from David Brooks, OpEd in the NY Times:

[Scrivener7]

31. OBVIOUSLY I don't disagree with any of your purity test questions. So congratulations.

Strawman deployed.

But you even asking that question shows me you have fallen for Brooks's schtick. That's what he does. He says things that Democrats would obviously agree with, and then tells Democrats off-the-wall things like, "You Democrats are the elites, and you have ruined our society." Or "You Democrats need to embrace evangelicals because evangelicals obviously are enemies of trump and you're turning them away."

And his saying we need a movement - which, seriously? Did you need him to tell you that? - is nothing more than navel gazing over the obvious. Which is another of his talents.

So Cosmonaut was absolutely correct in saying, "Fuck David Brooks." Because David Brooks DOESN'T agree with us. The things he says are always trojan horses used to deliver blame and lies about Democrats.

You may trust him. I certainly don't.

And you know what? Cosmonaut is right. That war IS over. It's done. We lost that war. Our old methods failed. We are fighting a completely different war now. We need new methods. And stating obvious platitudes does not move us toward that

You know what we need to do to to fight this new war? We need to admit we have been ineffective in opposing the dismantling of our Democracy. We need to look at why we have been ineffective. And we need to change. We need to find a leader or leaders to rally around. Because coordination doesn't just happen. It needs a focal point and direction. The power of "We the people" has never simply risen from the ether. It requires dynamic leaders.

There are those on DU who insist that, if we look for leaders, we are bad Democrats. They insist Democrats are doing all that can be done. They think the question, "What are YOU doing" is a real point in the debate. As if, if only I had done more, this would not be happening. Whenever anyone expresses dismay at where we are, they say, "So are you saying we should just give up?" It's a ridiculous question. And, really, it's just an attempt to censure people who are not in the "all is being done that can be done" crowd.

From where I sit, that is the crowd that is most obstructive to progress in the war we are in NOW.

So stop asking people if they are saying we should give up.