So, I heard Bernie Sanders on the radio talking about trying to work with the Tea Party base.

[Laelth]

47. This is an important discussion.

I have long held (and it's Democratic Party dogma in the South) that most people who vote for Republicans are ticked-off Democrats. I think they agree with us on most economic issues. We disagree about whom to blame, but even the ticked-off Democrats are starting to see the light. As much as they hate to admit it, most of them know they have more in common with persons of differing skin tones than they do with the oligarchs who rule and exploit them.

In my opinion, it's the social issues that scare them away from voting for Democrats. We have undergone enormous social change over the past century, and a lot of people are afraid as a result. These people vote to see their cultural and social values affirmed, even if they will be shafted on economic issues as a result. We can, I think, work with social conservatives if we lessen our emphasis on social change. Society is changing on its own, and much of that change is beyond politics. We don't need government to advance social change. The social changes are already happening, and, while some might lament that government is slow to catch on and adapt to these changing social norms, I see this as a secondary concern when compared to the massive economic changes (in the wrong direction) that are certainly controlled by government and that are eroding the American middle class and turning us into a third-world country.

In particular, I think if we could abandon gun control, we could work with social conservatives quite nicely. There would be plenty of common ground between us. That said, to the extent that we're talking about the Tea Party defined as the "I got mine, so FU" crowd, then no. With that group I see no common ground that it would be useful for us to explore and develop. We could agree with them on some social issues, but that's not what I want government focused on at this time.

-Laelth