General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Took less than 5 months for DU to go 95% Negative [View all]Withywindle
(9,988 posts)You're a lot more sanguine than I am about Manchin (I'm from Appalachia though not WV and cynicism is just in the water there, for good reason. When it comes to politicians who still deliver for the state, Manchin is no Robert Byrd) but overall your points are solid.
The thing is, though, I think we have to be allowed to express anger and frustration here. Carefully, never to the point of giving our opponents ammunition. But part of not being apathetic is letting our own people know what we want and when they disappoint us. Remember Obama saying to his base, "You have to hold my feet to the fire?" We need to do that. The Overton window is constantly being shifted to the right and we have to push against that by letting OUR elected officials, the ones WE voted for, know what policies we want and that we'll make some noise if it looks like they're not even trying.
The reason I am a Democrat isn't because I like blue better than red or donkeys better than elephants. It's not a sports team thing. It's because I think they're the party most likely to create policies that will make people's lives better. Over the decades this has proven consistently true. But I don't think our support should be unconditional and uncritical.
I absolutely agree with your point about the quieter smaller bills and what a huge improvement they are over the Last Guy. We shouldn't forget to celebrate that and show appreciation. And I get it when there are too many threads about one Senator who's pissing us off, it does look like a negative pile-on. But part of a healthy conversation is being able to express when something makes you angry.