(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Tedious Groundwork for Resisting [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-01-21
The end action needs to be voting. Too many Democrats didn’t.
I’d written an op-ed piece, sent it to 25+ media markets, it got no placements. But I had three interesting conversations with editors along the way.
Synopsis:
Bad Reasons for Not Voting:
I don’t like him/her. (You’re choosing someone for a job, not entering a romantic relationship.)
They don’t inspire me. (You’re choosing someone for a job. If you want inspiration, go to a poetry reading, an art museum, or religious services.)
They’re all the same. (For starters, just compare Supreme Court justices nominated by Democrats.)
I didn’t like all the Democratic policy positions (economic, Gaza, whatever). As someone so eloquently put it, when the choice for sandwiches is between chicken and shit with glass shards, you don’t ask how the chicken is prepared. One of the differences between Democrats and Republicans is that too many Democrats practice litmus test politics. If you’re not on board with their entire agenda, you’re shunned.
I don’t feel seen. What self-indulgent narcissistic twaddle. You’re choosing someone for a job. This isn’t about you. If you want to be seen, make a Tik Tok video (while you can).
#
It’s staggering how many Americans don’t understand how government works. The fact that you have to get legislation through the House and Senate (including committees first) and around road blocks of Republican tilted courts. That the only way to change the courts is to consistently have a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate. That there’s no realistic way to get rid of the electoral college. That in our systems compromises and alliances are sorted out internal to parties, not among them as with parliamentary systems; support for third-party candidates is self-privileging virtue signaling. (I really would like IRV everywhere but we don’t have that.) Etc.
We didn’t lose the election because of MAGA. We lost because enough Americans have political memories 14 seconds long and vote on their feelings—regardless of the underlying facts—about how the economy is doing for their individual circumstances, the rest of the country be damned. I could go on and on.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/21/2298353/-Tedious-Groundwork-for-Resisting?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
