This article (and this thread) are way off base here. These special elections are happening because appointees were chosen from districts that were thought to be safe red.
NONE of those districts are safe anymore. The Republican still won, but with much slimmer margins than expected. It was always a longshot to upend a 20 point advantage overnight. If you don't quite get there but you get close, that's a GOOD sign, not a bad one.
And when you translate that to the rest of the races in the country - the ones that were already more competitive to begin with - , you get a blue wave in 2018.
People need to take a minute to think things through. I know it hurts to lose, but don't go flying off the handle about it. The Democrats' messaging is working. It's resonating with people, even in places like Georgia, Montana, and South Carolina.
Indeed. Well said. Unfortunately, people don't give a fuck, and just like how they reacted when they found out Trump won the election, people are ignoring any and all of this as an excuse to shit on social issues/identity politics and trying to toss them to the curb once again. Funny how that works, and they're so convinced based on fuck all that single payer specifically (not just universal health care or a public option, but it has to be single payer specifically and nothing less) is a winning issue for everyone, but stuff like abortion/LGBT rights/Black Lives Matter? Yeah, that all has to get tossed, right at the first fucking chance they see to get rid of it and toss it to the curb for their pet issues instead. Transparent as all get out.
My rights are not some fucking debate or just a pet issue to be tossed to a curb. You treat me like trash, like my vote is just something you can take for granted? Then you can kiss is good bye and this country can burn to the ground. I am not some fucking toy, and telling me that my rights are too risky for you to actually campaign on, but despite that to just "trust you" that you'll get around to protecting them, eventually, anyway is suspect as hell. If you're going to make legislation to protect it, people will notice. You can't just hide that. People will react. And if that ain't a problem, then neither is campaigning on it. Doing otherwise is just cowardice and historically a huge red flag that nothing at all will get done. We've been there before. We know how that fucking song and dance works. And we ain't going back, or you can treat our votes good bye.
Like, I care about stuff like universal health care. I care about bringing health care and pharmaceutical costs down. I care about ideas like UBI and lowering the cost and increasing the access to post-secondary education. I care about ending the drug war. But I also recognize that the Democratic Party is a big-tent party and represents people beyond myself and to keep that up it has to appeal to their interests and needs as well, as it should. Like, I'm not a woman. But I realize how important have access to not only reproductive services but abortion if they so choose is to them and just running pro-life candidates and the like is just throwing them under the bus. Same with Black Lives Matter and doing what we can to crack down on police brutality and institutional racism.
Especially since not only women, but black women in particular are the
backbone of the Democratic party. You think you can keep their votes by just undermining that and kicking those issues to the curb? Please. That's no way to reward all their hard work and efforts, and they will take notice. I know I sure as fuck will. And no amount of reassurances that "we need to get elected first, and once we're elected, then we'll get to you" will reassure me cause that's just historically obvious lies, every time it's tried. The people who are too cowardly to campaign on it end up being too cowardly to actually do anything about it at all if they are elected and actually risk losing their jobs, every time.
I'm willing to work with the Democratic Party because I believe that overall, they're a force for good and sure as fuck better than Republicans. But if the big tent is abolished and stuff like abortion/LGBT/Black Lives Matter and all that "identity politics" stuff is just thrown under the bus to make it happen? Then you can miss me, because you've missed the entire point of the current big tent coalition nature of the Democratic Party and regardless of what you say are trying to make it much more exclusive, and that can just entirely get tossed. I just can't begin to explain how much it utterly frustrates and disgusts me to see this shit crop up yet again.
It was nice to have finally gotten away from this disgusting garbage that popped up in waves after Trump won. But of course, of course after another prominent Democrat lost in a race again, of course the calls are once again that somehow the only way for Democrats to win is by winning over Trump voters and no other way and the only way to do that is apparently by kicking minority issues to the curb. Funny how that seems to work and people are so quick to jump to that conclusion, and will defend it to the death and will hear ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER WAY to win elections. Y'know, if they were really allies, you think they would at least be somewhat willing to hear out other options. That that would be an absolute last-resort, last-ditch, absolutely no other options left and everything else has been tried solution, if that, and that they would make it clear they feel super guilty about it and shit. But, NOPE. Every time a Democrat loses, it immediately becomes one of the absolute FIRST things on their list, without even trying anything else at all to really find out if it's those "damned identity politics" that are really the issue or not, and if you can actually win WITHOUT giving them up. Making sure you absolutely try everything else before that at the very least.
Nah, instead it's something they immediately jump, becoming convinced simply because a Democrat lost and immediately busting it out and finding every possible reason to do so and instead of being hesitant to do so and willing to hear other approaches, they defend to the death that that is the one and only way and will not hear any different. Definitely doesn't sound like someone who's really that hesitant to make that "sacrifice," when they immediately bust it out and will not hear any other approaches, no matter how well argued. Perhaps those who do so should take a moment to consider why and think about what's going on there and why they're both so fast to jump that to every time and yet so slow to even think about considering any other options but that, but alas....
Sorry this turned into a HUGE, repetitious rant, but goddamn that shit frustrates me and it tears me up to see it apparently come back in style and I just had to get this all out somewhere, so please forgive me for that.
