Democratic presidential candidates react to Soleimani strike

[regnaD kciN]

3. Sigh...

Virtually every Democratic candidate falls into the same trap, starting off with some variation of “Soleimani was a horrible, brutal individual responsible for the deaths of thousands, including American troops, and deserved to die, BUT...”. They don’t seem to realize that, with that as the “lede,” most Americans are going to react “Well, if he was that bad, and deserved to be killed, thank God we have a leader with the balls to kill him.” And the portion after the “BUT...” will merely be taken as proof-positive that said candidate is too cowardly to take action against someone they acknowledge to be a severe threat and a killer of Americans. Because, for many, many voters, the first part is all that needs to be said, and they’re not interested in what they see as any feeble rationalizations for allowing threats to American lives to live on and continue to threaten more of them.

(And, before anyone tries alerting this because of supposedly “peddling right-wing talking points,” note that I’m not the one reinforcing those talking points; rather, it’s the candidates’ statements themselves that are unwittingly aiding that narrative. Pointing out a serious error isn’t disloyalty.)