How to Limit Democratic Infighting

[babylonsister]

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2018/4/5/122811/5720

How to Limit Democratic Infighting
by BooMan
Thu Apr 5th, 2018 at 12:28:11 PM EST


Political analyst Jeff Greenfield asks us to imagine a future in which the Democrats lose a couple of seats in the Senate and fail to take a majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterms. He then suggests a cause for this fiasco.

But should that Democratic disaster come to pass, a good deal of the explanation would lie in an aphorism often misattributed to Voltaire: “I can take care of my enemies, but Lord protect me from my friends.” Some of the most damaging blows to Democratic hopes this year are friendly fire.

snip//

What Greenfield doesn’t note is that the left is doing the most harm to itself by willingly participating in an effort to depress turnout by picking fights with people who are broadly on their own side. As the Russian effort to interfere in our elections is re- and deconstructed more and more each day, we’re learning how they feverishly worked to prevent reconciliation between Clinton and Sanders’ supporters. They took some of the more heated ideological battles on the left, like the Black Lives Matters movement, and weaponized them to pull socially conservative Democrats out of the coalition. They sought to depress black turnout, to prevent socialists from holding their nose and voting for more of the same, and looked to exploit leftist critiques of capitalism and American foreign policy to promote apathy and third-party voting.

These are weaknesses and fissures on the left that are to some degree always with us, but the best time to wage ideological battles is when you’re already in power and trying to decide what to do with it. When you’re out of power, these wars are a luxury the left cannot afford. That doesn’t mean that people can or should stop fighting for what they believe in, but they need to be self-aware about how their actions can be self-defeating and a great aid to the opposition.

Avoiding simple errors can be a high-wire act. It’s not helpful to tell people to shut up, to stand for the national anthem, to show support for the Second Amendment, to tamp down their support for transgendered people, or to show some restraint in their their advocacy of abortion rights. Yet, it’s not a bad idea to recognize that these issues are not political winners in many states and districts and to give people some freedom to craft their own campaign messages and themes. Probably the easiest way to look at this is as a matter of using your energy and resources efficiently and avoiding doing the work of your adversaries for them. Why pick fights with people on your side of the broader fight to take back control of Congress from the Republicans? Is it the best use of your time to sling insults at Bernie Sanders supporters you encounter on social media, knowing that you’ll need them to turn out to vote? Or, if you are a Bernie Sanders supporter, do you really need to continue to bash Hillary Clinton and her supporters? What good does it do?

snip//

The left will always fight with itself, but it must do it in an intelligent way. And that’s starts with each individual making sure to focus their energies where they will help rather than hurt.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Need? If they have to be asked, if they have to be coddled

[TheSmarterDog]

2. If they're on the Democrats' side so much they can JOIN THE FUCKING PARTY!

If they'd rather be - in LBJ's words - "outside the tent pissing in", then their purpose is to keep the infighting going & help the GOP win.

[Cha]

6. It seems so.. Amen,

TheSmarterDog

[Willie Pep]

3. This is why I don't understand going after red state Dems in primaries.

I think that is a bad use of time and resources. The primary challenge against Joe Manchin is a good example given that Manchin is likely the only Democrat who can win that Senate seat right now. But the Internet Left really seems to hate Manchin and is putting a lot of time and effort and possibly money into supporting Paula Jean Swearengin even though she would likely lose in the general election.

Why not put that time and energy into defeating Republicans? I could understand this sort of infighting in blue states or districts where it is likely to hurt less in the general election but not in deep red states where we are struggling to win.

I guess the nutshell version of my point is to pick your fights wisely.

[JI7]

7. they don't hate Manchin, they hate democrats winning. their goal is to help republicans win

[brush]

4. You're right. Not a good idea to constantly blast your allies. Pls tell the senator from Vermont...

to cease and desist as people might start to wonder if he really is an ally, or working against us.

[charlottescot]

8. Bernie is not the problem...he is the solution

Poll after poll shows that Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in the US. He has been a Democratic ally for decades and yet he is treated with smears and negativity. Rather than including Bernie and welcome his millennials, the party decided to continue hiring Hillary's campaign staff and following the same philosophy which made Donald Trump President.
I was Director of Communications at the DNC during the Carter Administration. The Powers-that-be did not like Jimmy Carter either. They ran Mo Udall, Birch Bayh, Scoop Jackson, Hubert Humphrey, Fred Harris, Frank Church and everyone they could enlist to beat Carter. The people wanted Carter. The opposition continued once Carter became President. We could have had clean green energy 40+ years ago if Democrats had supported Carter.
My point is, the Democratic party has got to start listening to the people who vote. It must return to being democratic (small "d&quot and respect the will of the people and not its donors and the elite.
Like many, I have become an independent and candidates will have to win my respect and support.

[ismnotwasm]

15. Really.

Huh.

[appal_jack]

17. Thank you for this perspective & history lesson! nt

[CanSocDem]

18. Well said!

And welcome to DU.

I am especially impressed with your reference to 'democracy' and the difference between a lower case 'd' and a capital 'D'. I swear that distinction is rarely recognized here, when the talk turns to Bernie Sanders.


.

[MrsCoffee]

21. Cool story.

Hillary basically won the election so the rest of your post is pretty much irrelevant. The people wanted Hillary. By millions of votes.

History will show that the election was 100% stolen. She didn’t just win the popular vote. The amount of collusion and cheating required to steal the election was massive. This BullShit narrative that Hillary ran a failed campaign or that party messaging sucks AFTER winning the popular vote despite all of the data stealing, voter suppression, Russian collusion, Republican traitorship, Comey fiasco, etc. that it took to steal the damn election is BullShit. And the even bigger BullShit narrative is that for some mythical reason we need to follow the angry vindictive messenger who created the biggest divide in the party since Carter was primaried.

No thank you. Just No.

I’m not buying that crap.

[peggysue2]

29. Sing it, sister

I've positively had it with the crap that Hillary Clinton was so-o-o unpopular and not a good candidate when she won the popular vote by 3 million despite the Comey headwinds, cheating, data breaching, psych-ops, voter supression and the Russian/dark money glut that the GOP happily took. Btw, Hillary Clinton had nearly a 70% approval rating when she left the State Department. People seem to forget that.

If that doesn't make every and any Democrat mad as hell, energized 100% then we're not on the same page, regardless of what your reasoning is.

Our electoral process was highjacked, it's integrity smashed to hell. Electoral integrity is the foundation of any democratic Republic. That's what we're fighting to restore while we ensure we have the power--the numbers, the backsides in the seats--to neuter Trump and these f**king traitors.

Anything else is BS. Anyone with a different agenda at this specific moment in time is a BS artist, someone who not only doesn't have the Democratic Party's interest at heart but the interest and survival of the country at large.

It is that serious.

We are winning elections. That's not a fantasy or myth. It's a fact. We must continue to win and sweep in November. Everything else is a freaking distraction. Including Bernie Sanders and his umpteenth critique and whine about the Democratic Party.

This isn't about Bernie Sanders and/or his supporters. It's about saving the country from the most corrupt, compromised and illegitimate Administration in our history.

We either do this or we'll all go down with the ship.

[MrsCoffee]

30. Exactly.

It is that serious.

[R B Garr]

22. Wow, this is exactly why Bernie is not the solution.

Every single thing is a slam on Democrats and just divisive wishful thinking. If Bernie had solutions, he would have shown them a long time ago. It is his divisiveness that attracted the Russians to target Bernie supporters to brainwash them against Democrats.

It is irresponsible at this point to continue denying the reality of how this divisiveness was cultivated by those who wish to harm Democrats.

[emulatorloo]

26. Sorry, poll after poll shows Biden more popular as far as 2020 presidential choice goes

[charlottescot]

9. Is the party deaf?

Rather than perceiving Bernie's truth-telling as negative, the party should listen to what he is saying. Many voters are saying the exact same thing.

[brush]

10. The commemoration of MLK's death was not the time and place. Who doesn't know that?

Cool it with the stump speech rhetoric on such a solemn occasion.

It's called being respectful, common courtesy.

And it's not smart to alienate African Americans, a big part of the Democratic Party base, especially if you're going run and need their votes.

Not smart.

[charlottescot]

12. MLK death

Bernie Sanders was one of the few whites who was arrested for civil disobedience while fighting for Civil Rights in the 60's. He was doing this while Mrs. Clinton was working for Barry Goldwater. I am tired of people saying Bernie is not supported by African Americans - that was a smear by David Brock and the Clinton campaign He was supported by many Blacks including Harry Belafonte, Spike Lee, Michelle Alexander, Ben Jealous, Danny Glover, etc. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/09/12/its-time-to-end-the-myth-that-black-voters-dont-like-bernie-sanders/?utm_term=.56dcde81029d

[brush]

13. We're talking about the commemoration and being respectful of the occassion...

not 2016 or the 1960s.

That was not the time for stump speech rhetoric. He's a veteran politician not a rookie. He should've deflected the question and steerer the subject back to the commemoration out of respect for the man.

[Blue_true]

19. Typical.

You guys don't listen, just spew out lines. Yes, a few blacks supported Bernie, but 85% of Blacks did not. The cherry picking is what sets me off.

If Bernie wants to give a message, he is a US Senator, for god's sake. He can easily meet with any Democratic Party leader that he wants to behind closed doors and discuss best principles, values, tactics, ect. Yet, he choses to loudly and publicly BASH the Democratic Party while not saying a negative word about republicans, who are THE FUCKING PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!

[R B Garr]

25. What has he done since 55 years ago? Clinton was

a teenager in the time period you are referencing. That’s funny how you tout Bernie as the solution and then proceed to bring up inane primary attacks on Hillary.

[mcar]

28. Please post proof of this contention

Bernie Sanders was one of the few whites who was arrested for civil disobedience while fighting for Civil Rights in the 60's.

And a "Goldwater Girl" smear?

[R B Garr]

23. His stump speech is still just that. It is not truth telling.

It is one man’s version of reality, and more people than not rejected it.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Wise words from BooMan, but it doesn't seem like DU is in the mood to listen to them at the moment

[Lordquinton]

14. History will repeat

Lessons unlearned.

[Orsino]

11. Half-assed pre-analysis of something that hasn't happened yet.

Mistaking Justice Stevens for "The Left."

[progressoid]

16. In real life, I rarely encounter major in-fighting among Democrats.

We've moved on. It's time to win the mid-term elections.

However, on line(e.g. Democratic Underground)....

[Blue_true]

20. That is what I see.

I was talking to one of my brothers and his wife yesterday. They know the issues, are locked in and ready to vote in November. They don't go online.

[bigtree]

24. why include Sanders in the equation of Democrats getting along?

...why should we have to embrace this backbencher and his attacks on our party?

Sanders and his supporters aren't the bulk and mainstream of our Democratic left, no matter how often they rail against the main of our party. That agitation doesn't make them any more progressive than the bulk of the 'left' of our party who make up the vast majority of our votes. Of course Greenfield isn't recognizing how the minorities in our party provide our most dependable progressive support, not Greens, Jill Steiners, or Berniecrats.

Sanders and his campaign, his revolution, marginalized the majority of the Democratic left, and they bear most of the responsibility for any division in our ranks. Their primary strategy was to tear at the fabric of our party's leadership, enabling hacks like Greenfield to crow about Democratic division like it's some thing. They need to fix this. Democrats aren't responsible for cleaning up their republican-enabling crap.

It's wishful thinking for Greenfield and his ilk to imagine that his party's trolls can divide the opposition to Trump republicans with this 'Democrats divided' canard, even subversive ones like him.

[Eyeball_Kid]

27. How do we want to frame an open discussion of democratic values and policies?

We can claim that ANY critical comments of Democratic Party notables is an affront to the advancement of Democratic Party ideals, but doing so risks the establishment of a rigidity and, eventually, a frailty of discourse that idealizes politicians and gives credence to those who cannot tolerate diversity of thought. The consequences may well be the advancement of political and historical revisionism that gives way to overly insecure "gatekeepers" who whine and throw tantrums denying the natural chasm between the ideal and the real-world events that illustrate that we are, after all, just human beings doing our best in universally compromising environments.

Or, we can accept as entirely human the fact that politicians who advance Democratic Party ideals are imperfect vessels in an imperfect world, and deal with the fact that the Democratic Party can approach ideals in the same way that we all approach perfection: a persistent effort to both accomplish want we believe is essential for our fellow citizens and accept our natural failings to fulfill all of our desires. There is ALWAYS a distinction between the actual and the ideal, in all belief systems. Acknowledging and understanding this distinction makes the Democratic Party, and its leadership, stronger and more vibrant.