We can do better than Hillary Clinton.

[winter is coming]

353. That's not even close to reality.

Reality is that the President explicitly told us to "hold his feet to the fire", but the minute someone criticizes an Administration action as being detrimental or favoring politics over evidence, the hater/perfectionist/"you want a pony" strawmen come out.

Reality is that centrists repeatedly dismiss progressive ideas as being "far left" or "fringe" or somehow not "pragmatic", yet the Progressive budget plan is plausible and doesn't mis-identify Social Security as a target for deficit reduction. Oh, the Republicans won't vote for it? They won't vote for the President's plan, either... so why should we support something Americans don't want (reduced SS benefits) instead of something Americans do want? If we're going nowhere, anyway, why not make a case for a workable, fair solution? Democrats used to be about workable, fair solutions.

Reality is that progressives are told to go off into the hinterlands and "prove themselves" in low-level elections and then maybe they'll be taken seriously, as if they have extreme, radical ideas that must first garner public approval before the centrists will acknowledge their validity. What, exactly, are so extreme about progressive ideas, many of which are a continuation or extension of positions once held by liberal Republicans as well as Democrats who weren't afraid of being called liberal? Seriously, what's so "out there" about liberals that they need to prove themselves before you'll stop treating them like red-headed stepchildren?

Reality is that our country has not moved to the right, but the leadership of both parties has. Reality is that media has been bought up by a handful of monied interests, and that those same interests inject a shit-ton of money into the political campaigns of candidates they believe will favor their agenda. They pretty much own the Republican Party lock, stock, and barrel, but they've got a death grip on our party, too--and on the country. The problem with progressives/liberals isn't that their ideas are too extreme for the 99% who actually elect candidates: it's that their policies don't favor the 1% who disproportionately fund elections and control the media. In that environment, progressives can never prove themselves by winning local races first, because it's not about whether or not voters want them. Corporate interests are going to do their level best to prevent them from getting on the ballot in the first place, and then smear them if they do.

Reality is that some politicians don't care so much about that, as long as they're in power. Others go along to get along, telling themselves that they'll do as much good as they can within the current system, only to find that the area of influence they exert control over constricts with each passing year.

Reality is that the current state of affairs is not sustainable. The 99% are going under, and the economy will eventually go with it, assuming there isn't an outright revolt first.

You want to side with the go along to get along crowd? Knock yourself out. I'll be with the people who are actually offering up real solutions, even if the 1% don't want them.