Liberals could lose

Dear Progressives, Liberals, and Democrats,

Congratulations. You are on course to lose the mid-term elections. Yep, you read that right. But why, you ask? There are some obvious and simple reasons, but they’re not something that you are going to want to hear or like.

The first is 2016. Time to face some hard facts. Based on our system of government, you lost. Trump is now President. At this point, a number of you are going to start writing what a terrible person I am. Some of you will rant about Bernie, Hillary, the DNC, or even the Russians. Go ahead. Write all you want. But you are just going to prove my points. Instead, wait until the end. You might like what I have to say.

Back to 2016. The leaked Dem’s e-mails implied (they never actually said so) that the game was rigged in Hillary’s favor. Yep, it probably was. But I want you to consider for a second, this; State governments run the Primaries/Caucuses, not the national party. The DNC was limited by what they could do. If the DNC was the Bond villain organization some of think it is, then Bernie would never have gotten as far as he did.

There is still some serious bad blood on the left side of the aisle over 2016. A number of you were claiming that you were either going to form another party or never vote for the Dems again. Stop being stupid! In an upcoming post, I will explain the current stupidity of 3^rd parties and how they can become viable. Furthermore, if you don’t vote for the Dems, then you get more Trump and his ilk. Like it or not, that is currently how it works.

What you really need to do is change the Party. How? There are two long terms solutions and one short term. The short term is easy and legal, however there are some rules that need to be followed. Get your friends and yourself to donate monies together. Give up that expensive coffee and latte once a week. That money can then go to the candidate of your choice. One of the ways to give the money and not get lost in the shuffle is called “bundling.” This is where one of you, take the checks from all your friends and hand them to the candidate at some event. (Hence, in a “bundle.”) People who do this get influence. Heck, in the past, some even get appointed to some positions. Great way to change things and it’s legal.

The first of the long term solutions is to vote in the candidate you support and keep them there. The longer they are there, the better positions they get. Chairmanships of committees get to set tones, investigate/subpoena, and kill/pass the bills on to floor votes. The Judiciary committee gets give the thumb up or down on Supreme Court nominees.

The other way is to join the party and take it over. Once you and your friends are in charge you can make all the changes you want. But that takes commitment. You have to know who the movers and shakers are in your district, state, and nationally. This is a long fight, not just one or two election cycles.

The next problem is a voter problem. Not the one about showing up. We will talk about that later. The problem here, in a word, is “Purity.”

Since the 2016 election, a number of Progressives and Liberals have all stated the need for a level of absolute purity on an issue/background or they won’t vote for them. Issues are varied and so are the backgrounds. There was, and still is, a lot of justification of this with people claiming that they don’t want to vote for the “lesser of two evils.”

There is something to be said about this. In times that are more civil, the conversations less heated, and less extreme, this is considered admirable. But these are not those times. And quite frankly, they won’t be for a long time to come. In this environment, you are going to have to make some compromises. Compromise is at the very heart of the Legislative branch of government. There is an old saying that “Half a Loaf is better than no Loaf.” That certainly applies now.

What has to be noted here, is that there is no such thing as a pure or perfect candidate. Everybody has said something insensitive in their youth or invested in a company that is currently out of favor. The question is did the candidate learn from that moment (or events)? Have they changed and become a better person because of it? Events and comments need to be looked at in their total context. Judging based on sound bites is never a good idea. However, if they say something insensitive now, that is just plain stupid. And knowing about criminal activity, like sexual abuse, then all bets are off.

Another problem facing the Dems and their allies is messaging. In 1992, Bill Clinton was famous for the phrase “It’s the Economy, Stupid.” Trump and his allies have latched on to this and it is working well. Currently, the market is doing great and unemployment is low. Now before you start getting into facts, figures, and details, know that the average American does not care. If they have a job and their 401K is doing better than a few years ago, your argument has no meaning. The Dems need to stand for something more than just anti-Trump. They need ideas that will resonate with Americans. Fortunately for the Dems, the Trump Tariffs will really start to bite just as most Americans are starting to get interested in the mid-terms.

Tip O’Neil was famous for saying that all politics are local. In a lot of cases this is true. Just look at the New York 14^th Congressional District. However, this year, the mid-terms are a definite referendum on Trump and the Republicans. Messaging will be key. One of the things that this means is that people like Pelosi, Schumer, and Waters will need to take a lesser role in the national discussions. The general populist are tired of seeing the same old faces for the last 30 odd years. They will be looking for the new generation. So, the next generation of leaders are going to have to step up to be seen and heard.

Finally, we come to voter turnout. Before going any further, we need to look at some hard numbers. These come the Pew Research Center. There are 69.2 million Millennials, only 49.4% voted (up 3% from 2014). The Boomer population is 69.7 million and 68.7% voted (down 1% from 2014). White America were up by 5% and African Americans were down 6%. See a problem?

Based on the above data, the problem here is that Millennials and African Americans did not vote. Millennials are now at parity in population to the Boomers. Simply put, if the Millennials want, they can now take charge. The Boomers are dying off, hence their numbers are starting a rapid decline and so is their influence.

Now here is some other facts. Evangelicals are 17% of the population, yet they counted for 25% of the voters in 2018. Their numbers are dropping, but they are maintaining their influence. Why? They got out and voted.

And that is the biggest point of the entire rant. You and your friends have to get off your butts and vote. No excuses will be allowed. Polls are usually open for about 12 hours (some states are longer). The excuse about work does not hold. In the 36 years that I have been a voter, I have never had an employer prevent me from needing a little time to go vote.

Can’t get to the polls due to transportation issues? There are plenty of organizations that can and will help you. Call a friend that is registered to vote and normally doesn’t. Daycare issues? Take the kids with you.

Check your voter status now. SCOTUS just ruled that states can purge the voter records of inactive people. Make sure you are not one of those people. If you are, than re-register. Hard to register due to bizarre state laws? Start now.

These are the problems that the Dems and Liberals will be facing. There is slightly less than four months until the midterms. Right after Labor Day, the American voter wakes up and sees that there is an election coming. This is the time to get engage, when voting infrastructures need building, finishing, and manning. This is the time to get people registered to vote. This is the time to start talking about the issues and the candidates.

In the words of Jim Wright (Stonekettle Station), “If you want a better country, be a better Citizen.” Mr. Wright is correct. Now is the time to be that better Citizen.