Democrats must own their values, Tea Party-style, not shift even more toward the mushy middle

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Democrats must own their values, Tea Party-style, not shift even more toward the mushy middle
Polls suggest the public supports Democratic policies, and Hillary Clinton got more votes. So forget moderation!
BOB CESCA WEDNESDAY, DEC 7, 2016 06:58 AM CST

That said, Democrats have one task moving forward if they want to roll back the orange tide. The Democratic Party has to own its platform, once and for all, and sell its progressive economic message with much more gusto than we’ve seen so far. Even the Obama White House has failed to ballyhoo its own self-evident economic successes, not to mention its signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act. Party activists and leadership alike need to grow some spine and pitch their message in all 50 states, with a specific eye on winning back state legislatures and congressional seats. Given the relentless onslaught of propaganda and fake news, the only viable option now is to get louder. And quickly.

Along those lines, you might recall how the GOP went full Tea Party at the outset of the Obama administration. There wasn’t any serious consideration given to becoming more moderate. The lockstep mission was to thwart Obama and make him a one-term president. While the one-term thing didn’t quite work out, the Tea Party launched primary challenges against moderate Republicans at all levels — mainly incumbent congressional moderates — and ended up sweeping the midterms in 2010. That was fueled by the rough launch of the Affordable Care Act, but only after the GOP establishment fully embraced the Tea Party and used it as rocket fuel.

There’s absolutely a way for the Democrats to launch a parallel movement not unlike the Tea Party. That’s not to suggest that Democrats need to elevate an army of loonies or empty suits, as the GOP did. But the Tea Party owned its conservative values and never apologized. The Democrats can do the same thing, especially since they now understand that the Trump White House will provide a common enemy around which most factions of the left can gather.

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/07/democrats-must-own-their-values-tea-party-style-not-shift-even-more-toward-the-mushy-middle/