General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It would be nice if the centrists in this party did some introspection, too. [View all]thucythucy
(8,050 posts)"It never worked against Nixon.."
Are you saying you think George McGovern was a "centrist" Democrat?
Seems to me he was about the most progressive Democrat to run in the '72 primaries, certainly compared to Muskie and Humphrey, the other two major candidates. Anti-war, anti-racist, distinguished progressive record...
Also, the far left--by which I mean the Steiners and such--continue to attack not only the Clintons, but President Obama as well. So for me this isn't about re-litigating 2016 as much as it is about moving on into the future.
For example, the headline in yesterday's "Truthdig" -- "Deceivers-in-Chief: How Donald Trump and Barak Obama are Alike."
This is only one of very many stories they continue to run under headlines that basically say there is no difference between Trump and Obama, between Democrats and Republicans. Of course, during the campaign their focus, as near as I could tell from the links my Green Party friends kept sending me, seemed to be almost entirely on attacking Democrats.
I can't see how this helps elect progressives to office. And I'm not sure that ignoring this factor (albeit only one of many that cost us the presidency, both in 2016 and 2000) will help us in the long run.
Republicans are very good at neutralizing and even destroying centers of opposition to their reactionary agenda, witness what happened to ACORN, and what they're trying to do to Planned Parenthood. Surely we should at least acknowledge that there are those on the far left--as well as the far right--who seem determined to undermine Democrats at every turn. And develop some cogent response to these attacks, aside from ignoring them with the hopes that they'll go away or do no further damage.
Hypothetical question--if Senator Sanders had been the candidate, do you honestly believe that Truthdig, Wikileaks et. al wouldn't have gone after him in the same way they went after Clinton? It's impossible to know, of course, but my suspicion is that they would have--just as the far left in 1972 attacked Senator McGovern as a "war criminal" and "imperialist."
I agree, introspection on the part of all of us would be a good thing. But I don't think introspection on the part of some precludes introspection on the part of others.