I'm now completely done being amazed.

[Laelth]

78. I feel I have been a bit misunderstood.

All of us on the left should feel beat down. We are, in fact, quite beat down. Our Democratic President is afraid to even appear to be a lefty, much less actually be one. Make no mistake, liberalism is discredited among the American political caste, and that's not likely to change in the near future. We have every right to feel "beat down" as you and Curmudgeoness say.

On the other hand, what I am saying is that we should not believe that our liberal principles are out-of-step with the American people. By and large, the American people are fairly liberal. It is our political caste is out of step with the American people, and the evidence I have seen shows that our political caste doesn't care one bit what the American people think or want. They intend to pursue neo-liberal policy without regard to the wishes, ideals, and desires of the American people.

At present, I see little or nothing that people of ordinary means can do to change this course. I am open to suggestions, of course, but history appears to be against us. From my point of view, nothing is going to change until our oligarchs feel a real and present danger to either their wealth or their lives, and neither of those threats seem immanent at the moment.

-Laelth