I have never felt so alone in all my life.

[calimary]

89. All I'll add is the following:

It is UTTER FOLLY to think what we need to do is "try to get along."

https://newrepublic.com/article/138787/obama-can-put-merrick-garland-supreme-court

There's such a thing as being cooperative or "nice." But it's quite another to be UNWITTINGLY SUICIDAL. From the article:

There are consequences to one party being more aggressive about defying governing norms. If liberal legislation can’t break a Republican filibuster, but Democrats don’t offer the same resistance, the playing field is tilted to conservative policy. If Republicans use any maneuver to get appointees in place, and Democrats don’t, conservatives become more likely to be ensconced at executive agencies. If Republicans are willing to blackmail the government and Democrats aren’t, they get more concessions from that blackmail. If Republicans use gerrymandering and voter suppression and every available tool more sharply than Democrats, we get conservative government even if we vote for a liberal one.

Democrats, in short, bring a butter knife to a gunfight. They may be correct on the merits that institutional norms allow the government to function properly. But as long as Republicans don’t care about such niceties, that respect is equivalent to surrender.