I agree that the Dems need to be a big tent. But as a lifelong Dem, I don't want it taken over and transformed into a neo-con party of Newt Gingrich, Chuck Grassley, Ron DeSantis, etc., just because they got tired of Maga. The Dems have to stand for issues and policies that are often in opposition to neo-cons. The Dems are not lukewarm GOPers, just because refugees from Maga want to transform it in sympathy to Newt Gingrich. Dems cannot be neo-cons from the 90's.
I'm not 100% opposed to this idea BUT...and it's a big step for MAGA - they need to own their gullibility. They need to agree that the 2020 election WASN'T stolen and January 6 was a BAD thing. It's okay to have differences in opinion, but this country can't survive in two different realities.
If they want me to see them as fellow Americans that didn't mean any harm. In fact, I think a way that we can make them feel less attacked is use this moment to talk about now just how Trump scammed them, but also a larger question about media literacy, social media and how people need to improve their BS detectors. Encourage people to get out of their media bubble.
I think many liberals are very open to own our side's flaws (Biden DID do a bad job via the border, some woke shit is annoying, etc. but in terms of degrees of harm/wrong, it's not even close. I'm pretty sure Bill Krystal from the Bulwark was quoted as saying something like "She's wrong, but within normal parameters" regarding a comparison between Hillary Clinton and Trump.
In fact. let's use the moment to have a true reckoning with the big issues facing the country:
Comprehensive immigration reform
What to do about the debt/deficit
How AI is going to impact employment
Universal healthcare
Climate/Energy policy
If there was ever a time where all Americans need to get roughly on the same page, it's now. We're running out of road to kick cans down.
Before reading this, I was just thinking that Democrats running in farm country need to be good at saying: “I hear you. A lot of stuff the coastal forces in the Democratic Party, the people coming out of elite colleges, advocate is not just nutty but wrong. I would welcome a broader Democratic Party in which they had less of a voice. I would welcome you as part of that. But more immediately, while what they are pushing for May at times be wrong headed, it also has little to nothing to do with your lives. What killed the market for your products, Trump's tariffs. What made fertilizer hard to obtain? Trump's war of choice in Iran. What made everything more expensive? Tariffs and a war that spiked the price of petroleum. As much as the left may have crazy ideas culturally, Donald Trump has them more than beat on how the world works and how it affects everyone in America. The Republican Party has done nothing but support him. Vote for me. Join me. We can be a voice of reason against the Trump lunacy destroying your lives and the rest of America.”
Sure, they are welcomed if they support the constitution, democracy and separation of church and state. But don’t you dare roll into the Democratic Party and try to re-shape it into your former Newt Gingrich, Ronald Reagan trickle down Republican Party - hateful policies and Lee Atwater bullshit. Not having it!
That's Adam Kinzinger's org, no? I respect him and the effort--we must hold to the patriotic lane. The way I roll is more "Forward Together": we have some big challenges ahead and cannot be stand pat.
I have more MAGA friends and also several conservative friends who are not MAGA but vote for Republicans only. I will let them in and keep my mouth shut through most of their insane and inane comments.
Some comments tossed at me by them:
1) I drank the coolaid. (I am brainwashed.)
2) If you want to pay more taxes feel free. (So that's all that matters to you? And Democrats would not have raised their taxes, they don't make enough to pay more. They are worried about the poor billionaires and millionaires paying more.)
3) Trump hires all the best people. (Huh? Don't ask them who they have no clue of anyone he hires.)
But I hold on to hope that at some point they will realize Trump is not lowering their taxes, and he is getting us into wars and running up our debt. And Democrats have been better fiscally and at creating jobs than Republicans since Bill Clinton. You can say Carter had a bad run, but at some point you can't hate Democrats because of bad inflation 45 years ago. Since Reagan, Republicans have a terrible track record on the economy, and now they are running a Fascist regime. I'm lifted up tonight by the election results in Hungary. If Orban and Putin can't rig an election in Hungary, what are the chances are Trump and his lackies can here??
I will admit I hate the America First tag line. Seems to be a way to say the war in Ukraine doesn't matter to us. I for one want to see democracy flourish and dictatorship wither away. So I think helping Ukraine is America first. And letting Putin have it is America alone. Thinks like USAID is not America first, but I think it's a worthy cause. Saving lives in Africa using a small piece of our massive wealth may not be America First, but it is the America I'd prefer (even if I do pay more taxes.)
Thanks Tim so very well said. The Democratic Party needs to open our tent to everyone. Even those who are now realizing that Trump had lied to them and they’re fed up.
“TAKING YES FOR AN ANSWER means, in short, welcoming people who are suddenly inclined to agree with you without having to haggle over all their past indiscretions.
….
“And yes, that means being open to taking yes for an answer from various and sundry cranks and kooks not because we agree with their crazy or bigoted ideas but because any successful political coalition will contain some cranks. And even cranks have moments of lucidity from time to time.
….
“…accept that people can be fooled or be blinded by motivated reasoning and end up participating in a political movement they didn’t see clearly.”
I agree with you except for one thing. “America First” is too loaded a phrase to use for any worthy cause. Americans first is better but, again, the history is still too close. We’re a smart bunch. Surely we can find a better descriptor. Let’s avoid adopting a syrupy “Up With People” thing. After all, Yes We Can.
It all depends on the specific issues said MAGAt had.
You can bring them water from inside the tent, but they don't get an invite.
As long as the circular firing squad is going on, cheer them on...from the sidelines. You can root for the MTG's to fight, you can bring her your water, but, for god's sake, don't flucking carry HER water.
You have me jumping up and down in accord with this one, Tim. One of the hardest things for humans to do is to acknowledge we've been wrong. So in responding to these positive moves whether big or little, it doesn't behoove us to remind people they erred in the past, or to show how clever we are by comparison. It calls for what may well be an old fashioned skill. Just be gracious. I'd only add that Trump, while he might welcome all kinds in his gold-plated tent, has not one ounce of graciousness. He holds grudges. He feeds on grudges. Without the balm of resentment, his whole balloon could collapse.
I agree that the Dems need to be a big tent. But as a lifelong Dem, I don't want it taken over and transformed into a neo-con party of Newt Gingrich, Chuck Grassley, Ron DeSantis, etc., just because they got tired of Maga. The Dems have to stand for issues and policies that are often in opposition to neo-cons. The Dems are not lukewarm GOPers, just because refugees from Maga want to transform it in sympathy to Newt Gingrich. Dems cannot be neo-cons from the 90's.
Tim, aren't you supposed to be on vacation?
I'm not 100% opposed to this idea BUT...and it's a big step for MAGA - they need to own their gullibility. They need to agree that the 2020 election WASN'T stolen and January 6 was a BAD thing. It's okay to have differences in opinion, but this country can't survive in two different realities.
If they want me to see them as fellow Americans that didn't mean any harm. In fact, I think a way that we can make them feel less attacked is use this moment to talk about now just how Trump scammed them, but also a larger question about media literacy, social media and how people need to improve their BS detectors. Encourage people to get out of their media bubble.
I think many liberals are very open to own our side's flaws (Biden DID do a bad job via the border, some woke shit is annoying, etc. but in terms of degrees of harm/wrong, it's not even close. I'm pretty sure Bill Krystal from the Bulwark was quoted as saying something like "She's wrong, but within normal parameters" regarding a comparison between Hillary Clinton and Trump.
In fact. let's use the moment to have a true reckoning with the big issues facing the country:
Comprehensive immigration reform
What to do about the debt/deficit
How AI is going to impact employment
Universal healthcare
Climate/Energy policy
If there was ever a time where all Americans need to get roughly on the same page, it's now. We're running out of road to kick cans down.
I loooove when you write. I loved your book. You and JVL can fucking write.
Before reading this, I was just thinking that Democrats running in farm country need to be good at saying: “I hear you. A lot of stuff the coastal forces in the Democratic Party, the people coming out of elite colleges, advocate is not just nutty but wrong. I would welcome a broader Democratic Party in which they had less of a voice. I would welcome you as part of that. But more immediately, while what they are pushing for May at times be wrong headed, it also has little to nothing to do with your lives. What killed the market for your products, Trump's tariffs. What made fertilizer hard to obtain? Trump's war of choice in Iran. What made everything more expensive? Tariffs and a war that spiked the price of petroleum. As much as the left may have crazy ideas culturally, Donald Trump has them more than beat on how the world works and how it affects everyone in America. The Republican Party has done nothing but support him. Vote for me. Join me. We can be a voice of reason against the Trump lunacy destroying your lives and the rest of America.”
Sure, they are welcomed if they support the constitution, democracy and separation of church and state. But don’t you dare roll into the Democratic Party and try to re-shape it into your former Newt Gingrich, Ronald Reagan trickle down Republican Party - hateful policies and Lee Atwater bullshit. Not having it!
That's Adam Kinzinger's org, no? I respect him and the effort--we must hold to the patriotic lane. The way I roll is more "Forward Together": we have some big challenges ahead and cannot be stand pat.
I have more MAGA friends and also several conservative friends who are not MAGA but vote for Republicans only. I will let them in and keep my mouth shut through most of their insane and inane comments.
Some comments tossed at me by them:
1) I drank the coolaid. (I am brainwashed.)
2) If you want to pay more taxes feel free. (So that's all that matters to you? And Democrats would not have raised their taxes, they don't make enough to pay more. They are worried about the poor billionaires and millionaires paying more.)
3) Trump hires all the best people. (Huh? Don't ask them who they have no clue of anyone he hires.)
But I hold on to hope that at some point they will realize Trump is not lowering their taxes, and he is getting us into wars and running up our debt. And Democrats have been better fiscally and at creating jobs than Republicans since Bill Clinton. You can say Carter had a bad run, but at some point you can't hate Democrats because of bad inflation 45 years ago. Since Reagan, Republicans have a terrible track record on the economy, and now they are running a Fascist regime. I'm lifted up tonight by the election results in Hungary. If Orban and Putin can't rig an election in Hungary, what are the chances are Trump and his lackies can here??
I will admit I hate the America First tag line. Seems to be a way to say the war in Ukraine doesn't matter to us. I for one want to see democracy flourish and dictatorship wither away. So I think helping Ukraine is America first. And letting Putin have it is America alone. Thinks like USAID is not America first, but I think it's a worthy cause. Saving lives in Africa using a small piece of our massive wealth may not be America First, but it is the America I'd prefer (even if I do pay more taxes.)
Thanks Tim so very well said. The Democratic Party needs to open our tent to everyone. Even those who are now realizing that Trump had lied to them and they’re fed up.
Hell yes! Let's do this.
Before we figure out how to put Americans first, we're gonna have to agree on who's an American.
It's even more complicated than that: the USA is just one of the many American nations, though obviously a leader among them in many ways.
“TAKING YES FOR AN ANSWER means, in short, welcoming people who are suddenly inclined to agree with you without having to haggle over all their past indiscretions.
….
“And yes, that means being open to taking yes for an answer from various and sundry cranks and kooks not because we agree with their crazy or bigoted ideas but because any successful political coalition will contain some cranks. And even cranks have moments of lucidity from time to time.
….
“…accept that people can be fooled or be blinded by motivated reasoning and end up participating in a political movement they didn’t see clearly.”
See, for example
https://youtu.be/-wQhY5CMMl4?si=I03O6bidm9cqidOv
I agree with you except for one thing. “America First” is too loaded a phrase to use for any worthy cause. Americans first is better but, again, the history is still too close. We’re a smart bunch. Surely we can find a better descriptor. Let’s avoid adopting a syrupy “Up With People” thing. After all, Yes We Can.
I was going to say just switch to saying “putting Americans first at last!” But just “Americans first!” is probably better.
It all depends on the specific issues said MAGAt had.
You can bring them water from inside the tent, but they don't get an invite.
As long as the circular firing squad is going on, cheer them on...from the sidelines. You can root for the MTG's to fight, you can bring her your water, but, for god's sake, don't flucking carry HER water.
You have me jumping up and down in accord with this one, Tim. One of the hardest things for humans to do is to acknowledge we've been wrong. So in responding to these positive moves whether big or little, it doesn't behoove us to remind people they erred in the past, or to show how clever we are by comparison. It calls for what may well be an old fashioned skill. Just be gracious. I'd only add that Trump, while he might welcome all kinds in his gold-plated tent, has not one ounce of graciousness. He holds grudges. He feeds on grudges. Without the balm of resentment, his whole balloon could collapse.