For three years, we've been told that liberals are not "the base".

Lyric

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Wed Nov-03-10 01:28 PM
Original message

For three years, we've been told that liberals are not "the base".

I think that narrative is finally dead. I haven't said much in the wake of this disappointment, but I feel pretty strongly about what I'm about to say. It's pretty damned obvious now who the REAL "base" is. We found the greatest level of Democratic loyalty from the progressive, liberal voters--NOT the centrists. We kept LIBERAL seats--not centrist ones. When push came to shove, the centrist voters ran to the Republicans while the liberal voters stood strong behind the party. Never again will I listen to or accept the argument that liberals are not "the base" of the Democratic Party. There is no doubt now--we ARE. Deny all you want, the numbers don't lie.

Now the conservative types who are left--your time in charge is over. It's time to stop pretending that your fringe agenda is the "mainstream" Democratic view, because this election has conclusively proven that it ISN'T. The most loyal members of this party are the liberals. We are the ones who inspire voters to come to the polls--not you. We lost a few from our ranks, but not NEARLY as many as you lost. It's time to face reality: the Democratic Party is a party of liberals, and our voters are the only ones who can be counted upon to stick with the party when things get tough. Once upon a time, we were told (by you) that the "fringe" wing should be the one that has to compromise. Well, that fringe wing is now YOU. Are you willing to hold yourselves to the same standard that you forced upon us?

For my fellow liberals: it's time to honor the TRUE base. It's time to stand strong behind our liberal principles and push back against the conservative lies. We don't compromise with insanity. We can work with the (few) sane Republicans that are left, but we are the last remaining brick wall that stands between the American people and Teabagger fascism. It's time to step up to that responsibility.

And it IS a responsibility. It's going to take hard work to convince America that the conservative agenda is wrong. We have an incredible monetary disadvantage. We have a mainstream media that is openly hostile to us. The only avenue for reform that we have left is to take our case directly to the people. We need to make the differences between us and the conservative side a LOT more clear. We need to figure out what our most cherished liberal principles are, and we need to STICK to them. No more failed attempts to compromise with fascist nutcases. We'll compromise where compromise is appropriate, but we can no longer afford to compromise ourselves right out of power. I think we're already feeling the truth of that.

We've spent a long time being marginalized, often within the ranks of our own party. I know that a lot of us are still angry about that. But leaders don't have time to be resentful. Leaders need to move the party forward. If we want to be leaders, then we have to TAKE the mantle of power and move our party forward. We now have the most ideologically liberal Democratic Party that we've had in years. The Blue Dogs have been taken out of the power equation. We can't let this opportunity slip by unheeded. We don't have a majority right now, but the minority we have is a strong one.

Obama will do as Obama must do, but for the rest of us--if we don't have the power to govern at will, then at least we have the power to protect as much as we can, and to work at the level of the people to elect LIBERAL Democrats next time. We've often heard that the primaries are the proper place to settle intra-party arguments. It was meant to be dismissive at the time it was said to us, but let's take it at face value--as an opportunity. This is our silver lining. And the first thing we need to realize as a party is that we have left behind the people who used to be our greatest strength: the working class.

Our country needs us. We know that we're right--we know that our principles are the best ones for America's future. Now we need to work our asses off to make that case to the American people--especially to the working people who've been lied to and manipulated for a very long time. It'll be frustrating. It'll be difficult. We're dealing with an electorate that's been engineered by the right-wing to have disdain for education, for political awareness, and for human compassion. What's been done CAN be undone, but it won't be easy. We need to be out there in the midst of it. People don't change because of distant ideological theories; they change because someone makes a positive difference in their lives. The REAL "change" has to come from that level--and it doesn't even have to be entirely political. You teach people empathy by LIVING empathy--in the small things as well as the large. That means we have to interact on a personal level with people who disagree with us politically. And we have to be KIND to them. Drive your elderly neighbor to the grocery store. Volunteer at the food bank. Pick up trash at your local park. Be a Big Brother or Big Sister. Teach literacy to struggling adults. Take it upon yourself to BE the kind of person that you want others to be. A common theme here is that words are not enough--we need action. Well, the most effective kind of action is not going to come from Obama and the Dems on the Hill. It's going to come from US. We have the ability to change minds on a personal level; to be a living embodiment of liberal principles in action, helping to change lives for the better. But doing that requires a lot of physical work, and it requires us all to step outside of our comfort zones.

For example: meet and make friends with people you wouldn't ordinarily have the opportunity to meet in your daily life. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that, for example, there are a LOT of poor Moms and Dads in the underprivileged areas of your region who desperately need friendships and human interactions that don't involve either a toddler or "Do you want fries with that?" And those friendships can be the conduit from which struggling, reactionary people can learn that "liberal" is NOT a four-letter-word. We're never going to find our power base in the privileged classes; it's time to look to the working class and to the poor. They are often ignored, and many, many don't vote because they feel completely alienated from the political process. Make them feel included again. Make them feel WANTED. People who have a personal connection to us will be a lot less susceptible to the right-wing "The Democrats want to ban the BIBLE!" lies and manipulation attempts. By establishing bonds with those who have no sense of political efficacy, you help CREATE political efficacy. That, in turn, helps to solidify the populist, liberal, WORKING CLASS "base" that our party has ignored for FAR too long. In the end, regardless of whether we're middle-class or working-class or poor, we're NOT wealthy. That puts us all on the same side, whether we realize it or not. The enemy is not Joe Six Pack. The enemy is the person who lied to Joe Six Pack and convinced him that tax cuts for rich people somehow benefit HIM. The enemy is the greed that inspired the televangelist that influenced the pastor of Joe Six Pack's church. The enemy is the "Faux" media that lied to Joe Six Pack and implied that his President is a Kenyan Muslim who's probably the anti-Christ. The enemy is the billionaire who spent Joe's pension on Republican campaign donations and then lied to Joe and told him that the Democrats forced him to do it. When you get right down to it, Joe himself is not the problem--but Joe can be part of the solution.

You are liberal because you have a heart and a painfully keen sense of justice. Be proud enough of that to share it with the people who feel completely left out.

Are you up for it?