Okay, I’ll just argue with myself then…

… as Democrats don’t explain or want to hear someone who used to be one of them only a year ago… Let’s talk about it! Oh, wait, come back… running away? Hey, stay!

This is my family from 2008. I donated 2000 dollars to Obama and now no Democrats want to even talk to me about how far the party has fallen. That’s my now 14, then 6, year old son with the sign.

Hilter is here. Stop all debate. Does this sound like a party for the workers against the oligarchs or chicken little running down the road in a panic?

When people argue, each person should be able to re-state the opponent’s opinion in his or her own words to such an extent that the opponent agrees that the statement is essentially or basically correct. In this way, you at least know that the person you are arguing with understands your opinion, even if they disagree with you.

“So what you’re saying is… X. Is that right?”

“Well, sort of, except that I meant only…”

Back and forth like that until you can get the other person to say, “Yes, you got what I’m saying.”

My “restate what the other said” technique really only works between two individuals. If you expand the process to whole groups, it becomes harder to pinpoint what each side is saying, as there will be a tremendous amount of variation on both sides.

But such an argument won’t get any clicks, so why not throw in a meme that does the opposite of this kind of give and take discussion?

I have many arguments with people I would categorize as establishment Democrats. I am an ex-Democrat who, after 2016, now thinks the Democrats are as bad as the Republicans, basically both tools of a corrupt oligrachy, and that we need a fundamental change in American politics.

A substantial change in how we make decisions is a good goal, not changing the balance of Democrats and Republicans. The news on the MSM is a distraction mostly. Our society should be more humane, safer, more about human life and the environment and less about vast wealth and concentrations of power. You can’t get good policy from a corrupt system. Democracy is at stake. Behind closed doors, elites and their puppets on the take are not going to give us a more decent way of life, less racism, more thinking, more green space, more environment, less worry, more equality, less stess, less violence, less sexism and all those bad isms. Those self-interested elites control the Democratic party.

I sound pretty lefty. And the Democrats have failed so badly that I think, “Democrats, Republicans, six of one, half dozen of the other.” I donated $2000 to Obama in 2008. Still, they are so bad, I have to sometimes agree with Trump, like when he calls CNN fake news. At least that’s true. I can’t remember the last time Obama said something that was both relevant to politics, clear, simple and true.

I have yet to have what I consider a reasonable argument with a Democrat in 2016–17. Although I don’t think any reasonable Democrat will emerge, I will make what I think would be a good argument in favor of the mainline Democratic position, as I say we should be able to understand the opponent enough to re-phrase their position:

Argument I have to make up since no reasonable Democrats exists

On the current situation:

Fundamental change is fine as a long term goal but we have immediate needs. Trump and the Republicans pose an immediate danger and we should put aside differences and rally to oppose Trump. Obamacare is good. The New York Times and other traditional outlets are fact-checked, reliable sources of information. The CIA, NSA and FBI are to be trusted (sort of) maybe. Both Obamas are inspiring figures. Too bad Obama couldn’t be president forever, then the world would be much better. Trump is completely out of the mainstream of politics and an unprecedented threat to our Democracy. Obama saved the country from the crisis in 2008 and the economic indicators are mostly good now.

On how we got here:

Obama was a great president but the Republicans blocked him, in part because they’re racist. Hillary was a fine candidate but was cheated in the general election. Also, Americans are more sexist and racist than we thought. Gerrymandering gives Republicans advantages in the Senate and House and in the states and the fact that the Republicans dominate at all these levels is not because of a basic failure in the Democratic party and no new leadership is necessary. We really are the majority, as Hillary won the popular vote. Russia. Comey. Sex tape. Bernie sucks. Black people don’t like Bernie. He wasn’t robbed in the primary. That’s just how politics is. If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen.

On the way forward:

Obama should continue to play a prominent role in politics. We need to find new candidates like him and fight harder to get more Democrats in office. Blacks and Hispanics have to come out and vote more. Demographics will save the party in the long run. Republicans are dangerous and Democrats care about working people, peace overseas and the environment.

What I really think

I’m doing the best I can here to try to make a coherent argument out of whatever it is that Democrats say they stand for. I only put in a tiny bit of snark. Now, let me have a go at my position:

On the current situation:

Trump and Republicans can do whatever they want for as long as they want if the “Democrat” means the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. These people are completely out of touch. Life expectancy is falling for white males with no college. The median wealth of black families has dropped substantially since Obama took office. Nothing important has changed for the better for working people in America since 2008. Protesting Trump is great, as long as these protests are not interpreted as supporting corrupt, corporate Democrats. Obamacare sucks and Medicare for all would be far, far superior. Obama was a sell out from day one. As a person, he is certainly dignified, eloquent and intelligent, with a beautiful family, but that has nothing to do with politics. If Trump is smart enough to make one left move, like Medicare for all, the Democratic party is dead. The whole existence of the party depends on Trump being stupid. Trump is potentially dangerous because Obama handed him an imperial presidency. If Obama bombs seven countries without congressional approval, then so can Trump. If Obama prosecutes whistleblowers, then so can Trump. If Trump is dangerous, any president would be. It’s not Trump that’s the problem but our over-militarization. Trump is not the first person to play on race for political gain in American history. If racism, inequality, and imperial presidency are problems, they all existed before Trump. If our constitutional structure is fragile and vulnerable to a demagogue, then let’s rebuild our Democracy.

Very dignified. No leadership, but tremendous style.

On how we got here:

If the Democrats really were the party of working people, the presidential election would not have been close and the Democrats would control congress. Obama had Democratic majorities in the house and senate from 2008 to 2010 and he went small, incremental, corporate. Obamacare was a terrible mistake politically because it doesn’t work. Standing up to the insurance companies and raising taxes on the rich to pay for Medicare for all would work. A half-baked solution that doesn’t take on the insurance companies and the rich is worse than no solution because Obamacare discredits the idea of government health insurance. When he had the chance, Obama delivered nothing to working people. Instead of bailing out the homeowners in 2008, he bailed out his friends at CitiGroup. 2008 was a change year and we elected a change candidate but got no change. Then, in 2016, the primary was a farce. Wikileaks revealed that we do not live in a Democracy, that CNN and the New York Times are fake news, that Obama was working for CitiGroup the whole time, and that the Clintons encouraged and paved the way for Trump to win the Republican nomination. Obama knew the DNC was cheating Bernie and said nothing, did nothing and let the 2016 convention disaster occur and showed no creative, bold leadership as the party came apart. While Obama was head of the party, the Democrats lost 1000 seats in state and federal government.

On the way forward:

As bad as Trump appears to be, empowering corporate Democrats is simply not worth fighting for, won’t work and would be simply bad for the people and the environment. Moderates who would prefer Hillary to be president are now protesting. It’s important to protest the conditions of working people. Working people should take the government back from the oligarchs who firmly control every bit of the government. The corporate media is basically all lies. We need our own media. The Democratic party is not a left of center party but a mechanism for oligarchs to control the government. Same with the Republicans. Given this situation, political action should be focused on things like Standing Rock, local elections, calling out crooked votes like the recent one by Cory Booker, sticking to our guns that we want all those things Bernie talked about, not caving, and opposing specific Trump actions, not Trump as a person or political force or based on when he runs his mouth. Just as it was wrong for Obama to kill M Gaddafi, it would be wrong for Trump to bring back torture. An Exxon-Mobil executive as secretary of state is outrageous. But saying that stuff doesn’t mean I like Democrats.

Trump can win again

If I were advising Trump, I would say he should get the Department of Justice to aggressive pursue voting fraud charges against Democrats in the 2016 primary and get some convictions. There are FEC violations waiting to be prosecuted for sure and probably election fraud (in the primary). If the evidence starts to implicate anyone prominent, I would call off the investigation and drop the story.

The goal, from Trump’s point of view, would be to keep people like me pissed off, as we’d notice a conviction of a Democratic election official at the county level, but the mainstream Democrats would not pay attention and the Democratic party could play off the problems as local and not important. This way, Trump gets a divided opposition and prevents the Democrats from turning a new leaf and reforming at the top. With the old guard in charge and the Berniacs pissed off, Trump can limp into a second term even if the Russians release a tape of him raping and murdering the pope in cold blood.

Trump has a lot of room to move. He could hit the Democrats from the left by enacting some of Bernie’s policies. He could split the Democrats even further through selective enforcement, as I note above. And time is on his side. The Democrats are doing themselves no favors, jumping up and down about Russia and praising Hollywood stars for grandstanding.

Even if Russia gave Wikileaks the emails, which is extremely unlikely, and even if some Trump repressentative met with someone close to Putin, which is possible, or there is a sex tape, which is almost certainly false, the whole narrative is a distraction and a waste of time. Berniacs don’t care, Trumpers don’t care and non-voters don’t care. Only Democrats and a couple of establishment Republicans care… so I’d drop it and talk about the minimum wage, free college and unionizing Walmart and Amazon if I were calling the shots.

Germany

I’ve been to Germany. I know that you can have a large country with very little political corruption, effective transportation, livable cities with lots of green space, health care for all as a right, free college education, a balanced growing economy, and solar and wind producing most and soon all of your electricity. My in-laws paid $250 a year in property taxes on a big, beautiful house in Germany. Taxes in general, including all taxes, are about the same overall. Healthcare cost 40% less and is generally better. The free colleges are generally good. Nice trains. No one worries what will happen when they get sick. Your kids can hop on their bikes and go where they want to. Good jobs are all around. Union membership is high. Paid vacation is the norm. No drones. No whistleblowers hiding from the Man. No mass incarceration. Yet they tell us that it’s impossible. I’m not saying Germany is paradise or that I want to live there, but Bernie’s policies actually can work and it’s not some fantasy of unrealistic wackos.

So, any Democrats want to talk? What exactly do you want? Why do you stick with your leadership and not turn on them? Why don’t you blame your leadership for losing? Why do you think Trump is so much worse than what we’ve had for the past 30 years?