29 January 2025

A political rant from a not-very-political Democrat

The political site Democracy Docket recently posted a ten-point action plan of "things we can all do to protect democracy".  It seems to have struck a nerve, being re-posted here and there.  Most of the ten points are reasonable enough, but a couple exemplify why the activist fringe is likely continuing to antagonize and alienate mainstream voters even on the left; and since this is an ongoing issue in the political blogosphere, I think it's appropriate to respond, using those elements of the plan to represent the problem as I see it.

Before doing so, I'd note that most of the plan is not about defending democracy as such at all, but rather about supporting the Democratic party's policies.  The fact that the opposing side won an election and gets to implement its program is not inherently a threat to democracy, even if it's a bad thing in various ways.  That is how democracy works.  The side that wins gets to call the shots, within Constitutional limits, until the next election comes and the voters once again choose between the two programs offered to them.  The January 6 insurrection was a threat to democracy.  Trump and the Republicans in Congress using their Constitutionally-assigned powers to implement policies we don't like is not.  This confusion between one's own side getting its way and democracy itself is widespread on the political internet, on both sides.

As to the ten-point plan (do go read it at the link above, don't just take my word for it), the most bizarre and disturbing element is point 2, which reads: "The success of any opposition movement rests on the opposing party taking power.  This is not a minor detail; in our system of government, it is the essential goal.  Next time you want to attack a Democrat for being too much of this or too little of that, realize that you are only helping the GOP.  Instead, find a Democrat you support and volunteer or contribute to their campaign."

The problem here is the third sentence, which is pretty unambiguously telling us not to criticize Democratic politicians.  First, this is exactly what we rightly chastise Republicans for -- their refusal to criticize their own party's leaders no matter how damaging or disgusting their actions and statements get.  It is hypocritical for us to adopt the same stance toward politicians on our own side.  Second, fuck off.  I have an absolute right to criticize any politician who supports or enacts policies I find odious; that right is an integral part of the democracy the plan claims to defend, and I will exercise it, regardless of which party the politician in question belongs to.  As I said here, "I choose truth over loyalty, always.  If a public figure or party I basically support does something bad, I will call them out on it.  I will not come up with some contorted rationalization for why it wasn't actually bad, or avoid the subject and hope it just goes away.  To me, this is a critical part of intellectual integrity."  Third, for the Democrats to win elections going forward, they will need to confront and understand the errors that resulted in losing the last one.  That will inevitably involve criticizing and, yes, sometimes attacking the politicians who made those errors, especially since they clearly include some actual unpopular (and crazy) policy positions, not just messaging problems.  So far the left-activist types seem totally disinclined to engage with how "woke" culture-war stances are killing the Democrats at the ballot box -- indeed, they mostly ignore or denounce anyone who does insist on talking about the problem.  This makes them an actual liability to the goal of winning future elections, not an asset.

(While we're on the subject, the political blogosphere needs to get a grip.  Y'all are starting to sound like total lunatics slinging the word "fascist" around all the time.  Hint:  If you can call the government of the country you live in "fascist", along with all the other names you do, and not get arrested, then it isn't fascist.  Look, Trump is not Hitler.  He's a corrupt, stupid, narcissistic, childish, incompetent, thuggish, sexually-abusive, painfully-uninteresting man and easily the worst president in living memory, but he's not remotely Hitler.)

Getting back to Democracy Docket's action plan, point 1 reads:  "Stay engaged.  When all the news is about Trump and pardons and lies, it is easy to want to retreat and stop paying attention.  Don't.  It is precisely when things are hard that we must all lean into remaining vigilant and informed."

Jesus fuck a shit soufflé, people need a break.  We've just been through a year-long, relentless, grinding slog of an election campaign which so heavily over-bombarded people with political ads and messaging and exhortations that as far back as May of 2024 two-thirds of Americans said they felt "worn out" by it and were tuning out political news.  This insane overkill may even have contributed to the Democrats' defeat in November.  I was really looking forward to winning on election day so that Trump would be over with and I wouldn't have to worry about this crap any more, but for whatever reason, the Democrats blew it and now we're stuck with him for four more years, or at least until his obesity and horrible eating habits put him out of action.

Yes, I do understand that it's important to oppose the bad things that this administration does (and if Harris had won, it would have been important to oppose the bad things that administration did, and yes, there would have been some).  But there's very little one individual can do about such things, unless you live in a swing district and your letters are actually likely to sway how your congresscritter votes.  I have my own sanity to think of.  I don't want to "stay engaged" with this dreary crap day in and day out for ever and ever.  The kind of people who write for sites like Democracy Docket live and breathe politics by nature -- it's actually interesting to them for its own sake, they're passionate about it -- but they need to realize that most people are not like that.  Let us deal with politics as and when we feel up to it.

For the alarmed but exhausted, please read this, especially the sensible words of Mike Monteiro:  "The first four years of Donald Trump was a continuous panic attack.  I'm not going through that again..... Am I telling you to bury your head in the sand?  Far from it.  I am telling you to moderate your exposure to the bullshit.  Your retweet or reskeet or repost is not going to save democracy.  Your hot take on some idiot's confirmation hearing is, at most, freaking out your friends.  And if you want to remain on social media, as I will be, do your best to separate the signal from the noise.  Follow people who are engaged in your community, follow people who are engaged in helping others, follow people who are posting pictures of their new puppy because puppies are awesome, follow artists making cool weird shit, follow people who are creating new stages."  Sound advice, I think.  And remember that a lot of the stuff you see on social media is just clickbait designed to keep you angry and scared -- and coming back.  If you find yourself feeling that way on a site, leave.  You're being poisoned.

Besides, I've done my part.  What really counts is winning in 2026 and 2028, which requires understanding why we lost in 2024, and I've made my contribution to that discussion, here, here, here, and here.  As I noted above, most of the activists are simply refusing to address or even acknowledge these issues, marching with blind determination toward further election defeats.  The bottom line is, none of us want to lose any more elections.  Some may take offense at what I've said here, but I can't be silent -- I need to know that I, at least, did what I could to prevent those possible future defeats.  Consider it my way of being "engaged", if you like.

8 Comments:

Blogger Rade said...

Good summary, Infidel!

I watched “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart; this Monday’s edition. He hit on exactly the points you brought up – they won the democratic election. The GOP party is in power. Calling him “Hitler” and everything “Fascist” (MSNBC talking heads) is pointless when the part in power is using their constitutionally assigned powers now that they are in office. But you are right; we can’t just sit back and let his administration blindly chop away at the country like a bunch of silver-spooned toddlers taking an axe to a tree. Thankfully, I just do not see any intelligent thought in the decisions coming out of his administration.

Stupidity can and has been stopped.

I wholly agree with the concept of “Remain engaged… but with caution.” Don’t listen to the words, the bluster, the tweets, the threats, the hyperbole. Watch the actions. Watch who is addressing the actions and why. I follow sites like the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union to see what is piquing their focus; what fights are they gearing up for, and I donate to them.

Take comfort that we still have the US Constitution, even if all of the GOP in both houses vote to nullify it for the Trump agenda, that is not up to them. Congress may submit a proposed constitutional amendment to the states, if the proposed amendment language is approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Congress must call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states (i.e., 34 of 50 states). (Source: https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/amending-the-us-constitution)

There is no “Super majority” in either house; the US Constitution may get battered and bruised the next two to four years, but it still stands, and so shall we.

Rade

29 January, 2025 02:47  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Thanks! That's what it looks like to me, mostly just random blundering. There's no use fretting over every new outrageous thing Trump does when half of them will prove ineffectual because of inept planning and most of the rest will be blocked by legal challenges or bureaucratic inertia.

The hysterical language does risk making the left look silly. It's also rather disrespectful to the victims of real fascist regimes. Nobody here who opposes Trump is incurring the same kind of extreme personal danger as a Russian opposing Putin or an Iranian opposing the theocracy.

29 January, 2025 20:18  
Blogger SickoRicko said...

On Day Two I switched my homepages to something other than news sites because I couldn't stand seeing Trump's butt-hole mouth anymore. I stay informed other ways now.

30 January, 2025 21:04  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

I'm considering dropping most of the political stuff from my regular reading too. It's just too exhausting.

31 January, 2025 03:28  
Anonymous Rade said...

Right there with you. If someone is going to just run tRump soundbites and call it "News"; I'm done with it. And the same goes to the people who thrive on garbage posted on Social Media.

31 January, 2025 05:24  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

I found a blog post with a bunch of tips on how to screen out anything that mentions Trump from your internet reading. I don't have the link handy but it will be in tomorrow's link round-up. That would be a start, at least.

31 January, 2025 11:50  
Blogger Bohemian said...

Yes, I am limiting my exposure and it's not meaning I am disengaging completely or don't care. I just can only tolerate a certain amount of crazy and fuckery, political theater and the doom & gloom, all the intense Negativity that it's all become. Americans Voted, at least some of them anyway, and this is what we have got now. Do I hope the poor diet and intense cognitive decline means we won't have to put up with it for the next Four long Years, absolutely. But I do think that the side that lost must recalibrate and figure out why more voted in this lunacy than voted for them... otherwise, insanity and incompetency might Win again and again. There had to of been an appeal that was tapped into and we have to acknowledge that Fact. Democracy means whoever Wins has Won and even tho' I'm revolted by the Winner, it is what it is now and whatever consequences that brings all of us under this Leadership.

31 January, 2025 18:55  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

That's what's most important, and what the activists seem to be missing. Everybody's talking about "how can we resist" instead of "why did we lose and how can we get more in tune with the voters so we win next time".

The last thing I need right now is 187 variations of "look how awful Trump is" every day. I know he's awful. I don't need to wallow endlessly in it.

31 January, 2025 22:58  

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