The "liberal elite"

[BainsBane]

170. The question was about the meaning of elite

I would like you to answer that question rather than deflecting.

As for party leadership, that depends on who you mean. Nancy Pelosi is a very effective minority leader. I'm not so keen on the Senate Director of Outreach because his loyalties are not with the party. The jury is out on Schumer. I am proud of the way that Perez and Ellison are united for the benefit of the party. I am fortunate to have very good elected representatives, but then it is the population of my congressional district and state that elects them. The chairman of my State Senate District DFL committee seems like a good guy. He is committed to ensuring as many people vote as possible and focuses in particular on apartment buildings where lower income citizens tend to live. I appreciate what he does to promote civic engagement and that our state regularly has the highest voter turnout in the nation.

I absolutely oppose efforts to remake the party in the image of the GOP. I oppose excusing racism. I oppose treating women's reproductive rights as optional. I see far too much conservativism being championed under the guise of progressivism.

I think the fundamental problem with our political system lies with sections of the electorate. The Kremlin's propaganda operation could not have been successful if so many weren't eager to spread false information that suited their agenda, while refusing to consider anything that didn't affirm their beliefs. That tendency is as strong as ever. I'm concerned that so many want to be pandered to rather than consider issues in their complexity and that they see the role of their elected officials as validating their emotions. I despair for the future of democracy, not because of the "party leadership" but because of a public that has lost patience for electoral democracy and seeks a strongman or father figure to enforce what they want. Across the political spectrum, we see people more concerned with the politics of personality, in which fealty to a couple of politicians takes precedence over everything else. I see that as indicative of the erosion of democracy. The American people need to want a functioning democracy for us to have one, and too many prefer to see government quit functioning than see congress function as a deliberative body that hammers out the compromises necessary to pass legislation. Associating with a member of the opposite party is disqualifying for too many voters. Hence the idea of working across the isle--representing the country as a whole rather than a small slice of the electorate that votes in primaries--is an anathema. That's all well and good for those privileged enough not to rely on government. For the marginalized, however, is is lethal. It pains me that so many are unconcerned with those lives. The sense of entitlement and self-centerness that makes that possible disgusts me.