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hfojvt

(37,573 posts)

40. I had a simple suggestion in 2003

Thu Mar 27, 2014, 04:08 PM

Mar 2014

I went to protest the Iraq war. And the protest was loaded with a whole bunch of signage that basically said "Bush sucks".

A true statement to be sure, but supposedly we were there with the message "war sucks". In order to send that message to Bush, we needed to include Republicans, even Bush supporters. Otherwise, it was very easy for Bush to write off the protests as "a gathering of a whole bunch of people who did NOT vote for me in the last election, and will not vote for me in the next one." So why listen to them?

I say that right now my own party, at least at the national level, does NOT represent the bottom 80%. Neither, of course, does the Republican Party.

I would suggest that a candidate should try to draw in the bottom 80%. Until we do that, neither party has an incentive to represent the bottom 80% - because they can keep us divided.

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Divide and Conquer - Machiavelli Understood [View all] MineralMan Mar 2014 OP

K & R nt okaawhatever Mar 2014 #1

IIRC... CJCRANE Mar 2014 #2

Machiavelli also wrote a book of that name: MineralMan Mar 2014 #6

Thanks, I've learned something new! CJCRANE Mar 2014 #9

Yes, that's a more well-known work by that title. MineralMan Mar 2014 #11

Funny thing about Sun Tzu... malthaussen Mar 2014 #14

"...we should all agree that movement toward a more progressive United States is a goal..." HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #3

Actually, I believe that all people who are Democrats MineralMan Mar 2014 #8

You may not, but the party is divided...at least one group even has adopted names HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #18

For Pete's sake. There are two parties. MineralMan Mar 2014 #20

Yes, for Mary's sake (lets get in all the saints) the party is divided into FACTIONS HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #24

I commend you for your use of the Caps Lock key. MineralMan Mar 2014 #63

IMO, you are an apologist for your own belief, which, my friend, has the cart and horse reversed HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #66

voting in blue dogs does not help the progressive cause passiveporcupine Mar 2014 #70

Fear of the other party isn't a progressive goal, it is an enabler of manipulation. HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #74

I didn't say give unquestioning support passiveporcupine Mar 2014 #77

Yes, I agree with you, I guess I wasn't clear on that. HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #79

It's OK passiveporcupine Mar 2014 #80

All this really happened when the DLC dumped populist economics/labor HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #21

Very true. polichick Mar 2014 #25

Like corporate elites divide Dem and Republican voters... polichick Mar 2014 #4

The people still have the power of the ballot box, MineralMan Mar 2014 #12

Shouldn't the people of both parties somehow ban together... polichick Mar 2014 #13

Frankly, I don't see such a thing happening. MineralMan Mar 2014 #15

imo it's important for voters to understand that their party leaders... polichick Mar 2014 #17

In every election, there are only two choices with a chance MineralMan Mar 2014 #19

To keep this same charade going doesn't make sense... polichick Mar 2014 #23

In that case, polichick, I'm not talking to you in the first place. MineralMan Mar 2014 #45

The op is about divide and conquer tactics... polichick Mar 2014 #48

When it comes to economics, business, entitlements and most regulation... sendero Mar 2014 #68

Which Republicans are you planning to ban together with? JoePhilly Mar 2014 #28

The ones who get that they're being used by corporate entities... polichick Mar 2014 #29

By what name are they known and how does one find them? JoePhilly Mar 2014 #31

Actually, I didn't use the word "we" - and would not include you... polichick Mar 2014 #33

You said you wanted Democrats to ban together with Republicans. JoePhilly Mar 2014 #34

I'm not a good Democrat or a bad Democrat... polichick Mar 2014 #38

How are you going to ban together with some of the Republicans. JoePhilly Mar 2014 #39

Obviously, like Bernie Sanders, I think there needs to be... polichick Mar 2014 #43

I had a simple suggestion in 2003 hfojvt Mar 2014 #40

So what should a candidate say to those Republicans to get them to support them? JoePhilly Mar 2014 #44

My thoughts flamingdem Mar 2014 #5

It starts long before November. MineralMan Mar 2014 #16

Of course you're right flamingdem Mar 2014 #22

That's a shame. MineralMan Mar 2014 #27

Absolutely, it's all about GOTV flamingdem Mar 2014 #30

We need to pull together or Nate Silver is going to be right. We cannot win when we are trashing our jwirr Mar 2014 #7

Exactly. It is during election years that we must MineralMan Mar 2014 #10

The folks running with D's next to their names, need to provide issues/positions that rally people. HereSince1628 Mar 2014 #32

+100 JoePhilly Mar 2014 #26

Thank you for your comments. h2ebits Mar 2014 #35

Great post! johnp3907 Mar 2014 #46

Without a doubt and it's really a shame. Thanks for the boost. h2ebits Mar 2014 #73

It's divide and rule, Edim Mar 2014 #36

Interestingly enough, the literal translation is more appropriate in this case... malthaussen Mar 2014 #41

I used Divide and Conquer in my OP title MineralMan Mar 2014 #57

Yeah, I'm hip. malthaussen Mar 2014 #58

For them, I provided the phrase in Latin. MineralMan Mar 2014 #59

Completely agree, thanks for the post. beerandjesus Mar 2014 #37

Actually, that's what Julius Caesar said in his book Bello Gallico. Cleita Mar 2014 #42

Yes, thanks, I knew that. MineralMan Mar 2014 #47

More of this! johnp3907 Mar 2014 #49

You can count on that. I'll be posting many more threads MineralMan Mar 2014 #52

We are divided by our Dem leaders and the personality cult that enables them. nt Demo_Chris Mar 2014 #50

Uh, not really. You'll notice that they seem to get elected. MineralMan Mar 2014 #54

I totally agree albino65 Mar 2014 #51

Thank you. MineralMan Mar 2014 #55

Wish we could do it to them ! treestar Mar 2014 #53

I don't have time for that. They're actually doing a fair MineralMan Mar 2014 #56

Yeah, the timing is good there treestar Mar 2014 #60

And the message is: Repubicans tried to stop you from getting it. MineralMan Mar 2014 #62

AND its applied by we Democrats, elleng Mar 2014 #61

Exactly. Sometimes, though, there are pretenders MineralMan Mar 2014 #64

I think not. Even strongly divided, the GOP has found a way to make gains. SleeplessinSoCal Mar 2014 #65

Never mistake righteous, warranted criticism of authority as an attempt at division. Zorra Mar 2014 #67

k and r big-time. BlancheSplanchnik Mar 2014 #69

This is an outstanding post. Thank you. idendoit Mar 2014 #71

K and R Good thoughtful post. justhanginon Mar 2014 #72

Keepin' it real, MineralMan! randome Mar 2014 #75

I'll do that, thanks. MineralMan Mar 2014 #76

k&r... spanone Mar 2014 #78