Green Eggs & Spam

[H2O Man]

The republican party's committee raising funds for the 2018 congressional races is already more than $2 million behind where they anticipated being on August 1. Sean Hannity is attacking Shepard Smith at Fox, for not supporting Trump; Smith responded that the “facts do not support (Sean's) narrative.” The recent exchange of insults between Trump and McConnell has House republicans concerned that there will be a suppressed republican voter turn-out in 2018. On CNN, republican guests engage in heated arguments with one another about Trump's utter lack of qualifications to serve as president.

The intelligence community tracked internet attempts to stir hatred of Malcolm Nance and Joy Reid to actors in St. Petersburg, Russia, who pretend to be California residents. They are encouraging the brain-dead alt-right to take “actions” to “protect their freedoms.” It is a clear call for the most unstable to become violent.

And here, on DU:GD, we still have groups that chose to feast upon the rancid bacon and decaying green ham that infected the Democratic Party in 2016. What's wrong with this picture?

We need not look to Dr. Stockmann to find out what force benefits from the scurvy this injects into healthy approaches to winning in 2018 and 2020. Nor is there any benefit from arguing if Clinton or Sanders' supporters represent the “real” Democratic Party. A good Democrat might value the opinions of either Thom Hartman, Rachel Maddow, or of both. Likewise, they might prefer the original “Ma and Pa Kettle” movies, or they might hope that Rachel McAdams stars in a re-make of the classics.

Mr. Nance is preparing to publish a book on the coordinated attempt to destroy liberal democracy in western Europe and the United States. If one believes that Nance is an informed, reliable source – and combines that with an understanding of what they have seen in western Europe and this country in the past couple of years – it raises a couple of interesting questions:

What is the best investment of your time and energy in terms of protecting (and advancing) our constitutional democracy? And how far are you willing to go?

The Constitution of the United States provides the best blueprint for our democracy. Amendment 1 lays out the exact tactics we should all be engaged in.

[Wounded Bear]

1. Really, we need some perspective here...

[H2O Man]

12. Thanks!

[hedda_foil]

2. Thank you, H2O Man.

It's so transparently obvious that the eternal bickering over who's a "real" Democrat is being pushed by the same Russian and/or right wing bots and socks that so deeply divided us in 2016. (And I'm convinced were the primary cause of low Democratic turnout ) I am NOT accusing DUers of being either bots or socks because 99% of us are legitimate. But we are all vulnerable to to this form of subtle propaganda, ... whoever we supported in the primaries.

[eleny]

5. Yup, sometimes all it takes is a small nudge from a seemingly concerned poster and we're off

I was away for some time. When I returned to read regularly I noted how much anti Dem candidate bickering was permitted given what we're now facing with Trump in the presidency. The right wing is so well funded, so powerful with their involvement with the voting machines and laws. And yet, the in-Party bickering goes on. I believe in cleaning house but not burning it down.

[H2O Man]

10. Solid points!

Thanks you for this post. You've hit the nail on the head.

[LiberalLovinLug]

6. This disease has now spread to who is the "real" journalist

The purity test for journalists where they have to be 100% lapdogs to the Democratic party establishment (of perpetual losing) with no criticism whatsoever...or they are just as much Putin's puppets as Trump himself.

[H2O Man]

11. I agree.

There should be healthy debate about any person that is running for, or holds, public office. The inability to listen to, and evaluate, a large number of opinions (including those one disagrees with) only reduces the ability to make fully informed choices.

On a site such as DU, there should be a distinction between attacking/insulting Sean Hannity and his followers, versus Thom Hartmann and his listeners/readers.

[H2O Man]

7. Thanks, hedda_foil!

I know of some county Democratic Party groups that have a few people who are hung up on defining "real" Democrats, entirely in terms of themselves. That is rooted in the few people's frustrations and lack of political insight. And there are others -- on the internet -- who only seek to create divisions. And although they claim to be Democrats while stirring the pot, when they aren't on the internet, they absolutely do not favor democracy, nor the Democratic Party.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. I rec some DUer's posts before I even read them...like yours, H2O Man.

Then I read them and invariably, they deserve the rec.

well done and thanks as always.

[H2O Man]

8. Thank you!

I appreciate that! I try to add something of value when I post my essays here, and am pleased that you like them.

[oasis]

4. K and R

[H2O Man]

9. Thank you.

[mopinko]

13. have no doubt there are worms here.

check any of the du hate sights, and you will see members there bragging about the shit they stir here, and the long cons they are playing.
new ones arrive daily.

some are russian plants, some are just born assholes, and unable to pull the cons they wish irl.

that is why ignore is important. dont assume that someone w a high post count is being sincere.

[H2O Man]

14. Absolutely correct

on all points!

Hey, wasn't "Born Assholes" a Billy Jack movie? (grin)

The internet has made the world a smaller place. Those with small minds find it easier to fit in, and try to cause trouble.

[countryjake]

15. Here's a great big KICK & a recommend for you!

We go out, into town, and consciously seek out gatherings to strike up conversations, only to find that it's actually possible to open a few minds and, at the same time, advance our message, in this rural county where quite a few of the residents are so conservative that they would just as soon shoot us as to listen to a thing that sounds even vaguely liberal. (And I've got bullet holes in our windows to prove that claim!)

Watching the barrel competition from the bleachers at our county fair yesterday, we had a healthy joust with another couple sitting right below us who didn't seem to appreciate our cheers when one of the racers managed to snag a blue ribbon. That husband turns around and notices the "Immigrants Rights" button that my man was sporting and immediately begins loudly proclaiming that some "horses" shouldn't be allowed to compete in this event. To make a long story short, the asshole's wife ended up reminding him that her own sister-in-law wasn't born here, but all of their nieces and nephews were...and she told him that right before she told him to shut-the-fuck up. There's a woman with possibilities, not to be written off so easily...that's how I'll consider her in the future. It's what we have to do, here in the sticks where the blue is so clearly threatened, even tho everyone either knows everyone else or we know of them, yet the county sometimes hovers into purple during each major election and since redistricting, has shown up decidedly red during minor ones. The work to be done is clearly laid out before us, if we care, at all.

The vicious folderol that occurred over the course of the past couple of years around this place was disheartening, to put it mildly. And tho I didn't participate then, purely for the sake of this virtual community, truthfully, sometimes when I witness some of the kerap that goes down, it simply strikes me as shameful, knowing how difficult actual organizing can be.

The clincher to my anecdotal encounter during our day at the fair is that the horse in question was being handled by an obviously young Latina American girl.

I thank you for yet another insightful thread!

Peace

[H2O Man]

19. The great Cesar Chavez

often said that social justice comes about from convincing one person at a time of the truth. It's the same model that Gandhi and King applied to social justice movements.

Right now, it's safe to say that every forum member here encounters at least one person each day that doesn't vote. They feel disconnected from the world of politics. If each of us were only able to convince one person per month that their voice does matter, that their vote does count, and helped insure they registered, we would be expanding our power X15 for the 2018 elections. And one per month is not only doable, but should be the least any of us should be doing.

[coeur_de_lion]

16. Bad enough reading about Republicans' infighting

I damn sure am not about to read about ours.

People who indulge in arguments about which 2016 Democratic candidate was more worthy need to check themselves.

They are doing exactly what Putin wants them to do, and that means they're no better than Trump himself.

[H2O Man]

20. Exactly.

We should learn from the past, but not be struck in it. Hence, ex-Beatle George's song, "Be Here Now."

[burrowowl]

17. Thanks H2O Man!

I love your posts that are reasoned and sane versus some of the really inane posts that we have been getting recently on DU, you are one of the reasons I am hanging on at DU.

[H2O Man]

21. Thank you!

Likewise, you and some of our friends are the reason that I continue to hang out here, when I look at much of the nonsense that goes on here. Not the forum itself, but the mindless agenda that some very unhappy people have.

[burrowowl]

23. Amen!!!!!!!!

I am seriously thinking to going back to the Smirking Chimp which I visit on occasion. I wish there could be a tighter rein on some of the discussions on DU, like discussing real issues and less fruitless attacks on just something based on not real issues.
Love ya!

[Hekate]

18. KnR

[H2O Man]

22. Thanks, Hekate!