The Democrats Speaking at Town Halls Are Giving Me Hope
Go to red districts and seize control of the narrative
Good morning friends!
We're finally seeing some life out of the Democrats. Bernie Sanders has been traveling the country and going to red districts where Republicans are too terrified to face their constituents. Lately, he's been joined by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Tim Walz, too, is getting in on the action as are others.
Folks, this is exactly the kind of action the Democrats need to take. For the last 10 years, we've been in a 24/7 campaign cycle where the Republicans lobbed lie after lie after lie and the Democrats did nothing.
They did nothing!
Democrats allowed propaganda media channels to poison the psyche of the electorate, then acted all surprised when they lost the last election. But it doesn't take an ivy league degree to recognize they got out-promoted. There are always a lot of news stories about how much money a campaign raises, but those numbers don't take into account the already built-in Republican brainwashing mechanism.
They are at it all the time. They never give it a rest. You can't so much as teach pronouns in a third grade English class without having a mob of radicalized Republicans come crashing down your door.
The worst part is that this hasn't been a secret. It's been happening in plain sight and the corporate Democrats refuse to do anything about it. Instead, they do what they always do. They lecture those of us who see the problem as “irrational.” They tell us to “get over ourselves.” They assure us that they are the smartest people in the room.
Then the moment they have a chance to stand up to unconstitutional power grabs, they fold like a paper airplane and fly away.
Literally the only time the corporate Democrats show any spine is when somebody comes along and suggests that maybe it would be popular to offer lunch for children at public schools. Then the corporate Democrats turn all hellfire and damnation, “How dare you! Don't you know that when you say things like that you sabotage our chances to win an election! The only strategy is to go right, right, right.”
Uh-huh. How's that working out for you?
One of the narratives out there is that rural people feel the government has left them behind. That's true. These people are so angry that corporate Democrats never come to their districts that they're willing to succumb to rage.
Today, we have progressive Democrats heading to red districts and they're discovering something astonishing. They're discovering that they understand and identify with the people in these red districts. They're discovering that they have figured out the means of getting those people to abandon the lie that's brought our country to the brink of ruin, and join the side of freedom and prosperity.
Who would have figured? All you had to do was go to the districts and listen!
I grew up on a farm. I know how farmers think. It's true that farmers don't have the fancy degrees of other professionals, but they are shrewd enough to know when they're being lied to. They know that the Republicans lie, but the Republicans are clever enough to listen to their rage.
The corporate Democrats are too busy going on book tours after selling out their colleagues in the Senate.
Look at the political landscape of the United States right now, just look at it. This country has never been more politically charged than it is right now. Regular, everyday people are ready to give everything to save the freedoms that we've long taken for granted and which now appear to be threatened.
If you were a politician, how could you fail to feel that energy? How could you resign yourself to sitting in your mansion and waiting for things to “blow over” rather than go out and do anything?
What's become clear is that corporate Democrats are always going to stand in the way of transformative policies like universal healthcare and universal education. Corporate Democrats don't want to help the people because they're quite content to take advantage of the cushy life provided by the status quo.
They'll continue to look down their noses at us from their vaunted perches. They'll tell us that “things aren't as bad as we're making it out to be.” They lecture us on the quality of our lives even though they never come to our districts. They never come to see for themselves.
They think they know already. They're quite certain of this because they went to an ivy league school.
It has long been the problem in the United States of America that we're lead by the wrong kind of people. We don't have leaders who have had to fight and struggle and overcome tremendous odds. The road is too hard for individuals like that. Instead, we are overwhelmingly represented by people who come from a greater or lesser degree of privilege. Yes, there are a few exceptions.
The exceptions are the ones out there arguing for universal education and universal healthcare.
The corporate Democrats, even as they watch the president burn the Constitution, are more inclined to lecture the progressive Democrats to stop their town halls than oppose a lawless administration.
It's happening in plain sight.
But what's bringing me hope is that even the news is no longer failing to cover the crowds gathering around our progressive leaders. They're out there tirelessly working. They're reaching across the aisle. They're listening to the grievances of rural places, and figuring out the message that will bring us back together.
They're LISTENING.
They're not LECTURING.
That's the difference.
We need more progressive Democrats to do this. We need more people out there who can bring in a crowd. We need them to go to districts where people are dissatisfied and HEAR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!
HEAR US!
Listen to the PEOPLE, not the corporations that fund your campaign. Not the banks or the pharmaceutical companies or the arms manufacturers. Listen to WE THE PEOPLE!
This is the strategy for change. Let's celebrate this initiative to bring power to politicians who actually want to serve us. The Republicans have been seizing power by fanning the flames of grievance. The Democrats can counter them by building a coalition based on respect, unity, and hope.
That's how you do it. This is how we win.
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I totally agree with you and believe people like Bernie (God Bless him) and AOC are the ones that will make the change along with Kinzinger and cheney. WE have to keep up the positive narrative.
I attended the town hall in my rural Oregon coastal town hosted by Sen Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. Oregon Public Broadcasting sent a photojournalist to cover it. I was given the opportunity to ask a question and ended up with my picture and question quoted in the OPB article!