Divide and Conquer - Machiavelli Understood [View all]

[MineralMan]

It's one of the oldest strategies on the planet. If you can get your enemies to split up into factions, while you remain undivided, you win. In latin, it's divide et impera or divide ut regnes. In Greek, it's διαίρει καὶ βασίλευε. Machiavelli extolled its virtues in his Art of War. It's a sure-fire tactic if implemented well.

Today, it's still in use in politics, and we often see it applied by Republicans. By fomenting unrest and division among Democrats, Republicans know that they're working toward their own goals. So, they actively work to create divisions among their opponents, using every strategy possible.

They know that if they can sow discontent with the current leadership of the Democratic Party that they can discourage things like election turnout by voters, and other things that help them retain power, even though they are in an actual popular minority. As we move toward the 2014 elections, we should be watchful for attempts to divide us by pitting us against ourselves.

We should not be taken in by this strategy, but should encourage common ground agreement among ourselves, especially here on DU, where most of us are activists at one level or another. We will disagree at times in some areas, because there is never 100% consensus among groups of any size. We may hold one position in some area, despite others of us holding a different position.

But, we should all agree that movement toward a more progressive United States is a goal worth working toward. If we agree on that, we can work together to elect people who will promote that goal. Not every elected Democratic legislator or other office-holder will work as hard as another one might, and some will merely vote with the caucus most of the time. But, if progress is the goal, losing to the opposing party is most certainly not the solution.

We must fight against being divided in seeking that goal. We must watch for and recognize attempts to divide us. Sometimes, those attempts are made by people who pretend they share our goals. Sometimes, they are very subtle and capable of presenting their position in a way that encourages us to bicker among ourselves. Being watchful means carefully assessing situations where we differ to see whether we are differing materially in our beliefs or differing only in minutiae of beliefs. If we are divided by details and let those divisions spread and fester, the opposition accomplishes what it set out to do - Divide and conquer.

If we argue among ourselves over nuances, we miss opportunities for collegiality in the essentials. In my opinion, in this election year, where the entire House of Representatives, a third of the Senate, and state legislatures all across this country are at stake, a failure to get Democratic voters to the polls could be disastrous.

Let's put aside our differences in particulars and work together on the larger goals. This year, lets:

GOTV 2014!