Please Don't Take the "2016" Bait

[dreamnightwind]

43. Those who seek an alternative in 2016 have to focus on both elections now

If we're going to be happy to accept the party's choice for a POTUS candidate, it's appropriate to focus solely on the midterms, rather than get sucked into the MSM's horse-race Hillary-Christie nonsense at this point. And the midterms are extremely important. So to that extent I agree with the OP.

But I think it would be tragic if all our party can come up with for 2016 is another Wall Street friendly Dem. And that's exactly what is going to happen, barring a massive outcry from people who want a candidate more aligned with the interests of the average person rather than the wealthy and the corporations.

That outcry needs to happen now, if not yesterday, and it needs to be heard loud and clear by potential candidates, who are no doubt weighing the merits of jumping into the race at this very moment. So attempts to stifle that are not our friend.

And I totally don't get the "if we don't get 2014 then 2016 doesn't matter" meme, which I've seen a number of times. It's one of those things that sounds great but isn't true. What is true is that by winning the midterms Obama could get something done in the following year or two, though limited of course by Senate filibusters. And the local elections obviously are always important.

By all means let's kick ass in the midterms. Let's also stoke the fires for a progressive run in 2016, and the time for that is now, not later. Funny how many people seem to miss this.