Dear Democratic Party Leadership
Right now, we have some choices to make, and 'not making any of them' is also an option but it's the worst of the lot.
How do I know?
I pay attention to the rhyme and rhythm of history. So, I think do some of you. It can be hard to tease out the relevant riffs from the cacophony when you're stuck in the middle of its din, as y'all are. But from out here in the cheap seats, the acoustics are a bit different.
Let's lay a couple of sets of facts (the basic kind, not the "alternative" version) side-by-side:
In 2009, Democratic control of the Legislative branch was precarious. Senate seats were in play and the majority was hardly filibuster-proof under then-in-force rules. The Executive Branch was in the hands of a Chief Executive who had already demonstrated willingness to uphold established economic powers and structures, and compromise with moderates, even against the strongly-expressed disapproval of the more progressive wing of his Party. A fair number of Cabinet seats had already been confirmed to moderates. Although the brand-new Chief Executive had certainly made some controversial moves and choices that could be characterized as missteps by political observers, by and large he was demonstrating great competence at navigating the complexities of the Federal bureaucracy.
Of course, he was also, let's be blunt, here-- black. Given the racist gangrene festering in the GOP's base, it was enough to ignite a resistance movement, fanned by a 'gray eminence' coalition of special interest cash and organizing sophistication from Randite Oligarchs, extremist Christianists, long-established WhiteWing hate groups, and conventional Wall Street fixers. They envisioned a 'grassroots' resistance movement they could hand-puppet into helping their legislative minority checkmate anything and everything that came out of the new Administration. It took a good 6-7 months to gin up enough grassroots outrage to get their people into the streets, but they succeeded.
Inherent in that vision, however, were two catastrophically unfounded assumptions: First, that they could direct and control the scope of their 'grassroots' movement solely against the Democratic White House and Congressional majority; and second, that there was sufficient cohesion, as well as competence, in their legislative minority, to maintain the appearance of pandering to the resistance while protecting the status quo.
We all know how that turned out, don't we?
In 2017, GOP control of the Legislative Branch is sufficiently solid under the rules currently in force to act with impunity, assuming they can maintain any semblance of cohesion. The Executive Branch is in the hands of a Chief Executive who wasted no time at all in abundantly demonstrating apocalyptic incompetence, malignant ignorance, mental instability (at best) and a complete lack of willingness or ability to function collaboratively with any other interests than his own.
It took less than 24 hours for the largest in-the-streets demonstration of resistance in American history to unfold, and while any number of progressive institutions and organizations are participating and organizing their own constituencies, there is no 'gray eminence' coalition here. This is not grassroots-over-astroturf, it is the real thing. In numbers and power unprecedented in modern history, and it is not going away, it will not "lose steam", and there is a very long and increasingly hot summer ahead.
Currently, this resistance movement IS focused exactly where the coalition behind the Teeper resistance would have liked their useful idiots to stay focused: Checkmating anything and everything that comes out of the new Administration.
Democratic Party leadership, the tiger is in the streets.
Learn from history.
Find a way to grab its ears, climb aboard, and be part of it.
Because what a much smaller group of passionate resistance fighters did to the GOP when they believed that Party's leadership was failing them is a backyard barbecue fire compared to the forest fire smoldering in the Democratic Party undergrowth now.
prognosticatorially,
Bright
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