We are reaping the consequences of decades of an insane "Can't Win, Don't Fight" stance. And that stance is not just on refraining from stepping in and contesting elections at every level, whatever the odds. It is an attitude that has kept too many of our Democratic Party electeds silent on the big goals, declaring them "impractical," or outright stifling hope with declarations of "it will never happen." It is insane because the ONLY way to build the political will for change is to be out there advocating for it, loud and proud, whatever the "odds."
The quote (source unknown, misattributed to Gandhi) is nevertheless true “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
You can ONLY ultimately win by sheer stubborn persistence to stay in the game, come hell or high water.
I think the attitude is shifting. At least I see signs of hope. D.C. groupthink, particularly among those to "came up" in the 90's, as the reactionary noise machine grew, is still driven by residual "battered Democrats syndrome." The watchword of the time was "backlash." We can't possibly say X. There would be backlash. In the few meetings with staffers I was part in the 2010's, it sometimes felt as if we were talking to parrots. Backlash! Squawk! Backlash!
Anyway, I think that most of them finally figured out that they will be "battered" whatever the hell they say, so they might as well speak out for what they believe. But old habits die hard. The only way to pierce whatever rationalizations or groupthink is driving inaction or silence on something at a given time, it is for outsiders -- i.e., regular citizens -- to stick their noses in and when they offer a lame excuse, make it clear how lame you, and others in your community, think that excuse is.
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