers, those tactics will simply be criminalised.
I believe that, should attempts to protest become more common, the Republican government will simply criminalise such protests. During the G.W. Bush Administration, many people whom I worked with had told me they could not risk their employment or their family's economic stability, including health insurance, to the threat of arrest and criminal sanction for civil protest.
Should Democrats attempt to employ the tactics of the TEA Partiers, those tactics will simply be criminalised.
2
A prerequisite for what is proposed here is to convince Democrats and liberals that they must reliably show up at the polls and vote, especially during mid-term elections.
4
Yes! Where do I sign up? I'm in the Houston area.
2
Don't wait to sign up. Just call your Member of Congress and your Senators today. Pick at topic. Raise hell! Do it now!
Don't waste time waiting for the right "leaders." We are it.
Don't waste time waiting for the right "leaders." We are it.
For the the Democrats to be effective on a grassroots level, they first need to shed their corporatist image and stop being complicit with Wall Street and its crimes on the working population. They, not only the GOP, are responsible for the stagnating wages and unafordable rents, people that are not part of the owner class have to deal with. For that to happen the party needs a total progressive makeover in the spirit of Sanders and there can only be unity after those guilty of the failed election strategies that favored HRC finally admit, that they were wrong at not heading the problems most people are facing. When they admit their wrongdoing and either change or step aside, there can be a mass movement on the grassroots level by joining forces with those that were supporting Sanders in the primaries as well as the blue color folks that ended up supporting Trump not out of love but in disgust of the OBH/HRC sellouts.
4
I agree. The democrat party should be more like the tea party, meaning that the democrat party should start to lie, cheat, and steal.
Do absolutely whatever you need to to win every election.
Forget facts. Forget truths. Forget ethics. Forget reality.
Create a vision of the world and present it to the people as the real thing. Go all out. Get extreme. Be crazy. Be mean. Don't work with the other party. Subvert the system every chance you get when the opposition is in power. Spread lies and mistruths and slanderous bile against your opponents. Don't talk about policies or idea. Talk about John McCain's black baby. Talk about Lindsey Graham's sexuality. Talk about Donald Trump's tiny hands and mail order bride and his lying and cheating and sexual misconduct and his bankruptcies and his hair this and that and the other. Make up a few lies and throw them in there just for the fun of it.
Because once again, these ugly and lowly and outright wrong efforts win elections in this country. Period. End of story.
Then, once you win, do the right thing while you're in power.
Republicans do the wrong thing to win elections, and then do the wrong thing while in power.
So, democrats obviously need to do the wrong thing to win elections, because that in the end will benefit a majority of the Uhmurican people, because democratic policies are the correct policies.
When it comes to this, it's the end, not the means that matter.
Do absolutely whatever you need to to win every election.
Forget facts. Forget truths. Forget ethics. Forget reality.
Create a vision of the world and present it to the people as the real thing. Go all out. Get extreme. Be crazy. Be mean. Don't work with the other party. Subvert the system every chance you get when the opposition is in power. Spread lies and mistruths and slanderous bile against your opponents. Don't talk about policies or idea. Talk about John McCain's black baby. Talk about Lindsey Graham's sexuality. Talk about Donald Trump's tiny hands and mail order bride and his lying and cheating and sexual misconduct and his bankruptcies and his hair this and that and the other. Make up a few lies and throw them in there just for the fun of it.
Because once again, these ugly and lowly and outright wrong efforts win elections in this country. Period. End of story.
Then, once you win, do the right thing while you're in power.
Republicans do the wrong thing to win elections, and then do the wrong thing while in power.
So, democrats obviously need to do the wrong thing to win elections, because that in the end will benefit a majority of the Uhmurican people, because democratic policies are the correct policies.
When it comes to this, it's the end, not the means that matter.
4
So, the Marxist Democrats are going to mobilize against what? Allowing parents to choose schools for their kids? Healthcare that is actually affordable? Lower corporate taxes and easing of regulations that stimulate job growth?
What is it that Marxist Democrats actually want? Exactly. Communism.
Democratism is the new communism and Americans are sick of it.
What is it that Marxist Democrats actually want? Exactly. Communism.
Democratism is the new communism and Americans are sick of it.
3
Hold on to your thoughts to determine if in a year, or two, healthcare is really more affordable, jobs are plentiful and children are receiving excellent education through a voucher system that guts public education - one of the pillars of a free society. And, with our president-elect schmoozing with Putin, and you inaccurately referring to Democrats as Marxist Communist we are all set for a great 2017.
3
Bernie Sanders was a self-described Socialist using the Democratic Party to further his Socialist Agenda.
He has been unsuccessful in pushing Socialism for the 30 years preaching Socialism and admiring right wing dictators.
Democrats will not select a socialist leader, even a populist leader, to represent them.
Bernie used people, who in exit interviews said they were Republicans, Independents or other as his base, and the Democrats in the party rejected him, as they have others with his same agenda.
Hillary lost because Bernie Sanders moved Hillary so far to the left she lost. That made it easy for Russia and our own FBI to squash any chance she had of winning enough electoral votes.
Now Bernie Sanders is trying to use the Democratic party to push his version of socialism. He is becoming actively involved in the inter workings of the Democratic Party, like pushing the party to select Ellison as DNC Chair.
"Tennessee committeeman William Owen, giving voice to that view. “I’m a Hillary person. Bill Clinton said, 'I’ll be with you till the last dog dies,' and I’m the last dog. I will not vote for Keith Ellison, I will not vote for a Bernie person. I think they cost Hillary the election, and now they’re going to live with Donald Trump. Donald Trump asks, 'What do you have to lose?’ Nothing, except life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/keith-ellison-democratic-dnc-232613
He has been unsuccessful in pushing Socialism for the 30 years preaching Socialism and admiring right wing dictators.
Democrats will not select a socialist leader, even a populist leader, to represent them.
Bernie used people, who in exit interviews said they were Republicans, Independents or other as his base, and the Democrats in the party rejected him, as they have others with his same agenda.
Hillary lost because Bernie Sanders moved Hillary so far to the left she lost. That made it easy for Russia and our own FBI to squash any chance she had of winning enough electoral votes.
Now Bernie Sanders is trying to use the Democratic party to push his version of socialism. He is becoming actively involved in the inter workings of the Democratic Party, like pushing the party to select Ellison as DNC Chair.
"Tennessee committeeman William Owen, giving voice to that view. “I’m a Hillary person. Bill Clinton said, 'I’ll be with you till the last dog dies,' and I’m the last dog. I will not vote for Keith Ellison, I will not vote for a Bernie person. I think they cost Hillary the election, and now they’re going to live with Donald Trump. Donald Trump asks, 'What do you have to lose?’ Nothing, except life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/keith-ellison-democratic-dnc-232613
3
And I supppose you also want to blame Sanders for the Democrats losing Congress and numerous statehouses and legislatures over the past 8 years? This is the typical centrist democratic denial - blame anyone but themselves for their catastrophic failures over the past 8 years. Hillary lost because she was the final culmination and emblem of a failed party - one that was long ago co-opted by Walll Street and the rest of corporate America and stands for pretty much nothing at this point. She lost because she was the ultimate symbol of establishment politics that have benefited only the very few, not because of Bernie Sanders or anyone else. Until all the centrist Hillary democrats look themselves honestly in the mirror and admit that they are responsible for Trump, they will continue to lose.
1
She lost because a lot of spiteful, clueless, Bernie "purists" were misled into thinking withholding their vote was "virtuous." I would want to forgive them because "they knew not what they did" but I can't. This was too important. And I can't forgive Bernie for a dishonest campaign which persuaded a bunch of clueless Bernie children to hate her.
1
The Democratic Party has become a party concerned with its corporate mega-donors above all else and won't let go of this sort of power without a struggle. A peek at the Wikileaks emails showing the DNC collusion against Bernie Sanders makes this very clear, and the resounding silence of the Party about this matter speaks even more loudly. So it will not be a walk in the park to try to wrest power, even at the local level, from the Dems who are comfortable at the trough and only speak rhetoric about "caring for everyone".
5
To understand the effectiveness of the Tea Party forces and their representatives in Congress, it's essential to acknowledge the behind-the-scenes billionaire sponsorship and financing they have been receiving.
Unfortunately, although the progressive left already understands a great deal about the strategy and tactics that will enable effective resistance to the Trump reactionary right agenda, its national organizing initiatives have been hobbled by problematic fundraising, particularly since the onset of the Great Depression and the withdrawal of liberal foundation and institutional church support.
Unfortunately, although the progressive left already understands a great deal about the strategy and tactics that will enable effective resistance to the Trump reactionary right agenda, its national organizing initiatives have been hobbled by problematic fundraising, particularly since the onset of the Great Depression and the withdrawal of liberal foundation and institutional church support.
2
I can now read the opinion pages of the New York Times with great joy and satisfaction. When liberals screech about our President Elect and the Republican Majority taking the country in "the wrong direction," I know the polar opposite to be true. When Democrats point to a lack of a mandate, despite having lost over 1000 seats to Republican's under their beloved President Obama, my confidence is renewed that our lawmakers will push even harder to quickly and comprehensively reverse the outrageous failures and extraordinary executive overreach of the Obama administration. The USA is BACK! Conservative friends, we have much to do to restore this land and make America Great Again. Let's ROLL!
5
Since the Republican fascist loving oligarchs like to conjure up the era of Founders, I have the following quote for you and your ilk; "I have not yet begun to fight!" - John Paul Jones
This IS what we need to do. In NC we are fortunate to have Rev Barber and the NAACP to lead us, and we defeated the Reactionary Republican Governor McCrory in the midst of the Trump mudslide. Find the groups and leaders where ever you are. Join. We need to be there every time! Be a Regulator in the sense of the pre-Revolutionary movement. The Tea Party was part of that movement.
3
One of the major issues that the Democratic Party has is reaching back out to the common working class voters. After the New Deal, my parent's generation, who had grown up during the Great Depression, strongly believed that it was the Democratic Party and not the GOP who had their back. That message started unraveling when Johnson pushed JFK's Civil Rights reforms through Congress. Now many middle class and lower class workers believe that the Democratic Party only cares about the environmentalists (forgetting that these same environmentalists gave them back clean air to breath and clean, healthy water to breath), the Rainbow coalition, the "welfare freeloaders", and college professors who have never had to actually work in a "real job" in their adult lives. Instead these voters believe that the it is the GOP who now have their backs forgetting the fact that the GOP has been actively destroying their worker benefits and their pension funds while enabling large corporations to out-source millions of U.S. jobs overseas (and thousands by our current GOP President-Elect) and holding worker wages effectively stagnant - all while enabling the 1% to gain an even larger portion of this country's wealth and making it harder and harder for anyone from the bottom 2/3 of the country to ever to move up. The only way the Democratic Party can recover now is to recapture its message that is indeed the party that looks out for the common American as it was in the days of the New Deal.
5
Amen! If grassroots opponents are able to muster even a fraction of the energy and ferocity of the Tea Party, the Trump Nightmare will be far from a fait accompli.
3
All politics are local. How many local races did not even have a viable opposing candidate? Where is the support? (In my congressional race - the nominal Democratic opponent was MIA - and has been for years) Dems should have learned in 2012 that elections happen EVERY year - not every 4. To use a sports analogy - Dems focus on the quarterback while forgetting that it takes a team to make the touchdown - Tom Brady wouldn't be "Tom Brady" if his team didn't provide him protection, run with the ball and prevent the other side from scoring. Democrats need to start focusing on local races (including school boards and town elections) as well as state and national elections.
8
The only progress we've made in this country over time has been when Republicans are in power, not because they are reasonable, but because when they are in power, they throw a few bones to needy Americans and Democrats are quick to cooperate. When Democrats are in power, Republicans block everything, knowing their populist agendas, if passed, would make a huge portion of the the US population happy, giving Democrats more power. The problem is that while the Republicans are throwing a few bones to the poor, they are also passing a ton of laws that are funneling all our wealth into the hands of the wealthy 5% of the country. Democrats need to start resisting the Republicans and finding ways to communicate their message to the masses before the rural red states become so poor they vote in some crazy fascist dictator (or did that already happen?)
6
To this I would add:
Buy guns.
Armed liberals are the best defense against the increasing tendency of radical reactionaries to ride roughshod over our small-d democratic heritage and history. Let's make these people think more than twice about what they are trying to do and let them know that freedom-loving people will resist them by every legal means.
Dan Kravitz
Buy guns.
Armed liberals are the best defense against the increasing tendency of radical reactionaries to ride roughshod over our small-d democratic heritage and history. Let's make these people think more than twice about what they are trying to do and let them know that freedom-loving people will resist them by every legal means.
Dan Kravitz
6
Agree wholeheartedly. Obstruct at every turn and do not co-operate. After all that's exactly how the Republicans behaved over the last 8 years. If Republicans proved anything during Obama presidency it is that politics of obstructionism work. If things go south, the party of president will be blamed, not the opposition. The main priority of the Democratic Party should be to make Trump a one term president and win the mid-term election.
9
Everything that most moderates and liberals despise won during this election - the lies from the alt-right websites, the man-made climate change denial, a disgusting demagogic candidate, the possibility of Obamacare rollback and Medicare/Social Security privatization. Democrats need to play hard-ball politics. They need a constant 4 year ethics investigation on Trump like the GOP did for 8 years against Bill Clinton which then evolved into Benghazi. Everything Trump and the GOP Congress needs to be investigated and scrutinized. No legal dirty trick is too dirty. Start right now and sully Trump's image every day. This is how the GOP really won and this is what Democrats - repulsive as it is - must do to fight back.
7
The best way to stop Trump is to give him and his ilk their way for a while. If the Democrats fight, the right will just blame any failures on their obstruction. Stand aside and let them try to lead. Let America see the results of their leadership and the rest will take care of itself.
3
The only documented acts of racism and violece at a Tea Party event I can recall was in Cincinnati when a black Tea Party protester was assaulted by SEIU thugs.
Also, the progressive protesters need to follow the Tea Party's example and clean up their trash and debris. Progressive's always leave a mess for someone else to clean up. Entitlement maybe?
Also, the progressive protesters need to follow the Tea Party's example and clean up their trash and debris. Progressive's always leave a mess for someone else to clean up. Entitlement maybe?
5
I agree with the strategy expressed herein, but there is one major part of the tea party playbook that is not mentioned, probably because it is not possible for the left to grasp. In order to get a grass roots movement that survives out of the mega-cities, you need to focus on issues that the people in the fly over states care about.
For the most part, they do not care too much about what bathroom people can use. They do not care too much about whether people use the pronouns de jure. They do not care at all if Halloween costumes portray characters offensive to some people.
They care a lot about being able to use the land they own without running afoul of obscure environmental regulations. They care a lot about people who disobey laws ranging from immigration to rioting getting off scot free. They care about protecting their finances from higher taxes designed to eliminate income inequality by taking their money and giving it to people who, either by chance or on purpose, have never held a job in their lives.
These are the sorts of issues a true nationwide grass roots movement must address in terms that the people outside of the coastal cities can appreciate, and the very issues that made the tea party into the force it became.
For the most part, they do not care too much about what bathroom people can use. They do not care too much about whether people use the pronouns de jure. They do not care at all if Halloween costumes portray characters offensive to some people.
They care a lot about being able to use the land they own without running afoul of obscure environmental regulations. They care a lot about people who disobey laws ranging from immigration to rioting getting off scot free. They care about protecting their finances from higher taxes designed to eliminate income inequality by taking their money and giving it to people who, either by chance or on purpose, have never held a job in their lives.
These are the sorts of issues a true nationwide grass roots movement must address in terms that the people outside of the coastal cities can appreciate, and the very issues that made the tea party into the force it became.
This is idiotic.
The Democratic Party is not an anti-establishment grass roots movement (sponsored by a news organization).
Occupy Wall Street was the democratic version and it did little because it wasn't organized to have effect.
The Democratic Party is the arm of liberal democracy in the US dedicated to protecting human rights, fair labor practices, ecological health, the rule of law, and many other issues of conscience. Be reliable. Be the country's moral compass.
The NAACP is a much better model not the Tea Party. It didn't telegraph its punches in a dangerous Hail Mary open call in a public newspaper. It was controlled and policy specific, it was strategic and well coordinated.
The Democratic Party is not an anti-establishment grass roots movement (sponsored by a news organization).
Occupy Wall Street was the democratic version and it did little because it wasn't organized to have effect.
The Democratic Party is the arm of liberal democracy in the US dedicated to protecting human rights, fair labor practices, ecological health, the rule of law, and many other issues of conscience. Be reliable. Be the country's moral compass.
The NAACP is a much better model not the Tea Party. It didn't telegraph its punches in a dangerous Hail Mary open call in a public newspaper. It was controlled and policy specific, it was strategic and well coordinated.
This suggestion for a Democratic "tea party" is exactly the right prescription to combat Trump and the Republican agenda.
Republican attempts to cut back Medicare and Social Security will be unpopular with 99% of Americans. The supposedly unpopular "Obamacare" will suddenly become a lot more popular when millions of people lose coverage. Insurers won't cover preexisting conditions without the requirement that everyone get insurance; it's not actuarially viable.
And already the House is getting rid of ethics. So much for draining the swamp. Congress is as popular as a swarm of locusts, which the Republicans in Congress resemble in their ravages of the American people and environment.
It should be easy to flip Congress in 2018, but Democrats must start now and focus on the issues that affect a majority of the people.
Republican attempts to cut back Medicare and Social Security will be unpopular with 99% of Americans. The supposedly unpopular "Obamacare" will suddenly become a lot more popular when millions of people lose coverage. Insurers won't cover preexisting conditions without the requirement that everyone get insurance; it's not actuarially viable.
And already the House is getting rid of ethics. So much for draining the swamp. Congress is as popular as a swarm of locusts, which the Republicans in Congress resemble in their ravages of the American people and environment.
It should be easy to flip Congress in 2018, but Democrats must start now and focus on the issues that affect a majority of the people.
My dear progressive liberals, will you ever forget about Hillary? Give it up. You LOST. Figure out why. Look at the articles in the NYT and you have your reason.
Couldn't get past the first paragraph. Keep up the hateful rhetoric Times! Having an opinion section with only liberal views is sure to rebuild trust in be Times across the political spectrum, right?
1
Of course the biggest problem we will face is that WE are diplomatic, mannerly, fair minded, thoughtful, democratic, and inclusive. It will be difficult to adopt the uncivilized, often violent, caveman tactics of the Republican Party. We just have to find a way to be forceful, using the truth and facts, instead of threats, fear and lies.
3
It's obvious that democrats must take action now to take back political power. However, the methods suggested are too weak and are left to chance.
Yes, action is required, but grass-roots efforts are not enough - especially if they are not organized, well funded, and massive. We need PACs to continue to fund political activities/rallies. Democratic leaders in Congress must show they are up to the fight, at a minimum to filibuster Trump's efforts. The media must stop softening their message - and stop trying to "appear reasonable" (remember, Fox News and now the racist-right media did not pander. They strongly delivered their message -- even when knowing it was wrong. Because they know that any message, delivered sufficiently strongly and repetitively, gets believed). The media must reduce coverage of republican "talking points" and their publicity stunts (such as the daily tweets), and vehemently cover the wrong policies, abuses, nepotism, deceit, back-room deals, and anything with even a taint of an odor.
Yes, action is required. But it must be organized, visible, and relentless.
Yes, action is required, but grass-roots efforts are not enough - especially if they are not organized, well funded, and massive. We need PACs to continue to fund political activities/rallies. Democratic leaders in Congress must show they are up to the fight, at a minimum to filibuster Trump's efforts. The media must stop softening their message - and stop trying to "appear reasonable" (remember, Fox News and now the racist-right media did not pander. They strongly delivered their message -- even when knowing it was wrong. Because they know that any message, delivered sufficiently strongly and repetitively, gets believed). The media must reduce coverage of republican "talking points" and their publicity stunts (such as the daily tweets), and vehemently cover the wrong policies, abuses, nepotism, deceit, back-room deals, and anything with even a taint of an odor.
Yes, action is required. But it must be organized, visible, and relentless.
2
This article loses some of its punch because it fails to look at some important elements of GOP success: state and local elections funded by Koch Bros; legislation written by ALEC; active voter suppression in confederate states and some of the midwest; a lack of consistent and modern voting standards enforced by the federal government.
2
Not to worry. The day will come when all those middle and lower class mouthbreathing knuckedraggers who voted for Trump, and who are also the biggest receivers and users of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, and Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security will wake up one morning and find all those programs have been taken away or privatized.
Although it will be kind of sad because so many of those voters and their familiy members will either be dead or out on the streets because of the lack of these services.
Although it will be kind of sad because so many of those voters and their familiy members will either be dead or out on the streets because of the lack of these services.
2
The real momentum originally behind the Tea Party was disappointment in Congressional Republicans. It was really a revolt against the party. Unfortunately, like most sweeping political movements, the TP was eventually overrun by the more extreme elements.
During this election cycle the voters; Left, Right, and Center, expressed their frustration with how our government has been running and disgust with the divisive political arena. Democrats will find success through addressing these concerns instead of looking to tactics from the past that lead us to this place.
During this election cycle the voters; Left, Right, and Center, expressed their frustration with how our government has been running and disgust with the divisive political arena. Democrats will find success through addressing these concerns instead of looking to tactics from the past that lead us to this place.
1
Unfortunately protest only works for social issues. President Trump will still have his finger on the Nukes.
The longer version of this piece makes some excellent points. It is not a complicated idea; politicos make political choices based on the support they think they do or don't have. It's difficult to dismantle Social Security when you have hundreds, or thousands, or hundreds of thousands or several million irate citizens marching in the streets. The main point of this piece is right; the Tea Party was a small group.
The numbers of moderates, moderate conservatives, and progressives--of people who share most of the same values--across party lines, is vast. Communicating THAT is the most important thing. There is a shock moment, when people realize that they are the majority. In fact, we were the majority in this election. Let's not got Trumped into believing otherwise. Politics is the art of the possible; Trump is a flabby Oz behind the curtain, whose policies change by the minute; we need to remind our representatives that our common values as citizens do not.
Fortunately, the other thing the Democratic party has, is the most inspired group of creative voices known to man, and if it smartens up and starts to use them, we may actually get somewhere.
The numbers of moderates, moderate conservatives, and progressives--of people who share most of the same values--across party lines, is vast. Communicating THAT is the most important thing. There is a shock moment, when people realize that they are the majority. In fact, we were the majority in this election. Let's not got Trumped into believing otherwise. Politics is the art of the possible; Trump is a flabby Oz behind the curtain, whose policies change by the minute; we need to remind our representatives that our common values as citizens do not.
Fortunately, the other thing the Democratic party has, is the most inspired group of creative voices known to man, and if it smartens up and starts to use them, we may actually get somewhere.
5
There is nothing but hate to be learned from the Tea Party nihilists.
Complaining to your representative (i.e. raising hell) is as old as the republic.
If you don't want your mother's Medicare to be abolished, you better call ASAP.
Complaining to your representative (i.e. raising hell) is as old as the republic.
If you don't want your mother's Medicare to be abolished, you better call ASAP.
3
The tea party was (is) NOT a grassroots party; it's an astro turf party - fertilized by piles of shadow cash. Time for true democracy to use their tactics against them and for true blue Americans to to put their tactics to work in the service of all Americans in the clear and honorable light of day...!
3
Its funny that right wing protesters can show up on their own turf and verbally abuse politicians, while left wing protesters who are peacefully demonstrating get rousted by police in riot gear, tear gassed and hauled off to jail.
5
One big difference between the Tea Party and what the authors of this piece propose is that what they are advocating would be a genuine grassroots movement. The Tea Party, if it ever was a genuine movement, was co-opted so early and completely by big-money interests like the Koch Brothers, that it is now a tool of those interests, floating candidates who are supported by crushing amounts of outside money and who push their backers' agendas, including lower taxes on the rich and ALEC-proposed state legislation, while claiming to be populists.
2
Do we get to wear funny hats? I'm knitting "pussyhats" for the Women's March on Washington. (Google it.)
I'm already planning to work for my Democratic senator's re-election, but I'm not sure pushing him from the left in my largely agricultural red state will do any good and may do harm. However, if Trump does something really stupid like starting a trade war that hurts wheat exports, Jon Tester will be re-elected anyway.
The suggested strategy will make a difference in blue states, but Democrats should be pushing a positive agenda of higher wages and income redistribution rather than just being obstructionist as the Tea Party was.
Tea partiers won in my local county government, but they valued loyalty over experience and ended up being so incompetent that they were voted out in the next election. Democrats shouldn't make the same mistake.
I'm already planning to work for my Democratic senator's re-election, but I'm not sure pushing him from the left in my largely agricultural red state will do any good and may do harm. However, if Trump does something really stupid like starting a trade war that hurts wheat exports, Jon Tester will be re-elected anyway.
The suggested strategy will make a difference in blue states, but Democrats should be pushing a positive agenda of higher wages and income redistribution rather than just being obstructionist as the Tea Party was.
Tea partiers won in my local county government, but they valued loyalty over experience and ended up being so incompetent that they were voted out in the next election. Democrats shouldn't make the same mistake.
2
First of all, let's remember that the Tea Party was not the grassroots organization it pretended to be. It was a creation of the Koch Brothers, who bankrolled it from the start, and roped in those who were pre-aggrieved against Obama from day one to give it the veneer of a grassroots upswell.
That being said, I agree with the authors of this article. I am frankly revolted by the Democratic Party's unwillingness or inability to stand and fight for our principles. (Exception for Senators Warren and Sanders). The majority of the American people support Democratic policies. The majority of the American people voted for those policies in November, and were only thwarted by the outdated and vestigial Electoral College. Trump overwhelmingly lost the popular vote.
Yet, what do Congressional Democrats do? They "go along to get along" regardless of what the GOP kicks in their face. They waste time splitting hairs while the Republicans douse our government in gasoline and start looking for matches. They stand in the corner and wring their handkerchiefs, worrying about optics, while the majority of the American people want them to be bold and fight for what we cherish and for the progress we have made.
Note to Democrats- you can be decent, intelligent, and principled, and also fight like hell for what you believe in. It's past time you start doing so. It's also past time that we voters make our Congress members understand that we expect that passion and dedication.
That being said, I agree with the authors of this article. I am frankly revolted by the Democratic Party's unwillingness or inability to stand and fight for our principles. (Exception for Senators Warren and Sanders). The majority of the American people support Democratic policies. The majority of the American people voted for those policies in November, and were only thwarted by the outdated and vestigial Electoral College. Trump overwhelmingly lost the popular vote.
Yet, what do Congressional Democrats do? They "go along to get along" regardless of what the GOP kicks in their face. They waste time splitting hairs while the Republicans douse our government in gasoline and start looking for matches. They stand in the corner and wring their handkerchiefs, worrying about optics, while the majority of the American people want them to be bold and fight for what we cherish and for the progress we have made.
Note to Democrats- you can be decent, intelligent, and principled, and also fight like hell for what you believe in. It's past time you start doing so. It's also past time that we voters make our Congress members understand that we expect that passion and dedication.
8
These comments are a fascinating study in denial.
People from the right denying that there's racism and violence in the Tea Party agenda (a great example of tactical denial).
People from the left insisting on not making politics a "race to the bottom" (a great example of how to cling to a sinking ship).
What the GOP and the Tea Party know, and the Left must learn if it's to survive at all, is that politics is a street fight. If you observe Marquis of Queensberry rules in a street fight you lose. The mob follows no rules, and the mob wins.
HRC ran a deeply flawed and presumptive campaign, but Trump didn't beat her, the Left did. In-fighting, and self-righteous and self-destructive standards of purity from the Left sank HRC.
The Left need to figure out how to get over itself, fight fire with fire, and hang together. That's what this article is advocating, and it's good advice. But I doubt it can happen.
People from the right denying that there's racism and violence in the Tea Party agenda (a great example of tactical denial).
People from the left insisting on not making politics a "race to the bottom" (a great example of how to cling to a sinking ship).
What the GOP and the Tea Party know, and the Left must learn if it's to survive at all, is that politics is a street fight. If you observe Marquis of Queensberry rules in a street fight you lose. The mob follows no rules, and the mob wins.
HRC ran a deeply flawed and presumptive campaign, but Trump didn't beat her, the Left did. In-fighting, and self-righteous and self-destructive standards of purity from the Left sank HRC.
The Left need to figure out how to get over itself, fight fire with fire, and hang together. That's what this article is advocating, and it's good advice. But I doubt it can happen.
7
The Electoral College sank Hillary.
The systematic vaporization of millions of votes is all there is to the stinking fraud the US calls "democracy".
The systematic vaporization of millions of votes is all there is to the stinking fraud the US calls "democracy".
2
HRC sank HRC with her and her supporters' sense of entitlement ("It's her turn" and "It's time we had a woman president") and her lack of attention to the Rust Belt states, even when they begged for help.
Instead of trying to win back the working class voters, she deliberately chose to court the nearly extinct creatures known as "moderate Republicans."
I was a Bernie supporter, and like the vast majority of Bernie supporters, I was willing to go along with HRC, but I had a real sense of foreboding as the election approached, and I was right.
Instead of trying to win back the working class voters, she deliberately chose to court the nearly extinct creatures known as "moderate Republicans."
I was a Bernie supporter, and like the vast majority of Bernie supporters, I was willing to go along with HRC, but I had a real sense of foreboding as the election approached, and I was right.
I was a Bernie supporter also. And I voted for HRC in the general. I agree with everything you're saying.
But the turn out can't be ignored. In spite of her overwhelming popular margin, Dems failed to turn out in key places. Frequently - based on what I read in comments sections - on their own unwillingness to compromise.
But the turn out can't be ignored. In spite of her overwhelming popular margin, Dems failed to turn out in key places. Frequently - based on what I read in comments sections - on their own unwillingness to compromise.
Jane Mayer’s “Dark Money” describes many of these so called Tea Party, Grass Roots movements, contrived and funded by the Kochs and other right wing individuals and interest groups. Unlimited capital fueled these "astro-turf” protests, designed to smear candidates and influence elections, and it worked. It wasn't enough to pay lobbyists and buy politicians at the top, they had to manufacture a mandate from the little people to prove their legitimacy.
Faux democracy in action….
Faux democracy in action….
1
The Tea Party exploded onto the scene because they had financial and organizational backing from very wealthy sponsors, including the Koch brothers. They also had immediate national support and exposure thanks to FOX News and conservative talk radio. Republican politicians fortunately did not have any heavy lifting.
On the other hand, Democrats, including NY Democrats could have built on the Occupy Wall Street movement but gave it tepid support. Many organized groups have risen up to oppose Republican politicians (e.g., Walker's recall vote) but national Democrats couldn't really be bothered to support them. Unions have disappeared with nary a whimper from Congressional Democrats. There must be a book out there on all the opportunities Democratic politicians have had and lost to rally groups to oppose Republican oppression.
What happen to Dean's 50 state strategy?
It is easy to admonish the corrupt Republicans, but it is hard to defend Democrats who have been MIA in support of the middle class and most disadvantaged. It is the reason we had an historic anti-establishment election.
On the other hand, Democrats, including NY Democrats could have built on the Occupy Wall Street movement but gave it tepid support. Many organized groups have risen up to oppose Republican politicians (e.g., Walker's recall vote) but national Democrats couldn't really be bothered to support them. Unions have disappeared with nary a whimper from Congressional Democrats. There must be a book out there on all the opportunities Democratic politicians have had and lost to rally groups to oppose Republican oppression.
What happen to Dean's 50 state strategy?
It is easy to admonish the corrupt Republicans, but it is hard to defend Democrats who have been MIA in support of the middle class and most disadvantaged. It is the reason we had an historic anti-establishment election.
3
As a Bernie supporter I can tell the Democrats haven't learned much of anything, by the way I keep getting emails from Donna Brazile as acting DNC chair, when myself and probably a third of the people on their mailing list think Ms Brazile needs to be permanently removed from anything having to do with the DNC. As long as the DNC remains tone deaf on this kind of massive level, they'll continue to lose elections. I'm starting to wonder if the rich people who run the DNC really care if Democrats get elected, since Republicans are better for their tax rates anyway...........
1
The Tea Party is a white supremacist reaction to the fact that despite 57% and 59% of white people voting white Republican McCain/Palin in 2008 and Romney/Ryan in 2012 the imaginary Kenyan Luo Arab Muslim socialist usurper moved in with his dusky family to occupy "their" White House.
Hate, bigotry and fear called upon a revolutionary era when patriots were rebelling against an Anglo-German King at the head of the British Empire who felt free to tax and oppress them without the rights of citizenship and a democratic voice. The Tea Party harkens back to the rebels who led the Confederate States of America. The Stars and Bars and Dixie darken their path.
Instead of the American Revolution the eras of the Civil War, Reconstruction and Civil Rights offer a more effective model for a resurgent hopeful positive humble humane empathetic return of moral guidance and justice for a better America for more Americans. While the Democrats have won a popular vote majority in six out of seven of the last Presidential elections they lost the right to occupy the White House three times. Losing control of both houses of Congress along with a majority of state executive mansions and legislatures is a result of falling to turn out to vote in non-Presidential election years, gerrymandering and voter suppression.
Hate, bigotry and fear called upon a revolutionary era when patriots were rebelling against an Anglo-German King at the head of the British Empire who felt free to tax and oppress them without the rights of citizenship and a democratic voice. The Tea Party harkens back to the rebels who led the Confederate States of America. The Stars and Bars and Dixie darken their path.
Instead of the American Revolution the eras of the Civil War, Reconstruction and Civil Rights offer a more effective model for a resurgent hopeful positive humble humane empathetic return of moral guidance and justice for a better America for more Americans. While the Democrats have won a popular vote majority in six out of seven of the last Presidential elections they lost the right to occupy the White House three times. Losing control of both houses of Congress along with a majority of state executive mansions and legislatures is a result of falling to turn out to vote in non-Presidential election years, gerrymandering and voter suppression.
5
One difference, however, is that the astro-turf Tea Party was bankrolled by the Kochs. Who will bankroll this? Sure, we can do grassroots, but the Tea Party had Fox News, Rush and all of hate radio amplifying their message and helping to set their agenda. Our experience is that the media have been conditioned (or more to the point, told) to ignore any protests coming from the left. If it isn't reported, it didn't happen. Yes, the NYT rather grudgingly reported on Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, but they never beat the drum for them, amplifying the message. In fact, they also ridiculed them.
If we the people stand up, will it matter if it is never heard?
If we the people stand up, will it matter if it is never heard?
3
As a start attend the Million Woman March in Washington DC on January 21. My husband and I have already registered on-line. Yes, men will be there. In fact, men who care about the welfare of women - their wives, lovers, friends, daughters, mothers, sisters, grandmothers, co-workers, any female in their lives that they care about - are welcome to attend and show support.
3
I voted to HC. The D party will not do well going forward until we learn how 'regular' people live their lives, and see what is all over media and walk away with disgust. How bout, for starters, rather than turning your back to folks like the D senator from WV, or the new D governor of Louisiana, and yes, even the vanquished Senator D candidate from Louisiana, how they see things? How bout we listen a lot less to Pelosi and Schumer? And, in a strategic move, move the DNC HQ to Dallas or Wichita or somewhere in the middle. And, make sure, that we start with the regular folks that do not live in the home delivery areas of the NYT. Finally, stop thinking you must stop him. Won't happen unless you read the above and learn.
2
Even Padilla, Greenberg and Levin have swallowed the myth that in the early days of the Obama administration, the Democrats had a supermajority in the Senate.
Wrong. In January 2009, when the new Congress was sworn in, there were 57 Democratic Senators, plus Independents Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders who caucused with the Democrats. One seat was not filled, the one that had been held by Republican Norm Coleman of Minnesota. He lost narrowly to Al Franken, but Coleman refused to concede, demanded a recount, and otherwise did everything he could to prevent Franken from taking his seat and giving Democrats a supermajority. Franken was not sworn in until July.
Meanwhile, Ted Kennedy was dying and stopped coming to the Senate every day. He died in August and his seat was vacant until Republican Scott Brown won a special election to fill it. The only times Democrats had a supermajority were the rare occasions when they were able to persuade a Republican, usually Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, to vote with them.
Wrong. In January 2009, when the new Congress was sworn in, there were 57 Democratic Senators, plus Independents Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders who caucused with the Democrats. One seat was not filled, the one that had been held by Republican Norm Coleman of Minnesota. He lost narrowly to Al Franken, but Coleman refused to concede, demanded a recount, and otherwise did everything he could to prevent Franken from taking his seat and giving Democrats a supermajority. Franken was not sworn in until July.
Meanwhile, Ted Kennedy was dying and stopped coming to the Senate every day. He died in August and his seat was vacant until Republican Scott Brown won a special election to fill it. The only times Democrats had a supermajority were the rare occasions when they were able to persuade a Republican, usually Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, to vote with them.
6
Labeling the Tea Party as "grass roots" is as absurd as referring to Donald Trump as a "populist." As many others have accurately noted here, the Tea Party has been decades in the making, funded by the Koch Brothers, supported by odious groups such as the NRA and ALEC, and helped by a significant cohort of our population enamored of authoritarian, patriarchal policies, and easily swayed by fear, social wedge issues, xenophobia, racism and rage. Unfortunately, those are the same people who will be crushed by the party they have blindly supported for years, which has deliberately and cynically manipulated them. The left has historically lacked the discipline, the aggression, and the clear countervailing message of true populism, even though on most issues, the American public actually agrees with Democratic platforms. The hard right has also been abetted by the gutting of our national media by right wing plutocrats, chasing profits and ratings over all else. Unless the Democrats can take firm hold of the bully pulpit, and forge a playbook focusing on every single race in every single state, (Howard Dean's 50 state strategy, folks!), we will lose even more ground. The biggest lesson is that we must cede nothing and fight as if our very future, and that of our children and grandchildren, depends upon it - it does. 1/3/17, 9:47 AM
10
This strategy would be easier if I didn't live in a heavily gerrymandered Republican district where my opinion carries no weight (Wisconsin 5th District).
8
It's unfortunate that this wasn't published a few years ago so the folks at Occupy could have read it. If they had taken an approach like this they could have thwarted the Tea Party's successful attempt to take control of the government.
4
The idea of organizing locally certainly makes sense and would reinvigorate the ailing and disconnected Democratic Party, but I'm not sure the country needs - or can stand - more of the polarization and scorched earth kind of politics epitomized by the Tea Party and the current radical GOP congressional leadership.
Trump's victory did not arise primarily due to the Tea Party. Those people would have voted for any right-wing Republican nominee. They would have preferred Rubio or Cruz and, like many people but for different reasons, had to grit their teeth to support Trump.
A big part of Trump's appeal to Independents was his undisciplined ideological promiscuity. He promised to go beyond the dysfunctional polarization in Washington and, whatever else he was, he was clearly not a creature of the Koch brothers, who put their money into defeating Democrats running for Senate and House seats.
I don't think the Tea Party - and the demonization of whoever is president - is a good model for either beating Trump or regaining a functional democratic government that will deal with the real problems facing the great majority of Americans.
I'm not sure what the full answer is, but I'd rather look to the Bernie Sanders campaign as a more useful and constructive inspiration. In the long-game, winning isn't everything. You have to win in a way that supports your ideals and aspirations for the country, not just your party. That's one reason Democrats have been failing.
Trump's victory did not arise primarily due to the Tea Party. Those people would have voted for any right-wing Republican nominee. They would have preferred Rubio or Cruz and, like many people but for different reasons, had to grit their teeth to support Trump.
A big part of Trump's appeal to Independents was his undisciplined ideological promiscuity. He promised to go beyond the dysfunctional polarization in Washington and, whatever else he was, he was clearly not a creature of the Koch brothers, who put their money into defeating Democrats running for Senate and House seats.
I don't think the Tea Party - and the demonization of whoever is president - is a good model for either beating Trump or regaining a functional democratic government that will deal with the real problems facing the great majority of Americans.
I'm not sure what the full answer is, but I'd rather look to the Bernie Sanders campaign as a more useful and constructive inspiration. In the long-game, winning isn't everything. You have to win in a way that supports your ideals and aspirations for the country, not just your party. That's one reason Democrats have been failing.
3
These Congressional staff members have learned little, which is a surprise since they had front row seats. The fact that they accuse the TEA Partiers of "racism" (sound familiar?) confirms it.
The Tea Party solidified after the Obama Administration spent hundreds of millions of tax payers' dollars on wasted projects (a/k/a stimulus). Once American taxpayers got wind of how much money had been wasted on, for example, green companies that went bankrupt, they realized the Obama Administration and democrats couldn't be trusted with the purse strings.
After that came Obamacare, another debacle waiting to happen. Again, democrats wouldn't listen. (I'll bet these staffers believed Obama when he said we'd be able to keep our doctors.)
The TEA Party's success came not from its organizational prowess, but because people disagreed with how the government was being mismanaged. Democrats wondering why they've lost so many seats might start looking where the TEA Party began for some answers.
The Tea Party solidified after the Obama Administration spent hundreds of millions of tax payers' dollars on wasted projects (a/k/a stimulus). Once American taxpayers got wind of how much money had been wasted on, for example, green companies that went bankrupt, they realized the Obama Administration and democrats couldn't be trusted with the purse strings.
After that came Obamacare, another debacle waiting to happen. Again, democrats wouldn't listen. (I'll bet these staffers believed Obama when he said we'd be able to keep our doctors.)
The TEA Party's success came not from its organizational prowess, but because people disagreed with how the government was being mismanaged. Democrats wondering why they've lost so many seats might start looking where the TEA Party began for some answers.
2
I like the ideas expressed but this effort needs a simple, catchy, unifying name. The term "Tea Party" was effective for historical reasons. An equivalent name is needed. Maybe "We the People"?
This is an interesting piece with useful suggestions. However, it forgets that the Republicans also had several think tanks generating ideas and coordinating plans. And, raising money for various project. There was a loyalty to those who ran for office, helping them to find new jobs if they lost during the run. When one knows that one will not be without a decent job and health care for months if not years, one is more likely to consider running for office. This is more significant when the person is older, has a family including children for whom s/he is in part or fully responsible to raise. For some reason, at least in my experience, Republicans have been more supportive and loyal to their own than have Democrats. Speaking of loyal, Republicans seem to remember that to vote for the ticket even if they do not love the ticket holder. In Alabama in August, the local radio station blaring as I drove south had one person after another saying that he or she did not like the top of the ticket, but was voting for the whole ticket "from the bottom up." Democrats don't think the same way and, in fact, often spend more time fighting each other than ensuring that policies important to all are preserved. Perhaps this last reason is why so many radical changes will soon be made to cherished Democratic policies.
4
The challenge is open now. We all need to get together to keep the reforms started by our President during the past 8 years, and make certain that these priorities are made permanent.
The place to start is with the under the radar republican vote to end any effective ethics investigations. Trump MUST by held to the same interpretation of ethical government as previous Presidents were. He must divest himself of his outside business and investment ventures. These must be put into a blind trust with an independent trustee. Then he needs to get his relatives out of the White House (including his daughter from the First Lady's office). In their place he should have seasoned people with government experience.
Finally, we must bring the republicans to task for their attempt to subvert government ethics laws as applied to recent prior administrations. We must demonstrate to republicans that "what goes around, comes around" or "what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, too".
The place to start is with the under the radar republican vote to end any effective ethics investigations. Trump MUST by held to the same interpretation of ethical government as previous Presidents were. He must divest himself of his outside business and investment ventures. These must be put into a blind trust with an independent trustee. Then he needs to get his relatives out of the White House (including his daughter from the First Lady's office). In their place he should have seasoned people with government experience.
Finally, we must bring the republicans to task for their attempt to subvert government ethics laws as applied to recent prior administrations. We must demonstrate to republicans that "what goes around, comes around" or "what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, too".
6
Engaging face to face at a local level will heal our democracy. The sooner we move away from click activism the sooner we move towards positive outcomes. The messy work of discussion, disagreement and compromise builds bridges and links disparate communities.
Then we report out online and use the Internet as a tool to galvanize action.
Updating a Simpsons quote:
To the Internet, "the solution and cause of all of life's problems."
Then we report out online and use the Internet as a tool to galvanize action.
Updating a Simpsons quote:
To the Internet, "the solution and cause of all of life's problems."
2
Donald Trump won because my daughter's family health insurance premiums tripled while Democrats assuaged her with "a rising tide lifts all boats", because the white working class didn't just fall off a turnip wagon and buy into the TPP, because the bohemian bougeosie says Its okay for a grown man to follow my granddaughter into a public restroom just in case he could have sexual identity issues, because Obama sat on his hands wavering while the Russians took the wheel in Europe and the M.E., ad nauseum, ad infinitum.
6
Uh, sure. Trump won because approx. 100,000 people in 4 swings states are just as mis-informed as you are.
I'm glad your daughter actually had insurance to complain about. What would she have had without the ACA? A whole lot of nothing, pretty much by definition.
Try to be thankful.
I'm glad your daughter actually had insurance to complain about. What would she have had without the ACA? A whole lot of nothing, pretty much by definition.
Try to be thankful.
1
Things are going to get a lot worse in a short period of time. Already the new congress is eliminating an independent ethics committee. So the wolves will be guarding the hen house from now on without any oversight or accountability except to their own congressional auspices.
He also won because of an extraordinary campaign of lies promulgated to discredit the Democratic nominee, and because of an electoral college designed by the founding fathers to prioritize land over people when it comes to voting. Without the latter, your complaints would just be the grumblings of a disgruntled minority of voters. (They still are.)
It seems some readers are missing the gist of this article which is, organize at your local government level. Write, call engage in peaceful protest to get ypour message across to your representatives. Don't just sit on your couch being depressed and/or cynical, engage. Know your issues and stand up for them, reach out, organize and VOTE. Do not be complacent. If you do not engage with your democracy you become part of the problem, not part of the solution.
15
Why do you think the Tea Party got started in the first place? It was because Obama and his staffers, like the authors of this article, had no idea about what they were doing in Washington.
Democrats lost their majority congressional party status because Democrats were willfully ignorant that passing Obamacare and an underfunded stimulus package with all Democratic Party votes would hand the Republicans a Golden Opportunity to beat them over the head in the 2010 elections.
I don't say this as someone not familiar with legislative politics. I've been a Democratic Party activist for 35 years and a former Illinois State Legislator.
Either pass controversial bi-partisan legislation with a bi-partisan roll call or pass your party’s legislation with with a partisan roll call. Passing a Republican inspired health plan and an underfunded stimulus plan with all Democratic votes allowed Republicans to attack Obama and Democrats without rank and file democrats motivated to respond. That’s why the Tea Party had traction. Democrats did it to themselves.
Democrats lost their majority congressional party status because Democrats were willfully ignorant that passing Obamacare and an underfunded stimulus package with all Democratic Party votes would hand the Republicans a Golden Opportunity to beat them over the head in the 2010 elections.
I don't say this as someone not familiar with legislative politics. I've been a Democratic Party activist for 35 years and a former Illinois State Legislator.
Either pass controversial bi-partisan legislation with a bi-partisan roll call or pass your party’s legislation with with a partisan roll call. Passing a Republican inspired health plan and an underfunded stimulus plan with all Democratic votes allowed Republicans to attack Obama and Democrats without rank and file democrats motivated to respond. That’s why the Tea Party had traction. Democrats did it to themselves.
1
If Democrats follow this plan will the IRS investigate these groups? Will the IRS deny tax exemptions and demand membership lists? That was the practice of the Obama administration and it only fueled American's anger!
1
There are two populations of people in the US today. There are those who want to be self reliant and those who do not.. Those who want to be self reliant see as an inalienable right the right to PURSUE happiness. Those who do not skip over "PURSUE" and believe that they have a right to happiness provided by someone else. Most of these people organize or join groups that work to get happiness by TAKING what they want from others Most of these people rely on the government to bring them happiness.
We, as a nation, are about to leap from a government of the latter group to the former. The losers are desperate because they cannot see where their happiness is going to come from for a while and some of what they have been given is going to be taken away. Desperate people do desperate things. We've already seen how Hillary supporters reacted to Trump's win. Since they only know how to be happy by getting stuff from others things are likely to get more ugly as time goes by.
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." Isaac Asimov
We, as a nation, are about to leap from a government of the latter group to the former. The losers are desperate because they cannot see where their happiness is going to come from for a while and some of what they have been given is going to be taken away. Desperate people do desperate things. We've already seen how Hillary supporters reacted to Trump's win. Since they only know how to be happy by getting stuff from others things are likely to get more ugly as time goes by.
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." Isaac Asimov
1
I will be one of those groups of people who will be haunting my congressional representative and my 2 senators (although one is a D). I run my own business and work hard to make ends meet as it is tough to make it on your own. I have received no assistance from the government but my mental health patients with serious medical including mental illness issues HAVE to rely on government. They are impoverished but at least their basic needs are being met and I thank God for government services on their behalf. Since I have been paying into these programs since I was 14 years of age including serving 3 years in the armed services, I am grateful that I will have Social Security and Medicare in a few years. You categorizing people into the us/them paradigm is tremendously over simplistic like a 4 year old.
Colorado Lilly you are correct and thank you for pointing it out. I ignored those who through no fault of their own cannot pursue happiness due to mental and/or physical challenges. Please accept my apologies. They constitute a small, but nevertheless important part of our American family and I am deeply sorry for having ignored their needs.
Notwithstanding the foregoing I submit that those needs are best met at the state level and, had we not given the federal government the power of the purse with the 16th Amendment. state legislators would have the means to deal with the matter and "the people" would have a more powerful voice to see to it that they did.
Notwithstanding the foregoing I submit that those needs are best met at the state level and, had we not given the federal government the power of the purse with the 16th Amendment. state legislators would have the means to deal with the matter and "the people" would have a more powerful voice to see to it that they did.
Great idea, but needs GUERRILLA MARKETING techniques.
=============================================
Needs unconventional means and low budgets. That is how Trump won, while Hillary refused to try Guerrilla Marketing methods. It takes creativity and not just direct confrontation and boring arguments.
For example, what about music and comedy? Alec Baldwin imitates Trump and people come to understand how stupid and dishonesty he really is.
What about the use of music such as Pete Seeger's "If I had a hammer"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00KfzlGbzK4 (Hammer Song, 3min)
From a War on TERROR with Bush, perhaps we need a War on ERROR, now!
==========================================================
=============================================
Needs unconventional means and low budgets. That is how Trump won, while Hillary refused to try Guerrilla Marketing methods. It takes creativity and not just direct confrontation and boring arguments.
For example, what about music and comedy? Alec Baldwin imitates Trump and people come to understand how stupid and dishonesty he really is.
What about the use of music such as Pete Seeger's "If I had a hammer"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00KfzlGbzK4 (Hammer Song, 3min)
From a War on TERROR with Bush, perhaps we need a War on ERROR, now!
==========================================================
6
GUERRILLA MARKETING should, I believe, be immediate and in your face. We must learn from the Tea Party and Donald Trump, or we will keep losing and losing what country is left.
The word ALOOF and FOOL contain the same letters. We cannot afford to be ALOOF, any longer...
The word ALOOF and FOOL contain the same letters. We cannot afford to be ALOOF, any longer...
1
The idea of organizing at the grass-roots level, of holding our representatives in Congress accountable, is great as far as it goes. The problem is that the big thing that happened in 2010 was the Census and the resulting redrawing of congressional districts. I can go scream at my new Congressman, but since he and I probably agree on almost everything, why would I do that? The (R) members of Congress are all safe in their blood-red districts, and thus the (R) party has eliminated the mechanism for political change in America, at least until 2020 and probably for the rest of my lifetime (I'm 64). The (R)s have successfully locked the door and thrown away the key, and it is lost and gone forever. It will take a long time to craft a new key.
3
I believe that 2020 will change things for the better. Trump happening, no one believed that. The Dem's roaring back in the 20's; I can see that happening.
It's time to get back to community action. Too much play with our electronic toys will make us soft-headed (no physical exercise) and separate us from our fellow Americans. It is we, the people, who have to go out and get a better country back from the oligarchs who would destroy us and our children and grandchildren if we do not join together to restore our democracy that corporate America has so divided.
Abraham Lincoln: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Abraham Lincoln: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
4
"Who you talkin' to, Willis?"
Democrats are stuck in this giant empty tent and can't find their way out. As it got so large, core principles were harder and harder to see way back from the bleachers.
This is the key: Principle fades as the tent grows. I am good with that because I accept change. Most Americans cannot accept anywhere near that amount of change. That is the divide - how much change are you culturally wiling to accept? The Progressives are on one side and Conservatives on the other.
Democrats are stuck in this giant empty tent and can't find their way out. As it got so large, core principles were harder and harder to see way back from the bleachers.
This is the key: Principle fades as the tent grows. I am good with that because I accept change. Most Americans cannot accept anywhere near that amount of change. That is the divide - how much change are you culturally wiling to accept? The Progressives are on one side and Conservatives on the other.
2
First. the teahadists had plenty of funding courtesy of the Koch brothers. Where do you propose the Dems get their money?
Second, obstruction works, and is absolutely vital. The public blamed Obama and the Dems for the teahadist obstruction. If you listen to Obama's recent podcast with David Axelrod, Obama succinctly explains how McConnell used precisely that tactic to great effect. Just as compromising with Obama would have been viewed as buying into his programs and helped Obama and the Dems at the polls, so too will compromising with Trump be seen as buying into Trump's program. That would be political suicide.
Just as the public will credit Trump and the Republicans for any successes, they will blame them for any failures. Thus, we must obstruct Trump on everything and anything, and then blame him and the Republicans for it. That is how you drive down their public approval ratings and position yourself as the agents of change.
The Dems must banish any thoughts of compromise or accommodation. In today's political environment, they are narcotics that dull our political senses and would lead to political suicide.
Second, obstruction works, and is absolutely vital. The public blamed Obama and the Dems for the teahadist obstruction. If you listen to Obama's recent podcast with David Axelrod, Obama succinctly explains how McConnell used precisely that tactic to great effect. Just as compromising with Obama would have been viewed as buying into his programs and helped Obama and the Dems at the polls, so too will compromising with Trump be seen as buying into Trump's program. That would be political suicide.
Just as the public will credit Trump and the Republicans for any successes, they will blame them for any failures. Thus, we must obstruct Trump on everything and anything, and then blame him and the Republicans for it. That is how you drive down their public approval ratings and position yourself as the agents of change.
The Dems must banish any thoughts of compromise or accommodation. In today's political environment, they are narcotics that dull our political senses and would lead to political suicide.
8
The enthusiasm, the activism, the energy - that is all in the Bernie camp. And we are already taking a page from the Tea party playbook - and that is to say that we will challenge any Democrat who is not a progressive. Because as Bernie said all along - the best way to fight Trump's faux-populism is with REAL progressive populism. So yes, we will be like the Tea party, and we will challenge corporate establishment Democrats and demand that they listen to the people and not just their donors. Because in more and more instances, thee will be a Berniecrat in the wings ready to primary.
88
Oh Good!! So those of you who gave this election to Trump will now divide us even further. Sounds like fun! Lots of new friends, plenty of parties. Very exciting. VERY self righteous. And go to bed at night with thoughts of Revolution! The one thing the Republicans had was when push came to shove, they had their eyes on the prize, even if it was a total lie. They weren't stupid enough to claim "principle" when what was really being done was holding your breath and stamping your feet like the silly children who, denied their god, gave this to Trump. And the Supreme Court for a generation.
Have fun children. Thank god I have my pension and 401K, and can ride out the chaos you will have so much fun providing until you grow up. While the Republicans play you like a fiddle.
Have fun children. Thank god I have my pension and 401K, and can ride out the chaos you will have so much fun providing until you grow up. While the Republicans play you like a fiddle.
Bernie people need to move to red states and swing states and not be looking down noses from blue coasts--or beyond.
So are you coming back to LIVE/WORK on the ground, running for local office--or just flying around making comments?
Signed,
World Traveler, left/right coaster, on ground here in Pike County, Ohio
So are you coming back to LIVE/WORK on the ground, running for local office--or just flying around making comments?
Signed,
World Traveler, left/right coaster, on ground here in Pike County, Ohio
@EuroYankee in Barcelona... you champion Bernie as The Savior, and "Berniecrats" as golden children who can do no wrong.
This type of thinking fractures our common democratic principles (and the party). Believing that terms like "progressive" are better than "liberal" is creating a problem. Please stop believing that Bernie is a God. He is a man who could not have defeated Trump (had he been the opposing candidate). Bernie had zero support in the rust-belt and the south. And if Trump had run against another man... he would have been brutal (attacking him as weak, old, his wife, his religion, as an "egghead", as an extremist left-wing nut, etc.). The election is over, and Bernie is no longer in the vying. He is a good solid Senator from Vermont, with many good ideas (and also bad ones), and he's trying to find allies in Congress to fight Trump.
If we divide ourselves, we cannot stop Trump and his republican cronies. Progressives/liberals must work together - we are on the same side - and we must go back to our core beliefs: to lift the downtrodden/poor/ill, strengthen our freedoms that will be attacked, resist money in politics, stop corporations from becoming stronger than our government.
Please don't attack your fellow democrats -- just to get attention as a "separate force like Tea Partiers". This struggle is bigger... it's a struggle for what America will become -- either a free nation full of strong caring thinkers, or a nation run by corporations.
This type of thinking fractures our common democratic principles (and the party). Believing that terms like "progressive" are better than "liberal" is creating a problem. Please stop believing that Bernie is a God. He is a man who could not have defeated Trump (had he been the opposing candidate). Bernie had zero support in the rust-belt and the south. And if Trump had run against another man... he would have been brutal (attacking him as weak, old, his wife, his religion, as an "egghead", as an extremist left-wing nut, etc.). The election is over, and Bernie is no longer in the vying. He is a good solid Senator from Vermont, with many good ideas (and also bad ones), and he's trying to find allies in Congress to fight Trump.
If we divide ourselves, we cannot stop Trump and his republican cronies. Progressives/liberals must work together - we are on the same side - and we must go back to our core beliefs: to lift the downtrodden/poor/ill, strengthen our freedoms that will be attacked, resist money in politics, stop corporations from becoming stronger than our government.
Please don't attack your fellow democrats -- just to get attention as a "separate force like Tea Partiers". This struggle is bigger... it's a struggle for what America will become -- either a free nation full of strong caring thinkers, or a nation run by corporations.
1
I read the proposal by Ezra Levin, Leah Greenberg and Angel Padilla a couple of weeks ago in another publication. Their blueprint for the Democrats to reemerge as a vibrant, effective party is excellent. One of the reasons Democrats have lost ground in local elections is because many do not get involved in the political process except to vote. The ideas and actions identified by Ezra Levin, Leah Greenberg and Angel Padilla provide workable, effective strategies for winning by organizing, not just around elections, but between elections as well. We've taken similar actions in ours and the surrounding communities which have resulted in turning a long held Republican controlled district containing into a Democratic district. Their ideas work.
5
This is straight out of Bernie Sanders' playbook, and a reminder that our Constitution begins "WE, the people..." First of all, we need to get MORE of the people involved with government and recognizing how what goes on in Washington and out States affects us all. Most times when Imention anything about government news in conversation with my kids, I see their eyes glaze over...and they were brought up in a home where we worked for John Kerry's early elections, went to rallies, were chosen to be delegates and voted EVERY election. Secondly, we need to bring civics/government education back into the schools...and introduce the concepts beginning with early childhood. Third, I think the babies of US citizens should become citizens at birth, just as they are pretty much required to immediately have Social Security numbers. Voting, starting at 18, should be mandatory just as young men still need to sign up for future military service (possibly encouraged by being given a tax credit).
Sometimes it is very difficult to build the fires of patriotism under people to spur them to action. This bears out, as we still have a very low voter turnout. Awareness of the consequences needs to be voiced more often, and though we sometimes have rather complicated processes, we really do need to start at the grassroots. And we need to also divert our country away from the runaway capitalism that has spawned the greed that lust for power that now poisons our hallowed Republic.
Sometimes it is very difficult to build the fires of patriotism under people to spur them to action. This bears out, as we still have a very low voter turnout. Awareness of the consequences needs to be voiced more often, and though we sometimes have rather complicated processes, we really do need to start at the grassroots. And we need to also divert our country away from the runaway capitalism that has spawned the greed that lust for power that now poisons our hallowed Republic.
3
It's actually quite simple. To stop Trump just predict his every bone-head move before he makes it.
We can start with a total reverse on China policy , as specced by Putin.
Up next, North Korea...you're turn, after all,
You're the Puppet!
We can start with a total reverse on China policy , as specced by Putin.
Up next, North Korea...you're turn, after all,
You're the Puppet!
2
Stratagem a la Gruber.
"The Tea Party’s ideas were wrong, and their often racist rhetoric and physical threats were unacceptable"
Once again, the NY. Times sees the world through myopic racist eyes.
It is impossible for the Democrats to copy the Tea Party play book. The Democrat Party must find its own unique voice.
Hillary had one plan, “Label Donald Trump, a “Racist/Sexist”, this failed.
Women voted more for Trump than Hillary, even college educated women voted for Trump heavily.
Racist? African Americans voted heavily for Trump, he won almost 10% of the Black Vote. Despite, Trump falsely being labeled a KKK sympathizer.
Why? Pastor Mark Burns, a Black minister, mobilized millions of African Americans for Trump. African Americans didn’t buy the Trump racist, propaganda.
Trump did great with Latinos, particularly with Cubans.
The Alt-right and White Supremacists have disappeared. It is clear Trump, was never a part of that group.
The Media and Hillary slandered Trump and the Tea Party with a racist label and blew it.
https://donaldtrumptwitternews.blogspot.com/2016/12/how-religious-blacks...
Once again, the NY. Times sees the world through myopic racist eyes.
It is impossible for the Democrats to copy the Tea Party play book. The Democrat Party must find its own unique voice.
Hillary had one plan, “Label Donald Trump, a “Racist/Sexist”, this failed.
Women voted more for Trump than Hillary, even college educated women voted for Trump heavily.
Racist? African Americans voted heavily for Trump, he won almost 10% of the Black Vote. Despite, Trump falsely being labeled a KKK sympathizer.
Why? Pastor Mark Burns, a Black minister, mobilized millions of African Americans for Trump. African Americans didn’t buy the Trump racist, propaganda.
Trump did great with Latinos, particularly with Cubans.
The Alt-right and White Supremacists have disappeared. It is clear Trump, was never a part of that group.
The Media and Hillary slandered Trump and the Tea Party with a racist label and blew it.
https://donaldtrumptwitternews.blogspot.com/2016/12/how-religious-blacks...
5
Tea Party Republicans : Gun owners, hunters, diesel pick up truck drivers, blue collar workers, racists, believers of fake news, occupies Federal grounds with assault weapons...
"Tea Party" Democrats : Retired Librarians, Prarie Home Companion listeners, Prius drivers, LGBT community, reads the NY TIMES, occupies Wall Street like a hippie commune...
There is a fundamental difference that can not be emulated. The Tea Party was made up of a mob of angry, ignorant people... People who hated a black President. The Tea Party showed up at rallies with assault weapons! These same people are now "alt-right." There is absolutely no comparison with any group on the left. Completely different personalities, characteristics, and tactics.
The left does not have that visceral hate that was on display with the Tea Party.
A Congressman stood up in a joint session and called the President a liar! The Tea Party caused Congresswoman Gifford to get shot in the head! The Tea Party closed the Government! The left can't stoop as low as the Tea Party, even if it tried.
"Tea Party" Democrats : Retired Librarians, Prarie Home Companion listeners, Prius drivers, LGBT community, reads the NY TIMES, occupies Wall Street like a hippie commune...
There is a fundamental difference that can not be emulated. The Tea Party was made up of a mob of angry, ignorant people... People who hated a black President. The Tea Party showed up at rallies with assault weapons! These same people are now "alt-right." There is absolutely no comparison with any group on the left. Completely different personalities, characteristics, and tactics.
The left does not have that visceral hate that was on display with the Tea Party.
A Congressman stood up in a joint session and called the President a liar! The Tea Party caused Congresswoman Gifford to get shot in the head! The Tea Party closed the Government! The left can't stoop as low as the Tea Party, even if it tried.
10
You took the words right out of my mouth, except for the oneI wanted to say most loudly: GENDER. The Tea Party plays up a brutalized version of masculinity that works by inciting fear of violence. The Democrats welcome women and people of color for whom firearm possession is itself mostly a hazardous excuse for Tea Partiers to get the itch to shoot them. Without the phallic appliances of the macho threateners, I'm not convinced the other strategies named in this article can have anything close to the same effect. For one thing, will the media even bother to report the protests if no assault weapons are present?
I'm hoping you think that is a good thing?
Good point but I don't think we need to stoop low. We just need to fight ruthlessly in the knowledge that we love our country far more than any Conservative who is willing to trample our Constitution. After all, there is a clear right side and wrong side here. The right side values American values of common respect, tolerance, diversity and graciousness. And tolerance does NOT mean being tolerant of wrong-headed ideas.
One point this article does not cover is that voting rights (minorities, women, young people, etc.) will be the next to be obliterated. If that happens, none of this will work because they will not need our votes.
One point this article does not cover is that voting rights (minorities, women, young people, etc.) will be the next to be obliterated. If that happens, none of this will work because they will not need our votes.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs offers a very simple explanation for what went wrong for the Democrats. Democratic leadership, all very wealthy people, were focused on "Self Actualization" and "Esteem" issues while the "average" American was worried about "Safety" and "Physiological needs (which are the physical requirements for human survival)". Trump created the impression that he was the best choice to address those "Safety" and "Physiological" needs. Game over. Electoral College won.
The Democrats need a re-boot. They need leaders that "average" Americans can relate to. They need to prove to "average" Americans that they are the party best able to meet their "Safety" and "Physiological" needs.
The Democrats also have to hope that Trump fails miserably because "perception is reality". Trump created a new reality because there was such a massive disconnect between the Democratic leadership and the "average" American. Will there be a massive disconnect to be exploited by the Democrats during the next election? Time will tell.
The Democrats need a re-boot. They need leaders that "average" Americans can relate to. They need to prove to "average" Americans that they are the party best able to meet their "Safety" and "Physiological" needs.
The Democrats also have to hope that Trump fails miserably because "perception is reality". Trump created a new reality because there was such a massive disconnect between the Democratic leadership and the "average" American. Will there be a massive disconnect to be exploited by the Democrats during the next election? Time will tell.
7
Democrats better learn from the tea party!
For those of us progressives on the sidelines, we must start taking "Notes", so that we can vote those Democrats who continue to "fail" and not support the battle, out of office!
It's time for "War" and those Democrats who do not join in the battle, should be dismissed!
For those of us progressives on the sidelines, we must start taking "Notes", so that we can vote those Democrats who continue to "fail" and not support the battle, out of office!
It's time for "War" and those Democrats who do not join in the battle, should be dismissed!
6
Vision--Build that "enemies list," and get the guillotine ready.
This article is wise and is the best strategy for mitigating the enormous damage about to be inflicted on the majority by a snaky and savvy bunch of fear monger.
6
We now have " Coffee Parties" to disagree with the fools of DC and we outnumber them all !! Maybe a few of these nuts of DC would like to visit us some morning and expose themselves to some ethical thinking that does value the word " compromise ". Of course these fools are religious as well as political fundamentalists who have a papal idea that they are always right. The heart of politics is " compromise " and they in their ignorance have rejected the word as well as the idea. God deliver us from such idiots !!
1
As a lifelong Democrat and combat veteran (Vietnam 1969-70) I'm in. However, the difference between we liberals and many conservatives is that we do not embrace ideology. Many Trump supporters, as we've seen, are evangelical and their life is based on ideology. I'm not denigrating religion here, but often religious individuals can easily embrace an ideological agenda that is based on lies, because faith can be a powerful motivator. This we saw during the election.
Democrats, most often, are not ideological and are more interested in the "truth" based on empirical evidence rather than ideological opinion. The latter is a strong psychological driver that we mainly do not have. We must use our need to be fair and equal as our driver. The Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress want to create an America with few rights for anyone but the rich. As reported today in NYT, they have just formulated a bill that will eliminate ethics investigations as they create their un-American country. That is what we fight: to provide liberty and justice for all. Make that our ideology, one based on care for others, not just ourselves.
Democrats, most often, are not ideological and are more interested in the "truth" based on empirical evidence rather than ideological opinion. The latter is a strong psychological driver that we mainly do not have. We must use our need to be fair and equal as our driver. The Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress want to create an America with few rights for anyone but the rich. As reported today in NYT, they have just formulated a bill that will eliminate ethics investigations as they create their un-American country. That is what we fight: to provide liberty and justice for all. Make that our ideology, one based on care for others, not just ourselves.
129
I am your age. Been there done it. All to no avail. I'm gone. There are better places to live.
I would if I could, but since I rely on Social Security and Medicare, I'm stuck. We visited Sweden in 2015. Wish it could be there, but alas... Most of us are stuck here, so we fight.
You can't legislate compassion! Any governmental system or economic program that does not embrace the indisputable FACT that human beings are selfish, prideful and ego driven creatures, will fail, Hence, progressive policies that are at odds with inherent human nature, despite how nice they sound, will never succeed in a society as diverse as ours.
The Tea Party was never spontaneous. It was funded by the Koch Brothers and in the early days Dick Armey help coordinate its rise. The Media never got this and wanted the faux grass roots movement seem genuine.
7
What a joke, you don't even know what you are resisting yet. Your hysterical mind has caused you to lose your rational one. The Tea Party was formed because the regular folks had had enough of Mr. Obamas overreach and finally did something about it. Give Mr. Trump a chance, if he overreaches then do the same. Something tells me it will be a lot harder for you to motivate your side, they like bumper stickers and slogans, not hard work.
24
@JP in Portland... you say "Give Mr. Trump a chance, if he overreaches then do [something about it]."
Clearly you haven't been watching Mr. Trump or the people he surrounds himself with. He's ALREADY overreached... while he's not even an office-holder yet.
If people like you keep your eyes shut, please don't claim you see what's happening. Trump is not a republican. He is not a democrat. For years he's claimed that he is both. He sways left or right, reaching for every opportunity. Please open your eyes, quickly!
Trump is an opportunist. He will do things only to help himself -- damn our country (in his view). Case-in-point: he consistently sides with Russia. Why? Because he loves money more than America. Because after he leaves office, Russia will be Trump's goldmine. Trump will sell-out America today, knowing that "tomorrow" Putin and his oligarchs will reward him. That is un-American. And criminal for president Trump to do.
Clearly you haven't been watching Mr. Trump or the people he surrounds himself with. He's ALREADY overreached... while he's not even an office-holder yet.
If people like you keep your eyes shut, please don't claim you see what's happening. Trump is not a republican. He is not a democrat. For years he's claimed that he is both. He sways left or right, reaching for every opportunity. Please open your eyes, quickly!
Trump is an opportunist. He will do things only to help himself -- damn our country (in his view). Case-in-point: he consistently sides with Russia. Why? Because he loves money more than America. Because after he leaves office, Russia will be Trump's goldmine. Trump will sell-out America today, knowing that "tomorrow" Putin and his oligarchs will reward him. That is un-American. And criminal for president Trump to do.
2
Trump's cabinet picks are going to be a disaster for the country. He deserves no further chance. No. Obama was opposed from the beginning too.
1
"The Tea Party was formed because the regular folks had had enough of Mr. Obamas overreach and finally did something about it". Obama had been in office for less than a month when the Tea Party movement showed up at the White House gates calling him a Kenyan muslim terrorist sympathizer, who was going to suspend the constitution and name himself President for life. You can rewrite history, but you can not change it. It was not over reach that prompted the Tea Party to mobilize. in regards to Trump, he has made clear what his priorities are. Sitting on the sidelines and just waiting for hm to push through his agenda is pretty much was people in Russia did after Putin was elected President in 1999.
2
Brilliant! Thank you for printing this today, the timing couldn't be better. Many people want to take action but don't know exactly what to do or how to do it. The authors of IndivisibleGuide are right-on.
To the Writers,
I am an "Unaffiliated", formerly "independent", voter for a reason and your column has done nothing but tell me that if we want our country back, we've got to go "rough up" local legislators, much as the "Tea Party" did, and, in short, behave like the now ethics-less GOP.
You folks had a chance and his name was Bernie Sanders.
Instead of uncompromising steadfast embracing of liberal ideals, you gave us a candidate awash with money from the banking industry who's main claim for the office was "business as usual".
Well, folks, that store went bankrupt this last November and perhaps it's time for something new to take on this right wing monstrosity.
It seems to me that if the country sticks with the Democrats, it can expect MORE Republicans in office in 2018. Unfortunately, the "system" is broken and the GOP was the first to see this, finance the news, exploit it and take control.
You guys are just somewhat late and very lame in your excuses and suggestions. Face it, if you couldn't win with a 3 million vote majority in 2016, how can I expect you to win anything in 2018?
I am an "Unaffiliated", formerly "independent", voter for a reason and your column has done nothing but tell me that if we want our country back, we've got to go "rough up" local legislators, much as the "Tea Party" did, and, in short, behave like the now ethics-less GOP.
You folks had a chance and his name was Bernie Sanders.
Instead of uncompromising steadfast embracing of liberal ideals, you gave us a candidate awash with money from the banking industry who's main claim for the office was "business as usual".
Well, folks, that store went bankrupt this last November and perhaps it's time for something new to take on this right wing monstrosity.
It seems to me that if the country sticks with the Democrats, it can expect MORE Republicans in office in 2018. Unfortunately, the "system" is broken and the GOP was the first to see this, finance the news, exploit it and take control.
You guys are just somewhat late and very lame in your excuses and suggestions. Face it, if you couldn't win with a 3 million vote majority in 2016, how can I expect you to win anything in 2018?
2
This is a bit confusing -- you write:
"It’s the Tea Party inverted: locally driven advocacy built on inclusion, fairness and respect."
That is nice, but at the same time you label the president elect a "would-be dictator" and tea partiers as racist and vicious. Maybe the writers need to start by NOT labeling people, which is the furthest thing from being inclusive and respectful. Petty nasty.
"It’s the Tea Party inverted: locally driven advocacy built on inclusion, fairness and respect."
That is nice, but at the same time you label the president elect a "would-be dictator" and tea partiers as racist and vicious. Maybe the writers need to start by NOT labeling people, which is the furthest thing from being inclusive and respectful. Petty nasty.
5
Do as the Tea Party? In doing so, do not be afraid to provoke even deeper divisions in the country? Beware.
2
Progressives are organizing "21st Century Democrats," and "Democracy Now!" I HOPE these groups will become the Democratic Tea Party, using the same tactics, only without the lies, but plenty of innuendo. Heck, just using the dug-deep facts of the matter will scare the pants off of anyone, except the perpetrators, themselves, and the dipsticks who vote for them.
1
You left some things out.
- Don't forget the role that Fox News played as Ministry of Propaganda, disseminating and amplifying the Tea Party protests. Who will do that for the left? CNN? MSNBC? Who will watch and why?
- Scare old white people. Focus on them to start (Social Security and Medicare are great pressure points), and hope the contagion spreads to the young and ignorant.
- Lie when useful.
Not ready to do that? Concerned that it will backfire?
How about we make it as easy for poor and brown people to vote as it is for wealthier and whiter people. When people in urban neighborhoods wait on line for 9 hours to vote, while folks in the suburbs can zip in and out in 10 minutes, is it any wonder Democratic turnout suffers, especially in midterms? Could we please get a civil rights/equal protection lawsuit out of that? Maybe President Obama and Eric Holder could take a look at that...
- Don't forget the role that Fox News played as Ministry of Propaganda, disseminating and amplifying the Tea Party protests. Who will do that for the left? CNN? MSNBC? Who will watch and why?
- Scare old white people. Focus on them to start (Social Security and Medicare are great pressure points), and hope the contagion spreads to the young and ignorant.
- Lie when useful.
Not ready to do that? Concerned that it will backfire?
How about we make it as easy for poor and brown people to vote as it is for wealthier and whiter people. When people in urban neighborhoods wait on line for 9 hours to vote, while folks in the suburbs can zip in and out in 10 minutes, is it any wonder Democratic turnout suffers, especially in midterms? Could we please get a civil rights/equal protection lawsuit out of that? Maybe President Obama and Eric Holder could take a look at that...
3
Bravo! Standing ovation!!!!
And I do hope somebody on Schumer's staff forces that mushball to read this piece. If he chooses to be a wet noodle, there's a primary and we can replace him with someone with the guts to stand up for our principles.
And I do hope somebody on Schumer's staff forces that mushball to read this piece. If he chooses to be a wet noodle, there's a primary and we can replace him with someone with the guts to stand up for our principles.
4
this will never happen. Democrats won't do what needs to be done. Because small l liberals cannot win against anti-democratic tyrants. Fear and anger trump hope and love every time.
Thanks to the authors for this article. This is exactly why I subscribe to the NYT.
As Wood Allen famously said, "Eighty percent of life is showing up." I'm starting a group today. I hope you will too.
As Wood Allen famously said, "Eighty percent of life is showing up." I'm starting a group today. I hope you will too.
Honestly, the New York Times editorial board has either completely untethered itself from reality or the economics of selling newspapers dictate shallow drivel . Until as recently as 12 months ago, the Times was my true north. Smart, reasoned, opinionated, but always thoughtful and well researched. Then Trump happened and - perhaps finding yourselves on the wrong side of the prognosis - you began grasping at random ideas like a drowning victim. The obstructionist Tea Party as our model? Have you lost your mind? Is there no one home in Manhattan? Bring the good ideas back please.
@ Steve. You obviously confuse the New York Times Editorial board and the opinion pages of this paper.
I hope you are right about being able to take a page out of the Tea Party playbook. But I am not so sure you are right about how likely it is that Trump will be a weak president. He will be even better than the Tea Party at hijacking "the national narrative and creat[ing] the impression of broad discontent with President Obama's [policies]." He has done it already. As for "his slim Congressional majority and a slew of brewing scandals," the voters and the media knew all about those matters before Election Day.
Excellent and needs to be done and done now.
1
I'm all for it! The name brand "tea party" always sounded. Oil to me - was always a little irked the right wing got ahold of it first. Let's make it legal! Hell, partys' used to be switched ideologically anyway. Time to arm the hippies with some park ave. branding!
Learn from the Tea Party. Maybe something like include straight white men and working class whites, or at least stop being biased against them?
3
Yes- we need to examine "What's the Matter with America?" in the same way that Thomas Frank examined "What's the Matter with Kansas" (and read that book-it has excellent guidelines) and do it state by state, county by county. If you look at vote counts, many times the "winners" just barely won.
1
The first people that should face pickets are DNC members prior to their February vote for a new Chairperson. Democrats need a DNC Chairperson that can support the 2016 Democratic Platform and a 50 state strategy. That person is Keith Ellison.
2
Agreed - but concerned that he will continue to be a congressman. Being the Chairperson of the DNC is more than a full-time job, (now more than ever). Ellison should be fully committed to it and leave congress.
Ellison committed to resigning his seat if elected and becoming a full time DNC Chair some time ago.
1
"....this Congress will join with President-elect Donald J. Trump to claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support."
Really? Half of eligible voters sat the election ougt, and 47% of the other half sold out their country to the GOP. That certainly adds up to "most" Americans. Good luck to them. Ill be out of the country before January 20th.
Really? Half of eligible voters sat the election ougt, and 47% of the other half sold out their country to the GOP. That certainly adds up to "most" Americans. Good luck to them. Ill be out of the country before January 20th.
Hypocrisy knows no bounds on these pages. It's just comedy to see how everyone was a racist if you opposed the president but now it's ok. This is coming from someone who didn't vote for Trump. This whole tired act needs to be put to rest. It's ok to oppose to the president it's what politics is.
4
@ E
No, it is comedy to see that a president elect is making politics, foreign and domestic, by twitter, while we have only one president at a time.
In addition, the ones that helped Herr Trump to be elected, be it by voting for a third or fourth party, or actually voting for him - always deny that fact.
The 'comedy' here is a Commedia dell' Arte, unfortunately sans the arte on behalf of our soon to be president.
And no, we won't put anything 'to rest'.
No, it is comedy to see that a president elect is making politics, foreign and domestic, by twitter, while we have only one president at a time.
In addition, the ones that helped Herr Trump to be elected, be it by voting for a third or fourth party, or actually voting for him - always deny that fact.
The 'comedy' here is a Commedia dell' Arte, unfortunately sans the arte on behalf of our soon to be president.
And no, we won't put anything 'to rest'.
If you are looking for guidance for concrete actions, check out https://dailyaction.org. They have daily suggestions and scripts for talking to your congress person about troubling issues in the new administration.
Another resource is this document - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/174f0WBSVNSdcQ5_S6rWPGB3pNCsruyyM...
Another resource is this document - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/174f0WBSVNSdcQ5_S6rWPGB3pNCsruyyM...
1
Politics in America won't change until Americans themselves change. That may be never. Americans keep getting stupider and stupider.
It would be a mistake for the Democrats to become more like the Republicans, because then there will be no hope. Democrats must stay true to themselves, and wait for the tide to change.
Before WWII, creepy people were crawling out from under logs not only in Germany, but in France, Hungary, Lithuania ... Basically everywhere. They overwhelmed most of Europe before a shot was even fired. We are living in another time like that.
These people are going to do horrible things, but the horrible things will be their undoing. I can't think of what to tell Democrats, except to wait and pick up the pieces and do a better job next time. If there is a next time.
Maybe a few life lessons will get Americans to start thinking.
It would be a mistake for the Democrats to become more like the Republicans, because then there will be no hope. Democrats must stay true to themselves, and wait for the tide to change.
Before WWII, creepy people were crawling out from under logs not only in Germany, but in France, Hungary, Lithuania ... Basically everywhere. They overwhelmed most of Europe before a shot was even fired. We are living in another time like that.
These people are going to do horrible things, but the horrible things will be their undoing. I can't think of what to tell Democrats, except to wait and pick up the pieces and do a better job next time. If there is a next time.
Maybe a few life lessons will get Americans to start thinking.
The personal Goal of our "Unvetted" President-Elect-in-Pretense...is to be the CEO Who is the COA (Center Of Attention) Not the People's Servant. So far he has succeed in hitting our Screen....Every Day. Lying his way through the Election by redefining "Truth" to be Anything Convenient to Him, he Twitters his way into our hearts as he Fritters away any valued moment.
He has also changed, successfully, the term "Transition"...and has transformed a "Thumbs Up" into "Giving them the Finger". Hanging out a Black Flag is as violent as I will go. Turning Off the Boob Tube and using words like "The Repulsive Party" is as aggressive as I'm Allowed in any conversation. (During WWII, my Dad and his German Barber could discuss the War. "Religion and Politics" is verboten Today. Only D.J.Trump is allowed
to spout Anything he wishes. My Black Flag will quietly Wave until
January 20th. Meanwhile, I hope Someone with Power can muster a proper Diagnosis simple Narcissism to encompass the obvious Sociopathy
Before that is "Normalized", as well. So far, "It's going to be interesting" is Not a hope-giving prognosis.
He has also changed, successfully, the term "Transition"...and has transformed a "Thumbs Up" into "Giving them the Finger". Hanging out a Black Flag is as violent as I will go. Turning Off the Boob Tube and using words like "The Repulsive Party" is as aggressive as I'm Allowed in any conversation. (During WWII, my Dad and his German Barber could discuss the War. "Religion and Politics" is verboten Today. Only D.J.Trump is allowed
to spout Anything he wishes. My Black Flag will quietly Wave until
January 20th. Meanwhile, I hope Someone with Power can muster a proper Diagnosis simple Narcissism to encompass the obvious Sociopathy
Before that is "Normalized", as well. So far, "It's going to be interesting" is Not a hope-giving prognosis.
Somewhat tangentially, I think the word "mandate" should be used only when a President and their party – Democratic or Republican – has won with at least 65% of the vote. Someone who received less than 50% of the vote as Trump did does not have anything close to a mandate, and it's time people stopped believing it.
I admire and appreciate the views of the authors, but in my experience, all of the shouting, demonstrating and articulation of solid arguments do not come close to the impact of delivering a fat envelope to the representative's chief fundraiser. Congress is built on money and, nothing speaks louder than a nice bribe -- oh, I mean "campaign contribution" -- to sway your representative's vote.
One of Trump's very few true statements during the campaign was that he expects favors from members of Congress when he gives them campaign contributions. It's the American way.
One of Trump's very few true statements during the campaign was that he expects favors from members of Congress when he gives them campaign contributions. It's the American way.
Tea Party styled, "active resistance", to the policies and programs of President Trump and the Republican controlled congress is the wrong way to go. For the time being, Democrats should step back, stand quietly, and occasionally ask, "Do you need more rope." Until those who did not vote, and those who voted Republican, get an overwhelming dose of unadulterated GOP policies and programs they will not be amenable to reversing course.
1
Before we begin, we need to stop eating our own. The Hillary hatred of the far left was so detrimental in this past election. And misplaced. And gave the election to Trump. The newly involved Bernie adoration bunch needs now to spend some time actually studying issues and making an attempt to understand history and civics. And how things work. And that is NOT getting the presidency and then waiving a magic wand to make the Republican majority change its mind and vote against the oligarchy that put them into office, as Bernie claimed he would do. We need to re-channel the energy put into resisting the only hope for the Supreme Court and wielding Veto power into realistic action. Petulance and spitefulness put us where we are. The Russians understood this and divided the left further with what were actually a couple of meaningless e-mails. It was all too easy. They played the "far left" for fools. And it worked. The real work of organizing is not as much fun as rallies and simplistic slogans. Now we will see how sincere all the "revolution" talk really was. Or was it merely a cult of personality?
3
The democrats need to be vocal and they need to be organized. They also need a younger leader who is magnetic like a younger Bernie Sanders. The man who we all seem to dislike has a knack of showmanship and come uppance that is hard to beat. He gets away with anything by tweeting. Distraction seems to work best with the American public. Substance and details unfortunately do not. We have a new game in town and playing with old rules will not work. Democrats need to forget about Hillary and focus on obstruction at every turn of the road.
The Democratic equivalent of the TP message is "fair for all." Or it should be. Bernie and Sen. Warren will have some thoughts along this line, certainly. But Democrats should shed their alliances with Wall Street and other elites and find a way back to being true champions of the average person. The TP portrayed itself as a proxy for all Americans, and represented those Americans as victims of big government. Democrats should avoid the victim characterization, but hammer home the themes of a system rigged in favor of the rich and powerful at the expense of the many. In some circumstances, Democrats would be echoing Trump, but there's nothing wrong with that if it keeps him on the straight and narrow path. Trump said, for example, that he wouldn't mess with Social Security and Medicare--let's make sure he keeps his word!
1
The sooner all Democrats realize that they are out of touch with the Constitution and basic morality, the sooner they will become more relevant in the American political landscape. "Progressive" politics, in fact REGRESSIVE politics has shown to be morally bankrupt and repugnant to a more prosperous America. Wake up!!!
One can say for certain that no matter how much violence, riots, nasty rhetoric, or secessionist sentiment expressed at these left wing "tea parties" the media will describe them as "mostly peaceful".
Whereas, of course, the conservative tea parties, which were 100% peaceful and rooted in the deepest traditions of this country were denounced as a frightening end of the republic.
I predict the media's coverage of any "Democratic tea parties" will yield yet another example of why people in flyover country loathe and distrust the dominant media.
Whereas, of course, the conservative tea parties, which were 100% peaceful and rooted in the deepest traditions of this country were denounced as a frightening end of the republic.
I predict the media's coverage of any "Democratic tea parties" will yield yet another example of why people in flyover country loathe and distrust the dominant media.
2
Despite its supposed grass-roots nature, the Tea Party generally wound up supporting the interests of big business. Certainly when the Tea Party opposed any real liberal measures it got the support of big business in return. Will grass-roots liberal organizations be backed by big business and finance, or even the Democratic party organization?
A weird sense of helplessness in so many of these comments. Creepy.
Remember (or google it) the story of Robert Bruce and the spider.
Then go out and find some allies. (For goodness' sake stop calling people "racist". It's not helping.)
Choose a fight. Start fighting.
(idea:Pick an issue. Organize an email storm aimed at your Senators. Then pick another issue and do it all over again.)
Remember (or google it) the story of Robert Bruce and the spider.
Then go out and find some allies. (For goodness' sake stop calling people "racist". It's not helping.)
Choose a fight. Start fighting.
(idea:Pick an issue. Organize an email storm aimed at your Senators. Then pick another issue and do it all over again.)
2
Dems have to organize locally, but it won't happen. There are too many people invested in keeping mega-donors happy. Look at the effort to sabotage Keith Ellison.
3
Ellison has nothing to do with your complaint. You imply that the Dems are no different than the GOP.
You are about to discover how wrong you are.
You are about to discover how wrong you are.
I think you need to remember that, while the Tea Party groups were active on a local level, there was big money and coordination coming from Washington and corporate special interests. Follow the money....
3
The Tea Party was largely organized and funded by the Koch brothers and their network of plutocratic donors.
2
While I don't disagree with local organization---the Democrats have been late to the table in this area---however, I would not be too fast to oppose whatever Trump and his Congress come up with. The Democrats might adopt a Judo strategy, allowing the weight of the opponent to defeat themselves. Trump's followers need a wake up call, and who better to give them that call, then unrestrained President and Congress. Let them repeal this and repeal that and pass this and pass that...let the rust belt bound their chests at high tariffs, repeal of NAFTA, and throw in a war to show whoever that we are great again. And then let the election of 2018 just happen--you know that election where his followers have no health insurance, no jobs, no cheap TV's at Walmart, a recession, and a son or daughter fighting in Syria...see how that works in 2018.
1
The message is clear: stop sulking, start organizing, and start protesting at the local level! Remember what the late Democratic Speaker, Tip O'Neil said, "All politics is local." If you,ike me, need Medicare; if you, need Social Security; if you, like me, want democracy rather than oligarchy, then, as always, we must fight for it.
2
For all of you Democrats thinking about the midterms, this is how you win them. Compromising with Republicans will make you look like a weak part of the system. Stopping their agenda would make you look like heroes. Heroes win.
Shutting down extremism and the looting of the national treasury is no vice, it's a necessity. That's what checks and balances are for.
Shutting down extremism and the looting of the national treasury is no vice, it's a necessity. That's what checks and balances are for.
4
For those that are really interested in how the republicans took over the government I would strongly suggest reading a book.
DARK MONEY: The hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right. by Jane Mayer.
This book is very well written, easy to read, and very well documented. Know your enemy and how they operate. "Drain the swamp"? These people created the swamp we are all in now and the Koch Bros are the leaders of the Lemming type followers that are up to their necks in greed.
Seriously, read this book.
DARK MONEY: The hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right. by Jane Mayer.
This book is very well written, easy to read, and very well documented. Know your enemy and how they operate. "Drain the swamp"? These people created the swamp we are all in now and the Koch Bros are the leaders of the Lemming type followers that are up to their necks in greed.
Seriously, read this book.
4
this Congress will join with President-elect Donald J. Trump to claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support. Together, they will seek to enact a bigoted and anti-democratic agenda, threatening our values and endangering us all.
With idiots like these two propagandists beating the progressive drums, it's no wonder that the whole of the country, excluding liberal Manhattan and the left coast CA, rejected Obama's and the progressive agenda.
Keep hanging your hat and keep tooting your horn that Hillary won more votes than TRUMP, it's no wonder that your party is blowing up faster than the IED's in the middle east.
By the way, I will offer a million dollars (monopoly money) for those 3 million more votes. That's about the sum value of them insofar as they won't even get you a cup of plain black coffee at Starbucks.
With idiots like these two propagandists beating the progressive drums, it's no wonder that the whole of the country, excluding liberal Manhattan and the left coast CA, rejected Obama's and the progressive agenda.
Keep hanging your hat and keep tooting your horn that Hillary won more votes than TRUMP, it's no wonder that your party is blowing up faster than the IED's in the middle east.
By the way, I will offer a million dollars (monopoly money) for those 3 million more votes. That's about the sum value of them insofar as they won't even get you a cup of plain black coffee at Starbucks.
All the posters who comment on how The Koch Brothers and other moneyed interests co-opted what began as a populist movement are dead on. The populist group that originally was The Tea Party had smaller Government as their bulls eye, but when they got steam rolled over that was gone and lower or no taxes became the focus. Who wants lower taxes???????
1
Yes, this is good advice. It is important, I believe, that Democratic representatives demonstrate and act on the anger a lot of Americans feel. That means calling the GOP members what they are, con men, sycophants, stupid (where warranted and it's warranted a lot). Scream out what I feel and want to scream. So, scream. Show us that there is no compromise, that you hate them, the GOP, as much as your constituents do and make us hate them even more. We need to hate them and hate trump and everyone in his administration as well. Pictures of our representatives in Congress smiling and hand shaking the GOP members disgusts me. A lot of us out there in the dark hate the GOP, every one of them. Show us you believe that and will act on it. Do not treat trump politely. Call him what he is, a con artist, a liar, thug. Use whatever powers and abilities you have to expose them. We are way beyond any notion of compromise. You don't compromise with evil and the GOP has made a deal with the devil (and I'm an atheist!). Don't waste time crafting bills that have no chance of passing simply because they come from the Democrats. If you don't represent us we will find others who do. If you do your job properly I suspect you will pick up significant numbers of voters who left the Democrats because they stood for nothing.
4
Hate is not the answer. Smarts and change and organizing and not letting the Democrats be so weak and accommodating and standing up to Republicans who are harming the nation with their leadership.
All that hatred will harm you, not the republicans and especially not Trump. It will eat away at your insides....
All that hatred will harm you, not the republicans and especially not Trump. It will eat away at your insides....
no it won't. The lack of any kind of energetic response by the Dems will eat at me. Leave me no where to turn. All my friends are livid at the election, at trump and also at the Democrats. Maybe they are a select bunch. I don't know. The GOP has cheated in some states its way to power via disenfranchisement of minorities. I want to see every Democratic representative screaming about it. I want to see them treat trump and his stooges as what they are: stooges and con men, grifters. I want them to give him NO respect at all. NONE. I want them to yell out how his presence dirties the white house; how he is illigitimate; his children are also con artists and grifters. Spare no one. Give them what we got from them. 8 years of their overt racism towards Obama and his family. The lies, the nastiness. So you are wrong about hatred. Hatred is our armor. Our weapon. Hatred might give some of those spineless Democrats in Congress some backbone. If we are not on the same page, then I'll find a different page
I'm not sure what Liberal Democrats can learn from the "imagined" Tea Party.
For starters, they will really have to "get out there" and talk to real people who do not share their sensibilities they are so comfortable with in their daily interaction with their fellow Liberals. They will have to LISTEN to people and NOT talk down to people who "obviously do not understand."
Being economically and socially secure, themselves, they will have to understand people who see life through the prism of economic difficulty and uncertainty.
As the late Nelson Algren said, "Take a walk on the wild side."
For starters, they will really have to "get out there" and talk to real people who do not share their sensibilities they are so comfortable with in their daily interaction with their fellow Liberals. They will have to LISTEN to people and NOT talk down to people who "obviously do not understand."
Being economically and socially secure, themselves, they will have to understand people who see life through the prism of economic difficulty and uncertainty.
As the late Nelson Algren said, "Take a walk on the wild side."
2
"They will have to LISTEN to people and NOT talk down to people who "obviously do not understand." "
I attempted to speak at a Tea Party rally and can tell you that they were NOT interested in, or capable of, listening. I listen to AM radio and Fox 'news' to see how they do their thing: They shout over anyone who disagrees, constantly interrupting and demeaning the dissident's intelligence.
I don't think it's in us as liberals to respond in kind. Nor do we have the assistance of AM talk and Fox 'news' to publicize - even bankroll - our rallies.
I attempted to speak at a Tea Party rally and can tell you that they were NOT interested in, or capable of, listening. I listen to AM radio and Fox 'news' to see how they do their thing: They shout over anyone who disagrees, constantly interrupting and demeaning the dissident's intelligence.
I don't think it's in us as liberals to respond in kind. Nor do we have the assistance of AM talk and Fox 'news' to publicize - even bankroll - our rallies.
It really seems like the hillary supporters are a bunch of sore loser's!!!!!!!
It is so sad to hear so much dysfunction, whining and complaining.
Learn to handle it and embrace the country will be better in 4 years, after the last 8 years of ineptness.
It is so sad to hear so much dysfunction, whining and complaining.
Learn to handle it and embrace the country will be better in 4 years, after the last 8 years of ineptness.
And all the Republicans did for 8 years was be obstructionist. No attempt to work together and come to a consensus. No give and take. And you have to nerve to complain now that the shoe is on the other foot!
1
Fair enough. Talk to us in four years.
1
What, are you still whining and complaining about the last eight years?
Get over it and look to the future!
"With No Warning, House Republicans Vote to Gut Independent Ethics Office"
"Trump Threatens North Korea, Insults China In 140-Character Snippets"
"Trump EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Would Trash Air And Water Safeguards"
Somebody stop me, I got a million of them.
Get over it and look to the future!
"With No Warning, House Republicans Vote to Gut Independent Ethics Office"
"Trump Threatens North Korea, Insults China In 140-Character Snippets"
"Trump EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Would Trash Air And Water Safeguards"
Somebody stop me, I got a million of them.
1
The first thing the Democrats need to do is to stop this deceaving and ridiculous, McCarthyist Russian distraction and think self-critically about what has gone fundamentally wrong with the idiological and ethical direction of the Party. Blue color Americans will not return to the Party's base until that direction changes.
With all those misspellings, and the fact that you are in Manhattan, you almost sound like Trump.
You mean ignore the consensus of the intelligence community? Nobody can say whether Russian actions cost Clinton the election or not. The election is final and is not going to change. But there is no doubt that the Russians meddled in our electoral process. Republicans and Democrats should be outraged over this. Denying the obvious just makes you look foolish.
Excellent suggestions. But consider the last word of the article -- "resist". The Tea Party had its symbols -- the flag with the serpent. The resistance to Trump needs a symbol. I suggest the capital Greek letter Omega. In electrical engineering, Omega stands for Ohms, a measure of resistance in an electrical circuit. Let the capital Greek letter be a symbol for all who resist Trump, the man and his policies, for whatever reason is most important to them. Wear an Omega pin. Put an Omega sticker on the back of every piece of mail you send. Put an Omega magnet on your car. Many around you also want to resist Trump. Show them you do too and intend to do something about it.
7
How many Trump supporters or even Hillary supporters even know, let alone feel inspired by a Greek alphabet letter? Think elite....
Nobody has to suddeny get stupid or behave stupidly if you do know the word/letter. The point is stay smart, but for heaven's sake try better to communicate with other people with different educational an/or economic backgrounds than you have. Aah yes: we are all Americans right?!
Nobody has to suddeny get stupid or behave stupidly if you do know the word/letter. The point is stay smart, but for heaven's sake try better to communicate with other people with different educational an/or economic backgrounds than you have. Aah yes: we are all Americans right?!
It seems like the hard right's mantra is "lie, repeat lie, and when questioned, repeat lie." it has worked for many tea parties and has certainly worked for Donald Trump. The lie about the "liberal media" controlling things is especially ironic. I fear for our democracy.
103
America is not a "democracy". We are a Constitutional Republic. You really should not accuse the other side of lying when you do not know this basic fact.
Democratic Party can never have something like Tea Party, not even close. The Republican Party supporters are well regimented hyperactive homogeneous white Christian group of people. The Democtatic Party supporters are loose group of multiethnic different interest group of people and are lazy. Now America is of one party rule. I hope when their back will be pushed against the wall, then they will wake up to fight. Now one group think that Hispanics and Muslims are in trouble with Trumppresidency. But tomorrow,they will be also pushed. When affordable healthcare, Medicaid, food stamps , Medicare and housing subsidy will be cut under Republican rule, even poor white people will rise up. Hope it will be sooner.
2
For a person with political sophistication it seems odd that you evidently haven't had sufficient curiosity about as significant a movement as the Tea Party to take yourself to at least one meeting to spy on your opponents. If you had you would have discovered, to your surprise -- as I was -- that they are a good deal more diverse than you imagine, and while there are certain political/ideological constants the ethnic/religious make-up varies regionally, even within states. While White Low-Church Protestants predominate, Tea Parties are by no means as uniform as you state with such questionable authority. I've been to meetings around the country where the membership includes not insignificant percentages of Asian-Americans, Latino-Americans, Jewish-Americans, and African Americans. Needless to say, there are plenty of Roman Catholics. What unites these people is a set of conservative political convictions, strong nationalism, suspicion of surrendering US sovereignty to multinational bodies, etc. The glue is not race, ethnicity or religion, though there is some overlapping. The Democrats do need to learn from these grassroots activists whose loyalty is to a set of principles rather than Party and who understand that all politics is local -- and that's where it begins and ends.
So the progressive alternative is to imitate Mitch McConnell? This is somewhat less than inspiring.
1
I thought about writing a comment but then I read the comments that had already been posted. They said what I think better than I can so lets leave it at that.
One of the reasons that I like reading the NYT is the comments. Often times there are several commenters who are better than the article that they are commenting upon.
One of the reasons that I like reading the NYT is the comments. Often times there are several commenters who are better than the article that they are commenting upon.
6
It's clear from comments here that the debate/discussion about how to oppose Trumpism cannot include the "conservatives" who defend it. They live in a world that insists that Progressives act out of feelings, not facts, when they themselves believe nonsense like Obama is a Socialist Muslim born in Kenya. That in 8 years that unemployment has risen, as has the deficit, that the economy has gotten worse, none of which is true.Need I waste space on ALL the easily disproven lies they believe?
No, the discussion and actions need to be taken among progressives without regard to the Trumpists, no matter what they say or how loudly they object. Don't bother to "debate" them--you cannot debate when you can't even agree on basic facts. This is fundamental. We need to engage Americans who WANT to preserve our fundamental freedoms and sense of fairness, who realize there is NO compromise with Trumpism and our Democratic politicians from Schumer and Pelosi on down must learn this or be replaced by those who do. We've seen 8 years of Republican obstructionism actually SUCCEED in gaining them power so why should WE compromise either? We've seen grass-roots reactionaries (albeit funded by billionaires) make mincemeat of once-reasonable Republicans and unseat Democrats. Surely there are Progressive billionaires who will do the same, and not just the Right's whipping boy, George Soros. The Civil Rights & Viet Nam movements SHOW the Left CAN change things. The Tea Party showed us how.
No, the discussion and actions need to be taken among progressives without regard to the Trumpists, no matter what they say or how loudly they object. Don't bother to "debate" them--you cannot debate when you can't even agree on basic facts. This is fundamental. We need to engage Americans who WANT to preserve our fundamental freedoms and sense of fairness, who realize there is NO compromise with Trumpism and our Democratic politicians from Schumer and Pelosi on down must learn this or be replaced by those who do. We've seen 8 years of Republican obstructionism actually SUCCEED in gaining them power so why should WE compromise either? We've seen grass-roots reactionaries (albeit funded by billionaires) make mincemeat of once-reasonable Republicans and unseat Democrats. Surely there are Progressive billionaires who will do the same, and not just the Right's whipping boy, George Soros. The Civil Rights & Viet Nam movements SHOW the Left CAN change things. The Tea Party showed us how.
8
Until you stalk and overcome, you can't devour anyone - Hobbes ( as in Calvin and Hobbes )
Democrats have tried to skip the first two steps for years. In a recent NYT column David Hulse's on point observation provides the key to disabling the GOP majority:
"Republicans have had the luxury of being able to argue for positions that appealed to their conservative base but that they knew would not become law because Senate Democrats would block them or because the president would veto them. Now, if they can assemble the votes, their ideas will become law — with all the attendant consequences."
Trumps ego and the hubris of the new Congress will provide a target rich environment.
Democrats have tried to skip the first two steps for years. In a recent NYT column David Hulse's on point observation provides the key to disabling the GOP majority:
"Republicans have had the luxury of being able to argue for positions that appealed to their conservative base but that they knew would not become law because Senate Democrats would block them or because the president would veto them. Now, if they can assemble the votes, their ideas will become law — with all the attendant consequences."
Trumps ego and the hubris of the new Congress will provide a target rich environment.
4
Dismayed by the number of negative comments here from the Dem side. Yes, the GOP spent 30 years-plus building their propaganda machine, but we've got to start somewhere! Thank you, Indivisible folks, for stepping up to this task.
4
Simple. RESIST, obstruct, protest, filibuster ALL no matter what. Let nothing and no one through no matter what! Grow a backbone. No weaklings allowed. Dictator Trumpet and unAmerican bigot racist masochistic sadistic Republican'ts must be stopped no matter what and are all about destruction not building things. Just look at their actions not words. If that doesn't work, pitch forks and torches at their doors. We, the REAL Americans, will all NOT allow them a thing no matter what. Never forget. Never forgive. Resist.
3
The Democrats need to organize fractally to be scale-independent.
Where does one even find Democratic planners and thinkers? Money is all the party has ever asked of me.
Where does one even find Democratic planners and thinkers? Money is all the party has ever asked of me.
2
An obvious and striking difference between Tea Party people and democrats is when the Tea Party had a protest or public gatherings they left the area cleaner then when they arrived. Democrats when they protest or have a public gathering leave the place in shambles, Litter, feces, urine smell and garbage is left behind, liberals expect someone else to pick it up and take no responsibility for themselves. It's pretty disgusting. You must have seen the aftermath of the Occupy protest. The Occupy movement became well known for drug use, ETOH intoxication and prostitution, pretty gross.
4
Quote a series of generalizations here.
What the Tea Party had was plenty of $$$... And they used it effectively to open offices, print up brochures, rent buses to hold rallies...
(Note: Little discussed and under=reported is where did the Tea Party get all that $$$... Why it was so under-reported falls on BIG MEDIA but the Tea Party was funded mostly with $$$ from the insurance industry that was funneled thru Dick Armey's "Freedom Works"... It worth keeping that in mind as we are being told it was a grassroots movement... It plainly wasn't...)
What the Tea Party also had that the Democrats don't have is the microphone...
Face it, people... With BIG MEDIA consolidation the Democrats haven't been given much microphone time at all... This is why we are having all the wrong conversations in Washington... If the Democrats are going to have any chance at all in re-framing the issues they are going to have to buy - YES, BUY - air time... I hate it but that's been true for the last 20 years... Well, ever since the Republican packed FCC shredded the common sense media ownership regulation in the Radio Act of 1927...
So, Democrats... Open your wallets and tell the DNC to spend the money on issue ads... And lots of them or you will be crushed again in 2018...
If this were boxing it would be called "getting off first"... Put the Republicans on defense and don;t expect fair and balanced from BIG MEDIA... The "liberal media "is dead and you're going to have to pay to play...
Bob
(Note: Little discussed and under=reported is where did the Tea Party get all that $$$... Why it was so under-reported falls on BIG MEDIA but the Tea Party was funded mostly with $$$ from the insurance industry that was funneled thru Dick Armey's "Freedom Works"... It worth keeping that in mind as we are being told it was a grassroots movement... It plainly wasn't...)
What the Tea Party also had that the Democrats don't have is the microphone...
Face it, people... With BIG MEDIA consolidation the Democrats haven't been given much microphone time at all... This is why we are having all the wrong conversations in Washington... If the Democrats are going to have any chance at all in re-framing the issues they are going to have to buy - YES, BUY - air time... I hate it but that's been true for the last 20 years... Well, ever since the Republican packed FCC shredded the common sense media ownership regulation in the Radio Act of 1927...
So, Democrats... Open your wallets and tell the DNC to spend the money on issue ads... And lots of them or you will be crushed again in 2018...
If this were boxing it would be called "getting off first"... Put the Republicans on defense and don;t expect fair and balanced from BIG MEDIA... The "liberal media "is dead and you're going to have to pay to play...
Bob
6
Hillary's mass amounts of money spent didn't help her at all. You must appeal to all voters. Yes, even the white ones.
Violence may be the only solution.
1
Please, no.
The left had its own Tea Party. It was called Occupy. Here's the difference. Occupy was a real grass roots movement but it was largely divided, its leaders didn't want either to lead or to soil their purity by having anything to do with the Democratic Party. By contrast, behind the scenes the TP was well-financed, well-organized and far from spontaneous, And it took over the GOP.
Any successor to Occupy that comes along, as it certainly will, will never be as well-heeled as the TP but otherwise needs to learn from Occupy's incompetence and arrogance and the TP's success.
If Occupy had been halfway competent, we could have been getting ready for the inauguration of President Sanders.
Any successor to Occupy that comes along, as it certainly will, will never be as well-heeled as the TP but otherwise needs to learn from Occupy's incompetence and arrogance and the TP's success.
If Occupy had been halfway competent, we could have been getting ready for the inauguration of President Sanders.
5
For once I am feeling sorry for the political left, as they seem to be scaring themselves with their own hysterical propaganda. Look, that propaganda might have been useful - although it turned out not to be - in trying to win an election, but calm down! We did not elect a maniacal white supremacist who wants to unleash the KKK on America. (Oh, that's also what you said about Romney - check out Biden's "they want to put y'all back in chains" speech). In Trump, we have a conservative Republican who wants to secure the borders, eschew foreign adventures, improve the economy for all Americans (by making it easier for companies to do business in America), and have a Supreme Court that follows the Constitution. And, that's it! So, calm down everyone. Give yourselves a break. You don't have to believe the propaganda you told the rest of us (and yourselves) during the election campaign.
4
Such nonsense! Merely listening to the actual words of our President-elect and his congressional cronies indicates that their agenda is every bit as harmful to this country as many of us fear. Your rosy picture is completely at odds with reality.
How soothing, and how nice for you that you think you got the government you wished for. Why, in a few years, the federal economy will look just like Kansas!
Joseph, if only I could agree. Unfortunately the swamp deepens every day that goes by. If we don't end up in a war triggered by a loose late-night twitter rant, we could end up in an ethical swamp so deep that the common good drowns, trampled by billionaires' self-interest and willing ignorance of the issues, options, and implications.
The tea partiers will take care of their own once they realize the change they're getting isn't the change they thought they wanted. But what will they want next? Yes, liberals need to organize and resist. At the same time we also need to do grassroots work in our own yards so our families, friends, and neighbors who vote red will listen to reason instead of propaganda when they are ready to change their minds.
5
Another tip for the Democrats is not to ram a Presidential nominee down the throats of the rank and file.
Give those at the bottom a say in the process. Hillary was ordained by the DNC but not the lowly voter. So now we have Trump.
Blame the DNC for trying to manipulate the system.
Give those at the bottom a say in the process. Hillary was ordained by the DNC but not the lowly voter. So now we have Trump.
Blame the DNC for trying to manipulate the system.
2
Interesting idea. BUT, at the local, grassroots level, voters have been conservative and lean GOP. That's why the US county map is blood red not blue and not even very purple.
So the question is which Democrats can realistically mobilize at the local level? Will it be the one's who just lost elections all over the country. Just look at Iowa where Dems were crushed in 2016. OR, will it be different Democrats who connect better with all those independent (no-party) voters, Republicans, as well as Democrats (now at best 1/3 of voters) to accomplish the objective outlined in this article.
So the question is which Democrats can realistically mobilize at the local level? Will it be the one's who just lost elections all over the country. Just look at Iowa where Dems were crushed in 2016. OR, will it be different Democrats who connect better with all those independent (no-party) voters, Republicans, as well as Democrats (now at best 1/3 of voters) to accomplish the objective outlined in this article.
When you look at the results from Obama's Middle East with his disregard for history ,i.e., 1967 six day war and 1979 Islamic revolution, thank goodness he was stopped by republicans from implementing an unfettered agenda.
4
Ahem, do you mean the middle east disaster that was caused by a needless invasion of Afghanistan, and a war on Iraq that was based on lies from every level of executive office? Those REPUBLICAN disasters?
The claims that the Tea Party was "racist" and employed "physical threats" are blatant lies pushed by hateful partisans.
This is a great example of thefake news pushed by the NYT. Not only that it demonstrates yet again that liberals in the bubble still view any who dare not share their narrow minded views as violent racists. No wonder the country has turned their back on liberals. They are intiolerant and they slander people who disagree with them.
If the wetters of the this screed represent Democrat thinking get used to losing elections. People don't vote for people who clearly despise them.
This is a great example of thefake news pushed by the NYT. Not only that it demonstrates yet again that liberals in the bubble still view any who dare not share their narrow minded views as violent racists. No wonder the country has turned their back on liberals. They are intiolerant and they slander people who disagree with them.
If the wetters of the this screed represent Democrat thinking get used to losing elections. People don't vote for people who clearly despise them.
3
The "Tea Party" and the GOP's opposition tp Obama was totally race based.
2
Your comment shows a lot of fleeing where no man pursueth; you seem to be responding to implications only you have read into this op-ed. Unfortunately, there are a lot of actual facts out there that prove you wrong about the tactics of the Tea Party. And it isn't liberals who are intolerant: which party was it that refused to work with President Obama to the point of trying to shut down the government and turning its back on its constitutional duty to advise and consent to his Supreme Court nomination? You say, "People don't vote for people who clearly despise them." In that, you may be right; a majority of the people in this country saw just that in Donald Trump and didn't vote for him.
For crying out loud! The author never said that the entire tea party movement was racist but there are elements that are. If you deny that, then either you just woke up from a coma or you are just plain delusional. The country did not turn their backs on the progressive movement as is evident not just by the voting tallies in the presidential election, but also how many votes are cast for Democratic representatives in congress. Gerrymandered districts have for six years given the majority of representatives to republicans while democrats are actually receiving more votes. We are being ruled by a minority and you can put whatever bow on it you like, reality is what it is!
My eyes are glazing over. Maybe it's time to stop being so nice, stop with warm, fuzzy ideals and politesse. Time to emulate ACT UP and the WWII Resistance as portrayed realistically and mercilessly in the film Army of Shadows. Because this time, the threats to our nation and the world are just that serious.
8
I have come around to preferring the present energizing national crisis to the stasis and drift that would carried over from BHO to a narrow HRC victory. Progressivism à la Bernie is the only healthy tissue in our body politic. The present crisis will call forth potential Progressive candidates, and genuine grass roots support for them. That is the place to concentrate individual efforts now!
3
Let's DO this people!
If all you can do is whine and complain, then you deserve the horrors that the GOP have in store for you.
I for one, am doing my part to resist.
Don't wait for the "leaders" to fix this. This is YOUR country, YOUR future. You can choose to seize this moment or you can content yourself with pointless complaining on social media.
You have the First Amendment Right to "petition the Government for redress of grievances." Use it or lose it.
If all you can do is whine and complain, then you deserve the horrors that the GOP have in store for you.
I for one, am doing my part to resist.
Don't wait for the "leaders" to fix this. This is YOUR country, YOUR future. You can choose to seize this moment or you can content yourself with pointless complaining on social media.
You have the First Amendment Right to "petition the Government for redress of grievances." Use it or lose it.
16
Democrats need to acquire real, substantial political power in the form of public offices held by Democrats, county councils, mayorships, state legislative seats, governorships, etc., etc. The game is about political power - acquiring it and then using it when you have it. Anything else is just noise. Making noise might feel good, but in itself, it achieves nothing.
107
The minimum wage is going up all around the country because people are on the street making noise. The politicians don't do anything without motivation. They are motivated by two things, political donations and fear of their constituents. Nose is how you create the latter.
History is always rewritten to take the People or of it and replace them with great men. That is how they trick the people into being quiet.
Women didn't get the vote by waiting for a bunch of old men to give it to them. They made noise.
The New Deal was FDRs way to save capitalism, when millions of people were making noise all over the country.
First comes the noise. Then comes the laws. Don't believe the propaganda that takes away your voice.
History is always rewritten to take the People or of it and replace them with great men. That is how they trick the people into being quiet.
Women didn't get the vote by waiting for a bunch of old men to give it to them. They made noise.
The New Deal was FDRs way to save capitalism, when millions of people were making noise all over the country.
First comes the noise. Then comes the laws. Don't believe the propaganda that takes away your voice.
Precisely. The old hard left of the last century had many things wrong including false moral equivalence (capitalist excess doesn't equal gulags or Pol Pot). But they got one thing very right: power. Without power, you can do nothing and your adversaries will certainly do some very objectionable things. So, the softer left of the Democratic party must learn that it is power, not seminar room debate which counts. It is not being noble, it is not being pure and oh so driven by identity politics. Those are luxuries to enjoy when and only when power is achieved. Economic justice and a message of inclusion for all races and creeds, and an end to demonizing ALL white middle class and working people as racists or white nationalists. That change must come and to hell with slandering any race making up 70 percent of those likely to vote in any election.
The hard right certainly knows this need for power with a single minded fury and their success (58 percent of all state legislative seats, 32 states under complete GOP rule etc) should cause a wake up call to the Democrats.
The hard right certainly knows this need for power with a single minded fury and their success (58 percent of all state legislative seats, 32 states under complete GOP rule etc) should cause a wake up call to the Democrats.
I think it's a mistake to have a left-wing Tea Party. What we really need is a centrist Tea-Party. The left is too polarizing and fragmented, and probably contributed to the rise of Trump.
8
Many of the so-called "centrists" voted for our President-elect, or simply sat out the election. Placing your faith in the mythical political center to get us out of the mess we're in is a fool's errand.
1
Eric--Yeah, Bernie Sanders' candidacy was proof of that. :-/
Brad--"Centrists" should be the first to be kicked to the curb. It will be easy to identify them. They are the ones who won't look you in the eye.
Start by asking to see Mr Trump's real birth certificate, so he can prove to America that he is a legitimate president. Many people are saying he was born in Germany or, more likely, Austria. And we can't settle for the certificate he pulls from his safe at home -- that can be a faked. We need to see the REAL one. Let's send a team of investigators...
30
Trump is an immigrant success story. Grandfather from Germany, mother the daughter of a poor fisherman, who arrived in the U.S. 1930's as a young woman. Listed as a maid/domestic, her first language was Scots-Gaelic.
He did show off his birth certificate a few years ago, but we definitely need to see the TAX RETURNS.
Watch out Chuck Schumer. We're going to be at your office, on the phone, and e-mailing to make sure you don't play footsie with a tyrant-in-waiting over an overpriced tunnel that will make some stockholders rich.
18
Wonderful to read an op-ed that doesn't just say what to do in vague terms but gives specifics and delivers with an organization and a playbook. Thanks!
23
>>
Good advice but it is a pipe dream.
The Dems and their leaders are so far out of the game it is pathetic.
We could not even put HRC into the WH in what should have been a slam dunk election.
The distinguishing characteristic between the GOP and the Dems is that the former is always unified on election day whether they like their candidate or not. The Dems are most always divided, or stay home, and there is always some third party they can sooth themselves with. In a country closely divided this is critical.
The latest data shows that the Dems were blown away by the GOP as to the Sunday morning talk show appearances. This proves that Dems don't even try to win, they're not serious people. They're lazy and many of them don't really believe in left wing issues. They're also afraid to take a punch, much less throw one.
The Dems have two major problems their voters and their leaders, and in politics that is a big problem.
Look for the Dems to repeat their recipe for failure with another Bernie debacle in 2020.
Good advice but it is a pipe dream.
The Dems and their leaders are so far out of the game it is pathetic.
We could not even put HRC into the WH in what should have been a slam dunk election.
The distinguishing characteristic between the GOP and the Dems is that the former is always unified on election day whether they like their candidate or not. The Dems are most always divided, or stay home, and there is always some third party they can sooth themselves with. In a country closely divided this is critical.
The latest data shows that the Dems were blown away by the GOP as to the Sunday morning talk show appearances. This proves that Dems don't even try to win, they're not serious people. They're lazy and many of them don't really believe in left wing issues. They're also afraid to take a punch, much less throw one.
The Dems have two major problems their voters and their leaders, and in politics that is a big problem.
Look for the Dems to repeat their recipe for failure with another Bernie debacle in 2020.
8
Thank you for writing this. It's the most important thing I have read in a very long time.
9
We have already started organizing here.
13
Help us in these overwhelming red states. We are ignored, but not all of us are red supporters. So embarrassed by our state and so lost on how to change it.
My sense is the Democratic Party is controlled by the power of their leaders on both coasts. Their excuse for losing has centered around a list of excuses, non of which are related to their message and perspectives being rejected by middle America. You can attempt a bush league overthrow. Be stealth and "grass roots". However if you do not reform your message and rhetoric you will be blaming others again during the mid-term. By labeling everyone that disagrees with the Democratic agenda as a "racist" you inherit fervent resentment of your ideals. Resistance will not come as single spies but as battalions.
5
If the shoe fits......
1
Really? Who, exactly, labels people who don't agree with the Democratic agenda as racist? Fox News?
Sure, the Democrats can put up a fight, but only if they can resist the earmarks that republicans are bringing back, now that deficit spending is no longer such a big deal.
3
There is only one tactic that is effective in this arena--the threat of losing your next election. Relentless, fearless attacks on every legislator, not just the Dems, that clearly state the consequences of their actions. You want to privatize Medicare? Mess with Social Security? Eliminate women's rights? Deconstruct the already flimsy safety net? What constituency asked for that? Go ahead and try and we will make certain you are never reelected. Sadly, now is not the time for fair and reasoned discourse.
25
Amen. "Fair and reasoned discourse" went out the window with the election of our morally and ethically bankrupt President-elect. Now is the time for the real loyal opposition in this country to take the gloves off and come out swinging.
Yes, those are important wynerstail, but more importantly when average people see others taking real positive action to prevent further destruction of OUR democracy - like showing up at state legislatures enforce to protest or support legislation or marching for a cause or forming groups to teach civics to young people - and the word gets out their ears and hearts will perk up and they are more inclined to take interest, take part and vote.
WE must collectively help average Americans get out of the robotic twitter and facebook worlds and take action for OUR country.
WE must collectively help average Americans get out of the robotic twitter and facebook worlds and take action for OUR country.
Kudos to Harry Reid, for many reasons, but chief among them, the realization that it was time to go. The Democratic Party needs lots of things and one of them is new blood. The old, out-of-touch guard needs to step aside, hopefully in a planned manner when the going is good and their replacement can be a Democrat. That would be a fine place to start.
6
As an expat American watching (with dismay) the US scene from afar, I'm struck by the naivite of this piece. What made the Tea Party a success was precisely its extremism and its easy embrace of vicious strategies. And its umbilical links to the Republican Party in certain parts of the country, making possible the running of far-right candidates in Republican primaries against mainstream Republicans. And thereby moving the Party to the extremes. Grassroots? Yes. Local folks who could unite around shared loathings. One simply cannot imagine an effective liberal counterpart, running far-left candidates against Democratic incumbents in order either to beat them or to coerce them into submission. The answer to the Tea Party threat is not to create a similar movement from the Left. Yes, we need community organisation across the country to counteract the extremism of the current Republican Party, but not by emulating the bad guys! The current weakness of the Democratic Party does not stem from its not being sufficiently radical! It stems from many factors, not least the voter suppression laws, the gerrymandered electoral districts, and the relentness pounding from the alt-right social media. Most Trump voters are not nativists and racists. They can be won back with a liberal set of messages that address to matters that anger and upset them. Yeah, let's do that from the ground up!
10
We Dems don't need to copy the atrocious behavior of the "Don't tread on me" Tea Party Know-nothings". All we had to do was on Election Day show up as we did in '08 and '12. That would have made up for the Electoral College fluke.
When Dems show up we win, and we did, technically, by almost three million more, as we did in 2000. But that is not enough to compensate for the "rigged" gerrymandered Republican-run Red states. Six million fewer Dems voted in '16. That's what happens when either complacency sets in or Dems buy the GOP/FBI/KGB/ propaganda and just don't feel they can "trust" Hillary enough. Right, as opposed to a truly odious obnoxious blowhard, from Manhattan nonetheless. My God, if that isn't deplorable what is?
DD
Manhattan
When Dems show up we win, and we did, technically, by almost three million more, as we did in 2000. But that is not enough to compensate for the "rigged" gerrymandered Republican-run Red states. Six million fewer Dems voted in '16. That's what happens when either complacency sets in or Dems buy the GOP/FBI/KGB/ propaganda and just don't feel they can "trust" Hillary enough. Right, as opposed to a truly odious obnoxious blowhard, from Manhattan nonetheless. My God, if that isn't deplorable what is?
DD
Manhattan
19
"All we had to do was on Election Day show up as we did in '08 and '12".
That is the problem. We limit our action to one easy gesture every four years. Democracy is a 24/7 obligation. Instead, too many of use sit around on the couch waiting to be inspired. We weren't inspired; Trump is to be President.
That is the problem. We limit our action to one easy gesture every four years. Democracy is a 24/7 obligation. Instead, too many of use sit around on the couch waiting to be inspired. We weren't inspired; Trump is to be President.
1
The Tea Party, like minded people and groups saved the United States from disaster. It's not any more simple or complicated then that. The claim in the article about racism in absolute hogwash and it's democrats lying to themselves, the echo chamber is alive and thriving. I'm grateful Hillary lost and will never be the president, Obama's policies will be flushed down the toilet in a few days just has they should be. Liberalism is a disorder and the number one symptom is not recognizing the absurdity of your policies. Look across the country and the number of elections you have lost. Town, State and Federal Government. American citizens do not want liberalism and it's detrimental effects.
7
These former congressional staffers are right about organizing on a local level, but seriously confused about the Tea Party.
It wasn't grassroots advocacy by the Tea Party that stopped Obama. Obama stopped Obama "during the early years of the Obama administration" because he and his Citibank-selected cabinet didn't deliver on any of his campaign promises despite having "a majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate."
He bailed out Wall Street and the gang of Bush/Cheney war criminals, kept Guantanamo open and torture legal while continuing with disastrous neoliberal economic policies (Thanks, Citibank!) - all in his first 100 days.
The authors should know, they were part of it.
Blaming Obama's failure on anyone but Obama is ridiculous.
And advocating for a Tea Party strategy will only lead the US even lower than it already is.
Politics shouldn't be a race to the bottom.
It wasn't grassroots advocacy by the Tea Party that stopped Obama. Obama stopped Obama "during the early years of the Obama administration" because he and his Citibank-selected cabinet didn't deliver on any of his campaign promises despite having "a majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate."
He bailed out Wall Street and the gang of Bush/Cheney war criminals, kept Guantanamo open and torture legal while continuing with disastrous neoliberal economic policies (Thanks, Citibank!) - all in his first 100 days.
The authors should know, they were part of it.
Blaming Obama's failure on anyone but Obama is ridiculous.
And advocating for a Tea Party strategy will only lead the US even lower than it already is.
Politics shouldn't be a race to the bottom.
5
The supermajority in the Senate did not exist until June, due to a contested Senate election in Minnesota. It lasted 72 days, until the death of Ted Kennedy. Therefore your claim about the first 100 days is not historically accurate.
I think many of us, even if we had the time, are hesitant after having our efforts maligned by the party.
5
I look forward to doing more of this. For example, I am never one to go to "protests" or "marches", but I'm going to the Women's March on 1/21, & I'll try to bring a friend. Probably won't be my last one during the next two to four years, either.
I agree completely with the authors of this piece. Our elected reps need to hear from us all the time! No compromise with these racist, right-wing kleptocrats.
I agree completely with the authors of this piece. Our elected reps need to hear from us all the time! No compromise with these racist, right-wing kleptocrats.
17
"It’s playing defense, not to obstruct, but to protect."
That's really not fair. This is the exact philosophy that has been consistently derided as obstructionist (accurately!) again and again in this paper.
That's really not fair. This is the exact philosophy that has been consistently derided as obstructionist (accurately!) again and again in this paper.
9
Crying "not fair" is an artifact from the most annoying stage of childhood development. The Tea Party's playing rugby and we're playing badminton. You turn the other cheek, anyone who cares about the devestation they're about to create will steal from their very effective playbook.
Playing fair has not worked well for Democrats, as the Republicans are playing on a different field altogether. Just look at them - the frothing at the mouth with every step that Hillary Clinton or President Obama took. But now? Ethics, schmethics. So what difference does a little conflict of interest make? Maybe stall some peace talks for political gain? Well, why not? It's worked before.
So no. If Democrats are wise, they'll start playing the game Republicans have been playing. And they will win.
So no. If Democrats are wise, they'll start playing the game Republicans have been playing. And they will win.
You do know this is an op-ed, right? so not a reflection of the NYT's own position? Just checking.
We're members of two local Democratic organizations and a precinct chair team who worked our hearts out during the campaign; Hillary won our precinct by 12 votes in a red county in a dead-red state. We have downloaded the Indivisible Guide and forwarded the URL for this article to the county chair. Precinct chairs have been brainstorming ways to move forward after the November debacle, so the Guide will undoubtedly be a focus of discussion at the upcoming executive committee meeting as we try to act effectively. Thank you for helping us!
39
Thank you for all your efforts! They are a model for all to follow -
We need to remember that our party is in shambles and if we put up too much resistance and try to impede progress, we are likely to get further crushed at the midterms. America wants to see what Trump can do.
34
I agree with you... the burden of governing is on the GOP and Trump... give them all the rope they need to hang themselves...
This is so much less true for Democrats than it was for Republicans eight years ago. Also, we're a majority. Let's act like it.
This is what an Ionesco character would say, before he turned into a Rhinoceros
Let's get serious here. While the "Tea Party" may have organized they also were able to mobilize legions of angry white voters whose sole effort was to board a bus and the attend a town hall meeting or two. And the busses were provided by the Koch's.
Who will fund buses at all here in Morris County NJ? The Tea Party also relied on the votes of the extreme conservative base who vote in Republican primaries.
But in small towns across the nation, there is only a small 'base" of democratic primary voters. So sorry, it won't be easy.
Who will fund buses at all here in Morris County NJ? The Tea Party also relied on the votes of the extreme conservative base who vote in Republican primaries.
But in small towns across the nation, there is only a small 'base" of democratic primary voters. So sorry, it won't be easy.
1
There's another option to organizing like the Tea Party. Don't do a damn thing. Let the republicans have their way voting in, or out legislation that would negatively affect just about every American one way or the other.
Wait two years and watch them all disappear in the next election.
These republican congressional folks aren't the brightest bulbs in the room and will manage to alienate even their own constituents. Think Medicare and Social Security. Wait till they start playing with that.
Wait two years and watch them all disappear in the next election.
These republican congressional folks aren't the brightest bulbs in the room and will manage to alienate even their own constituents. Think Medicare and Social Security. Wait till they start playing with that.
6
But can we wait, letting the stupid monied wreck cherished institutions and then hope to get them back? Nothing takes out the Koch brothers, the Cato Institute, or the 158 families who collude to be sure we remain an oligarchy.
1
Political change, like getting old, is not usually a sudden, catastrophic event, but an almost imperceptible one. Today, reading several newspapers and blogs from the United States, three headlines jump out: the US ethics oversight committee has been subsumed by Congress, an opportune, though sad, event; another, that the most incarcerated city in the world in the most incarcerated country in the world is building a new super jail (spoiler alert: New Orleans); and finally, forty percent of the houses damaged by Hurricane Sandy are still waiting repair. All three point to state failure; and the United States is a failed state. It's too big, too rich, too armed, to be a rogue country, and that's what it has become. It's frightening, and terrible to see, but the complicit media in your country is the kind you find in such states, too. We see it from afar, but you, living with it day to day, aren't aware of these wrinkles on the body politic.
9
Terence, thank you for continuing to take the time to remind us who we are. Too many here have no idea of the big picture. If more did, we might not be where we are.
Please continue to observe and comment. Your view from above is desperately needed. Perhaps you will help us join the world.
Please continue to observe and comment. Your view from above is desperately needed. Perhaps you will help us join the world.
On the contrary, most of us (the majority that voted for Clinton) are aware and despairing.
The biggest fly in the ointment to salve us from the effect of a Trump presidency can be best summarized by Will Rodgers' quote:
"I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
"I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
2
The Dems have relied on their broken machines for far, far too long. The big problem will be finding voters who will mobilize for causes and the party without charismatic leadership. Sadly, the millennials have never demonstrated persistence and commitment to remain mobilized for very long. This work will not happen without investment in time and discipline. Good luck with that.
1
The authors underplay the scope of the challenge. The GOP did not win all those state houses and all those voters because small groups of people dressed up like Bostonian revolutionaries and yelled about taxes.
Behind those costumes and protests lay a well thought out, well orchestrated, well funded campaign - the kind that sells you on processed food or a drug with 30 scrabble-point name and lethal side effects.
State house take overs started with GOP strategy and ALEC, not the Tea Party. And ALEC in turn brought the attention of huge van loads of cash into play, as people like the Koch brothers funded local elections. Take the state, implement the corporate agenda, and gerrymander to swing the federal elections.
And behind it all, was a huge media empire which has control over huge swaths of the electorate, pumping out the messaging necessary, 24/7.
The Dems need it all - a resonant and consuming message, a media empire that half the nation trusts implicitly, regardless of veracity, big money to fund at the local levels, and people who will show up to protest, vote in primaries, and turn our for local and state elections.
The Dems don't have ALEC or the Koch brothers, or at this point a product to pitch, or a media empire that anyone trusts. Small groups of vocal people are necessary - but as a support, not a focus of change.
Behind those costumes and protests lay a well thought out, well orchestrated, well funded campaign - the kind that sells you on processed food or a drug with 30 scrabble-point name and lethal side effects.
State house take overs started with GOP strategy and ALEC, not the Tea Party. And ALEC in turn brought the attention of huge van loads of cash into play, as people like the Koch brothers funded local elections. Take the state, implement the corporate agenda, and gerrymander to swing the federal elections.
And behind it all, was a huge media empire which has control over huge swaths of the electorate, pumping out the messaging necessary, 24/7.
The Dems need it all - a resonant and consuming message, a media empire that half the nation trusts implicitly, regardless of veracity, big money to fund at the local levels, and people who will show up to protest, vote in primaries, and turn our for local and state elections.
The Dems don't have ALEC or the Koch brothers, or at this point a product to pitch, or a media empire that anyone trusts. Small groups of vocal people are necessary - but as a support, not a focus of change.
10
Your article is full of disinformation. Mr. Trump has a mandate that Americans DO support: put America and its People first. Enforce the Immigration Laws. That is not a bigoted or anti-democratic agenda which will be threatening our
values and endangering us all. "Our values" as the Left loves to refer to, are
God, family, and country; none of which they care too much about.
The Tea Party emerged because, for the first time ever, we had a president
that was anti-America, with no regard for the Constitution. His administration has been the most corrupt, secretative, and divisive in the history of this country.
So, I would advise the authors, before writing again about "our values" to read the Constitution and the Founding Fathers. They were conservatives and religious. What a shocker!
values and endangering us all. "Our values" as the Left loves to refer to, are
God, family, and country; none of which they care too much about.
The Tea Party emerged because, for the first time ever, we had a president
that was anti-America, with no regard for the Constitution. His administration has been the most corrupt, secretative, and divisive in the history of this country.
So, I would advise the authors, before writing again about "our values" to read the Constitution and the Founding Fathers. They were conservatives and religious. What a shocker!
1
MariaMagdalena, if you guys really cared about family, you wouldn't gut the Affordable Care Act.
Seriously, do you think that children with respiratory and eye infections, infants suffering from a myriad of childhood diseases, and teens with orthopedic issues are going to be OK just because you're serving them a dose of pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps morality instead of the medical care they deserve? And what about their anguished parents who can't care for the ones they love most?
Seriously, do you think that children with respiratory and eye infections, infants suffering from a myriad of childhood diseases, and teens with orthopedic issues are going to be OK just because you're serving them a dose of pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps morality instead of the medical care they deserve? And what about their anguished parents who can't care for the ones they love most?
Your side is not in favor of the Constitution, despite your protestations. The Article of Confederations is a much better fit and has the advantage of being the true 'original intent' of the Founders. Trump has no mandate as he lost the popular vote. he has a large minority but despite what you see in your small town, Red state America is not the numerical majority. This may not matter at first because our Constitution is anti Democratic but it is the truth
1
This comment means nothing given your inability to understand the meaning of the word "mandate."
For at least the next two years, the Democratic response to President Trump and the GOP controlled Congress should simply be, "Do you need more rope?" That's correct, we Democrats should quietly stand back and let those who did not vote, and those who voted Republican, get a belly full of GOP policies and programs: unencumbered and undiluted. If Republican programs competently address our nation's problems, so be it. If they prove disastrous, then calls for change may gain traction at the local level. But, for the moment, the wise move is to stand back and offer more rope.
10
With the exception made for the open Supreme Court nomination. Garland must be brought up for a vote before any Senate business can be conducted.
Today the Democratic Party needs to be reborn into a true opposition party. No compromises with evil, no acquiescence to his agenda, even if superficially attractive, and never give in on appointments, legislation, anything.
9
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it learns to listen rather than to preach.
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it learns to listen to the people of America rather than tell us how wrong we are and try to correct us. Most of us manage to be mostly civil, most of the time. We do not spend our days victimizing or oppressing people - most of us don't have the the time or inclination. The electorate are not children to be brought into the light, and certainly not proles to be liberated, we are citizens seeking to be represented and at this point elections have become a choice of who does this the least poorly. This is not a good state of affairs, though it could be easily changed.
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it learns to listen to the people of America rather than simply churn in the echo chambers of the coastal country clubs and regard "flyover country" as something on the bottom of their shoe. A simple map of D v. R voting on a countywide basis can be found nearly anywhere, including the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/president ). The demographics are stark and self-explanatory.
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it learns to listen.
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it learns to listen to the people of America rather than tell us how wrong we are and try to correct us. Most of us manage to be mostly civil, most of the time. We do not spend our days victimizing or oppressing people - most of us don't have the the time or inclination. The electorate are not children to be brought into the light, and certainly not proles to be liberated, we are citizens seeking to be represented and at this point elections have become a choice of who does this the least poorly. This is not a good state of affairs, though it could be easily changed.
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it learns to listen to the people of America rather than simply churn in the echo chambers of the coastal country clubs and regard "flyover country" as something on the bottom of their shoe. A simple map of D v. R voting on a countywide basis can be found nearly anywhere, including the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/president ). The demographics are stark and self-explanatory.
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it learns to listen.
5
Yeah, we need to just listen to the people during the Second Civil Rights revolutions during the 50's and 60's. The people would have spoken louldy that they liked things just the way there were. No disruptive dismantling of Jim Crow, not integrated schools, Separate but ( un ) equal the law of the land. Sometimes the people are wrong. What then? Religion demands that we be our best selves. Would that sin be defined by plebiscite?Politics is not different
The Democratic Party will not find itself in favor until it rids itself of progressive leadership. Progressives are a problem for the party right now. They are out of touch with a majority of the country, despite what Joe Biden says. He's referring to people's agreeing to what democrats are selling versus what they're actually delivering. After all, who wouldn't want cheaper health insurance?
It's not enough to focus on the possible. It is also essential to discard the impossible. Regardless of the merits, gun control, Muslim immigration, and Palestinian nationalism are non-starters at this time in America . Strike them from today's liberal agenda. Instead, seize every opportunity to protect the rights of workers, women, gays, and voters, to regulate mortgages and promote universal health care. Don't waste political resources tilting at windmills. British tea was not the worst outrage - just the best target.
10
On the day after Trump takes the Oath of Office an impeachment effort must be established as an ongoing maneuver to keep him in line and to secure a modicum of safety for ourselves and for our country,
How else can we keep Trump in line - other than closing down his access to his Twitter rumblings.
The "Impeach Trump" declaration must be introduced in the House of Representatives on Day One ...... as a tactical imperative.
Doing so on a regular basis, prompted by Trump's behavior - whatever it may be - should be a strategic and never ending plan for the country's greater good.
Win or lose but build momentum is the overall plan.
The GOP wrote the playbook on this tactic and it is now their turn to be on stage for their close-up.
Seating Trump beneath a Damocles sword that hangs by a hair, over the hair on his large and swollen head, should be a reminder that if he goes too far ....... well another vote will be taken just as a reminder that we the people may well have the last word on any issue he may wish to advertise, promulgate, or toss around as his latest bullying behavior.
Polls to evaluate this action can be mounted to take effect immediately after each impeachment effort.
Trump has no mandate and he lost the popular vote by a substantial margin.
Our mandate is in our numbers and the time to make this point is on Day One after the Oath of Office is administrated.
How else can we keep Trump in line - other than closing down his access to his Twitter rumblings.
The "Impeach Trump" declaration must be introduced in the House of Representatives on Day One ...... as a tactical imperative.
Doing so on a regular basis, prompted by Trump's behavior - whatever it may be - should be a strategic and never ending plan for the country's greater good.
Win or lose but build momentum is the overall plan.
The GOP wrote the playbook on this tactic and it is now their turn to be on stage for their close-up.
Seating Trump beneath a Damocles sword that hangs by a hair, over the hair on his large and swollen head, should be a reminder that if he goes too far ....... well another vote will be taken just as a reminder that we the people may well have the last word on any issue he may wish to advertise, promulgate, or toss around as his latest bullying behavior.
Polls to evaluate this action can be mounted to take effect immediately after each impeachment effort.
Trump has no mandate and he lost the popular vote by a substantial margin.
Our mandate is in our numbers and the time to make this point is on Day One after the Oath of Office is administrated.
10
I do believe this is the best plan. The Republicans said their main objective was keeping Obama a one term president. Democrats must be a single minded in opposition and not let the good of the country stand in the way. Otherwise it is a game of chicken between an adult and a teenager. You know who 'wins" in that case.
The arrogance from the first paragraph is astonishing. Our beloved PEOTUS Donald Trump has "no mandate for policies that most Americans do not support?" The Congress will seek to "enact a bigoted and anti-Democratic agenda?" Which election did these people watch? It wasn't this one where PEOTUS won 304 electoral votes and won both chambers of Congress. Those extra votes for Clinton in the "progressive states" of New York and California were most likely all those illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities that Progressives argue cannot figure out how to obtain valid i.d., therefore the whole requirement should be done away with until they decide to vote Republican. And as long as it is okay to flout the law in "Sanctuary cities" maybe the Red States will apply the same logic to progressives and bring back slavery for Progressives, color blind, of course. And a little advice, Tea Partiers were patriots not social justice warriors so your populist plan for grass roots activism may only work in progressive population areas.
7
Tea parties are the dupes of the oligarchs. Watch trump gathering them for his cabinet. Trump supporters should be aghast at the betrayal. Sadly they are too doctrinaire to see what is happening. Id like to see how u feel about Herr trump in a year.
Prove it was illegals before you make a charge like that. I see how you are; disenfranchising the millions that live in California and New York ( where most of the Red States money and innovations come from) is fine because they are not small town Americans. The Texas ID requirements that accept a concealed carry permit but exclude a College ID ( photo, laminate) show exactly what the purpose of the ID laws is. I do expect Trump to build internment camps for domestic enemies, so we are in agreement that slavery for progressives is on the table. Every Rightist regime goes too far in suppressing domestic dissent. But I am sure you are totally on board with that one.
2
There are two problems/glaring omissions in this article: 1 - Republicans will be much more ruthless in wielding their super majority power than Democrats ever were. 2 - The tea party was funded and organized by corporate interests and was much more hierarchical and disciplined than liberal opposition ever will be. If liberals couldn't be bothered with getting out and voting for a highly qualified and experienced candidate like HRC, it is doubtful that they will be motivated enough to organize an effective opposition like the tea party.
18
Exactly. The life blood of the tea party has been tribalism/racism and authoritarianism, positions antithetical to liberal democracy.
RE: In August, routine hometown events got unexpectedly rough for members of Congress. At a neighborhood event at Randalls, a grocery store in Austin, Tex., Congressman Lloyd Doggett came face to face with a group of “tea party patriots,” carrying signs that said “No Socialized Health Care.”
WOW how rough. Imagine a representative having to actually listen to the people for whom he works. The audacity of those constituents not shutting up and listening their betters in Congress. This attitude exhibited by the "progressive" writers of this op is exactly why Democrats will continue to be a minority and regional (coastal only) party.
WOW how rough. Imagine a representative having to actually listen to the people for whom he works. The audacity of those constituents not shutting up and listening their betters in Congress. This attitude exhibited by the "progressive" writers of this op is exactly why Democrats will continue to be a minority and regional (coastal only) party.
6
Isn't at least ironic to you that The Teapartiers carrying the "No Socialized Health Care" signs are beneficiaries of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?
It is hard to listen to stupid. Those folks saying "no socialized medicine" were mostly senior citizens who are draining medicare-- a perfectly good SOCIALIST system-- because they selfishly live unhealthy and sedentary lifestyles and demand Cadillac care paid for by the rest of us, even when it makes no sense. Hip replacements and pacemakers for people nearing 90 is ridiculous and selfish. Far be it however for a congressperson in a red state to remind tea-party types that they are the beneficiaries of SOCIALIST healthcare they were decrying.
1
The authors suggest the tactics of a community organizer. President Obama was a community organizer. Unfortunately Obama and the Democrats could not figure out a way to neutralize the community organizers against him.
The people who would need to organize around the issues that the authors propose, unfortunately, didn't and don't vote. That's one reason Clinton lost. Voter registration campaigns are not enough. A degree of motivation and/or assistance will be necessary to get these citizens out to vote.
The people who would need to organize around the issues that the authors propose, unfortunately, didn't and don't vote. That's one reason Clinton lost. Voter registration campaigns are not enough. A degree of motivation and/or assistance will be necessary to get these citizens out to vote.
Always keep in mind that the tactics of the Tea Party have been to break down and destroy rather than to build. Make sure that the tools used to fight for democracy are not used to fight democracy.
At the end of the Roman Republic (yes Republic not Empire) the Mos Maiorum (the ancient customs or the Ways of the Elders) came under fire during a period of increased political polarization. The tools that each party created to gain the upper hand in the short term ultimately only served to weaken the Republic in the long term
Therefore I urge people to remember that they must be building something rather than breaking in efforts to resist a despot
At the end of the Roman Republic (yes Republic not Empire) the Mos Maiorum (the ancient customs or the Ways of the Elders) came under fire during a period of increased political polarization. The tools that each party created to gain the upper hand in the short term ultimately only served to weaken the Republic in the long term
Therefore I urge people to remember that they must be building something rather than breaking in efforts to resist a despot
1
Follow the link to the Indivisible guide. It's interesting, thoughtful and well written. The guide is a model for local action.
I live in a Blue State. A Democrat represents my district in the House. We have two Democrats from Minnesota in the Senate. My State Legislative District is represented by a Democrat. I don't have bragging rights because my State Senate District is represented by a Republican. Trump won locally. There clearly is room for improvement. Trump's local victory means that local people want change, particularly economic change, and government action to improve their lives.
Trump's actions have not been popular locally and the Republican initiatives being planned will provoke local outrage if not rebellion. So I don't have the Blue State Blues. I'm ready to roll.
I live in a Blue State. A Democrat represents my district in the House. We have two Democrats from Minnesota in the Senate. My State Legislative District is represented by a Democrat. I don't have bragging rights because my State Senate District is represented by a Republican. Trump won locally. There clearly is room for improvement. Trump's local victory means that local people want change, particularly economic change, and government action to improve their lives.
Trump's actions have not been popular locally and the Republican initiatives being planned will provoke local outrage if not rebellion. So I don't have the Blue State Blues. I'm ready to roll.
The challenge for the Democrats is that, unlike the Republicans, they have historically shown a tendency to "cave in". Conservatives have the past to hold on to, with religious zeal, but liberals are thinking ahead and often unsure about what the future should look like. Certainty breeds confidence, even if it is misplaced and is detrimental to progress, but doubt, by definition, breeds lack of confidence. This is the fundamental challenge facing the Democrats. Managing the tension between the need to oppose a radical Trump/Republican agenda while exercising doubt and critical thinking will be the great challenge for the party.
The authors of this article are dreaming. Except for the East and West coasts this country is very conservative and they want to halt the progressive march toward more liberal social and cultural issues. To portray liberals as the good guys and conservatives as the bad guys will not work. People are offended when they are called bigots, racists, etc. because they happen to have different opinions and beliefs then those of the liberals.
1
these guys are outlining a strategy that probably many progressives want in the soon-to-be Trump era - resist at all costs and bide our time. However, what the Tea party really did to compel the GOP in Congress not to cooperate with Obama was to credibly threaten sitting lawmakers with a primary challenge from the right. For a strategy like the one outlined here to work, Democrats and prgressives must be willing and able to put forth progressive alterantives in the upcoming primaries if and when the Dems in congress cooperate with Trump.
1
Will the whining ever stop? It is amazing the ease with which progressives label those who disagree with them racists and bigots. The election results indicate that in between the coasts, Americans are not interested in the progressive agenda. Hillary Clinton's popular vote win was largely due to a 4 million vote win in California. The nascent authors fail to explain why President Obama didn't pass the progressive agenda when he controlled congress and had a veto proof majority in the senate during his first two years in office. Why didn't President Obama, Harry Reed and Nancy Pelosi do what they could have easily done?
1
The key phrase in this piece is that the Tea Party took on Republicans as well as Democrats. What we have faced for a long time are Democrats who sought the same money, from the same sources to support the same interests as the GOP. They often weren't willing to go as far as the GOP, and on some issues that is significant, but too often it was not enough.
This became clear when Bernie Sanders ran and his platform was markedly different from that advanced by Sec. Clinton. Even some of Clinton's more liberal positions, like forgiving some student loan debt came more as a reaction to Sanders than as a core value of the party.
Organizing locally is always good advice, but the real challenge for the Democrats is to answer the question who are they and what do they stand for?
If you drew up a side by side list of Clinton and Sanders positions on key issues you will see stark differences. So the real question is which side of that list will become the Democratic opposition to Trump?
This became clear when Bernie Sanders ran and his platform was markedly different from that advanced by Sec. Clinton. Even some of Clinton's more liberal positions, like forgiving some student loan debt came more as a reaction to Sanders than as a core value of the party.
Organizing locally is always good advice, but the real challenge for the Democrats is to answer the question who are they and what do they stand for?
If you drew up a side by side list of Clinton and Sanders positions on key issues you will see stark differences. So the real question is which side of that list will become the Democratic opposition to Trump?
1
What strikes me about this collaborative piece is the lack of patriotism and sportsmanship demonstrated by the authors. As our elected President, DT, whatever one thinks of him personally, won fair and square, and deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt until he proves otherwise. Anger coming from the liberal elites is not based on valid grievances, but rather unhappiness that their brand of intolerance and hatred for anyone who disagrees with them has been rejected by the voters,Tea Partiers, as anyone who has bothered to read "Strangers in their Own Land,"penned moreover by a left wing Berkeley sociologist,it is time for us to close up as Americans,build, in her words,"bridges of empathy"with those whom we quarrel with over politics. Otherwise, how r we ever going to get together? Very idea of Chuck Schumer leading this populist crusade is ridiculous, risible. Senator once tried to have a flight attendant sacked because she insisted that he shut off his cell phone before takeoff. He also took unfair advantage by excoriating her at the top of his voice.Not very gracious or gentlemanly on his part. Fortunately for the poor woman, the airlines took her side and ignored Schumer's call for her dismissal. She was only doing her job.Late sister flew for years with Capital Airlines, once biggest in nation, so I automatically sympathized with the victim, in this case, the flight attendant. "Le senator Schumer se croyait tout permis!"
2
Trump opponents have an advantage the Tea Party did not: Trump and his followers are a political force based on no identifiable governing philosophy. Its a movement based on a single, largely non-ideological figure and support for his assertions of blunt will, nothing more. Brittle political glass to be sure.
And say what you will about the Tea Party, unlike "Trumpism" it had a pure, easily recognizable philosophy: conservative economic policies. And that its rise was a reaction to Obama is no stain or scandal: its opposition to Obama and his left wing ways was legitimate dissent, and not racism as some crassly claim.
Its methods were far too strident at times, they could be their own worst enemy; yet the Tea Party, falsely claimed as cousin to "Trumpism", actually looks pretty good now when contrasted with the crude and elephantine movement that is Trump.
And say what you will about the Tea Party, unlike "Trumpism" it had a pure, easily recognizable philosophy: conservative economic policies. And that its rise was a reaction to Obama is no stain or scandal: its opposition to Obama and his left wing ways was legitimate dissent, and not racism as some crassly claim.
Its methods were far too strident at times, they could be their own worst enemy; yet the Tea Party, falsely claimed as cousin to "Trumpism", actually looks pretty good now when contrasted with the crude and elephantine movement that is Trump.
The tea party is over and there is nothing positive to learn from it and to suggest that the democrats learn from the tea party to stop Trump is totally absurd,. Two thirds of the states of the USA voted for Trump for change the better and with the hope that their jobs will be secure, that there will be no new wars, that terrorism will be stopped, the national debt will be reduced so why would democrats want to stop what is in the best interest of the nation. Stopping Trump and placing obstacles in his path to make America great again will further erode confidence of the people in the democratic party and it will continue to lose elections. The democrats can play a constructive role of opposing policies that they think will not be in the best interest of the nation. For example, if Trump wants to expand nuclear capability at an enormous cost to the tax payers, I say STOP him by all means.
Anyone who has spent time over the last 8 years directly engaged with House members of both parties knows first hand the abject fear that members feel when an active Tea Party cell is focused on their district. Intelligent, otherwise decent Republican (and long gone "moderate" Democrat) members are reduced to cowering at the prospect of being "primaryed" on their right flank. Many will propose a kinder gentler version of Tea Party tactics, one based on fact and fairness, inclusion and respect or that the first thing we must do is rebuild the Democratic Party and realign the Democrat agenda. They are missing the point. The Tea Party's effectiveness was based on simplicity and direct confrontation, loud, in your face, direct confrontation; having stood on a podium as it was unfolding there is only one way to describe it- intimidating. And there is only one way to fight this battle of a political lifetime: K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple Stupid and focus on weak Congressional districts. Show up at town halls and public functions with a clear message, on the offense, not defense. There is nothing to defend, this Congress won't have already dismantled. Organizing locally on national issues is key, shoving Congress members out of office is key, demonstrating effective tactics is key. Fairness is not, inclusion is not, and rebuilding the Democratic party are not keys to victory, they are distractions.
1
This is excellent, but these practices need to be extended to the state government as well. In my Maryland district, I'm well represented in Congress, but I am not well represented by my governor and state representative.
The Democrats lost miserably in state elections years before they lost miserably in federal elections. The Republicans have made controlling state government the foundation of their strategy, the Democrats have not. That's they page in the playbook Democrats need to take.
The Democrats lost miserably in state elections years before they lost miserably in federal elections. The Republicans have made controlling state government the foundation of their strategy, the Democrats have not. That's they page in the playbook Democrats need to take.
3
For forty years in this progressive Californian college town I have been telling students to not register to vote here as that just makes our lefty elected officials win by 88% instead of 55%.
We need to get every Blue college town to work on getting liberal and progressive students registered back in their hometowns that are typically Red.
Every protesting/marching/demonstrating student liberal needs to redirect where they take action so the state representatives and the Congress reps from their parents home districts gets a message. Another protest at UCSC or in Madison or Austin is ho-hum and expected. Take that energy back to where it is Purple or even Red to make some impact and stop just preaching to the choir with college town rallies.
We need to get every Blue college town to work on getting liberal and progressive students registered back in their hometowns that are typically Red.
Every protesting/marching/demonstrating student liberal needs to redirect where they take action so the state representatives and the Congress reps from their parents home districts gets a message. Another protest at UCSC or in Madison or Austin is ho-hum and expected. Take that energy back to where it is Purple or even Red to make some impact and stop just preaching to the choir with college town rallies.
6
Be clear on what "organizing locally" has really meant, especially in swing states. GOP and conservative operatives actually move in to become local resident-activists in critical or potentially swing areas, for the long haul, periods over 5-8 years or more. They enter the local political scene on very local, single issues and identify locals inclined to speak up; and the education and selection of those locals begins -- often on seemingly non-partisan issues. There are phone calls to those who've written letters-to-the-editor, neighborhood get-togethers that turn into organizing sessions, lunches with local opinion-leaders and officials, and so forth. Soon, the attention of these local leaders and groups is turned to pivotal issues and candidates that can strengthen the state and then national position of rightwing Republican interests -- zoning, judgeships, etc. No one ever asks where the money for these activities comes from because they appear to be funded by the relatively new residents (often in flexible if ill-defined jobs).
Liberals always assume that once voters hear "the truth," they will act accordingly. So "grassroots activism" to them just means talking and griping. They need to take a leaf from the conservative playbook and diffuse the resources for PR, organization, political education, by literally digging in to local politics. Talk doesn't do it. Presence and mobilization on nearly any issue does it.
Liberals always assume that once voters hear "the truth," they will act accordingly. So "grassroots activism" to them just means talking and griping. They need to take a leaf from the conservative playbook and diffuse the resources for PR, organization, political education, by literally digging in to local politics. Talk doesn't do it. Presence and mobilization on nearly any issue does it.
5
Actually, I would not call what the Tea Party did as "play defense". In fact, they did the opposite; they played "offense", demanding their changes, not caring if their desires were good or hurtful for other people. That aside, I agree Progressives should learn from the Tea Party. The other thing the Tea Party did that led to their success was to keep things simple. Simple message. We Progressives tend to speak too much. Keep the message simple and focused on one or two key points.
8
This analysis is wrong. The Democrats have been having their own Tea Party moment for the past 6 years, from the Occupy protests through Black Lives Matter, to the Dakota Pipeline protests.
And when mainstream America saw what they were asking for, and how, they soundly rejected this program by electing Republicans at every level of government - from Trump to the dogcatcher.
If the Democrats and progressives want to return to power, they need to acknowledge a few obvious truths. First, Obama's "mandate." Millions of white, moderate Republicans and Democrats helped elect him because we were tired of GW Bush's social conservatism and a war in Iraq that was intended to bring democracy to savages. That's it. We didn't want identity politics, conversations on race, or a war on the economy. All he had to do was not be W, but he and the Democrats misinterpreted their wins in 2006 and 2008. And what's worse, Obama embraced some of the worst parts of the GW Bush agenda - the bank bailouts, open borders, and viewing Islam as a religion of peace.
The second truth is just how unpopular progressive policies are at the local level. Whenever progressives rally in a specific locale, and normal people get to see what they fight for, it's not a pretty picture. It's almost always higher taxes, a fight agaisnt school quality, and a fight for the rights of criminals over the rights of the law abiding. What diligent voter is going to sign up for this?
And when mainstream America saw what they were asking for, and how, they soundly rejected this program by electing Republicans at every level of government - from Trump to the dogcatcher.
If the Democrats and progressives want to return to power, they need to acknowledge a few obvious truths. First, Obama's "mandate." Millions of white, moderate Republicans and Democrats helped elect him because we were tired of GW Bush's social conservatism and a war in Iraq that was intended to bring democracy to savages. That's it. We didn't want identity politics, conversations on race, or a war on the economy. All he had to do was not be W, but he and the Democrats misinterpreted their wins in 2006 and 2008. And what's worse, Obama embraced some of the worst parts of the GW Bush agenda - the bank bailouts, open borders, and viewing Islam as a religion of peace.
The second truth is just how unpopular progressive policies are at the local level. Whenever progressives rally in a specific locale, and normal people get to see what they fight for, it's not a pretty picture. It's almost always higher taxes, a fight agaisnt school quality, and a fight for the rights of criminals over the rights of the law abiding. What diligent voter is going to sign up for this?
6
Ben, your last paragraph is delusional. Progressives want to protect education quality, access to healthcare, and a living wage for all. Your comments exposes more than you think, namely your fact free fanaticism, racism and xenophobia.
Obama did actually have a mandate to govern and his legislative priorities were exactly those he campaigned on. Completely at odds i might point out with Drumpfs campaigning compared to his cabinet appointments.
Obama did actually have a mandate to govern and his legislative priorities were exactly those he campaigned on. Completely at odds i might point out with Drumpfs campaigning compared to his cabinet appointments.
1
Excellent analysis, Ben G.
The known unknowns:
There will be a disaster directly caused by one of Trump's executive orders.
Republican legislation signed by Trump will fail but how long will those failures take to cause enough outrage and disappointment resulting in 2018 House and Senate gains for the Democrats?
The known knowns:
Trump and Republicans will accuse Democrats and the Media of plotting to create an obstructionist "make-him-a-one-term President" left wing Tea Party.
The Democrats' first priority is to challenge Trump on the two biggest known-knowns:
1)The foreign emoluments clause in the Constitution makes his Presidency un-Constitutional. It is not obstructionist or frivolous to challenge his Presidency on Constitutional grounds. Until and unless there is complete divestiture of his businesses, briefs should be filed and suits should be introduced by state Attorneys General from NY, CA etc.
2) Trump must be pressed to acknowledge the Russian attempts to interfere with our election as a serious violation of our national sovereignty or provide proof that he has not colluded with Putin to influence the election.
It seems to me, that before Democrats start hand-wringing about any legislation that might be introduced on the part of Republicans--there is a clear battle to be fought and won on these obvious and egregious crises that Trump created for himself, shows no sign of addressing--and on which he should be forced to capitulate.
There will be a disaster directly caused by one of Trump's executive orders.
Republican legislation signed by Trump will fail but how long will those failures take to cause enough outrage and disappointment resulting in 2018 House and Senate gains for the Democrats?
The known knowns:
Trump and Republicans will accuse Democrats and the Media of plotting to create an obstructionist "make-him-a-one-term President" left wing Tea Party.
The Democrats' first priority is to challenge Trump on the two biggest known-knowns:
1)The foreign emoluments clause in the Constitution makes his Presidency un-Constitutional. It is not obstructionist or frivolous to challenge his Presidency on Constitutional grounds. Until and unless there is complete divestiture of his businesses, briefs should be filed and suits should be introduced by state Attorneys General from NY, CA etc.
2) Trump must be pressed to acknowledge the Russian attempts to interfere with our election as a serious violation of our national sovereignty or provide proof that he has not colluded with Putin to influence the election.
It seems to me, that before Democrats start hand-wringing about any legislation that might be introduced on the part of Republicans--there is a clear battle to be fought and won on these obvious and egregious crises that Trump created for himself, shows no sign of addressing--and on which he should be forced to capitulate.
13
With Trump it is the unknown unknowns which are probably the most dangerous.
The Tea Party was initially an insurrection within the Republican Party. Republicans, blinded by their animus toward Obama and their thirst for power, mistakenly embraced and adapted to the TP, and became a different, extremist political entity. The TP destroyed their host entity by sticking together and aligning with populist urges, single issue right-wing organizations, and wealthy backers who sought personal advantage. Democrats can certainly adopt some TP tactics and have been urged by many to do so. Some think the Sanders movement was an insurrection within the party. Perhaps so, but as noted - and is painfully obvious - it or another movement needs to be a disciplined, relentless and organic grass roots campaign. The real question, though, is what message or platform a rekindled if not redefined Democratic movement will promote. The TP message was radical and simple. Is there a Democratic equivalent?
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@mike Boma: there had better be. Unless they are operating in secret somewhere, Democrats should be meeting this very day. Trump has a head start and the power of the Presidency. Dems are scattered and acting like sheep.that must stop and I hope it will.
In just a little more than two weeks, women (and their supporters) will march in Washington and other US cities. That power and protest must be harnessed soon if the Dems are to have any chance at all of fighting the country's first dictator in waiting.
In just a little more than two weeks, women (and their supporters) will march in Washington and other US cities. That power and protest must be harnessed soon if the Dems are to have any chance at all of fighting the country's first dictator in waiting.
4
I believe there is a Democratic equivalent: For the People! and For Truth! The response to giving everything to to the few is THIS is not government for the people. and the response to lies, lies, LIES! is to consistently responds with data, experience, observation, the TRUTH.
The simple message for Democrats? How about: Government for people, not corporations...
I'm not so sure about the viciousness part! The tea partiers were vicious and Trump is vicious. For God sake's Democrats, in any type of resistance, be as mean as the other guy.
This article is a good case study of checks and balances. How much do representatives value reelection over their fealty to Donald Trump? That is the true test: whether they want to listen to their constituents or to the man who would be king.
A lot of alarming things are happening right now. Republicans trashed The Ethics office last night. That gives a whole new meaning to the term corrupt Congress. I've heard various pundits talk about Trump supporting the fascist party in France during their elections, in order to please Putin. We have in Trump a demagogue aligning himself with a Russian demagogue, taking his side in his attempt to weaken.
Donald Trump is a very dangerous man. I predict a constitutional crisis in short order. I predict an attempt by Trump to smash his fist through our Constitution.
The Democratic resistance must be strong, must be firm, and must be ready to protect our civil liberties.
So far many are treating Trump like an oddity and because they do, they are normalizing him. This man cannot be normalized, because he is not normal. Unless Democrats fight the fight of their life, and unless ordinary citizens realize what kind of fight we are in, our democracy will crumble a lot sooner than many are predicting.
This article is a good case study of checks and balances. How much do representatives value reelection over their fealty to Donald Trump? That is the true test: whether they want to listen to their constituents or to the man who would be king.
A lot of alarming things are happening right now. Republicans trashed The Ethics office last night. That gives a whole new meaning to the term corrupt Congress. I've heard various pundits talk about Trump supporting the fascist party in France during their elections, in order to please Putin. We have in Trump a demagogue aligning himself with a Russian demagogue, taking his side in his attempt to weaken.
Donald Trump is a very dangerous man. I predict a constitutional crisis in short order. I predict an attempt by Trump to smash his fist through our Constitution.
The Democratic resistance must be strong, must be firm, and must be ready to protect our civil liberties.
So far many are treating Trump like an oddity and because they do, they are normalizing him. This man cannot be normalized, because he is not normal. Unless Democrats fight the fight of their life, and unless ordinary citizens realize what kind of fight we are in, our democracy will crumble a lot sooner than many are predicting.
32
3rd paragraph, last sentence: "weaken Europe."
1
We also need to push our local nes to report, every day, on the votes of our representatives.
Lobbyists track bills every inch of the way, from drafting to committee, to votes by the House and Senate, to reconciliation of the House and Senate versions. Voters must do the same.
If voters can stay informed about how their representatives actually vote, they won't be so easily fooled by campaign commercials from Republicans, who claim to help people while denying them health care, overtime benefits, and generally picking their pockets.
Lobbyists track bills every inch of the way, from drafting to committee, to votes by the House and Senate, to reconciliation of the House and Senate versions. Voters must do the same.
If voters can stay informed about how their representatives actually vote, they won't be so easily fooled by campaign commercials from Republicans, who claim to help people while denying them health care, overtime benefits, and generally picking their pockets.
13
This information is widely available and the voters don't care, sadly.
They are angry every 4 years and vote for the candidate channelling that anger and offering easy solutions.
They are angry every 4 years and vote for the candidate channelling that anger and offering easy solutions.
The real problem with the Democrats is they were too selfish and failed to support their president for the common good. So while copying Tea Party even more selfish militant approach may boost their obstructionism skill. In the end, they would lose even more.
For the good of the party, and America, they need to let the new blood in and keep their ears to the ground. Symbolically, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi should relinquish her reign. What's the point of being the dictatorial queen of the party when the party itself is going nowhere? Only to forfeit such a competitive advantage of 2008?
For the good of the party, and America, they need to let the new blood in and keep their ears to the ground. Symbolically, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi should relinquish her reign. What's the point of being the dictatorial queen of the party when the party itself is going nowhere? Only to forfeit such a competitive advantage of 2008?
2
I think, as with HRC, the objections to Pelosi are based on emotions rather than facts or intellectual disagreement. Frankly, she is unpopular in large part because she is a woman. I'm not sure there is anyone who can do her job better - but a man doing the same thing would probably be better liked, sadly.
1
If the Democratic party gets back to fighting for equal opportunity for all and humane treatment of all, they can win. As to whether local opposition can occur, it depends on the state. In my deeply red state, the hegemony of the Republican party makes it an exercise in futility. They could care less about any viewpoint other than their own and know they are going to be reelected by wide margins.
9
Any state can be flipped by the right argument. Your deeply red state just needs to start with an increase in state legislators, mayors, school boards. I could see states like Georgia and Texas, possibly even Arizona going Democratic in the decade as demographics change. Dems need to play the long game and focus on the whole country. The so called "blue wall" fell because the Dems took for granted that the working class somehow knew their policies would favor them. People need to be reminded. Red states need to hear a different message than the one right wind radio has drilled into them or they will continue to vote against their interests and against what they really want government to represent for them.
2
This is the result of the Electoral College vote vaporization scam that cuts off presidential coat-tails. No other institutional idiocy has done more to divide this nation.
Kind of the same mentality of the voters in Manhattan and along the west coast of Calif.
We are all in the dark about what will actually happen
The GOP plan to make big changes and seem to have zero interest in the consequences
People may lose healthcare
Many people may die as a result
These are loved ones that we will have to watch suffer
It is terrifying
Trump says one thing
His surrogates say he did not mean it
He then says they are wrong
Since we have no clear idea what is to come
We will only be able to protest after the fact
That is more like grieving than action
The GOP plan to make big changes and seem to have zero interest in the consequences
People may lose healthcare
Many people may die as a result
These are loved ones that we will have to watch suffer
It is terrifying
Trump says one thing
His surrogates say he did not mean it
He then says they are wrong
Since we have no clear idea what is to come
We will only be able to protest after the fact
That is more like grieving than action
38
Yes. I have spent forty years studying history and politics and thinking, "the more things change the more they stay the same."
But this is different. Even before Trump was elected, history was shifting. He just accelerates the process.
Countries don't slowly degrade. Pressure builds, then everything changes very quickly.
I feel like chicken little, and everyone is looking down on the "conspiracy theorist," instead of looking up to see that the sky is indeed falling.
Conspiracies are secret, but the grand theft that is about to be completed is happening right under our noses and most of us refuse to see it.
In February, when corporate mass media, says, "look at how reasonable Paul Ryan is" and Chuck Schumer agrees, there will be nothing standing in their way, except for humans that care enough to fight back.
But this is different. Even before Trump was elected, history was shifting. He just accelerates the process.
Countries don't slowly degrade. Pressure builds, then everything changes very quickly.
I feel like chicken little, and everyone is looking down on the "conspiracy theorist," instead of looking up to see that the sky is indeed falling.
Conspiracies are secret, but the grand theft that is about to be completed is happening right under our noses and most of us refuse to see it.
In February, when corporate mass media, says, "look at how reasonable Paul Ryan is" and Chuck Schumer agrees, there will be nothing standing in their way, except for humans that care enough to fight back.
1
What is more terrifying than the coming of Trump is the lack of preparation. It’s like knowing that a hurricane is coming and instead of getting ready, people seem to be trying to find ways to stop the storm.
The leading edge of the hurricane has already hit—the House is changing how its own ethical behavior will be governed.
As the congressional aides point out the Tea Party’s racist rhetoric was accompanied by physical threat.
Both were necessary for that cohesion you called “sticking together” to create the impression of a broad discontent with President Obama—one writer called it “everyday bias;” something everybody has and race is the most everyday of all the other biases.
Finally, dispensing with the viciousness, means an automatic defeat against an opponent who has a mastery of viciousness. As one writer concluded in his “History of Conservatism—Liberals march and Conservatives murder.”
Given the bias that empowered the resistance to President Obama, and the first wave of the storm has already arrived, a better day to organize the resistance would be January 15—President’s Day.
The leading edge of the hurricane has already hit—the House is changing how its own ethical behavior will be governed.
As the congressional aides point out the Tea Party’s racist rhetoric was accompanied by physical threat.
Both were necessary for that cohesion you called “sticking together” to create the impression of a broad discontent with President Obama—one writer called it “everyday bias;” something everybody has and race is the most everyday of all the other biases.
Finally, dispensing with the viciousness, means an automatic defeat against an opponent who has a mastery of viciousness. As one writer concluded in his “History of Conservatism—Liberals march and Conservatives murder.”
Given the bias that empowered the resistance to President Obama, and the first wave of the storm has already arrived, a better day to organize the resistance would be January 15—President’s Day.
84
This suggests "The Perfect Storm" as an analogy for what just happened in our politics. 'Very apt!
Republicans do "morality", not ethics. They consider themselves above human law.
1
Isn't Presidents' Day February 20th?
1
Two-pronged:
1- A left version of ALEC to infiltrate local laws plus assist in fixing the extreme gerrymandering.
2- Loud, continuous and obnoxious demonstrations (but civil!--we don't want to sink to their level).
Unfortunately, the quiet, logical, sharing-of-ideas conversation strategy is pointless.
1- A left version of ALEC to infiltrate local laws plus assist in fixing the extreme gerrymandering.
2- Loud, continuous and obnoxious demonstrations (but civil!--we don't want to sink to their level).
Unfortunately, the quiet, logical, sharing-of-ideas conversation strategy is pointless.
120
Needs to be a political movement, not just the streets. Bernie and Obama will be leading the opposition politically. Everyone who cares about the future should get on board.
1
The Democratic Party is invisible to the public. It has no on the ground presence or regular portals of accessibility.
1
Yes, SLBvt, as much as I prefer to "go high when they go low", that is not the way to win in this current environment.
All fine an well, but this completely ignores the systemic machine nature that has become of voting that exaggerated and exploited the inherent biases of the electorial college, gerrymandered voting jurisdictions drawn by partisan insiders to corral opposition voters into one jurisdiction to have all the surrounding ones outweigh that one concentrated one, pitting town vs. country all in addition to all systematic, local meddling with voter id, locations, hours, registration, machinery, ballet design, poll watchers and voter roll maintenance.
The voices of reasonable people won this election by popular vote. The gop (we really have to come up with another name because this party is not the gop of even reagen let alone Lincoln). The most important thing reasonable people must do is restore integrity and enfranchisement to the vote. Then the job outlined here all but impossible.
If we're going to make a racket, first off every reasonable person must screw up their courage and challenge false, distorted, viral garbage the gop uses to cannibalize voters at the local level and shut up politicians who use it by challenging them and refusing to accept distraction and lies.
Use shame shamelessly to christian claiming the highroad. There is nothing christian about fouling the earth, a minimum wage for full time work below the cost of living, and a code of ethics that basically revolves around do what you can get away with. Make them own what they've done.
The voices of reasonable people won this election by popular vote. The gop (we really have to come up with another name because this party is not the gop of even reagen let alone Lincoln). The most important thing reasonable people must do is restore integrity and enfranchisement to the vote. Then the job outlined here all but impossible.
If we're going to make a racket, first off every reasonable person must screw up their courage and challenge false, distorted, viral garbage the gop uses to cannibalize voters at the local level and shut up politicians who use it by challenging them and refusing to accept distraction and lies.
Use shame shamelessly to christian claiming the highroad. There is nothing christian about fouling the earth, a minimum wage for full time work below the cost of living, and a code of ethics that basically revolves around do what you can get away with. Make them own what they've done.
40
These are truly Orwellian times, because TP was packaged and dressed up to look like some public minded movement it never was. No one should want anymore of the same!
When future books are written they’ll shake their heads how Dick Armey and Karl Rove were able to manufacture a “grassroots” political media campaign, and make it look like a popular movement swelling up from the bottom. TP's overnight appearance, w/out the humble origins, public organizers, or organic ground swell in the streets outside Washington and media’s political hacks. All things real political movements need. Read first hand reporters when the national campaign was first waged in hotel conference rooms across America. GOP reps asked newcomers to adopt a dress code, a sketchy anti-tax platform riddled with holes, and show up at rallies in flannel shirts looking like anti-government types. It was the son of the terrible, unethical Sarah Palin campaign experiment in pure demagoguery. Remember the “Joe the plumber” character at Palin rallies. A marginally employed plumbing assistant standing up for tax cuts for the richest, and anti-labor politics whose name wasn’t even Joe. It’s a perversion of representational democracy, not the expression of it.
Scarier still is the GOP morphed it’s TP political group into something even more remote from public scrutiny. Something called the Freedom Caucus. I’m sure the public will be less free from whatever this political insider cabal is brewing.
When future books are written they’ll shake their heads how Dick Armey and Karl Rove were able to manufacture a “grassroots” political media campaign, and make it look like a popular movement swelling up from the bottom. TP's overnight appearance, w/out the humble origins, public organizers, or organic ground swell in the streets outside Washington and media’s political hacks. All things real political movements need. Read first hand reporters when the national campaign was first waged in hotel conference rooms across America. GOP reps asked newcomers to adopt a dress code, a sketchy anti-tax platform riddled with holes, and show up at rallies in flannel shirts looking like anti-government types. It was the son of the terrible, unethical Sarah Palin campaign experiment in pure demagoguery. Remember the “Joe the plumber” character at Palin rallies. A marginally employed plumbing assistant standing up for tax cuts for the richest, and anti-labor politics whose name wasn’t even Joe. It’s a perversion of representational democracy, not the expression of it.
Scarier still is the GOP morphed it’s TP political group into something even more remote from public scrutiny. Something called the Freedom Caucus. I’m sure the public will be less free from whatever this political insider cabal is brewing.
26
Spreading Republican disinformation is a paying career for eager juvenile delinquents.
Yes the Tea Party is fake, but it used grass root tools to be effective. These are grass roots tools to stop bad legislation.
Democrats / Progressives need to fight back. Trump and Conservatives are taking the lead from Vladimir Putin on Governance. This is why Trump and many conservative members of Congress are not upset about Putin's interference with our election. The rich and powerful distain democracies, they lose their power and control with a democracy. First they blame the media and then they control the media as Trump is trying to accomplish by tweeting and not holding press conferences. Second they start changing law in regards to elections, and we have seen that done by Gerrymandering throughout the country. Then they take control of the judiciary; Mitch McConnell's willfully not holding or confirming any of Obama's Federal Judgeships, let alone the Supreme Court. Trump and his appointments are not just authoritarian, but most likely Kleptocrats. Obama spent 8 years extending an Olive Branch to the conservative right only to be kicked in the teeth. Democrats and Progressives certainly need to fight back vigorously if we truly hope to keep our freedom and our democracy. It was always fair game to debate social policies and such. But the conservative right is now changing the rules of Governance (North Caroline, Wisconsin) this is very dangerous. Its time to move on from Hillary Clintons loss, and move forward and fight for a Democrat /Progressive agenda.
58
Republican judicial nominees are selected to approve religion as a just cause of discrimination.
Unfortunately, the entire premise of this article is wrong. The real reasons the Tea Party exists are Big Right-Wing Money and Powerful Republican Insiders. The Tea Party is an elite movement, not a grass-roots movement, it's just been made to appear grass-roots. A very clever bit of “popular uprising” marketing built by a consortium of right-wing powerbrokers, a lie bought by even those on the political left who think they can have a left-wing grass-roots movement like it. They can’t. They need billionaires to fund and build it and an enormous media empire to promote it. The success of the Tea Party is not because a grassroots understanding of "how to wield political power...organized locally…sticking together to aggressively resist anything with President Obama’s support." Locally no one knew how to wield political power or had the ability and resources to attack their own members of congress and make concerted efforts to stop Obama. Tea Party, Inc. did. The Tea Party was billed as a people's movement but it exists because of the enormous amount of money from oil billionaire David H. Koch, the vast media empire of Rupert Murdoch, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, (chaired by Koch), and FreedomWorks (funded by the Kochs). The Tea Party movement's major organizations are not founded nor run by angry activists. Former GOP officials or operatives do it. It’s why the authors telling people "Gather your friends…join an existing local group or start your own..." won’t work.
85
So we should just passively accept the destruction of our 240 year old democratic republic by an arrogant ignorant vindictive greedy crooked sociopath? We should stand by why eager-to-grab Republicans seed courts, statehouses and laws with Putinesque guarantees that there is NO "Legal" way to stop them?
Sit by and passively watch the Fall of Rome?
I think not!
Sit by and passively watch the Fall of Rome?
I think not!
1
Thank you, Robert B, for your comments. Here in Wisconsin, it was a UW professor who investigated why newly elected governors were initiating the same laws for their states. It was then that we first learned of ALEC and other organized groups that were funded by the Koch brothers and other libertarians/far right conservatives. Looking into ALEC further, a whole list of governors and legislators across the country were discovered to have/had membership in ALEC, and this had been going on for years. Newly elected Republican legislators are brought into the fold, wined and dined,and told how to introduce ALEC-written laws. It was shocking to see how many state legislators and Attorneys General across the country are members--all Republicans. There also is a list of large corporations who pay thousands of dollars for membership. The Koch brothers are very patient and we now reap what they have sown. Campaign finance is so badly needed, but the irony is that the only ones who can change our laws are our legislators who depend on the flow of cash to preserve their re-election. Not ever going to happen. Our grandchildren will never know what Democracy looks like.
1
Absolutely correct.
Need to rally at the top and lead the movement.....
Need to rally at the top and lead the movement.....
I respectfully disagree. There should also be an offensive element in the proposed defense. By playing defense only, all the initiative will be on the attacking side.
15
The forefathers of this country were conservative.
8
Jan, waging revolutionary warfare against your own government isn't the most conservative thing in the world, though perhaps we have differing views as to the definition of "conservative." Gordon Wood's "The Radicalism of the American Revolution" does away with the "conservative colonial rebellion" argument.
Why must some people try to attain historical justification for their political leanings? Where would the Founders, many of whom disliked and disagreed with one another, have stood on Medicare and Medicaid, on charter schools, on abortion or affirmative action or gay marriage? And more to the point, who really cares? Appealing to authority isn't a good way to make an argument.
None of the Founders were proto-Marxist revolutionaries and none were the equivalents of today's Moral Majority. Let's not use them as some kind of collective shield to ward off, and by warding off, discredit, our equally-American opponents, be they Democrats or Republicans. The Founders belong to us all; conservatives have no monopoly on the inheritance they've left us.
Why must some people try to attain historical justification for their political leanings? Where would the Founders, many of whom disliked and disagreed with one another, have stood on Medicare and Medicaid, on charter schools, on abortion or affirmative action or gay marriage? And more to the point, who really cares? Appealing to authority isn't a good way to make an argument.
None of the Founders were proto-Marxist revolutionaries and none were the equivalents of today's Moral Majority. Let's not use them as some kind of collective shield to ward off, and by warding off, discredit, our equally-American opponents, be they Democrats or Republicans. The Founders belong to us all; conservatives have no monopoly on the inheritance they've left us.
2
I disagree, the forefathers were the leftist commies of their time. In their time, people were ruled by monarchs. Our forefathers rebelled and set up a government where the people get to choose their leaders. At the time in the late 1700's this was a radical departure from the norm of the day. The conservatives of that time were called Tories who felt that we owed allegiance to the crown. I see the founders more democratic and supporting human rights rather than supporters of his majesty Trump.
I wouldn't profess to know enough to agree, but I have deep skepticism regarding the utility either label. Where for instance would one place the view expressed in a current book addressing housing in the US? The author in an interview suggests that in some cases exorbitant profit on one side is clear, A voucher program is suggested, to what end?
Problem here is (and I am a Democrat) that the Democrats are unable to learn. They had a candidate who was able to organize communities and they turned him down because they wanted Hillary. It was very clear that the country wanted change. Hillary did not represent change. Not only did she not represent change, she failed to recognize that her own Democrats in the Midwest were not solidly in her camp.
ANYONE should have been able to beat Trump.
ANYONE should have been able to beat Trump.
45
You won't find just anyone to stand up to the flood of manure the Republican sludge machine will pump onto them.
and worse than anyone Hillary
Evolution almost always works better than revolution.
Any time there is an opposing view to the Democrat Socialists, it has to be "racist". No worries that the today's Left Party is Anti Christian, Anti Jew, Anti Unborn, Anti Work, Anti Money. You will hear my yodel out of the Mountains of Western North Carolina on January 20, when the 8 years of the Prevaricator President END. If you like your doctor....well I did but he's not my doctor any more. You Tube Video caused the deaths of Ambassador Steven and Americans Wood, Doherty and Smith. Bergdahl served with honor and distinction. Red Line in Syria. Not a smidgeon of evidence that IRS targeted Conservatives, and Lowretta Lynch allowing Clinton on her airplane to discuss "golf". Black Lives Matter, the KKK of African Americans, invited to the White House. Not all of these LIES could get Obama's chick, Hillary, elected. He will get the legacy he deserves!
17
A wonderful catalog of partial failures comparable those of to Obama's predecessors. And yet, the zombie of Trickle Down has again risen to walk the streets, and the people who were fooled before have been fooled again, believing that their own infinitesimal chance at the gold ring justifies more taxes breaks for the wealthy they envy and hope to become, even as the wealthy rake off all theses voters' productivity gains for decades. They elect a multi-millionaire who stiffs working people & doesn't pay their invoices for work completed; mocks the disabled; sexually mauls women & believes that degrading them with epithets and slurs is manly; disrespects Gold Star parents; consistently lies in the face of video/audio/document evidence of his own statements; believes that self-government is akin to running a business empire; who believes that "telling it like it is" and "saying what's on his mind" is preferable to fundamental decency and civility; understands nothing of the delicacy of international diplomacy; has the language skills of an adolescent; and sees the world and human relationships exclusively in terms of Profit or Loss. Given what this set of circumstances is bound to produce in the way of dissolving democracy as we've known it, I trust that Obama's legacy is relatively safe.
71
Just what we need: Another extremist right-wing fact-free Trump voter telling Progressives what we should and shouldn't do.
You're entitled to your freedom of speech and press, just like we are, but don't come whining to us when Tsar Donald takes both away from you, as he has stated that he plans to (if you had bothered to listen in your fact-free world).
You're entitled to your freedom of speech and press, just like we are, but don't come whining to us when Tsar Donald takes both away from you, as he has stated that he plans to (if you had bothered to listen in your fact-free world).
5
By calling Hillary Clinton a chick you revealed yourself . Thanks but no thanks; I'm not buying what you are selling.
6
"a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support. Together, they will seek to enact a bigoted and anti-democratic agenda, threatening our values and endangering us all."
Good grief.
The time of oppressing opinions through labeling and insulting is over. It no longer works.
But I suppose the "bigoted and anti-democratic" labels are aimed at the masses of deserting liberals - but they too have become immune to the totalitarianism of the left.
If you want 8 years instead of 4, keep it up. Or are the labels and insults simply aimed at cowing the democrats who are changing side in masses?
Good grief.
The time of oppressing opinions through labeling and insulting is over. It no longer works.
But I suppose the "bigoted and anti-democratic" labels are aimed at the masses of deserting liberals - but they too have become immune to the totalitarianism of the left.
If you want 8 years instead of 4, keep it up. Or are the labels and insults simply aimed at cowing the democrats who are changing side in masses?
11
You cannot come to a street fight and expect Marquis of Queensbury Rules.
You don't bring a knife to a gunfight.
You don't argue with a fool because then 2 fools are arguing.
And you can't stop name-calling when the President-Elect is the most virulent name-caller in the nation.
We are about to be overrun by The Big Grab and soon may look like Putin's Russia (which the President-Elect has a bromance with) and "Playing nicely" doesn't work. It hasn't worked for 8 years. It hasn't worked since Bill Clinton was inaugurate 24 years ago. Republicans don't "play nice" so Democrats should get out of their fancy shoes and lace gloves and get down in the mud and dirt with the Republicans if we want to save our Democratic Republic.
You don't bring a knife to a gunfight.
You don't argue with a fool because then 2 fools are arguing.
And you can't stop name-calling when the President-Elect is the most virulent name-caller in the nation.
We are about to be overrun by The Big Grab and soon may look like Putin's Russia (which the President-Elect has a bromance with) and "Playing nicely" doesn't work. It hasn't worked for 8 years. It hasn't worked since Bill Clinton was inaugurate 24 years ago. Republicans don't "play nice" so Democrats should get out of their fancy shoes and lace gloves and get down in the mud and dirt with the Republicans if we want to save our Democratic Republic.
2
When Republicans across the country enact rules and laws to make it harder for Democrats, Blacks, and other minorities to vote, one can't call it "election reform" because there wasn't a problem to be reformed--it's just an effort to make it harder for your political opponents to vote you out of office. What next? Will we follow the Putin tactic of limiting who can even run--that way you won't have to face a charismatic Democrat or Black candidate at any level and your grip on power will be that much more secure.
As for labelling being over, I'm afraid you're wrong. We've never needed naming and shaming more than we do right now. And just why is insulting a guy who doesn't know the first thing about the government he wants to lead so bad? Was it a problem to you when Republicans made racist and horrible comments about the first lady and the president involving comparisons to monkeys and apes? People who have comported themselves with more style and grace than the joke tellers ever did. Why do we have to stop with insults now that your guy will be in office?
As for labelling being over, I'm afraid you're wrong. We've never needed naming and shaming more than we do right now. And just why is insulting a guy who doesn't know the first thing about the government he wants to lead so bad? Was it a problem to you when Republicans made racist and horrible comments about the first lady and the president involving comparisons to monkeys and apes? People who have comported themselves with more style and grace than the joke tellers ever did. Why do we have to stop with insults now that your guy will be in office?
1
The authors' plan "takes a few pages from the Tea Party playbook . . . while dispensing with its viciousness." In other words, it's doomed from the start. As David Leonhardt explained right here just two weeks ago, "The Democrats Had a Knife; and the G.O.P. Had a Gun." Charles Schumer, who in his capacity as the Senate Minority Leader should be leading the charge against Trump and his henchmen, has already signaled that he will be an appeaser by stating about Trump, "When we can agree on issues, then we're going to work with him." But as the authors of the present piece note, the Tea Party was successful because it took precisely the opposite tack and that has been what Republicans by and large have been doing for decades. The Republicans are where they are now precisely because of their single-minded and unrelenting obstructionism. Mandatory health insurance? The Republicans supported it until Obama endorsed it. Merrick Garland? The Republicans supported him until Obama nominated him. And on and on. The mistake here is in thinking that the Republicans care about governing. They don't. What they care about is getting and holding power at any cost. The only way to stand up to a bully is to stand up to the bully. When he punches, you punch harder. Or you punch first. That's how it works. By forswearing "viciousness" at the outset, the authors of this well-intentioned but naive piece are, once again, urging progressives to bring a knife to a gun fight.
115
You are correct the Republicans do not want to govern. They want to steal. They want to take tax dollars and hand them to global corporations as tax credits and no bid, cost plus contracts.
They want to give the national wealth to the billionaires.
Democrats don't have to nasty, but they do have to be tough.
For decades the Democrats have sucked up to the Republicans only to get kicked in the teeth over and over. Democrats don't have to fight dirty, but it would be a big step if they just started top fight.
They want to give the national wealth to the billionaires.
Democrats don't have to nasty, but they do have to be tough.
For decades the Democrats have sucked up to the Republicans only to get kicked in the teeth over and over. Democrats don't have to fight dirty, but it would be a big step if they just started top fight.
2
Emotionally, I agree with you. But rationally, not so much. One of the things that infuriated us Dems was the Tea Party obstructionism. We went bananas over it, because one of the basic tenets of government that we still embrace is negotiation and compromise, which must occur if any government composed of people with opposing ideas is to function at all. The Tea Party people were under orders not to compromise, not to even talk to anyone on the opposite side. But if we claim to be the adults in the house, then the first thing we have to do is start communicating with everyone. We cannot behave like five-year-olds, no matter how immature the Tea Party people are.
On the other hand, the process of governing has been de-evolving, thanks to the Tea Party adolescents. They are essentially asserting that might makes right, which is why the gun vs. knife metaphor seems appropriate here.
So the issue is: how do we show them that their brand of emotional violence isn't going to prevail? Not sure that I have an answer to that, because it's been the problem of government ever since societies began forming. Are we going to be ruled by the cave men with the big clubs and the knights with the swords, or are we going to be governed by the intelligent and thoughtful scholars and peacemakers? How we choose to assert ourselves is going to be crucial, going forward.
On the other hand, the process of governing has been de-evolving, thanks to the Tea Party adolescents. They are essentially asserting that might makes right, which is why the gun vs. knife metaphor seems appropriate here.
So the issue is: how do we show them that their brand of emotional violence isn't going to prevail? Not sure that I have an answer to that, because it's been the problem of government ever since societies began forming. Are we going to be ruled by the cave men with the big clubs and the knights with the swords, or are we going to be governed by the intelligent and thoughtful scholars and peacemakers? How we choose to assert ourselves is going to be crucial, going forward.
1
Grand theory has shifted into short-term strategy--but urgency is not an excuse to abandon thought. Let review bigger goals, new influences and new models--and new explanations.
This is classic old stuff, but the way forward does not depend on old review. It offers no vision or recognition of change except chasing after votes. Improving "how-to" isn't innovation!
In these times of excess, let's not miss the irony of waste: excess produces waste; in fact, the greater the excess, the greater the waste (Times Square/New Year, the bail-outs, Wall Street holiday parties, terrorism, corruption, cities, massive wealth: the greater/more extreme the excess--the more waste is produced, the more people are left out.
(Acutely aware of this, China is painstakingly building a middle class; India, too, despite cultural/political challenges--Africa is caught in the old cycle of extremes (excess and waste); America stumbles like a blind mule, abandoning cities like Detroit, raising blame to block change with its noise, yet Goldman made millions simply shuffling aluminum in water front warehouses using loopholes and Buicks sell in China. We ignore the most successful program moving families out of poverty, Bolsa Familia, working spectacularly on a large scale in Brazil and Mexico; we ignore China's Pearl River success.
As long as our vision is divided (by race and wealth), and privateers raid the treasury and pillage the land, we only push the rock. We wander why it rolls back.
This is classic old stuff, but the way forward does not depend on old review. It offers no vision or recognition of change except chasing after votes. Improving "how-to" isn't innovation!
In these times of excess, let's not miss the irony of waste: excess produces waste; in fact, the greater the excess, the greater the waste (Times Square/New Year, the bail-outs, Wall Street holiday parties, terrorism, corruption, cities, massive wealth: the greater/more extreme the excess--the more waste is produced, the more people are left out.
(Acutely aware of this, China is painstakingly building a middle class; India, too, despite cultural/political challenges--Africa is caught in the old cycle of extremes (excess and waste); America stumbles like a blind mule, abandoning cities like Detroit, raising blame to block change with its noise, yet Goldman made millions simply shuffling aluminum in water front warehouses using loopholes and Buicks sell in China. We ignore the most successful program moving families out of poverty, Bolsa Familia, working spectacularly on a large scale in Brazil and Mexico; we ignore China's Pearl River success.
As long as our vision is divided (by race and wealth), and privateers raid the treasury and pillage the land, we only push the rock. We wander why it rolls back.
9
We need to develop a global vision: with insights and a material understanding of change at the local level (ex: American housing prices/costs, food deserts, voting rights, schools (public/charter), government ethics, gun deaths, et. al) before organizing--or we fall into the same old trap of debating taxes and safety nets--losing issues; innovating vision must guide local change--as it does in North Carolina, and Houston, TX (it has a week-long Nigerian celebration!) (and Kansas, where the conservative vision failed!).
1
how does one learn, but by following good example, bravo ,a nation of followers who are leading the way. Charleston SC has a new light.
Have any of you ever actually lived in "flyover" country? How naive are you?
19
I have thought about it but no thanks
Yep, I have, including, like you, in a suburb of Cleveland. As well as Indiana and Illinois. But I have lived in the West for about 45 years and find the more open culture to my liking. Which is not to say I am unaware of the pain of the economic collapse of the Middle West and the concomitant social dislocation of cities and communities in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. As well as Pennsylvania and upstate NY. My understanding from Cleveland friends is that Obama's steps to stabilize the auto industry, which is just as important in Ohio as Michigan, gained him widespread support among people who, for obvious reasons, abandoned the Democrats this time around. But I don't see such moves as permanent solutions and have no idea what can be done to shore up the economies of these states.
Not many do, Mark. That's the issue. How did THEY get control? BIG money. This was not an election - it was a financial coup by The Top 1% Global Financial Elite Robber Barons.
They're after Angela Merkel of Germany right now. They hate Strong, Smart, Powerful Women. That is why they HAD to defeat Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton any way they could. LIES-hate-anger-fear-war mongering worked well.
They're after Angela Merkel of Germany right now. They hate Strong, Smart, Powerful Women. That is why they HAD to defeat Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton any way they could. LIES-hate-anger-fear-war mongering worked well.
Who is the base that will make up the new left wing tea party? The tea party were people that wanted to be left alone by the government, which is very American. However, the left wingers want the government to oppress private business and individuals. This is very different. I don't see this top-down desire for a grassroots movement going anywhere.
11
Why does the right continually usurp the definition of who's "American "? The reality is that far more Americans live and work in progressive areas (i.e. the coasts), than in the center or southern part of the country. And they don't believe that the best government is the smallest.
24
The Tea Party was funded by the Koch brothers. You think a bunch of right-wing average Americans who wanted to be "left alone" by the government really just spontaneously created the Tea party? It was very much a top down driven phenomenon, something the authors of the editorial seem to have missed entirely.
1
The cliche goes, you can't cure stupid. But even the Tangerine Toupe must realize in that rather empty real estate directly below his overpriced hairpiece that he needs to listen to other people. One can only hope that his Cabinet picks are those whose counsel he may, occasionally, heed. But all I can see in Trump's ascendancy to the throne is a debacle, not only for the constitutional basis of the American republic, but for the whole world. We have already had our last free election.
19
The radical hard left can never be like the Tea Party as the left is completely illogical and lacks common sense. They have no facts to back up their agenda. Only feelings. Then, when they realize they have no facts, and their agenda is exposed as corrupt, they resort to violence.
16
Think that's SOP anymore. What "facts" did Trump have? About zero. And the voters voted with their "feelings", not logic. I mean, who would vote for a man who says he's gonna get rid of Obamacare when you have krone's disease, take a lot of medication every day? And, yet, they did.
9
Cjmes0: Violence? It seems to me it was Trump who promoted violence, it was Bush who promoted a war on false pretenses.
Furthermore, if you would just take the time to listen to the "radical hard left" positions, they do have ideas and facts to back up their agenda.
Watch and see what Trump does to the great inequality in wages. Won't help the middle class (those tea party people) no will it help anyone else except the 1%.
Furthermore, if you would just take the time to listen to the "radical hard left" positions, they do have ideas and facts to back up their agenda.
Watch and see what Trump does to the great inequality in wages. Won't help the middle class (those tea party people) no will it help anyone else except the 1%.
7
Who told you that lie?
6
I haven’t had a chance to read “Indivisible” yet. But I just don’t think that blind opposition will be nearly as effective a strategy for the American left as it has been for the Tea Party. While the Tea Party was composed primarily of people who were predominantly stubborn, raucous, and completely resistant to reason and facts – all the qualities that enabled them to maintain such a passionate, united front against Pres. Obama and moderate Republicans – the American left is just the opposite: reasonable, self-critical, empathic, pragmatic and principled (sincerely dedicated to fairness, equality, progress, and justice). These much more humane qualities are both our strength and our weakness. They will inevitably compel us to listen to the other side, including Donald, and lend a hand or at least offer to compromise when we think that the benefits will outweigh the costs. So while there may be initial unity, I think that, given our general psychology, the left will fracture as soon as Donald offers a sensible proposal of some sort. And he will. Even a broken clock…
240
Nope - he won't. He's a disaster waiting to happen. No compromise needed with a wanna be dictator - and an incompetent one at that.
5
"the American left is just the opposite: reasonable, self-critical, empathic, pragmatic and principled (sincerely dedicated to fairness, equality, progress, and justice)."
Had to check today's date to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day. Thanks for starting my day with a good laugh.
Had to check today's date to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day. Thanks for starting my day with a good laugh.
2
I got you until "compelled." We're not compelled to be suicidal.
3
I agree, the tea party movement without the venom. With the election of Republicans, governance of our nation will be by the supper rich. Their interest for the country is supporting themselves through deregulation and tax break. A grass roots movement needs to rise from this threat to Democracy, and make news, be visible. let them know we are still here, it's our country too, they don't deserve more help or protection because they are richer. Have our own flag, bumper stickers, letters to billionaires letting them know, we won't roll over, they can't run government like a business there are soles, people with hope, dreams, problems, and not a agenda of profit. This country is faced with trickle down stock options for their friends. World pease, the environment, and our, vote, our voice is at stake. A ground up, home grown community, political action is now in our hands, we don't have any leaders.
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3
Starting January 20, we will have an ideologically minority government without a President, and with no guiding ethical principles. The only mandate the election reflects is the laziness and cynicism of those who didn't vote, and the ignorance and racism that characterize the Republican margin-of-victory constituency. Their electoral expression deserves no respect beyond recognizing the danger they represent to democracy. The repeal of Obamacare will cause the early deaths of thousands. The reversal of climate change measures imperils the human race. They are acts of war against humanity. Over these two issues alone, we are obliged as humans to organize massive demonstrations and mass acts of peaceful civil disobedience designed to stop all business as usual, both commerce and government, and mercilessly harass the Congressional stooges who are enabling the rise of text-book fascism by normalizing it for their own gain. Never have extreme times required extreme measures more. Trump has to be driven from power.
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Elections will drive Trump from power if Democrats can win them. Election results in 2018 will curtail his power and the power of Republicans if Democrats win them. We need to stay focused on these facts. Noise and disobedience create noise and misdemeanor citations as the, what was it called? Oh yes, the Occupy Wall Street movement. Anyone remember that? What exactly did it achieve?
Exactly, feet on the ground is what scares the looting class.
I wholeheartedly support this effort, and agree that we must do something like this.
But we should also understand that Democrats are at a tactical disadvantage.
The Tea Party movement worked because they were willing to become crazy and borderline violent. None of their claims made any sense, nor were they based on any reality or facts.
But they effectively communicated that they would rather burn down the ship, than cooperate in any way with the other side.
This sort of craziness threatened the existence of our nation as a democratic republic, and it is an open question whether it will survive as such - but it worked.
The problem is that I don't think Democrats are willing to adopt this stance.
Democrats are not willing to become borderline (and sometimes not-so-borderline) violent. And they are not willing to destroy the Republic in order to get their way.
So, I agree that local organizing is essential. But I think we can't just try to copy the Tea Party. Yes, we have to make it clear to our local officials that we won't tolerate Trump's unmandated agenda.
Trump is a loser, who lost the election by almost 3 million votes. The majority of Americans do not like him. And we should remind him of that daily.
But we also have to find methods that play to our strengths.
But we should also understand that Democrats are at a tactical disadvantage.
The Tea Party movement worked because they were willing to become crazy and borderline violent. None of their claims made any sense, nor were they based on any reality or facts.
But they effectively communicated that they would rather burn down the ship, than cooperate in any way with the other side.
This sort of craziness threatened the existence of our nation as a democratic republic, and it is an open question whether it will survive as such - but it worked.
The problem is that I don't think Democrats are willing to adopt this stance.
Democrats are not willing to become borderline (and sometimes not-so-borderline) violent. And they are not willing to destroy the Republic in order to get their way.
So, I agree that local organizing is essential. But I think we can't just try to copy the Tea Party. Yes, we have to make it clear to our local officials that we won't tolerate Trump's unmandated agenda.
Trump is a loser, who lost the election by almost 3 million votes. The majority of Americans do not like him. And we should remind him of that daily.
But we also have to find methods that play to our strengths.
25
The article states that Tea Party tactics should be adopted by Democrats, but as I understand it, tactics can be modified to suit the standards of a given party. Leave away the borderline violence, but be noisy, stay in the spotlight, don't agree to dubious bargains, keep on stating in every way possible that a policy or procedure is wrong, find short, but easily remembered slogans suitable for shouting, use visual aids (remember those ones of fetuses the Pro-Lifers paraded around?), newspaper articles, Letters to the Editor in non-intellectual papers (no arrogance here - I read everything available for the sake of information), produce posters, have flash mobs of the like-minded.... , there's Facebook, Twitter, virtually all social media... Come on, I have thought these things while typing - use your good old American resourcefulness and you can attain your goal without acting like madmen.
19
I completely agree with you, CMD. All good ideas!
I also agree with another commenter that it's time to go ON THE OFFENSIVE. It's time for ACTION and COURAGE by all of us!
Step one is joining your local political action group!
I also agree with another commenter that it's time to go ON THE OFFENSIVE. It's time for ACTION and COURAGE by all of us!
Step one is joining your local political action group!
3
"Democrats are not willing to become...violent." Well the BLM movement that backed Hillary is sure violent. The Green Peace movement sure isn't conservative and they can get rather violent. The criminal illegals that seem to be popping up in the papers daily now the election is over repeatedly are violent (unless raping a young girl on a Greyhound Bus is not considered violent these days.) All the college Republicans that were assaulted simply because of who they supported would argue that Dems were capable of violence. Who were all those people screaming Not My President while burning cities? Sure looked like violent Democrats to me. Gotta watch that fake news stuff.
1
Bigoted? The only bigots in these parts are the sickening people slurring and libeling decent, ordinary Americans.
Ignorant and ugly is no way to go through life.
Ignorant and ugly is no way to go through life.
10
"...we’ve seen it before...."
President Obama has marched in lockstep with the likes of George Soros for the past eight years. Why should the democratic party change course now?
President Obama has marched in lockstep with the likes of George Soros for the past eight years. Why should the democratic party change course now?
13
George Soros....is this where I yell, "DRINK!"?
12
LOL! Really, the stuff you people come up with - in lock-step with George Soros. Thanks for giving me a good laugh to start my day.
First, I agree, the local is where it has to happen. However, without the foaming at the mouth attitude of the rabid dog tea party movement it just won't work. The average congressperson or senator has a visceral fear of personal harm. These people presented a fear factor. Their ability to present a cogent argument was non existent. What they had, they were loud and obnoxious. Having done some serious time in response to these people with Moveon and Credo I think it is safe to say, the Koch funded Tea Party is a movement that destroyed civility in politics and help to create a party of know nothing legislators in the GOP, who seem to have no shame in destroying the fabric of our society.
20
cogent argument maybe not, honest, intelligent questions, yes
This is something everyone can participate in. If you think commenting here is fighting back, you're wrong. Call your elected officials. Show up. Police the media--tell them when you think they are doing a lousy job. The old fashioned things work.
8
the best comments here can and do influence, have you never heard a novel, moving, action provoking thought here that made you think
1
The democrats or progressives or whatever they will be named have to get to work NOW. There are state level elecctions in 2017!
On Friday when Ellison is named DNP chair he can start organizing state legislature voting and even county positions voting. Work like the Koch brothers. Examine every possibility to elect democrats or people who are opposed to what the republicans are poised to do. The democratic party was the party of the people and look what has happened. Many are raking in lobby payments, more republican than the republicans!
On Friday when Ellison is named DNP chair he can start organizing state legislature voting and even county positions voting. Work like the Koch brothers. Examine every possibility to elect democrats or people who are opposed to what the republicans are poised to do. The democratic party was the party of the people and look what has happened. Many are raking in lobby payments, more republican than the republicans!
5
If Ellison is to represent the left then they truly did not learn anything from the Electoral College victory of Trump. The left under Ellison / Schumer / Pelosi will not win for at least 12 years. Go ahead, say that is impossible. Remember that is what you and your mouthpieces said about Trump winning even dog catcher.
1
Reach compromises.
Gun ownership is good national defense. The average hunter is an environmentalist. Abortion is a shame, but exists to save the lives of mothers who will attempt abortion anyway.
Gain traction on internet news. Be funny. Lampoon, ridicule, and call out the liars. Be the humorous donkey to the plodding elephant.
Have hope and patience. The GOP shows their belly every time. This time will be worse for them because they hardly believe this stuff themselves. And they always show their real faces.
Do the research, find the scandals, chase the churches down, map the influence of money, and be a fierce advocate for the stranded country poor.
Elect a liberal who is a toughguy. Keep Warren talking.
Gun ownership is good national defense. The average hunter is an environmentalist. Abortion is a shame, but exists to save the lives of mothers who will attempt abortion anyway.
Gain traction on internet news. Be funny. Lampoon, ridicule, and call out the liars. Be the humorous donkey to the plodding elephant.
Have hope and patience. The GOP shows their belly every time. This time will be worse for them because they hardly believe this stuff themselves. And they always show their real faces.
Do the research, find the scandals, chase the churches down, map the influence of money, and be a fierce advocate for the stranded country poor.
Elect a liberal who is a toughguy. Keep Warren talking.
14
The necessary tactics are simplicity itself. Fighy, fight, fight. Fight them on anything they do anywhere. Compromise is a dirty word. Surrender absolutely no ground. Slow down their actions to the speed of molasses in January by using their own obstructionist methods. Sue all of them for everything every time they turn around. Attack their families and friends(except the children, we're not Republicans after all) each and every time nepotism rears its elephant like head. Filibuster everything, even if its not allowed. Tell the truth to shame their lies. Hold the media accountable for their inactions and spreading of untruths. Run committed candidates for every office everywhere, from the lowest to the highest. Replace all the leadership of the DNC. No more careerist hacks. They've proven how much they refuse to listen to their constituents, and we don't have time to lose to their corruption. This is going to be a nasty streetfight for the forseeable future in order to preserve our fragile democracy from facism. And the opposition has absolutely no scruples. The latest 11th hour surprise attack on ethics proves that. Best to get ready and start to enjoy the battle.
7
How about taking a virulent strain of pure racism and funding it secretly through a couple of billionaire misanthropes?
Any chance we can mobilize those who hate the bald? The rich? TV?
Any chance we can mobilize those who hate the bald? The rich? TV?
5
Take those who hated FDR, who welcomed their hatred. There's a class war, and most of us are losing.
1
Over 50% of eligible voters, by default, helped make Mr. Trump the next POTUS by not exercising their right to vote. What this means is that most Americans who pay taxes and use "the commons" don't seem to care who is in charge. At the local and state level, republicans dominate government and there's really nothing standing in their way to implement their "agenda."
I believe the only thing Democrats can do in the future is try to preserve some of the New Deal programs such as Social Security. The rest of the "commons" is about to be defunded, dismantled and destroyed.
I believe the only thing Democrats can do in the future is try to preserve some of the New Deal programs such as Social Security. The rest of the "commons" is about to be defunded, dismantled and destroyed.
13
In some countries, and not just third world dictatorships, this would be treated as sedition.
Remember to put pressure on all politicians to act with integrity - not just republicans. There are some democrats that are for sale too, and pretty cheaply.
If voting really changed anything it would be outlawed!
Remember to put pressure on all politicians to act with integrity - not just republicans. There are some democrats that are for sale too, and pretty cheaply.
If voting really changed anything it would be outlawed!
6
Good, but not enough. You're not thinking big. You must.
We also need to learn and emulate the Koch brothers' sustained campaign. A long counter-campaign must start to label cruel policies as cruel. Label anti-democratic policies as un-American. Label lies as lies and liars as liars. The antidote to the propaganda of politics that hurt America is sustained, brilliant, loud, unrelenting, repeated truth.
Then, instead of just complaining, provide a better way. It's not enough to attack what's wrong. We just provide an inspirational choice that's right.
This mess started 22 years ago with Gingrich. Getting out of it will require the long game. It won't be fast. It won't be cheap. It is not enough to win elections. For real change, we also need to win hearts and minds to the cause of righteousness. Don't abandon anyone as hopeless. Give everyone the truth, not insults. Invite everyone to join us on the path to truly improve our country and the entire world.
We also need to learn and emulate the Koch brothers' sustained campaign. A long counter-campaign must start to label cruel policies as cruel. Label anti-democratic policies as un-American. Label lies as lies and liars as liars. The antidote to the propaganda of politics that hurt America is sustained, brilliant, loud, unrelenting, repeated truth.
Then, instead of just complaining, provide a better way. It's not enough to attack what's wrong. We just provide an inspirational choice that's right.
This mess started 22 years ago with Gingrich. Getting out of it will require the long game. It won't be fast. It won't be cheap. It is not enough to win elections. For real change, we also need to win hearts and minds to the cause of righteousness. Don't abandon anyone as hopeless. Give everyone the truth, not insults. Invite everyone to join us on the path to truly improve our country and the entire world.
209
Ummmm - the Republicans never had to offer any alternatives. They just obstructed. And it worked. Why do Democrats always think we have to provide a better way? We've been doing that forever - check HRC's position papers. It's become apparent that many people in this country don't care about what's right or smart as long as they can throw a tantrum and use profanity without censure. Not sure there's a lot of desire in this crown for "righteousness."
1
I agree w/ Dan Zerkle. I think the best way to counter big money perverting real representational democracy, is not with more big money. It is going to take people turning off media that's to easily politically controlled or cowed by Washington, and going out in the streets in vast numbers to remake real democracy from the ground up. But staying at home, watching media and clicking buttons on your computer isn't going to be enough. Better to show up then to sit at home and click to contribute money to let someone else do the work.
1
Love this comment!
This is the most naive and uninformed article I can remember reading in the New York Times. The Tea Party did not originate with the election of Barack Obama. It was part of a 30-year master plan originally choreographed by the Koch Brothers (see Dark Money, Jane Mayer, etc.) and affectionately known as the Kochtopus because its tentacles reached into local, state, and federal government, funded by the super wealthy Right Wingers, and has lasted at least 3 decades (30 years). The Tea Party played on rascism and economic anger and poor education to create an alternate reality for Republicans out to protest any thing our first African American President tried to do. They already had control of many state and local offices, NRA support, and an excellent organization and permanent staff funded by the super wealthy (the Mercers who funded Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon have been strong tentacles). Democrats, like the authors of this article, continue to be oblivious to the multi-decade, superb administration and PR, and management of the Tea Party. Lazy reporters let them masquerade as a populist movement. The Kochtopus inspired locals to don the gear of the American Revolution, but in fact, it was orchestrated and funded by billionaires inspired by the John Birch Society. We need reporters who know enough political history not to fall for Republican Propaganda!
569
Thank you Susan for filling us in.
I was only aware that lazy reporters let the Tea Party masquerade as a populist movement. I did not know how long the funding and organization behind it existed. That and the other details you provided are most welcome. I'll look into it.
I was only aware that lazy reporters let the Tea Party masquerade as a populist movement. I did not know how long the funding and organization behind it existed. That and the other details you provided are most welcome. I'll look into it.
13
Alas, someone is paying attention. Thanks. I made the point too. Yours was better written.
11
Reply to Susan,
Democrats don’t need a 30-year master plan by shadowy billionaires to organize. Look at the example of North Carolina. There, the Moral Monday movement has been highly effective organizing at the grass-roots level.
You're a perfect example of what’s wrong with the Democrats, and why they always lose. Your first response to this article was to lash out in anger and BLAME the authors. For what, a little naiveté? They raised some important issues.
Democrats, especially liberal Democrats are BLAME LAME. They are so dominated by their anger, and the blame response it triggers, that they are effectively crippled, unable to plan or act effectively to address the problem that provoked the anger in the first place.
Democrats, need to learn anger management, which means first and foremost to focus the anger on effective solutions, like organizing locally, as the authors suggest. But no, you and millions of Democrats like you, would rather blame someone, anyone. It’s a lot easier and more satisfying, than marching and making a difference.
Democrats don’t need a 30-year master plan by shadowy billionaires to organize. Look at the example of North Carolina. There, the Moral Monday movement has been highly effective organizing at the grass-roots level.
You're a perfect example of what’s wrong with the Democrats, and why they always lose. Your first response to this article was to lash out in anger and BLAME the authors. For what, a little naiveté? They raised some important issues.
Democrats, especially liberal Democrats are BLAME LAME. They are so dominated by their anger, and the blame response it triggers, that they are effectively crippled, unable to plan or act effectively to address the problem that provoked the anger in the first place.
Democrats, need to learn anger management, which means first and foremost to focus the anger on effective solutions, like organizing locally, as the authors suggest. But no, you and millions of Democrats like you, would rather blame someone, anyone. It’s a lot easier and more satisfying, than marching and making a difference.
5
New strategy, same old DNC? Sorry, this doesn't cut the mustard. I have yet to see convincing evidence that the Democrat Party, including its congressional aides apparently, has much of a clue about the humiliation they just experienced. Long-term reform, based on a realistic schedule of, say, the next 3 or 4 presidential elections, is the only way to rebuild a party that is capable of creating a broad coalition of voters, not around identity politics, but about economic well-being. Do you think if we had a broad swath of working and middle class voters who enjoy a decent life with some financial prospects and security would have ever voted for Donald Trump? Not a chance. Work at the local level, yes, but start to get involved in serving local communities to make them stronger. I'm sick of seeing the Democratic Party show up only at election time. Build a long-term strategy around "renewal" ("change" tends to freak out conservatives"), show a stressed population tangible ways in which you can help improve their daily lives. The elections will take care of themselves.
26
The newish Dems, of the last 30+ years, baled out people's othe economic well-being, below the top two percent, as they gravitated to becoming new Repubs.
They were and are about enriching themselves.
Note how they let their party ridiculously dwindle in the House and state houses, right on down to dog catcher in the past decade and more.
Have you heard much about that from them in the past several weeks? Hehehe.
They were and are about enriching themselves.
Note how they let their party ridiculously dwindle in the House and state houses, right on down to dog catcher in the past decade and more.
Have you heard much about that from them in the past several weeks? Hehehe.
6
Don't forget to throw out the independent ethics board the MINUTE you get power, as House Republicans did the very first thing. Saves all that messy getting caught.
61
In other words, the Republicans have voted for corruption.
Organize locally is what the Democrats did not do for 2016, or 2014, or 2012, on and on. In my rural Cochise County, Arizona, we have some 23,000 registered Democrats. Fine. But more than 9,000 of these registered Dems don't vote! Because of this we lost not only the Presidency in 2016, but a Congressional seat in 2014, and a Governor's seat in 2012. And while it has gotten easier to vote over the years, a lot of voters would rather watch their futures evolve on TV and have another beer rather than exercise their right to help manage their nation. Disgusting.
56
Great point, we have a President- elect who calls the system fraudulent. The Voting system in this Country is fine the last time I checked. Some of our Citizens are just Lazy.
Half of the electorate doesn't vote, because they think that all politicians are tools of the rich.
If you want to get these people or to vote, you have to show them you are actually on their side.
This means you don't compromise your principles just to get a bill passed. You fought for your principles, no matter what.
If the Democrats could get as many poor people to fight for themselves as the Republicans get poor people to fight for the billionaires, they would start to win.
If you want to get these people or to vote, you have to show them you are actually on their side.
This means you don't compromise your principles just to get a bill passed. You fought for your principles, no matter what.
If the Democrats could get as many poor people to fight for themselves as the Republicans get poor people to fight for the billionaires, they would start to win.
1
I applaud what you’re trying to do but I’m not sure how effective we’ll be if we don’t understand how much hatred Trump supporters have towards our government and us, and how that hate was stoked.
"The Tea Party's success" was not organized as a defensive strategy as you suggested - "proved the power that local, defensive organizing can have”.
The Tea Party is a calculated and extremely OFFENSIVE driven movement, conceived decades ago. Read The New Yorker, 8/30/10, by Jane Mayer, pg 15-16 of "COVERT OPERATIONS: The Billionaire Brothers Who Are Waging A War Against Obama." This dossier details the Koch brother's strategic plan to 'tear the government “out at the root” and that “government should be reduced to only one function: the protection of individual rights”.
Republicans/Libertarians/Fascists truly understand human nature. They use words that instill fear and anger. The result is activation of the amygdala, the reptilian part of our brain responsible for survival. The frontal lobe (executive function) becomes less active.
In a nut shell, it’s difficult to have a logical conversation with someone in survival mode. I know, I've tried. I could tell you stories that would make your head spin. So what I'm saying is that we need to understand what we’re up against if we’re to have a chance of being successful.
"The Tea Party's success" was not organized as a defensive strategy as you suggested - "proved the power that local, defensive organizing can have”.
The Tea Party is a calculated and extremely OFFENSIVE driven movement, conceived decades ago. Read The New Yorker, 8/30/10, by Jane Mayer, pg 15-16 of "COVERT OPERATIONS: The Billionaire Brothers Who Are Waging A War Against Obama." This dossier details the Koch brother's strategic plan to 'tear the government “out at the root” and that “government should be reduced to only one function: the protection of individual rights”.
Republicans/Libertarians/Fascists truly understand human nature. They use words that instill fear and anger. The result is activation of the amygdala, the reptilian part of our brain responsible for survival. The frontal lobe (executive function) becomes less active.
In a nut shell, it’s difficult to have a logical conversation with someone in survival mode. I know, I've tried. I could tell you stories that would make your head spin. So what I'm saying is that we need to understand what we’re up against if we’re to have a chance of being successful.
70
Mantra for the Democrats: A liveable wage and universal healthcare for all Americans.
74
Sure did work this election, huh?
1
Paid for by others!
You left out the most important requirement of the Left.
You left out the most important requirement of the Left.
2
And new, good paying jobs remaking our infrastructure for climate change. Stop worrying about 50,000 coal miner's jobs - give them retraining and expanded unemployment. Worry about the 120,000 jobs in the solar industry plus the 88,000 jobs in the wind industry (as well as rising seas swamping the NY subway, Miami's streets, and all of New Orleans).
I found this Op-Ed piece to be insipid. There have been a number of recent Op-Ed pieces in the NYT which suggested that these sorts of ad hominem attacks were not effective strategies. Should one really take the following seriously: "Unlike President Obama, President-elect Trump has no mandate, a slim congressional majority and a slew of brewing scandals. Our incoming president is a weak president, and he can be beat."
Like it or not Trump won the election & he did so by taking four key traditionally Democratic states. This occurred for a reason and one should be humble enough to consider that a reasonable number of individuals in those states are not racists, biggots or fascists.
This piece strikes me as a vain attempt to continue the status quo of a DNC that strategically failed. It failed for a simple reason. Individuals were no longer interested in the pretenses claiming economic opportunity from a Party that duplicitously was aligned with Wall Street.
Like it or not Trump won the election & he did so by taking four key traditionally Democratic states. This occurred for a reason and one should be humble enough to consider that a reasonable number of individuals in those states are not racists, biggots or fascists.
This piece strikes me as a vain attempt to continue the status quo of a DNC that strategically failed. It failed for a simple reason. Individuals were no longer interested in the pretenses claiming economic opportunity from a Party that duplicitously was aligned with Wall Street.
29
Aligned with Wall Street? Have you SEEN Trump's cabinet picks?
This plan is actually an end run around the party hacks that sell out the People. They explicitly say that New Yorkers will have to pressure Schumer to keep him from caving. It's a good thing here are a lot of New Yorkers.
1
As a Democrat (but one who has sometimes voted Republican), what seems most clear to me is that that failure to compromise on core issues weakened us during President Obama's term and laid the groundwork for Clinton's disastrous loss.
There are points on which no compromise is possible: equal opportunity and equal rights for example, or a woman's right to chose early in pregnancy (the line drawn in Roe v. Wade). But not every issue rises to that level. We can compromise even on questions like limiting access to late-term abortions and still hold firm on core principles. This is the better path.
We err when we elevate every issue to the same status. The editorial favors rigid moralism, in which we view our positions as final, and are rigidly unyielding. But moral absolutism ignores half the electorate. Embrace of the full populace, even the non-voters, is the better course.
When a monotony holds fast and cites moral purity the effect is to impose minority positions on the full country. This has been the mistake of the past few years and doubling down would be an even worse mistake.
Clinton ironically captured the essence of the mistake in her "deplorables" remark. The problem is that the party leadership has lumped half the country into that bag Clinton so vividly deplored. This must change: We need to refocus on compromises that advance policies that the whole country can identify with.
There are points on which no compromise is possible: equal opportunity and equal rights for example, or a woman's right to chose early in pregnancy (the line drawn in Roe v. Wade). But not every issue rises to that level. We can compromise even on questions like limiting access to late-term abortions and still hold firm on core principles. This is the better path.
We err when we elevate every issue to the same status. The editorial favors rigid moralism, in which we view our positions as final, and are rigidly unyielding. But moral absolutism ignores half the electorate. Embrace of the full populace, even the non-voters, is the better course.
When a monotony holds fast and cites moral purity the effect is to impose minority positions on the full country. This has been the mistake of the past few years and doubling down would be an even worse mistake.
Clinton ironically captured the essence of the mistake in her "deplorables" remark. The problem is that the party leadership has lumped half the country into that bag Clinton so vividly deplored. This must change: We need to refocus on compromises that advance policies that the whole country can identify with.
7
Theoretically, you are right. However, everyone elevates DIFFERENT issues to the status of no compromise. Thus, for example, of all the moral challenges surrounding abortion, late-term abortions out of medical necessity should be, contrary to propaganda, the least offensive.
The challenge of politics is not to "compromise" on your moral values, it is the realization that people differ on what they consider moral. Politics, then, is to form coalitions on issues that may carry majorities without sacrificing divergences on other issues.
The most apolitical stance of all, though, is to adhere to the illusion if we only were less rigid on moral, we could "unite". To the contrary, politics in a democratic state accepts that divergence and dissent is the rule rather than the exception. I am afraid, since the Founding Fathers and their abhorrence of "factionalism" the US public maintains this apolitical illusion.
The challenge of politics is not to "compromise" on your moral values, it is the realization that people differ on what they consider moral. Politics, then, is to form coalitions on issues that may carry majorities without sacrificing divergences on other issues.
The most apolitical stance of all, though, is to adhere to the illusion if we only were less rigid on moral, we could "unite". To the contrary, politics in a democratic state accepts that divergence and dissent is the rule rather than the exception. I am afraid, since the Founding Fathers and their abhorrence of "factionalism" the US public maintains this apolitical illusion.
"We err when we elevate every issue to the same status. The editorial favors rigid moralism, in which we view our positions as final, and are rigidly unyielding. But moral absolutism ignores half the electorate. Embrace of the full populace, even the non-voters, is the better course."
But that's exactly what the Republicans have done.
But that's exactly what the Republicans have done.
1
Where do I sign up?
I'll do whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and other bootlicking Republicans who undermine our democratic principles through demagoguery, disenfranchisement and propaganda.
I'll do whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and other bootlicking Republicans who undermine our democratic principles through demagoguery, disenfranchisement and propaganda.
34
Find active people in your community and organize with them to pressure your congress person and senator. You can even go to town hall meetings and other public events by yourself I'd need be.
Google indivisible guide. It has very good advice.
Non voters and even anarchists can be involved in this way. Shutting it down does not require joining a party our voting. It requires the will to fight injustice.
Google indivisible guide. It has very good advice.
Non voters and even anarchists can be involved in this way. Shutting it down does not require joining a party our voting. It requires the will to fight injustice.
Pick a social good you value and fight like hell to keep/save it ASB. Just google the cause, along with "save" (i.e. save the environment) and see who is calling for real action - not just asking for money or to have online petitions signed. They do no good. Collective action to save the things we care about is the only ticket out of this mess.
This is a good reminder (outside of some ranting) that movements begin with grassroots and build momentum. Of course as Professor Skopcal has shown, parts of the Tea Party were actually well-funded astroturf.
The bottom line is that the Progressive movement of over a century ago was built by the great-grandparents of their ignorant and angry modern day relatives who dismiss knowledge based facts. FDR derived most of his early support from today's red states where Progressivism flourished with the help of the GOP's cousin Teddy.
The problem for today is the widespread use of news media for propaganda by private ownership. Frankly too many Americans are too lazy and distracted by entertainment and work to defend their own rights and institutions. In a world with so much instantly available information, the general level of ignorance of facts is astounding.
So there will be little help to promote more democracy from the sort of well-funded sources that promote undermining democracy from the right. This will have to be like the Viet Nam era protests where the self-seeking and slow-witted elites and news media will have no choice but to finally pay attention.
The bottom line is that the Progressive movement of over a century ago was built by the great-grandparents of their ignorant and angry modern day relatives who dismiss knowledge based facts. FDR derived most of his early support from today's red states where Progressivism flourished with the help of the GOP's cousin Teddy.
The problem for today is the widespread use of news media for propaganda by private ownership. Frankly too many Americans are too lazy and distracted by entertainment and work to defend their own rights and institutions. In a world with so much instantly available information, the general level of ignorance of facts is astounding.
So there will be little help to promote more democracy from the sort of well-funded sources that promote undermining democracy from the right. This will have to be like the Viet Nam era protests where the self-seeking and slow-witted elites and news media will have no choice but to finally pay attention.
13
Above all, we voters must effectively hold politicians accountable for their lies. There is no need to mince words: We voters are being lied to on an unprecedented scale.
The many Pinocchios and Pants-on-Fire awards bestowed on Mr. Trump indicate that he shamefully disregards the truth.
Not too long ago, when one stated "All politicians lie" this claim meant: Although politicians generally speak truthfully in order to maintain their credibility, they often spin the truth and at times knowingly employ falsehoods to achieve their ends.
"Donald Trump lies" means something far different. Mr. Trump has expressed and continues to express many evident falsehoods--more than any other major politician I can recall. Moreover, Mr. Trump never seems the least perturbed when he is caught out in repeated falsehoods.
His political allies must be confronted with the electorate's refusal to be further bamboozled.
Resist the current era of pervasive social-economic-political manipulation and deceit, or our representative democracy is doomed.
The many Pinocchios and Pants-on-Fire awards bestowed on Mr. Trump indicate that he shamefully disregards the truth.
Not too long ago, when one stated "All politicians lie" this claim meant: Although politicians generally speak truthfully in order to maintain their credibility, they often spin the truth and at times knowingly employ falsehoods to achieve their ends.
"Donald Trump lies" means something far different. Mr. Trump has expressed and continues to express many evident falsehoods--more than any other major politician I can recall. Moreover, Mr. Trump never seems the least perturbed when he is caught out in repeated falsehoods.
His political allies must be confronted with the electorate's refusal to be further bamboozled.
Resist the current era of pervasive social-economic-political manipulation and deceit, or our representative democracy is doomed.
8
"The many Pinocchios and Pants-on-Fire awards bestowed on Mr. Trump indicate that he shamefully disregards the truth."
You conveniently forget how many Pinochios and Pants On Fire Obama was awarded. How long will it take before Americans forget: "If you like your doctor you can keep him." or If you like your insurance policy you can keep it." and that gem about everyone saving "$2500" on the health insurance?
How about never?
Will Trump get his wrist slapped by the SCOTUS as many times as Obama was (13) for constitutional overreach with his executive orders?
You conveniently forget how many Pinochios and Pants On Fire Obama was awarded. How long will it take before Americans forget: "If you like your doctor you can keep him." or If you like your insurance policy you can keep it." and that gem about everyone saving "$2500" on the health insurance?
How about never?
Will Trump get his wrist slapped by the SCOTUS as many times as Obama was (13) for constitutional overreach with his executive orders?
2
In sure quantity and frequency of falsehoods Mr. Trump is unmatched. Mr. Obama's claim about keeping your doctor was made prior to the GOP efforts to block the implementation of Obamacare by thwarting it at the red-state level. It was a spin on the truth, perhaps, but not an often repeated, shameless falsehood. The latter is Mr. Trump's preferred modus opera director.
It seems to me that the Tea Party's success is not because of their signs and chants, but because of the money funneled to them and into local, state, and national political races by wealthy Republicans. Without the ability to offer or withhold financial support to candidates and politicians, I believe this effort will not succeed.
9
"It seems to me that the Tea Party's success is not because of their signs and chants, but because of the money funneled to them and into local, state, and national political races by wealthy Republicans."
Yes and Obama and Clinton spent all that time flying back and forth between the East and West Coasts because they like attending cocktail parties? Hillary raised and spent twice what Trump spent on his campaign and the money came from wealthy Democrats on Wall Street and in Hollywood. TEA Party protesters not only did not engage in property destruction but even left venues cleaner than they found them. That one difference alone is why people ignore protests by the Left.
Yes and Obama and Clinton spent all that time flying back and forth between the East and West Coasts because they like attending cocktail parties? Hillary raised and spent twice what Trump spent on his campaign and the money came from wealthy Democrats on Wall Street and in Hollywood. TEA Party protesters not only did not engage in property destruction but even left venues cleaner than they found them. That one difference alone is why people ignore protests by the Left.
1
On January 20, 2008 a dispirited GOP leadership met in the back room of The Caucus Room restaurant and devised the strategy of absolute and total unified obstruction on every piece of legislation and nomination, vowing to make a new president elected with an overwhelming majority fail as the country stood at the fulcrum of the next republican great depression: that was before the tea party. Shortly after, a mis-informed minority, weaned on Fox propaganda and right wing talk radio made their presence known with behind the scenes agitation and coordination. The tea party's grass roots lasted a blink of an eye before the Koch brothers and their web of astroturf organizations took the reins and made Tea Party a professional pestilence. The democrats have never been sheep the way the right wingers are. While I hope that they will put principal above personal ambition, I don't have great confidence. Whatever may come under the crypto-fascist Trump and his spineless GOP minions - the GOP will have to own it lock stock and barrel: democrats will not be able to hold together to stop what is to come - and if by some miracle they could, the GOP would simply violate what norms of governance and comity they haven't gutted yet, to enrich the .01%
7
Check out the linked guide, here: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/. It has lots of practical information and humbly encourages activists to modify it as needed. I found it well worth a read and am sharing it with fellow activists. The more we know the better because we must resist this right-wing takeover of our government with Trump as figurehead.
9
I've downloaded and browsed through the guide. It looks like it will be a useful and practical tool for those looking to organize a group or act individually in principled opposition. My hope it will be used rationally and appropriately. The suggestions fit a wide range of availability and communication preferences. This could go a long way in counteracting the panic and helplessness many are voicing.
3
This is the first article I've read since the election that's given me any hope. Thank you.
3
The Tea Party was bankrolled by the Koch brothers as a ploy to thwart President Obama's policies. It was not really a grassroots effort. In order to thwart Republican policies, Democrats need to start organizing and campaigning to winlocal and state elections including governor and legislative assemblies, prosecutor and judges, positions they lost during the Obama years.
12
Astroturf is what I think it is called, fake grass. Thx.
2
The authors are correct in their assessment of what happened with the emergence of he Tea Party. Now the left, which used to be the center, has to be as obnoxious as the Tea Party in holding their representatives hostage. No more mister nice guy. it's time to stand for the democratic principles we believe in. That's what the Democratic Party needs to do. They also need to choose Keith Ellison as their new DNC chair.
2
The Tea Party nonsense came from the top down. Lots of money and propaganda, fancy RV's and fancy rallies hitting clueless, hopeless people. The message and how to sell it and campaign came from the TOP, from the big money brokers who had very certain ideas of what result they wanted but disguised it by a fake movement. This movement? This movement to fight that top down one is the grassroots, bottom to top messaging, true gut-wrenching from the heart stuff. From the People.
5
The tea party efforts were both genuine and faked. They reflected deep concerns on the part of some citizens that big changes would harm them, but the effort was mid-wifed by billionaire money and long time Republican operatives, like former majority leader Dick Armey of Texas. As such, they must be seen in context as a coordinated effort to make it look like the nation was rising up in revolt against the new president. It was a show.
The key moment was March, 2009, when more than ten thousand people under the tea party banner marched in DC against...what? Some were against the government generally, even while saying that the government should "keep its hands off my Medicare and Social Security" (government programs). The movement, part grass roots and part Astroturf, was not focused. It was loose, extremely. Some of it was ignited by the sheer fear brought on by the recession, which threatened people's houses, jobs, their future and that of their children. Obama had nothing to do with creating the Great Recession, but since when do facts matter in a time of fear?
The Democrats would be wise to understand the full background and import of the tea party efforts. While the Republicans slyly assumed that everything would come to their benefit, the whole affair threatened to topple Republican leadership and, yes, was a factor in the rise of Trump.
A similar effort now could be premature until Trump shows his full hand, his threat, to millions who voted for him. Careful.
The key moment was March, 2009, when more than ten thousand people under the tea party banner marched in DC against...what? Some were against the government generally, even while saying that the government should "keep its hands off my Medicare and Social Security" (government programs). The movement, part grass roots and part Astroturf, was not focused. It was loose, extremely. Some of it was ignited by the sheer fear brought on by the recession, which threatened people's houses, jobs, their future and that of their children. Obama had nothing to do with creating the Great Recession, but since when do facts matter in a time of fear?
The Democrats would be wise to understand the full background and import of the tea party efforts. While the Republicans slyly assumed that everything would come to their benefit, the whole affair threatened to topple Republican leadership and, yes, was a factor in the rise of Trump.
A similar effort now could be premature until Trump shows his full hand, his threat, to millions who voted for him. Careful.
4
good luck in organizing democrats to do anything.
look at how we are tearing ourselves apart
over the chairmanship of the DNC.
imagine what will happen when it comes to setting our anti-Trump agenda.
Will Rogers:"I don't belong to any organised party,I am a democrat."
I am a democrat.
look at how we are tearing ourselves apart
over the chairmanship of the DNC.
imagine what will happen when it comes to setting our anti-Trump agenda.
Will Rogers:"I don't belong to any organised party,I am a democrat."
I am a democrat.
3
Solely resisting Donald Trump and republicans in general does not amount to a strategy for the Democratic Party’s renewal. Key to its success is to show it can rise up to the social and economic challenges facing us. These include finding ways for: reducing income inequality, currently on an unsustainable trend; minimizing adverse impacts of foreign trade on domestic employment; forestalling large-scale dislocations from labor-displacing technologies; preventing increased vulnerability to terrorism from the advent of cyber warfare on a large scale; urging industry to develop new antibiotics agents less prone to decaying effectiveness with extended use; and coming up with a proposal for reenacting The Glass-Steagall Act to prohibit commercial banks from engaging in the investment business. These and other important initiatives will require national-level Democratic Party leadership urgently needed for “locally driven advocacy built on inclusion, fairness and respect” to be effective.
1
Thanks! We needed that!
1
You have totally excluded the most important factor in the Tea Party's success: Fox News and right-wing talk radio, all of which had a political agenda and no compunctions about distorting and deceiving. Democrats operate in a different world and don't have that sinister tool available.
11
" Fox News and right-wing talk radio, all of which had a political agenda and no compunctions about distorting and deceiving. Democrats operate in a different world and don't have that sinister tool available."
Start paying for them. Do you think over 200 stations are running Conservative programming for free? Sponsors pay for ears and eyes and the Left has never been able to attract them. How can they when what they want is available in the newspapers in every major city and NPR?
Those of you who have never bothered to listen to these stations don't know how much news not found in the other media shows up on Conservative radio. Are you aware that over 5,000 Haitians and Africans have smuggled their way into Mexico with the goal of entering the US and that Mexico is doing its best to not let them cross the border? Or that Africans are crossing into North Dakota from Canada? Africans who entered Canada as "refugees" whose real goal was getting to the US?
I want all the news. I don't want edited quotes that change perspective or just outright lie. Until that happens my TV will be turned off from 6-7PM and at 8PM I'll watch a movie there or on You Tube.
Start paying for them. Do you think over 200 stations are running Conservative programming for free? Sponsors pay for ears and eyes and the Left has never been able to attract them. How can they when what they want is available in the newspapers in every major city and NPR?
Those of you who have never bothered to listen to these stations don't know how much news not found in the other media shows up on Conservative radio. Are you aware that over 5,000 Haitians and Africans have smuggled their way into Mexico with the goal of entering the US and that Mexico is doing its best to not let them cross the border? Or that Africans are crossing into North Dakota from Canada? Africans who entered Canada as "refugees" whose real goal was getting to the US?
I want all the news. I don't want edited quotes that change perspective or just outright lie. Until that happens my TV will be turned off from 6-7PM and at 8PM I'll watch a movie there or on You Tube.
Those examples are exactly the type of "scary" news that Fox loves to present because it is sensational and emotional. It's real importance gets overblown. In the meantime, news about Syrian or Haitian refugees doing great, selfless, amazing things never gets reported. Cable news in the US is terrible in this regard. BBC sets a much better example for well rounded international news.
The tea party was a disaster. They kept the government from doing anything meaningful for six years. Following their example is the last thing the Democrats need to do.
Democrats need to work with the Republicans when it's good for the American people and push back when Republican policies would be harmful. We can't afford another four years of the current nonsense.
But we do need Democrats to work on the local level to beat Republicans at their own game. Please continue to legally challenge unfair voting restrictions. But in addition, get out there and help people get the ID they need to vote in the next election. Set up a community that will educate people on what is being voted on. Provide transportation to help people get to the polls.
The Democrats need to outsmart the Republican party not stoop to their level. And they need to remember that they serve all Americans, even the ones who disagree with them. We're stronger when the extremes in both parties are held in check by the pragmatic middle.
Democrats need to work with the Republicans when it's good for the American people and push back when Republican policies would be harmful. We can't afford another four years of the current nonsense.
But we do need Democrats to work on the local level to beat Republicans at their own game. Please continue to legally challenge unfair voting restrictions. But in addition, get out there and help people get the ID they need to vote in the next election. Set up a community that will educate people on what is being voted on. Provide transportation to help people get to the polls.
The Democrats need to outsmart the Republican party not stoop to their level. And they need to remember that they serve all Americans, even the ones who disagree with them. We're stronger when the extremes in both parties are held in check by the pragmatic middle.
143
If you read the manifesto these folks wrote, you will see that these are the strategies they are recommending. And by the way - pragmatism will NOT win this fight. People clearly voted without the benefit of their brains during this election.
The "pragmatic middle" cannot get out of its own way. That is what got us here. The "middle" has been voting Republican since Reagan and is too dumb or numb to realize the truth of the saying "Do what you always did; get what you always got."
1
Democrats/Progressives - heed the insights of George Lakoff on how knowledge about the brain and the mind can help enact political change. Talking about facts and policies won't do it...
Liberals, unfortunately, are not nasty enough to harass Congressmen and Senators, the way the Tea Party did. They don't have the Tea Party's mean streak.
14
I agree, by and large. However, we need to grow some and find balance in making it clear that we will not just watch and whine.
1
We liberals could also decide that since we are bank rolling this country through the hard working inhabitants of liberal cities, maybe we don't pay taxes until we are proportionally represented in federal government. This serves two purposes; it well give democrats what they want (a repudiation of far right policies and excuses) by giving republicans what they want (an unfunctioning government).
3
We in the Red states would love nothing better than to send you the recipients of your hard earned tax dollars. They're the 90% who vote for the Democrats.
I've had similar thoughts, especially given the revelation that many Trump voters voted this way due to poor earnings. However, I see the IRS doubling down on offenders.
Local Tea Party and affiliated organizations may have been “popping up all over” but these events did not represent a true grassroots phenomenon. The local groups across the country who protested taxes, big government and (later) health care reform may have had different names and no formal established organizational ties with each other initially. Nevertheless, these local organizations were bankrolled by the Koch Brothers, Freedom Works, and Americans for Prosperity, their network knitted together by the Grassfire.org Alliance, and actively supported in the media by Fox News and right wing talk radio personalities. The notion that the Tea Party was a sincere, if wrong-headed, populist movement that was subverted by corporate interests is naïve. No doubt there were individuals who participated in local protests out of their own convictions, but many of the local leaders of Tea Party and similar organizations were corporate shills. If the Democrats can't do better than adopt a faux populism, then they deserve to lose elections.
6
Before the Democratic Party can organize at a local level, it needs to change its orientation. Of course, Bernie Sanders suggested this, too, but I believe that many of his proposals (like Clinton's) were campaign promises that appealed to single-issue constituencies. The new orientation must be to find issues which help multiple constituencies, so that a new coalition can be built that accepts some burdens and some limits in pursuit of mutually beneficial goals.
The Tea Party had it easier. Their ideas that for local action fit into a simple agenda. For example, to advance their religion, they supported school board candidates who opposed the teaching of evolution.
Agreeing on such ideas will be harder for Democrats. For one example, promoting improved public transportation may require increasing already burdensome property taxes in some locations. Another example is easing zoning restrictions and code requirements for private day care providers for both children and adults in need, even if they are the most popular land uses. Both proposals serve some traditionally Democratic groups, but impose burdens on others. We all need to accept that no proposal is ideal, but that we can live with imperfect programs if they help our neighbors (and thus our society as whole when adopted around the country).
The Tea Party had it easier. Their ideas that for local action fit into a simple agenda. For example, to advance their religion, they supported school board candidates who opposed the teaching of evolution.
Agreeing on such ideas will be harder for Democrats. For one example, promoting improved public transportation may require increasing already burdensome property taxes in some locations. Another example is easing zoning restrictions and code requirements for private day care providers for both children and adults in need, even if they are the most popular land uses. Both proposals serve some traditionally Democratic groups, but impose burdens on others. We all need to accept that no proposal is ideal, but that we can live with imperfect programs if they help our neighbors (and thus our society as whole when adopted around the country).
60
Then, fight for the teaching of evolution and oppose to creationists.
As the article points out, the Democrats have no chance of passing an agenda right now and no need to try to find consensus on one. The entire left needs to fight the legislative and executive onslaught that will be directed against the most basic tenets of human justice, before the midterms.
This is an emergency now. Wake up.
This is an emergency now. Wake up.
1
We're already doing that (at least here in California), but that is not enough to build a new coalition. It seems hard to get most people organized around school issues, particularly if they do not have children. We also need to get middle and working class creationists into the new coalition, because their economic needs are the same as the rest of us. In other words, we need a way to break through single-issue politics, on both the left and the right.
The GOP said NO to filling an open SCJ vacancy and now they get to fill it.
Defend.Resist. Obstruct.
REPEAT.
Defend.Resist. Obstruct.
REPEAT.
29
Only two things are missing from this column:reality and the truth. The reality:Republicans control of a record 67 (68 percent) of the 98 partisan state legislative chambers in the nation. That’s more than at any other time in the history of the Republican Party. Next year, the GOP will control both legislative chambers in 32 states - an all-time high. I live in a Republican state and district. I can promise you that a progressive version of the tea party will never work here...or else where for that matter...You will be ignored. Get a clue people...the wind isn't blowing in your direction right now.
The authors also say President-elect Trump has no popular mandate. We hear that a lot. Sorry that statement is absurd. The truth:Over 61 million people voted for Trump....he has a mandate. But more importantly if you control the Presidency, Congress, the state legislatures, the Governships and the Supreme Court then you essentially control everything ...You have a de-facto mandate. The people have spoken...and spoken decisively at the local, state , and national level for a sharp turn to the right.
Here's the bottom line: The rational Democratic Party leadership needs to move to center today if it ever wants to win another significant election. The Democrats can win without the far left . But they will lose major election after election... as they are already doing... if they continue to listen to the progressive's tone deaf prescriptions.
The authors also say President-elect Trump has no popular mandate. We hear that a lot. Sorry that statement is absurd. The truth:Over 61 million people voted for Trump....he has a mandate. But more importantly if you control the Presidency, Congress, the state legislatures, the Governships and the Supreme Court then you essentially control everything ...You have a de-facto mandate. The people have spoken...and spoken decisively at the local, state , and national level for a sharp turn to the right.
Here's the bottom line: The rational Democratic Party leadership needs to move to center today if it ever wants to win another significant election. The Democrats can win without the far left . But they will lose major election after election... as they are already doing... if they continue to listen to the progressive's tone deaf prescriptions.
5
Is this supposed to be a joke? DLC Hillary was too far to the left?
You think the Democratic party needs to become more corporate and move further to the right? Seriously?
You think the Democratic party needs to become more corporate and move further to the right? Seriously?
3
I didn't vote for Trump. But ask yourself this question. Given what the Democrats have accomplished the last four years....losing the Presidency. Congress, The Supreme Court. most state legislatures, most governorships, most important local offices....would you say this strategy is working? I would say by any rational standard it has been a disaster....the Democrats have never been in worse shape politically. So given those facts...that reality...I would say it is vital that we appeal to more people...and if that means moving to the center....then so be it.....seriously! That doesn't mean we have to be more corporate as you say but we certainly can't be anti-corporate...where has that gotten us? What we can't do is is become mired in the mud of the far left...they are clueless...there are no symbolic victories in politics...it's a zero sum game you either win or you lose. It's better to have 50% of something than 100% of nothing. I want to win...what do you want to do?
And now, having gotten their collective butts kicked by the Republicans at the state and federal level since 2010 the Democrats are going to get organized and work on a daily basis as opposed to showing up when they have a likable presidential candidate. Well, anything is possible. But what damage in the meantime?
2
Nope - not gonna happen. There was a lot of big money behind the "grass roots" tea parties that miraculously sprang up overnight in 2009 and 2010. Money that paid for publicity, transportation, logistics, signs, even outfits. Who would provide that money for a "Democratic Tea Party"? And - even if it was found - would democrats actually be willing to push their agenda to the fore, while at the same time belittling opposing views like the republican tea party did? I don't see it. Democrats are thoughtful - they're willing to compromise and listen to opposing viewpoints. They're not going to be dressing up in three-pointed colonial hats, bursting into constituent meetings en masse, and shouting down anyone who dares to suggest that taxes on the wealthy are too high or Obamacare should be scrapped.
I'm glad that you're trying to come up with solutions, but this ain't it.
I'm glad that you're trying to come up with solutions, but this ain't it.
6
Great idea. We must stop the minority who stole this election.
5
Amen!
The popular vote-losing president elect may think he can get away with anything; the cowards and opportunists in Congress may be tempted to let him (and to cash in along with him, as he sells the US down the river); the craven media may think it is easier to just republish the lying tweets.
But we'll be there in our millions to make them all think twice. And to hold them accountable.
We are the majority. Let's act like it.
The popular vote-losing president elect may think he can get away with anything; the cowards and opportunists in Congress may be tempted to let him (and to cash in along with him, as he sells the US down the river); the craven media may think it is easier to just republish the lying tweets.
But we'll be there in our millions to make them all think twice. And to hold them accountable.
We are the majority. Let's act like it.
6
It's important to recognize what motivated the tea party to such success and why it had national appeal - it had to do with people's checkbooks. There was a growing fear that Obamacare and his policies in general would be fueled by placing a tax burden on the middle class (but most importantly the upper class). It evolved from a group protesting using taxpayer money to fund welfare programs into a radical sub group of Republicans wanting nothing less than total government shutdown.
The only way any sort of Democratic counterpart to the Tea Party is going to have any success is if it has a clear focus on issues that affect people's financial situation which has been, and will be the defining issue of this decade. Otherwise it turns into another BLM, 3rd wave feminism, or occupy wallstreet with noble ideas but no clear objective or achievable goal.
The only way any sort of Democratic counterpart to the Tea Party is going to have any success is if it has a clear focus on issues that affect people's financial situation which has been, and will be the defining issue of this decade. Otherwise it turns into another BLM, 3rd wave feminism, or occupy wallstreet with noble ideas but no clear objective or achievable goal.
1
The authors of this article have clearly identified an institutional weakness in the Democratic Party. Local participation is a key ingredient in success on a national scale. But the authors also overlook a critical shortcoming of the party....a glaring lack of focus on issues that matter to all people. Gay rights, women's rights, black rights all appear to just one interest group. Affordable health care; better wages, salaries, and working conditions etc. appeal to a much broader band of the electorate. The Dems need to laser focus on just one or two broad appeal issues and offer simple solutions. The military acronym KISS will serve the party well.
7
Good article, but no rebellion succeeds without a sponsor. Back in the late 1700's, King Louis XVI of France was nascent America's sponsor (and first ally).
More recently, the Tea Party's sponsors were the Koch Brothers and Fox News.
Who will be the sponsors for Progressive rebellion? Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, George Soros, I plead with you directly.
We also need a new flag for this rebellion, but that's whole other comment, and this forum does not allow us to upload images with our comments.
More recently, the Tea Party's sponsors were the Koch Brothers and Fox News.
Who will be the sponsors for Progressive rebellion? Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, George Soros, I plead with you directly.
We also need a new flag for this rebellion, but that's whole other comment, and this forum does not allow us to upload images with our comments.
2
The Un-Tea Party. I wish them luck but this is typical Democrat gobbledegook. Democratic plans are NEVER original, they are always reacting to or emulating the Republicans. They want to fight but they are scared to get their hands dirty so they will quickly march away from gunfire. And they want to please everyone.
Did it ever occur to our authors that the TP was as successful as they were because they were NOT fair, not built on inclusion and that they disrespected all who came into conflict with them, so they were perceived as having the courage of their convictions.
It was this nerve, this audacity, and their threats that scared the living daylights out of these congressmen. They were rattled, and with that they changed their votes to no.
The Democrats with their Army of love are hoping to achieve the same goals and more, with inclusion, fairness and respect.
Moreover, the Tea Party’s goal was simple, clear and focused: Stop Obama. How? Just say NO.
As usual are playing defense, (Ever notice that Democrats are NEVER on offense) but they do not want to obstruct they want to protect.
I am all for resistance. But the Democrats have to learn that they cannot have it both ways. They can’t be talking ‘common ground” out of one side of their mouth and resistance the other. Problem is Republicans cater to their base while the Democrats have utter contempt for theirs, so they cater to their donors. Until that stops the Democrats will continue to be playing defense.
Did it ever occur to our authors that the TP was as successful as they were because they were NOT fair, not built on inclusion and that they disrespected all who came into conflict with them, so they were perceived as having the courage of their convictions.
It was this nerve, this audacity, and their threats that scared the living daylights out of these congressmen. They were rattled, and with that they changed their votes to no.
The Democrats with their Army of love are hoping to achieve the same goals and more, with inclusion, fairness and respect.
Moreover, the Tea Party’s goal was simple, clear and focused: Stop Obama. How? Just say NO.
As usual are playing defense, (Ever notice that Democrats are NEVER on offense) but they do not want to obstruct they want to protect.
I am all for resistance. But the Democrats have to learn that they cannot have it both ways. They can’t be talking ‘common ground” out of one side of their mouth and resistance the other. Problem is Republicans cater to their base while the Democrats have utter contempt for theirs, so they cater to their donors. Until that stops the Democrats will continue to be playing defense.
4
"A bigoted and anti-democratic agenda ..." really? One surmises that the rigging of the Democratic Party's nomination process is what passes for democratic in liberal circles. Well, if a statement contains the word "democratic" it must be good. Of course, anything "Republican" must be bigoted. Obviously, the "white" people who voted for Trump were not bigoted; only those who didn't were.
One also surmises that 303 Electoral votes don't constitute a mandate if they have been cast for the Republican candidate. Hey, Ezra and Leah, what do you think of the Obama-Kerry destruction of the possibility of a land for peace deal for the West Bank? Hey angel, what do you think of the POTUS who has deported more illegal immigrants than any other?
It seems to these former staffers that they believe that the president -elect has an agenda, but not a mandate. It is troubling that if this were the case, why are they so concerned that his agenda will be enacted. This sort of confusion, bordering on willful denial, indicates why the Democrats will be out of office for quite some time. It is their party that has no mandate. it is their "inspirational" president who had no agenda.
"Tea" is what Republicans drink and what Democrats seem to want to smoke.
One also surmises that 303 Electoral votes don't constitute a mandate if they have been cast for the Republican candidate. Hey, Ezra and Leah, what do you think of the Obama-Kerry destruction of the possibility of a land for peace deal for the West Bank? Hey angel, what do you think of the POTUS who has deported more illegal immigrants than any other?
It seems to these former staffers that they believe that the president -elect has an agenda, but not a mandate. It is troubling that if this were the case, why are they so concerned that his agenda will be enacted. This sort of confusion, bordering on willful denial, indicates why the Democrats will be out of office for quite some time. It is their party that has no mandate. it is their "inspirational" president who had no agenda.
"Tea" is what Republicans drink and what Democrats seem to want to smoke.
6
In 2010 we had the Tea Party who organized and advanced candidates from state legislators, city council to congress members all the while knowing the task would be to gerrymander districts to maintain control. At the same time there was a movement called Occupy Wall Street which coalesced people around the protests agist the banks. But the Occupy Wall Street movement did not organize or advance candidates to address their issues and work in the political process and they lost momentum. This is the lesson for the Democracts - 2020 will be a census year and all state legislators will be in charge of drawing congressional districts. They have to start now!
8
Many of the protesters in Occupy Wall Street were found to be paid operatives. When the money stopped do did they.
They did things to turn people off who might have been sympathetic like defecating on a police car, trashing their camp sites, refusing to clean them up and not letting sanitation workers to do it. Some even engaged in public sex and drug use.
You'll have to do better.
They did things to turn people off who might have been sympathetic like defecating on a police car, trashing their camp sites, refusing to clean them up and not letting sanitation workers to do it. Some even engaged in public sex and drug use.
You'll have to do better.
1
Made up, right wing propaganda. There is such as thing as reality, and then you will have to do better. And your ilk wines about the "lies" told about the tea party. Hilarious.
Look,
does anyone, anyone believe that quislings like Joe Manchin will eat the Republic Party arsenic cookie.
He and other Democrats will eat the arsenic cookie because it will have chocolate chips.
Manchin and other Democrats will eat the arsenic infrastructure cookie (tax credits to private companies) because it will have chocolate chips.
Environmental regulation.....,mmmm chocolate chips.
Yes pressure has to be exerted, but the situation in Swamptown will not be pretty.
Trump America, wholly owned subsidiary of T-Rex and his wonderful boys will make us all proud.....
does anyone, anyone believe that quislings like Joe Manchin will eat the Republic Party arsenic cookie.
He and other Democrats will eat the arsenic cookie because it will have chocolate chips.
Manchin and other Democrats will eat the arsenic infrastructure cookie (tax credits to private companies) because it will have chocolate chips.
Environmental regulation.....,mmmm chocolate chips.
Yes pressure has to be exerted, but the situation in Swamptown will not be pretty.
Trump America, wholly owned subsidiary of T-Rex and his wonderful boys will make us all proud.....
1
The Tea Party succeeded in part because Democrats tried to take the high road. Republicans will not make that mistake. Republicans will shut down ethics watchdogs, ignore attempts to compromise, and pretend that most Americans support their right-wing agenda of tax cuts and crony capitalism for the rich and healthcare cuts for the poor. It will make Obama's first Congress look like a model of moderation.
6
There is a difference Fox Noise will not and uncritically promote the movement they way they promoted and encourages the Tea Party.
4
Sadly, this reads like a pipe dream. After all, the Tea Party could look to the Kochs when their movement found itself in need of life support. Where is the left leaning American oligarch prepared to risk all by making an enemy of incoming President Trump?
5
It will be worth considering going forth that the Democrats have hit absolute rock bottom as the nation emerges from the debris of the past election. The party can lift itself up. dust itself off and rebuild - or it can die. The horror, if you are anywhere to the left of Genghis Khan, is that a thin red line of moderate and sane Republicans is all that separates us from surrender to Trump's proto-fascism. Resistance can be a long slow trudge to elusive ends, especially when the nature of those ends will be in dispute by factions with competing visions of a new political left.
Without new leadership and something resembling anger, the current Democratic Party teeters on the edge of irrelevance. A stiff wind in the 2018 mid-terms can either set the party on a successful tack or blow it into the abyss. The unfortunate truth is we live in a two party system and the party that should be representing the left is doddering - unable to face the fact that it lost the past election not because of the Russians or James Comey, but because its candidate failed to connect with too many who refused to buy very old wine in a new, improved, shape shifting plastic bucket.
Without new leadership and something resembling anger, the current Democratic Party teeters on the edge of irrelevance. A stiff wind in the 2018 mid-terms can either set the party on a successful tack or blow it into the abyss. The unfortunate truth is we live in a two party system and the party that should be representing the left is doddering - unable to face the fact that it lost the past election not because of the Russians or James Comey, but because its candidate failed to connect with too many who refused to buy very old wine in a new, improved, shape shifting plastic bucket.
5
The thing to always remember is that significant majorities of Americans consistently do NOT support Republican policies.
It was true even during the eight years of the popular Ronald Reagan. Weird but true.
Republicans are vulnerable.
They have been viewed as the party of the rich forever.
Message effectively. Just reiterate what the average person already believes.
Coordinate messaging from on high with action from below - the people at the local level.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
That's what sticks.
It was true even during the eight years of the popular Ronald Reagan. Weird but true.
Republicans are vulnerable.
They have been viewed as the party of the rich forever.
Message effectively. Just reiterate what the average person already believes.
Coordinate messaging from on high with action from below - the people at the local level.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
That's what sticks.
5
In my view, the figure that bears the closest watching is Chuck Schumer. He is the Joe Lieberman of the US Senate, loyal to nobody but himself and to no principle at all. We know who Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are. Let's learn who Chuck Schumer is and respond accordingly.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
www.endthemadnessnow.org
2
The first three comments are right, except that they believe that Trump means what he says. Successful local organizing cannot just be about gumming up Trump's program. The Tea Party was founded, in large part, on the notion that a Black man couldn't reshape their America. Successful opposition to Trump won't be based on race. It will mean pursuing, locally, the sort of program that Bernie Sanders espoused. Jobs, but not just $7.25 per hour jobs, jobs with $15 pr hours minimum wages, health benefits. Rolling back medical costs and prescription costs. Affordable housing, not the sort that Trump builds. A program to end student debt. Funding for public schools, the masses of public schools, not just the 5% which are charters. An end to corruption among elected officials, and the building of a candidate base which doesn't cozy up to wealth folks when election time rolls around.
In New York State, the former Bernie Sanders activists have created a bottom up organization called the NY Progressive Action Network, with chapters in 30 cities, and an alliance with Black Lives Matter. Similar formations are occurring across America. And like the Tea Party, we will hold Democrats feet to the fire. Just because someone is a Democrat doesn't mean that they have a heartfelt desire to fight for what working class and poor Americans need.
In New York State, the former Bernie Sanders activists have created a bottom up organization called the NY Progressive Action Network, with chapters in 30 cities, and an alliance with Black Lives Matter. Similar formations are occurring across America. And like the Tea Party, we will hold Democrats feet to the fire. Just because someone is a Democrat doesn't mean that they have a heartfelt desire to fight for what working class and poor Americans need.
1
The Democrats cannot learn. The Democrats have always thought that the country yearns for an alternative party that subscribes to 97.6% of the GOP agenda. The Democrats have always thought that the country yearns for an alternative party that defers to whatever the GOP claims 92.4% of the time. The Democrats never learned that the GOP in Congress votes itself taxpayer financed medical care while running against taxpayer financed medical care for others. The Democrats never learned that GOP favors free trade except when it affects GOP supporters like farmers and the military. The Democrats never learned that the GOP has an un-dieing commitment to increased federal spending for the military and agricultural interests. The Democrats cannot learn because they are too dumb and too spineless to present a meaningful alternative to the GOP. Democrats learn? They are at their limits. Relax. Have a good laugh. They will be out of power for another forty-two years and it won't matter.
1
The principles outlined in this editorial are spot-on, despite neglecting the fact that the "Tea Party" was financed and organized at a national level and aimed to give the appearance of a grass roots movement. But it was effective, and it shines a spotlight on the biggest flaw with the Democratic Party apparatus: it is completely top-down. It appears that even State Democratic parties imagine that "organizing" translates to having a webpage and sending its email list five requests for money a day. Opportunities for input from the "rabble" or even small-scale community meetings are built only around fundraising receptions for candidates. But it's precisely the nonstop, small scale activism at the local level that will have to develop if the Democrats hope to recapture State Houses nationwide and develop the infrastructure necessary to not only forward progressive policies, but sustain them. And to those who would complain that Democrats are calling for this before Trump has even done anything, he has signaled his intentions quite clearly with the reactionary misfits he has nominated to run the executive branch, and that's all we need to know to take action.
2
Democratic policies don't lend themselves to the easy rhetorical style of the Tea Party. The stop and cut policies of the GOP, of which the Tea Party has always been a party, can be described in short sentences. The Democratic solutions aren't bullet points. Given where income is distributed in the US, taxes must be raised at higher income levels. The GOP has managed to convince most Americans that this isn't a good idea. For the Democrats to win the GOP must apply its policies and be seen to fail. That is going to take time and be painful. There is no other way to break the hold of the GOP.
Develop an app for Android and iPhone (because almost every American has one of those) that does one simple thing.
You enter your address and it instantly tells you who your House Representative and Senators are.
It then let's you send a preloaded message that supports the progressive position on any number of issues. But one issue at a time for maximum effect.
One touch and your representatives get your message automatically either by text or email or other social media.
One touch and boom… ten thousand progressives (or one hundred thousand) bombard the politicians with a demand on a particular issue. Virtual Viral Voting (VVV) if you need a name.
The app guides millions of supporters to a unified FOCUSED position on key issues and allows a bomb to be dropped on the representative's head. Let's see them squirm.
Build the app.
Get Oprah and LeBron and Tom Hanks and Colon Powell and George Cooney and Decaprio to publicize it. Obama too.
Heads will spin.
Build the app.
You enter your address and it instantly tells you who your House Representative and Senators are.
It then let's you send a preloaded message that supports the progressive position on any number of issues. But one issue at a time for maximum effect.
One touch and your representatives get your message automatically either by text or email or other social media.
One touch and boom… ten thousand progressives (or one hundred thousand) bombard the politicians with a demand on a particular issue. Virtual Viral Voting (VVV) if you need a name.
The app guides millions of supporters to a unified FOCUSED position on key issues and allows a bomb to be dropped on the representative's head. Let's see them squirm.
Build the app.
Get Oprah and LeBron and Tom Hanks and Colon Powell and George Cooney and Decaprio to publicize it. Obama too.
Heads will spin.
Build the app.
6
Do you really think Congress and its aids will pay attention to thousands of emails? Especially ones that say the same thing over and over and take little effort on the part of the senders?
They do respond though to box after box of signed cards with the voter's address. If a constituent goes to that much trouble to make a statement they will pay attention.
They do respond though to box after box of signed cards with the voter's address. If a constituent goes to that much trouble to make a statement they will pay attention.
3
Yes, they pay attention to every form of communication, NYHUGENOT. Use anything and everything to show our disapproval and intent to stop them.
Nice idea, but the Democrats first have to have a clear message,
3
The republican Tea Party was/is a relatively small group of rabid and determined activists intent in destroying a government's function (of which they are part of, in Congress) so to promote their fanatic views however counter to the public interest. Although the democrats could learn some of the Tea Party's tactics, I doubt they are as disciplined nor as machiavellic (the end justifying the means) as them. Still, activism in opposing the thrashing of this democracy, and altering the world order by giving Russia's Putin the benefit of the doubt, is the right thing to do. An uphill battle, for sure, especially as the people (close to 50% didn't even care to vote) remain indifferent as long as it doesn't touch them personally. And Trump will play his 'cards' accordingly, divide to conquer, and lie big and often enough so his constituents continue to believe he is telling the truth.
1
Can you imagine the kind of support the Tea Party could have gained if the Media did not go apoplectic every time someone in the crowd wore an inappropriate tee shirt or waved a banner they didn't like?
Point being, the conservative version of the tea parties were exclusively peaceful affairs but they were slandered and defamed over and over by the media over the slightest infractions against decorum. All the accusations of rampant racism and violence were all lies that the media told to shape the public perception of the tea party.
Point being, the conservative version of the tea parties were exclusively peaceful affairs but they were slandered and defamed over and over by the media over the slightest infractions against decorum. All the accusations of rampant racism and violence were all lies that the media told to shape the public perception of the tea party.
1
We are a poor excuse for the children of those who fought for our country- we can analyze a football team's flaws with excruciating detail but ignore facts when electing a leader- we can become engaged and outraged at the comings and goings of reality TV stars but miss the 30 year propaganda campaign to deny the function of government to protect us from tyranny. We are a bundle of paradoxes, ironies , hypocrisies, - so proud to stand at our national anthem, yet so unwilling to understand the value of the good health of our neighbors. The death of our ideals, so brilliantly orchestrated by billionaire patriots with television stations is now complete unless citizens find it in their soul to get off the sofa, and decide that the republic for which we stand is just as important as super bowl party recipes.
7
Excellent advice. I plan to follow it!
2
As I try to convince myself to look to 2017 with optimism and grit, this was a refreshing read.
It is important to underscore that the resistance to Trump will not come from the Democratic Party establishment, or at least not in any measurable sense. They have been disastrously incompetent over the past 8 years - allowing the Tea Party to control the national narrative with fake conspiracy theories and offering no counterpunch. They compounded their uselessness this past year by rigging a primary and nominating the absolute worst candidate for the moment's populist sentiment. And then after they suffered the most humiliating and indefensible election loss in national history, they re-appointed the same Congressional leaders. Clearly they have learned nothing.
With a criminally insane fascist about to be inaugurated and a useless minority party, the onus is on US - you and me - to be the change we wish to see. Thanks to the author for reminding us that this has been done effectively before, for the wrong aims. Now let's do it for good.
It is important to underscore that the resistance to Trump will not come from the Democratic Party establishment, or at least not in any measurable sense. They have been disastrously incompetent over the past 8 years - allowing the Tea Party to control the national narrative with fake conspiracy theories and offering no counterpunch. They compounded their uselessness this past year by rigging a primary and nominating the absolute worst candidate for the moment's populist sentiment. And then after they suffered the most humiliating and indefensible election loss in national history, they re-appointed the same Congressional leaders. Clearly they have learned nothing.
With a criminally insane fascist about to be inaugurated and a useless minority party, the onus is on US - you and me - to be the change we wish to see. Thanks to the author for reminding us that this has been done effectively before, for the wrong aims. Now let's do it for good.
1
I believe the state politics is just as important as federal politics: volunteer with your state legislator, give them cash give them you're time. Only eight more quarters until the 2018 elections. Attend town meetings. Set the agenda for your representatives at every level.
2
In response to "Outside the Box" - I think the authors have learned quite a lot and have been brave enough to share it with those of us interested in creating a sustained, well-articulated response to legislation that does not represent our ideals and ideas.
Remember, we are citizens, too.
Remember, we are citizens, too.
1
Democrats might just as well borrow Tea Party strategies to give Tea Party icons like Ted Cruz a taste of their own medicine. It would be well worth watching Ted "let's shut down the government" Cruz hypocritically snap watching a minority of legislators brazenly wield undue influence and thwart the sitting President at every turn.
Here's another crazy thing: many people are terrified of the incoming administration with its blind insistence on the destruction of the social safety net. This is fodder for social movement, not the narrow "tea party" style demonstrations of the past, and may be far more effective, and disruptive. There is great power in a disappointed electorate born of a free and open society. Will it remain so?
2
If any Democrat votes for ANYTHING Donald Trump or the Republicans put forward, I am sending $100 to their Democratic primary challenger. We should fiercely resist all legislation from this administration. Period.
31
Why not use that money to do something positive about one issue you feel strongly about, Earl? Love trees? Call the parks department and tell them you want to donate some and help plant them. Positive ACTION by all of us is the key.
I hope you will not put your trust in the Democrats. They have become spineless sis. What did they do with the Occupy Wall Street gallants? America is in for trouble in the foreseeable future. We have a Republican Party that knows its days are numbered because demographic changes in the population. They are willing to burn the barn in other to save it. We have a Democratic Party that does not know that it is the economy, stupid. We have elected a conman to the highest office in the land. We have a ruling party which loves power more than the nation. Soon some of will start singing the Christian hymnal starting with the words 'Abide with me...'
2
" Soon some of will start singing the Christian hymnal starting with the words 'Abide with me...'"
We'll start with "Onward Christian Soldiers" first. "Abide with Me" is too connected to funerals nowadays.
We'll start with "Onward Christian Soldiers" first. "Abide with Me" is too connected to funerals nowadays.
1
Strange definition of defense. Actions such as controlling national narrative seem to be more offense than defense. Dems seem to only have defense plays in their playbook. They need to work on their offense.
1
Let's recognize that the Tea Party, and by extension many Trump voters, were activated largely by anger. This anger is based upon the idea that things they value are being taken away from them by politicians in Washington.
Well, now liberals are learning what that anger feels like. And to have any hope of achieving the level of political success the Tea Party has in this country, liberals are going to have to use their collective anger as an organizing tool. Angry people vote, full stop.
I take the advice this article offers with a grain of salt - if its authors had learned valuable lessons by observing the Tea Party's success in 2010 they certainly failed to put them to work in 2016.
Well, now liberals are learning what that anger feels like. And to have any hope of achieving the level of political success the Tea Party has in this country, liberals are going to have to use their collective anger as an organizing tool. Angry people vote, full stop.
I take the advice this article offers with a grain of salt - if its authors had learned valuable lessons by observing the Tea Party's success in 2010 they certainly failed to put them to work in 2016.
4
Today the majority of Americans will know what it feels like to be a 3/5th's person.
1
I disagree. On one hand, yes, I see that the Republican strategy was a "winning" one in that Trump iis our next President. But, I think that ultimately this is a loser. Winning is different from correct. Those cynical extremists should be ashamed--yours is an important, but impermanent, win. Period.
The Republicans discredited themselves through a policy that called for unified resistance to any White House initiative, regardless of the proposal's details. The authors do not explicitly advocate that Democrats adopt a similar strategy towards Trump, but a hasty reading of their suggestions might lead some people to assume they have done exactly that.
Democrats need to target bills that threaten constitutional principles or weaken the social safety net. Trump's campaign statements and his appointments strongly suggest that he will pursue policies inimical to progressive ideas, but Democrats need to weigh each proposal on its merits, rather than reject it automatically as the poisoned fruit of an authoritarian administration.
This approach would enable Democrats to present themselves to the voters as defenders of America's founding principles, not mindless obstructionists.
Democrats need to target bills that threaten constitutional principles or weaken the social safety net. Trump's campaign statements and his appointments strongly suggest that he will pursue policies inimical to progressive ideas, but Democrats need to weigh each proposal on its merits, rather than reject it automatically as the poisoned fruit of an authoritarian administration.
This approach would enable Democrats to present themselves to the voters as defenders of America's founding principles, not mindless obstructionists.
202
If they discredited themselves through unified resistance, how do you explain the number of republican elected officials vs democrats? I agree that any measure of this nature should be used responsibly, by the way.
2
Maybe the solution, then, is to not hastily read...
2
Given the success of the Tea Party and the GOP in Congress, what is your evidence that "the voters" are concerned about "unified resistance"? It looks from here that it is what they reward.
1
Well written....the tea party showed us the way to impede America...
Democrats can learn from the tea party to show how to resist going back in time to the days of yesteryear....and to atone for hillary's sin of not listening to the needs of moderate conservatives in America.... particularly in the rust belt states...
Democrats can learn from the tea party to show how to resist going back in time to the days of yesteryear....and to atone for hillary's sin of not listening to the needs of moderate conservatives in America.... particularly in the rust belt states...
1
Organize?
I do not belong to any organized political party.
I'm a Democrat.
- Will Rogers
I do not belong to any organized political party.
I'm a Democrat.
- Will Rogers
2
Leftists can steal tactics from the Tea Party. But the tactics that serve a Tea Party agenda are antithetical to progressive politics.
The reason it worked for the Tea Party is because their extremist conservative politics is consistent with a Just Say No approach to government action.
Progressives cannot Just Say No, since faith in democratic government as a potential agent for good is a core tenet of progressivism (as opposed to other leftist movements like Stalinism and anarchism).
If the authors' advice were followed, progressivism as a political movement would die. Once proponents of social and economic justice give up on democratic values like compromising with your opponents, they'll have plenty of time to plot a "revolution" that brings an authoritarian leftist populist to power or, alternatively, burns down the state. But they will no longer have my sympathy.
The reason it worked for the Tea Party is because their extremist conservative politics is consistent with a Just Say No approach to government action.
Progressives cannot Just Say No, since faith in democratic government as a potential agent for good is a core tenet of progressivism (as opposed to other leftist movements like Stalinism and anarchism).
If the authors' advice were followed, progressivism as a political movement would die. Once proponents of social and economic justice give up on democratic values like compromising with your opponents, they'll have plenty of time to plot a "revolution" that brings an authoritarian leftist populist to power or, alternatively, burns down the state. But they will no longer have my sympathy.
3
It is shocking how many Congressional races and how many state races, run with no effective opposition to the incumbent office holder. Every race big and small must have a Democratic challenger--a strong one--if the horror of the Trump regime is to be stopped. If Democrats don't stand up and be counted, they will have no basis for complaint when the nation goes down the sewer.
5
Sorry to burst the enthusiasm bubble- but none of this will be happening. Just ask the 50 million Americans who didn't bother to vote in November. Unless this plan involves medical marijuana credits, an emotional support animal and a drum circle- there will be nobody motivated to get this esoteric project off the ground. Welcome to the new Liberalism- another lame idea up in smoke...
2
“Together, they will seek to enact a bigoted and anti-democratic agenda, threatening our values and endangering us all”.
Wow. What a bigoted statement, it is just as bad as Hillary’s “deplorable” label.
The Democrats cannot learn from the Tea Party, because the Tea Party wanted a change from Washington Elitism. The Democrats are knee deep, in Washington, “business as usual”.
Steve Bannon came out of the Tea Party, he had his finger on the pulse of American politics. He is not a racist. Donald Trump has his finger right on the American pulse.
The Tea Party did not success, but it laid the ground work for a movement which opened the door to Donald Trump.
Trump is the ultimate outsider, he is the people’s President.
He is no more a Republican than a Democrat. Democrats labeled the Tea Party racist in 2003.
Democrats label Trump a racist today, which he is not.
Democrats cannot, "copy" the Tea Party playbook. Get original.
Wow. What a bigoted statement, it is just as bad as Hillary’s “deplorable” label.
The Democrats cannot learn from the Tea Party, because the Tea Party wanted a change from Washington Elitism. The Democrats are knee deep, in Washington, “business as usual”.
Steve Bannon came out of the Tea Party, he had his finger on the pulse of American politics. He is not a racist. Donald Trump has his finger right on the American pulse.
The Tea Party did not success, but it laid the ground work for a movement which opened the door to Donald Trump.
Trump is the ultimate outsider, he is the people’s President.
He is no more a Republican than a Democrat. Democrats labeled the Tea Party racist in 2003.
Democrats label Trump a racist today, which he is not.
Democrats cannot, "copy" the Tea Party playbook. Get original.
6
Sorry, but Trump has the nation on his side, the liberal pockets in ca an ny no longer can make the calls.
3
How does Trump have "the nation on his side" when the most populous states voted against him?
2
underwhelming. Three signers, really? To me it signaled that what I was about to read was of great importance and urgency. And of course the authors had to add that efforts to stand up to Trump should avoid "viciousness." We're going to have ourselves an exceedingly civilized um battle. How lovely. I don't think the authors get what motivates people to take action -- it's not the reasonable, civilized appeal but the emotional appeal, which is what Trump and the Tea Party mastered so well. And yes, sometimes the emotional appeal may get a little angry or vicious. But this is a fight, right?
2
The one thing to be learned from the Tea Party, evangelicals and the GOP electoral success at all levels is that nothing gets you up and at 'em in the morning like a good hate.
Hate at being unemployed, hate of black people, hate of gays, hate of the federal government, hate at Hillary for being a successful woman, hate of the media, hate at immigrants, hate of welfare queens, hate of lberal judges, hate of "international bankers" (Jews), etc. etc. All these energize people far more than supporting Obama's legacy, having a qualified candidate in office, or having a more equitable society.
Many of the GOP supporters are fanatical haters and they will come out and vote for a candidate like Trump if he spouts their one fanatical cause. We can see the thinness of belief in evangelicals who vote for the p-grabbing, womanizing Trump because of the Supreme Court. Hypocritical to say the least. Their god will deal with them in good time.
Sadly, hate energizes far more in daily life than does love. It takes a lot of negative acts (think WWII) before progressives will develop the hate needed to destroy the other side. Love eventually trumps hate, but there may be more disappointments before that happens.
Hate at being unemployed, hate of black people, hate of gays, hate of the federal government, hate at Hillary for being a successful woman, hate of the media, hate at immigrants, hate of welfare queens, hate of lberal judges, hate of "international bankers" (Jews), etc. etc. All these energize people far more than supporting Obama's legacy, having a qualified candidate in office, or having a more equitable society.
Many of the GOP supporters are fanatical haters and they will come out and vote for a candidate like Trump if he spouts their one fanatical cause. We can see the thinness of belief in evangelicals who vote for the p-grabbing, womanizing Trump because of the Supreme Court. Hypocritical to say the least. Their god will deal with them in good time.
Sadly, hate energizes far more in daily life than does love. It takes a lot of negative acts (think WWII) before progressives will develop the hate needed to destroy the other side. Love eventually trumps hate, but there may be more disappointments before that happens.
5
Progressively done, SMC.
You really put the hate on 'em.
Those haters.
Hate 'em.
You really put the hate on 'em.
Those haters.
Hate 'em.
4
It is heartbreaking to me that there are no comments regarding this article -- I think this is the first time I've witnessed such a thing. Those of us who favor centrist to progressive policies are, I fear, throughly disheartened.
The contrast to 2009 and so-called Tea Partiers: they were ANGRY. They felt (and feel) smugly self-rightous and self-entitled.
We need some of that too, as distasteful as it is.
Want a model to follow? It's Bernie Sanders. He's my model, and I pledge to (1) make myself known to my (very Republican) elected leaders, (2) use relentless and searing logic when I make my arguments thereto, (3) throw in a little self-rightousness and anger, and (4) keep at it, even though it's an uphill battle.
The contrast to 2009 and so-called Tea Partiers: they were ANGRY. They felt (and feel) smugly self-rightous and self-entitled.
We need some of that too, as distasteful as it is.
Want a model to follow? It's Bernie Sanders. He's my model, and I pledge to (1) make myself known to my (very Republican) elected leaders, (2) use relentless and searing logic when I make my arguments thereto, (3) throw in a little self-rightousness and anger, and (4) keep at it, even though it's an uphill battle.
These guys have the right idea. I'm so tired of getting petitions from outraged liberal organizations that, when signed, simply lead to a donation page. It is time to organize face-to-face and take the fight directly to the politicians.
821
Outstanding !!! My inbox is filled with the same petitions and few things change as a result. Face to face will work better and taking it to the politicians in an organized and powerful way will get better results. We need more people like you to point things like this out. Hats off to Doug in Boston.
4
January 15th is a day of action to protect/expand health care. Look online for when and where and SHOW UP.
2
The Tea Party's on-line effort did not lead to a donation page because the Koch Brothers successfully financed it. In politics, money talks. So, we liberals/progressives need either a Sugar Daddy or a donation page. Political power does not come from naivete. Enough of bring boxing gloves to a gunfight.
3
I hope us liberals/progressives are up to the challenge. We love to talk, write comments to op-ed columns, and write letters to the editor, but throughout recent history we have not made the best men and women of action. I have been guilty of everything I just wrote.
But since election day I've started a monthly contribution to the Southern Poverty Law Center and another one to the Economic Policy Initiative. I've paid my filing fee and am running to be a delegate for the California state assembly. I've been in touch with my Congresswoman and my one sitting Senator. Now that my new one, Kamala Harris, has taken office, I'll be in touch with her also.
What is coming promises to be the defining political struggle of my lifetime. I am ashamed of what the Democratic Party has become, and I want to help it get back on course.
I hope there are millions more like me who are getting active. The alternative is clearly awful.
But since election day I've started a monthly contribution to the Southern Poverty Law Center and another one to the Economic Policy Initiative. I've paid my filing fee and am running to be a delegate for the California state assembly. I've been in touch with my Congresswoman and my one sitting Senator. Now that my new one, Kamala Harris, has taken office, I'll be in touch with her also.
What is coming promises to be the defining political struggle of my lifetime. I am ashamed of what the Democratic Party has become, and I want to help it get back on course.
I hope there are millions more like me who are getting active. The alternative is clearly awful.
888
Thank you for taking action!
8
Great point, but as this opinion piece points out, not all forms of action are equally effective. Republicans have pursued effective tactics that translated into results. I don't think I have seen the same from Democrats.
1
Vesuviano, I am PROUD of what the Democratic party is and has done (ACA, strong push for renewable energy, including higher CAFE standards for cars & trucks, higher minimum wages across the country (since the GOP blocked it at the Fed level), new national monuments to block Exxon fro drilling in the Arctic & Georges Bank, on & on. I am glad you're doing all you're doing, but I hope you inform yourself a little better.
3
While I appreciate the sprit of the plan presented by the authors and certainly encourage vigorous civic participation, but the tea-party approach outlined in the article should be considered for the Senate only. It will have will not have much, if any, effect on members of the gerrymandered House of Representstives.
Red state House Republicans largely do not face a threat from an insurgent left, no matter how boisterous, as most active democratic voters have been drawn into congressional districts that are either overwhelmingly republican or democratic. The example of Rep. Dogett cited by the authors is apt. While tea partiers certainly made his district meetings uncomfortable, they couldn't (and have not yet) voted him out of office. In 2010, Tea parties were able to sucessfully pick off moderate republicans and democrats in swing districts. Those districts have largely been gerrymandered into oblivion. Most active Democrats are already represented by Democrats in the House. Engaging them with trap party tactics might only result in pulling the party in a more radical or liberal direction.
In resisting Trumpism, Democratic activists to be more strategic (and yes, realistic). There is great enthusiasm and anger on the left that is waiting to be channeled into productive political action. We should be clear with folks about the hurdles they face and not send them on futile efforts that could only serve to further disillusion a defeated electorate.
Red state House Republicans largely do not face a threat from an insurgent left, no matter how boisterous, as most active democratic voters have been drawn into congressional districts that are either overwhelmingly republican or democratic. The example of Rep. Dogett cited by the authors is apt. While tea partiers certainly made his district meetings uncomfortable, they couldn't (and have not yet) voted him out of office. In 2010, Tea parties were able to sucessfully pick off moderate republicans and democrats in swing districts. Those districts have largely been gerrymandered into oblivion. Most active Democrats are already represented by Democrats in the House. Engaging them with trap party tactics might only result in pulling the party in a more radical or liberal direction.
In resisting Trumpism, Democratic activists to be more strategic (and yes, realistic). There is great enthusiasm and anger on the left that is waiting to be channeled into productive political action. We should be clear with folks about the hurdles they face and not send them on futile efforts that could only serve to further disillusion a defeated electorate.
3
Sound great, but remember so many of those Republican House seats are gerrymandered to be safe. So why should they listen at all to progressive voices. And remember, the Tea Party may have some grass roots, but they also have had massive funding from networks organized by the Kochs and like-minded reactionary billionaires, which they've used to take over state legislatures whose races are much easier to buy than national races. Democrates won't take back the House without taking back many states, first. Who on the progressive side is organizing the massive amounts of money to win back state legislatures and governoships in the next four years (starting in 2017 with Virginia & New Jersey, then many more in 2018 & 2020)? Without Democrats taking charge of redistricting in many more states, why should House Republicans pay attention to loud progressives organizing locally and playing defense? Without winning back the states, the strategy described on this article is incomplete. And that will take a lot of well-targeted money.
7
The bigger issue is the motivation and energy of Democratic Party members, their supporters and progressives in general. The success of the Tea Party and of Trump relates to how they were able to get fanatical one-issue voters out to vote - locally, state-wide and nationally. And have this happen election after election.
Things will have to get pretty bad for progressives to unite behind the Democrats. I'm thinking it was the Great Depression that caused the progressive surge in the 1930s. Something similar may unfortunately be needed in order to energize the 45% of the electorate who didn't even bother to vote in this election.
There are two main trends that Dems can capitalize on over the next two and four years. One is that there is a good chance that a financial and economic crash will occur on the GOP and Trump watch. Make sure they wear it.
Secondly, as a result of continuing automation, job losses will continue no matter what Trump or the GOP does. Make sure they wear this as well.
Trump and the GOP have no mandate but they are now in charge of the US and global economy. If they economy goes well or okay, I don't see how the GOP loses unless the electorate gets really upset and energized to vote against them. Maybe repealing Obamacare is what will trigger that. But the key question remains: how do the Democrats energize their voters the way the GOP has energized theirs?
Things will have to get pretty bad for progressives to unite behind the Democrats. I'm thinking it was the Great Depression that caused the progressive surge in the 1930s. Something similar may unfortunately be needed in order to energize the 45% of the electorate who didn't even bother to vote in this election.
There are two main trends that Dems can capitalize on over the next two and four years. One is that there is a good chance that a financial and economic crash will occur on the GOP and Trump watch. Make sure they wear it.
Secondly, as a result of continuing automation, job losses will continue no matter what Trump or the GOP does. Make sure they wear this as well.
Trump and the GOP have no mandate but they are now in charge of the US and global economy. If they economy goes well or okay, I don't see how the GOP loses unless the electorate gets really upset and energized to vote against them. Maybe repealing Obamacare is what will trigger that. But the key question remains: how do the Democrats energize their voters the way the GOP has energized theirs?
4
But do we have to wear powdered wigs and triangular hats?
4
Democrats must learn from the tea party -- to oppose illegal immigration and stop pandering to certain people.
Organizing locally and playing defense, are all just gravy.
Organizing locally and playing defense, are all just gravy.
2
Frankly, I don't have much hope for the Democratic Party. Remember that as soon as he took office, Obama put Tim Geithner and other Wall Street bigwigs in charge of the economy. His administration immediately moved to bail out the banks and leave the rest of us hanging. And even before he took office, he voted in favor of giving the telecom companies retroactive immunity for spying on the American people--after he said he was going to filibuster that bill. The rest of the Dems, with very few exceptions, have about as much spine as a squid.
But one thing the authors of this article get right: it is up to ordinary people to organize.
But one thing the authors of this article get right: it is up to ordinary people to organize.
5
I'm sorry, Martha--did you think Obama should have let the banking system fail? How do you imagine that would have helped the rest of us in this country? Around the world? How did your vote in the last election help the rest of us? Just asking.
2
Dear Lisa, my vote hardly counted. Oregon votes Democratic and went for Clinton, as was totally predictable. I could've written in for anyone, including Jesus. That didn't mean much with the electoral system.
As for the banking system, I'm not suggesting it Obama should have let it fail. But why didn't he give a rat's rear end about all the ordinary people who were swindled by the banks? Friends of mine were foreclosed upon, and since they were underwater, they lost their life savings, money they'd put up for down payments. Why did so much of that bailout money go to pay bonuses for bankers?
As for the banking system, I'm not suggesting it Obama should have let it fail. But why didn't he give a rat's rear end about all the ordinary people who were swindled by the banks? Friends of mine were foreclosed upon, and since they were underwater, they lost their life savings, money they'd put up for down payments. Why did so much of that bailout money go to pay bonuses for bankers?
3
"Our incoming president is a weak president, and he can be beat."
There is a trail of people that have underestimated Donald Trump throughout this process. He beat the Bush and Clinton political machines, as well as the Democrat and Republican establishment. I imagine these three writers will learn that lesson too.
There is a trail of people that have underestimated Donald Trump throughout this process. He beat the Bush and Clinton political machines, as well as the Democrat and Republican establishment. I imagine these three writers will learn that lesson too.
7
One big difference between il duce and Obama is their
inclination to use naked executive power to coerce, intimidate,
bully, manipulate, and control those with whom he must negotiate. Any republican who dares to speak up against one or another of the vile policy proposals about to come down from on high
will surely be told in no uncertain terms that pet projects for
the district will find funding difficulties or unfortunate reallocations. In addition, there will surely be the credible threat to mount primary challenges by more loyal and very well funded challengers, lest an independent spirit get out of hand.
Obama apparently did not engage in such arm twisting and he suffered
greatly from the absence of credible threats against any number
of his proposals. Il duce has no problem doing so, to put it mildly.
That will be a very big difference, and we will see this in how
external pressure from local populations is ignored, resisted, or
neutralized. The fact that the same people proposing this
strategy, the only one at all available until
real disaster strikes and destabilizes everything, also include-surely - people from groups of sulkers who managed not to get to the polls to help Feingold, Ross, McGinty should have been acknowledged as an organizational obstacle. Such groups managed not even
to make Grassley sweat his election. How this plays out in
context of real pushback by Bannon organized thuggery
is unclear, but also crucial.
inclination to use naked executive power to coerce, intimidate,
bully, manipulate, and control those with whom he must negotiate. Any republican who dares to speak up against one or another of the vile policy proposals about to come down from on high
will surely be told in no uncertain terms that pet projects for
the district will find funding difficulties or unfortunate reallocations. In addition, there will surely be the credible threat to mount primary challenges by more loyal and very well funded challengers, lest an independent spirit get out of hand.
Obama apparently did not engage in such arm twisting and he suffered
greatly from the absence of credible threats against any number
of his proposals. Il duce has no problem doing so, to put it mildly.
That will be a very big difference, and we will see this in how
external pressure from local populations is ignored, resisted, or
neutralized. The fact that the same people proposing this
strategy, the only one at all available until
real disaster strikes and destabilizes everything, also include-surely - people from groups of sulkers who managed not to get to the polls to help Feingold, Ross, McGinty should have been acknowledged as an organizational obstacle. Such groups managed not even
to make Grassley sweat his election. How this plays out in
context of real pushback by Bannon organized thuggery
is unclear, but also crucial.
2
Sign me up! I read the guide and it is great. I have already contacted my local representative and am trying to figure out the next town hall. We will win this fight.
5
I can't tell you about Fort Collins CO or Hershey PA, but in Atlanta GA we're sort of locked in. None of the GA Democrats in Congress need to be watched, and none of the GA Republicans in Congress can be reached. The districts are so gerrymandered already that there are no close congressional races any more once the primary elections are concluded. The thought of showing up at John Lewis's office and letting him know I'm watching is absurd.
5
I know "tea party" people who depend on Social Security and Medicare to survive. They watch Fox "News", believe all of the nonsense that they see. They voted for Romney and Ryan (who has fed at the government trough since he was 16). They have children and grandchildren who will be devastated by the Republican agenda. Now they have their savior Trump. What does it take to make these ill informed people realize that they have been fooled?
I love this country. There is no better place in the world. Who will save it?
I love this country. There is no better place in the world. Who will save it?
10
RE: In August, routine hometown events got unexpectedly rough for members of Congress. At a neighborhood event at Randalls, a grocery store in Austin, Tex., Congressman Lloyd Doggett came face to face with a group of “tea party patriots,” carrying signs that said “No Socialized Health Care.”
WOW how rough. Imagine a representative having to actually listen to the people for whom he works. The audacity of those constituents not shutting up and listening their betters in Congress. This attitude exhibited by the "progressive" writers of this op is exactly why Democrats will continue to be a minority and regional (coastal only) party.
WOW how rough. Imagine a representative having to actually listen to the people for whom he works. The audacity of those constituents not shutting up and listening their betters in Congress. This attitude exhibited by the "progressive" writers of this op is exactly why Democrats will continue to be a minority and regional (coastal only) party.
5
Oh, please. We elect leaders to lead us, not simply enact every harebrained idea that the constituents have. I for one don't want to be ruled by a mob, Trump's or anybody else's. By the way, The New Yorker has a great cartoon today, picturing a guy standing up in the middle of a plane full of passengers, yelling: "These smug pilots have lost touch with regular passengers like us. Who thinks I should fly the plane?" Arms raised all round.
7
It's also important to learn from their mistakes like supporting unelectable candidates and losing Republicans some Senate seats.
2
I agree that Democrats should try organizing like this, but they will have a heavy lift because of right-wing money in opposition to them. That's the difference. Right-wing populists group like the Tea Party support policies that benefit moneyed interests, so they have an inherent structural advantage: namely, they can get billionaire money to back them up. That's what happened with the Tea Party, which was backed by the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity, and some other right-wing donor-funded groups.
Unfortunately, center or center-left grassroots populist groups have a funding deficit because their policies are in opposition to moneyed interests, so they are unlikely to receive nearly as much financial backing as they Tea Party did. Still, Democratic groups should try.
Unfortunately, center or center-left grassroots populist groups have a funding deficit because their policies are in opposition to moneyed interests, so they are unlikely to receive nearly as much financial backing as they Tea Party did. Still, Democratic groups should try.
5
How about we keep it even simpler—can dems show up at the voting booth?
10
I live in a remote town with a four-figure population. Several of us have already taken this group's direction and how-to-resist manual to heart. It invokes Margaret Mead's observation about small groups of people getting things done. We up here will never be numerous. But we will not be quiet and accommodating, either.
16
The Tea Party became a front backed by big-monied corporate interests like the Koch brothers/A.L.E.C. who plowed millions into state contests. Republican operatives also succeeded in coming up with a chilling but effective vote restriction strategy. They: Contested and gutted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act; Aggressively gerrymandered key districts to limit Democrats seat wins even when Democrats received more votes; Passed onerous voter ID rules targeting the poor, elderly, African Americans, Hispanic voters. And in Democratic leaning districts: Reduced voter poll hours, days, and closed tens of thousands of polling sites in; Sent voters to the wrong places to vote; Installed fewer machines + broken/non-functioning machines; Underfunded Democratic-leaning districts; Practiced outright voter intimidation and vote caging; Lost bags of votes or improperly secured them; Shunted voters to provisional ballots with no proof they would be counted; Purged 1.1+ million African-Americans from voter rolls in GOP-controlled states ("crosscheck”); Blocked programs designed to add eligible voters automatically; Legalized methods to prevent votes from being tracked; Used lawsuits to contest a recount & threw recount efforts out for spurious reasons; Contested results in court and if that failed, block or reduce the powers of the incoming Dem leaders; Used known hackable “insecure voting software/machines”, AND refused to investigate Russia's election tampering.
158
Organizing and resisting — rather the whining, grieving and being depressed and frightened — is good. We must take action to stop Trump and his fascist agenda in its tracks.
However, the problem with this article is that it recommends playing defense. (And it mistakenly postulates that the Tea Party played "defense," when in reality it went on offense from the beginning.)
To preserve democracy, we must GO ON OFFENSE — take the initiative. And we don't have to organize for two years to do it. There are numerous actions we can and must take now.
Our Motto should be "The Government Should Fear the People" (not the other way around). Trump and Co. should be worried about what's coming at them. We must take every opportunity to (NON-VIOLENTLY) delegitimize, disrupt and ultimately dismantle the Republican agenda.
We can immediately pursue the following:
1) PutinGate: Start by loudly and persistently demanding an independent (not Republican controlled) investigation of PutinGate. The Trumpistas are terrified of an investigation which will expose Trump's and many of his cabinet members' business connections to Russia and Russian/RNC collusion. Keep the pressure on your legislators, in the media and the streets. Now's the time.
2) Conflicts of Interest: Demand investigations and demand that states Attorneys General sue Congress if it doesn't impeach Trump for Emolument Clause violations. We the People have standing to sue.
Take your power, or Trump will.
However, the problem with this article is that it recommends playing defense. (And it mistakenly postulates that the Tea Party played "defense," when in reality it went on offense from the beginning.)
To preserve democracy, we must GO ON OFFENSE — take the initiative. And we don't have to organize for two years to do it. There are numerous actions we can and must take now.
Our Motto should be "The Government Should Fear the People" (not the other way around). Trump and Co. should be worried about what's coming at them. We must take every opportunity to (NON-VIOLENTLY) delegitimize, disrupt and ultimately dismantle the Republican agenda.
We can immediately pursue the following:
1) PutinGate: Start by loudly and persistently demanding an independent (not Republican controlled) investigation of PutinGate. The Trumpistas are terrified of an investigation which will expose Trump's and many of his cabinet members' business connections to Russia and Russian/RNC collusion. Keep the pressure on your legislators, in the media and the streets. Now's the time.
2) Conflicts of Interest: Demand investigations and demand that states Attorneys General sue Congress if it doesn't impeach Trump for Emolument Clause violations. We the People have standing to sue.
Take your power, or Trump will.
469
I agree with a lot of what you write, but I do not agree that government should fear the people. Government should represent the people. Government should be beholden to the people. Fear should have nothing to do with it. Commitment to democracy, to the Constitution, to public service, to integrity, to putting country before ambition- these should be the priorities of *our* government.
10
Absolutely. Get out and speak up. The last call I got for $, I suggested I'd start waiting until the democrats "man" up.
ok Phillip, we will all stop whining right now...we'll take power...thank you for your advice. .
Glad to see this op-ed opens in such a balanced way. Heck, if this is how we start a new administration, what could possibly go wrong? At least from the perspective of the unchained, potted liberati.
The worst thing Dems could do would be to ape the Tea Party. That organism was nascent in 2009, when Obama took office. It received a monster adrenalin-boost 2009-2010 for two reasons: 1) the far-left fringe of the Democratic Party, in the wilderness for years, resolved through undivided Democratic government to transform America in ways that much of the country rejected—ramming ObamaCare without ONE SINGLE REPUBLICAN VOTE and suffering an HHS that didn’t simply lie in their teeth to them and the American people, but did so knowing full well that if they didn’t the ACA would have crashed and burned; and 2) the Kochs started funding them, which made them viable.
Yet the Tea Party was a desperate reaction to unchained liberal hubris, and the people elected under its banner weren’t there to govern but to STOP liberal advances dead. They succeeded at that more fully than any other splinter group in our history; but in doing so froze our politics solid and made the eventual coming of Trump inevitable to jump-start functioning politics again.
That’s not any road Chuck Schumer wants to take. Good for him. Besides, to be effective you guys need to win an election once in a while.
It may not have escaped readers that this op-ed ticked me off intensely for its monumental arrogance.
The worst thing Dems could do would be to ape the Tea Party. That organism was nascent in 2009, when Obama took office. It received a monster adrenalin-boost 2009-2010 for two reasons: 1) the far-left fringe of the Democratic Party, in the wilderness for years, resolved through undivided Democratic government to transform America in ways that much of the country rejected—ramming ObamaCare without ONE SINGLE REPUBLICAN VOTE and suffering an HHS that didn’t simply lie in their teeth to them and the American people, but did so knowing full well that if they didn’t the ACA would have crashed and burned; and 2) the Kochs started funding them, which made them viable.
Yet the Tea Party was a desperate reaction to unchained liberal hubris, and the people elected under its banner weren’t there to govern but to STOP liberal advances dead. They succeeded at that more fully than any other splinter group in our history; but in doing so froze our politics solid and made the eventual coming of Trump inevitable to jump-start functioning politics again.
That’s not any road Chuck Schumer wants to take. Good for him. Besides, to be effective you guys need to win an election once in a while.
It may not have escaped readers that this op-ed ticked me off intensely for its monumental arrogance.
28
If the Democratic program is far left, then all other prosperous countries are far left and far-left is normal for prosperous countries. Actually it is far-left only to modern Republicans who have become far right. A conservative approach to the New Deal would be to gradually trim its excesses; getting rid of it quickly in large chunks is radical and based on a faith that market forces will quickly emerge to replace government planning and regulation.
The reason for the rise in entitlements is that people are living longer because of sometimes-expensive medical care that did not exist in the past. The market solution to this rise is exemplified in the drop in lifespan of whites who did not go to college.
The reason for the rise in entitlements is that people are living longer because of sometimes-expensive medical care that did not exist in the past. The market solution to this rise is exemplified in the drop in lifespan of whites who did not go to college.
223
What a nonsensical history posited by RL . What froze our politics was unprecedented Republican obstruction that led to government shutdowns, mindless routine filibusters and threats to default on payments for services already rendered basically that led to a credit downgrade from S&P . Even as approval ratings for Congress sank to 9% thanks to this grinding exhibition, the Republicans have been rewarded by voters , at least the ones that support establishment Republicans. The right wing populism of the Tea Party has moved into the person of Donald Trump who will take office as a compromised man , low approval ratings, supported by a foreign power, and voted against by a numerical majority of Americans. A ludicrous figure who stoked the worst passions, temperamentally unfit and a needy narcissist. It's time for those opposed to this mess to learn something from Republicans now. THAT is what this article is about
240
C-3p0:
I know Western Europe very well, and I know them to be among the most unchained of the potted liberati; and that's fine, because a sensible American may love visiting, but ...
Our whole problem is that the only people who have regarded themselves as political players for some time are either on the far-left or the far-right. We seem to have kicked everyone else out of Congress. That's WHY Trump is necessary. We need someone with a sense of humor to deal with these yahoos.
Trump doesn't have sense of humor? Of course he does. He charged the whole election to Bill Clinton's AMEX card. You want the number?
I know Western Europe very well, and I know them to be among the most unchained of the potted liberati; and that's fine, because a sensible American may love visiting, but ...
Our whole problem is that the only people who have regarded themselves as political players for some time are either on the far-left or the far-right. We seem to have kicked everyone else out of Congress. That's WHY Trump is necessary. We need someone with a sense of humor to deal with these yahoos.
Trump doesn't have sense of humor? Of course he does. He charged the whole election to Bill Clinton's AMEX card. You want the number?
3