The Nixon Pardon

I just heard an interview with Julian Castro from December in which one of the great guys from Pod Save America asked if he would have pardoned Richard Nixon.  This is because Castro has announced that he is running for president in 2020, and we all know that Trump in stripes is on all our minds.  Castro analyzed cautiously as Democrats are wont to do.  He started off saying that he "wouldn't be inclined to pardon Donald Trump," adding that "nobody is above the law."  Then he began the equivocation thing where he thought that some have thought that at the time Ford pardoned Nixon it may have been the right thing for the country to, you know, move on.

First of all, Nixon committed some egregious crimes.  That he was the President of the United States should make him more culpable rather than less.  That Ford would pardon him gave him privilege that those of us lacking money and power just don't have.  That set a pitiful example, reinforcing criminals with deep pockets and powerful attorneys and turning the slippery slope into an avalanche.  It was wrong.  The country was not better off for having let a criminal go free because he had been a criminal with power.

In 2009, President Obama made the same mistake with the criminals in the banking industry that led us to the brink of financial catastrophe.  For many, many of us, it wasn't just the brink.  People lost their homes and their jobs.  Small businesses went bankrupt.  And after the government bailed out the financial behemoths, they gave themselves raises, and went back to business as usual.  Not a single Wall Street criminal did time for those crimes.  And yet we teach our children that it is wrong to steal, and that they have to follow the law.

Within the Trump administration, we have had the good fortune of being able to see, under a magnifying glass, the incredible corruption that is corporate and political America.  Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have been rewarded for descending to depths that we have not seen in our lifetimes in this country -- and in Congress that is not a high bar.  Trump's cabinet of deplorables has been a pageant of criminality; not only did he choose those with the same sleazy moral values as he, but once in the White House they also demonstrated the belief that they were more important than their positions, they were above the law and could rightfully plunder what had been the people's government.

On the other hand, Trump and his band of pirates had no compunction about attacking and accusing others in order to detract from their own ugly acts.  Flynn led the chant "lock her up" in 2016, and Trump (who rarely smiles) would break into his creepiest, smuggest grin whenever the crowd of misfits at a rally would bring it out.  Ah, they learned so well.  Add to that accusing President Obama and other leaders in that administration of ridiculous crimes, promising he would send Hillary to jail, challenging the FBI to investigate idiotic and paranoid charges; all serving the dual purpose of smearing those better than him and distracting the public via twitter rants with help from the media from his own horrendous actions.

The tweets accusing Obama of wiretapping his office and phones led to weeks of diversion, happily obsessive pondering by the media, hours of wasted dollars and time by the FBI, who I believe were frankly scared to just say, "that's ridiculous."  You know, you have to follow procedure whether what Trump says is crazy or not.  But apparently Trump has the First Amendment right to tell whatever damn lies he wants.  Except that when the president tells a lie, it really is tantamount to yelling "fire" in a crowded building, which is against the law.

Back to the pardoning of the criminal.  Donald Trump has committed crimes that Tricky Dick could only wish he had been able to get away with.  As a candidate -- and since -- he has colluded with foreign governments, making deals that jeopardize our sovereignty for the sole purpose of personal gain.  He has made comments which purpose is to fuel hatred and attacks toward pretty much anyone or any group that he envies or sees as a threat.  Hate crimes have increased dramatically against minorities.  Most recently, Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen has postponed testimony to Congress out of fear of threats he has received, directed not just to him but to his family.

The President of the United States as crime boss.

Should we impeach?  Just the fact that we keep hearing the media asking this question makes me shudder.  The process is there to be used if needed.  I can't think of any better reason than the criminal who now resides in the White House.  Should Donald Trump be indicted?

With Donald Trump's blessing, the weaselly former attorney general went after people who smoked marijuana and those who had lived peacefully in this country for decades.  When it came to people who were just trying to get by, Jefferson Sessions brooked no excuse.  Trump, modeling his administration after his hero, Richard Nixon, touted himself as the "law and order" president.

So why should the "law and order" president not have to do time for his crimes?  Damned if I know.

We have had too many years of bogus congressional committees and investigations.  Media morons like our own Chuck Todd will no doubt compare our efforts to seek justice to those of the Devin Nunes republican party.  That is like Donald Trump blaming "many sides" in Charlottesville.  It is that false equivalency that put Trump in the White House, with phony investigations on Benghazi and emails creating the appearance that Hillary was guilty of ... something.

Pursuing justice does not make us an unruly mob.  We should not be investigating Donald Trump and his cronies out of revenge, but in order to see justice done.  More important, we need to do all we can to stop the crimes that he is committing on a daily basis.  Whether it is private meetings with Vladimir Putin or business deals with Saudi Arabia and China in return for favors, or attempts to intimidate or influence witnesses in government investigations, Donald Trump needs to be held to account.

Donald Trump, as is true with all bullies, sees forgiveness as weakness.  When he gets away with something, he brags about it and goes on to commit crimes ever more flagrantly.  Donald Trump allowed to continue to break the law is Donald Trump creating more harm and chaos, with more manic rallies and bigger lies and attacks.  That is the way of the despot, and Trump has shown through words and deeds his willingness -- and delight -- to rule as a third world dictator.

This week Nancy Pelosi finally put a stop to a Trump tantrum that was damaging the country.  That is the example we need to follow in reigning in and putting an end to the abuses of this terrible administration and president.

Investigations and impeachment because that is the right thing to do.  And no pardon, because a hardened criminal should have to do his time.

Dear Joe Cunningham...

Dear Joe,

You know how tickled we all were when you were elected to serve in Congress.  We Dems fought hard for you, even those like me who do not live in your district (I was gerrymandered out).  You ran a great campaign, and your stand on the issues was stellar.  You did not back off on any of those issues Dems in the past have tiptoed around, like women's reproductive rights and gun control.

The only time you blinked was when you caved to the republican's "Operation Nancy Pelosi."  I'm thinking that in the heat of the campaign, you may not have realized that people like Donald Trump are playing with you.  They want you to think opposing Pelosi is your idea, when it is truly what they want you to do more than anything in the world.

You're young and you may not know the history behind the demonizing of Nancy Pelosi, so let me give you a little background.  Back in 2010, Michael Steele, then chairman of the Republican Party (before they threw him under the bus), was the genius behind the "Fire Pelosi" campaign.  It happened after she got Obamacare passed by one vote; given the narcissism and back-biting that was going on it was amazing that she could herd that bunch of cats.  It scared the bejeezus out of republicans.

So Steele decided to create a campaign that turned Nancy Pelosi into the spawn of Satan, i.e., a liberal.  They were the RNC, the Republican National Committee, and they did a bus tour and everything.  Most important, all the republicans got on board, if not the bus, the strategy.  It was the same unified voice that you hear when they talk about Pelosi today.  Because they didn't get rid of her, but they got lots of press, and they taught their base to equate Pelosi with a dirty word.  Of course, it had no basis in fact; they didn't need any.  It worked brilliantly.

It worked so well that Mark Sanford decided it would be more advantageous to run against Pelosi in a 2013 special election than against his real-life opponent, Elizabeth Colbert Busch.  He still reeked from the Appalachian Trail bullshit that he wore when he left the governor's office.  Colbert Busch was smart and sound on the issues.  He could not have beat her.  But Sanford always has a gimmick up his sleeve, and those good ole boys enjoyed the gag.  So he beat Pelosi, or, the republicans' caricature of her.

Joe, I was taken aback when I saw the campaign ad in which you had a white male stereotype say that he was a republican but because you were against Pelosi he was voting for you.  I imagine you -- and a number of Dems that I know -- believe you could not have won if you hadn't thrown Nancy under the bus.  But I believe you were the butt of Michael Steele's scam, the one that has been working on Dems all these years.

A few weeks ago, around the time you and a bunch of young  Dems, mostly men, signed that ridiculous letter urging Pelosi not to run for leadership, Michael Steele was interviewed on AM Joy.  When Reid asked him why his Pelosi strategy worked so well on Democrats he laughed and said, "I don't know; I'm trying to figure that out myself."  Please take two minutes and listen to the video.  It is indeed an eye-opener.

This strategy has worked before.  Mitch McConnell would not be spreading his evil today if Alison Lundergan Grimes had not decided to run from Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act.  Lord knows, Trump could never have beaten Hillary if she hadn't had thirty years of republicans building her into the kind of evil genius that could do anything; anything, that is except win the presidency.

And they can't -- THEY CAN'T -- do it without the help of Democrats.

Right now, Nancy Pelosi is the nightmare that keeps the republican party -- and Donald Trump -- up at night.  She is smart and masterful.  She believes in the same causes and issues that you believe in.  She will fight, and win, when she is Speaker.  It's not a fantasy.  It is Pelosi's resume.

Stephen Lynch was one of the Dems who signed that silly letter.  He met with Pelosi, and changed his mind.  If that doesn't give you pause, you are not the reasonable man I think you are.

Trump will go down with his wall because he believes that is what gave him his victory.  He doesn't have the capacity to look around and see that he isn't the president of a rally.  He can't put together all the factors that got him to the White House.

Opposing Nancy Pelosi did not win your election, Joe.  Being on the right side of the issues against a woman who was both mean and dumb was what did it.  Oh, and as much as I hate to say it, if she were a mean, dumb white man instead of a woman he would have won.

But the time is right for progressive ideas, and you transported enough people to put you in Congress.  Fight for those progressive ideas, and be sure to make headlines letting us know what you are doing for us.  Keep an eye on Pelosi, because she will teach you how to win, again and again, against all odds.

And Joe, you will need those skills.  Mark Sanford isn't going anywhere.  All he knows how to do is be on the public dole.  We couldn't believe it when he went from disgrace in the governor's office to win back a House seat.  But that is what he does.  He has not stopped running.  He will be there in 2020.  If you don't proudly own being a progressive Democrat, you will just be seen as a watered down republican.  If you throw Nancy Pelosi under the bus, if you fight her on key issues instead of standing by her and helping her win, I can guarantee you will have a short life in Congress.  And that would be a shame.

We had the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014.  We lost Congress because we wouldn't stand together.  Republicans have the bluster, but we have the causes.  The economy, our standing in the world, our treatment of children, democracy itself for gods' sake, there is no issue we should not stand for proudly.  I can't say enough how important it is -- to the electorate -- to see you all stand together, in strength.  Going up against the most powerful Democratic leader ever is not a good way to start.  So I urge you to do the right thing.  Admit that now that you have seen Pelosi in action, up close, you will be supporting her.

You may have won because just enough republicans voted for you, but if you lose the enthusiasm we Dems felt for you in 2018, you don't have a chance.

Best of luck in your new job.

Sincerely,
The Ironic Cherry

Electability

I was appalled when, on Wednesday morning, I read this headline in the Post & Courier:

Democrat Archie Parnell, who once beat his ex-wife, easily wins SC primary

No, it wasn't glaring red, but it might as well have been.

Sadly, it doesn't take much to get to this point when our own Democrats are so willing to jump in and push good candidates -- and elected officials -- off the ship.  Bakari Sellers, who has turned from a decent and caring public servant to a famous celebrity, was among the first to try to shame Parnell into stepping down.  Either no skeletons in his closet, or no plans to run for office.

Apparently, republicans have realized that all they need to do is to dig up (or invent) some dirt on a candidate who threatens their feifdom, and then step back and let us Dems pummel that candidate into the ground.  Lordy, the best they could come up with was college party videos of Jon Ossoff, who scared the crap out of republicans in Georgia last year.  They couldn't have done it without us.  While most Dems continued to stand by Ossoff, enough backed away to give his republican opponent the win.  That's all it takes.  Remember Hillary?  Thirty years of republicans flinging mud, with James Comey putting the icing on the cake and leaving him, and us, with feelings of nausea -- and with Donald Trump.

Focus, Democrats!  Focus on the issues here, because we stand to lose good candidates who MIGHT JUST WIN unless we get distracted by rumor, innuendo and the occasional irrelevant fact.

We are the party where we stand by people who have had tough times in their lives, made horrible mistakes, and come out better for it.  We don't need to support people who live bigotry and misogyny; we can leave that to the republicans.  We have enough good Democrats who will fight for us.  But we have to accept that they may be flawed.

We need to stop looking for the perfect candidate, because that is our Achilles heel:  the strength that becomes our vulnerability.

In fact, we don't even have the ability to look a gift horse in the mouth and say, "Aw, thanks."  As when our own Dimitri Cherny made the outrageous decision to run against Mark Sanford in the republican primary.  It was hilarious to watch the republicans (who have used the open primary system against us a number of times) squeal about how unfair it was.  What wasn't as much fun was watching our own party have conniptions over what they saw as Dimitri jumping ship.

Because in the cold light of day, there was absolutely nothing for us to lose in Dimitri's candidacy.  At best he might topple the horrible Mark Sanford, who has been like a piece of chewing gum stuck to the feet of South Carolina for decades.  At worse, he would... what?  lose?  In fact, he did lose, but the three percent of votes that he got just might have been what lost Sanford his cushy job.  To that I say, "Thanks, Dimitri."  Of course, now we need to garner some enthusiasm for Joe Cunningham instead of cowering over the fact that he will be running against a right-wing wacko Trump supporter.

Meanwhile, the DCCC, in an effort to prove their irrelevance once again, is currently sniffing around, looking to put the money they suck from us whenever they can into candidates that are "electable."  It saddens me to say that Nancy Pelosi, once my hero, is now so desperate to win in November that she is leading the charge against candidates that may be too progressive to be electable.  Pelosi: once a progressive firebrand herself, the woman who held the damn bag of cats that was the Democratic House together to pass Obamacare.  I have until this recent news defended Nancy with every breath I had, and continue to believe that it is ageism and misogyny that has been behind the push to push her from her position of party leader in the House.  And yet this picture of Pelosi seeking to support Democrats who appear safe -- electable -- and pass on those who aren't afraid to talk about significant change, that is the real threat to the Democratic Party and our success in taking back Congress.

We had Bernie "the socialist" shake things up in 2016.  In 2017, among other headline wins, Danica Roem became the first transgender elected official.  People are electing Muslims and gays without fear these days.  And yet we continue to have a party afraid to support "progressive" candidates.

On the other side, we had a child molester in Alabama who nearly beat an amazing Democratic candidate.  Thankfully, Doug Jones didn't have any scandals that could have been dug up.  And don't forget the current "president" of the United States, who ran happily on being capable of every possible crime that could be committed (including shooting someone on Fifth Avenue). While good Democrats stayed away from Hillary, muttering about "emails," "Benghazi," and never proven financial crimes.

I don't know how much more proof we need that voters want radical change.  They want to hear about their own lives and needs.  Donald Trump didn't win (he really didn't) on grabbing pussy.  He won because he lied about giving everyone health insurance and good jobs.  And now we have solid proof that the republican party has not only failed in those goals, they have actively legislated killing health care and job creation.  They convinced some of us that a $14.00 a week increase in our paychecks was a win, but psychotic economic policies have caused the price of gas to go up over $1 a gallon since the maniac-in-chief took office.  Social services are being cut to fatten the pockets of Trump, Ryan and McConnell, and all their rich buddies.  Trade wars with our once-friends will eat up more of our miserable incomes while Jeff Sessions and the cabinet of deplorables works to make sure that, from education to employment, we won't have a chance at a level playing field.

Archie Parnell is serious about winning this thing.  And he is damn close.  All it takes for him to lose is friends like Bakari Sellers, and us.

I did not support Parnell in his special election primary last year.  Rather I supported a young, smart, African American woman.  Big name Democrats came out in droves for Parnell, because he was "electable."  It is a shame that we do that to ourselves, keep women and minorities from representing us because we are afraid they won't win.  Talk about your vicious circle.  But when he was chosen, he became by far the best candidate, and I continue to wholeheartedly support him.  I'm glad he has the guts to stay with it, rather than hand this victory to the republicans.

On June 13, BuzzFeed published this friggin' headline:

National And State Democrats Won’t Support Archie Parnell In South Carolina

“What Archie Parnell did is inexcusable and deeply disturbing, and he should drop out of this race immediately.”

Well, there's a surprise.

Farther down in the article was a video posted on Facebook by Parnell.  The same video was published by the Post & Courier before the primary, and before their egregious post-primary headline.  I would like to post the video here, but can't do it from Facebook.  I urge you to listen to Archie talk about his decision to continue to run, in its entirety.  This is the kind of candidate we should throw our support behind, enthusiastically.

You know what, we might get hoodwinked.  But at some point we need to trust what we see with our own eyes.  And if we don't, for sure we will be the ones to lose.

Gullibility

I turned on the TV last night, and there was that crazed, ugly man screeching.  "And more people like me now than they did before the election."  Or some such bullshit.  I turned him off.  But I knew that, even though all the polls say otherwise, his lie about his popularity had its impact.  The ugly crowd loved it.  And because of that, it chilled the rest of us.

Oh, yes, we have laughed at the stupidity of those who believed his lies.  But they voted for him, and there he is.  Which makes us feel really vulnerable.  And when Dems feel vulnerable, we just might do some dumb things.

Yes, the Trump base is easily manipulated; his right-wing fans, led by their fear and envy will follow child molesters and indeed, continue to love Trump if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue.  But we liberals are also easily manipulated, by using our values and our guilt against us.  We don't have to look farther than the Clintons to see the truth to that.

Way back when Bill was governor and running for president, the right wing tried to nail him on his obfuscations and infidelities.  When that didn't work, they shifted just a tad to his wife.  And they hit the jackpot.  Not because she was guilty of a damned thing, but because she was a woman, and a strong one who fought for the ideals the right wing hated.  They couldn't win on the sex stuff, or the not-inhaling business, but they scored with Hillary's legal career and business dealings.  And they took down as many people close to her as they could.

Again, not because she was found guilty of anything.  The attacks and innuendos worked every time, for thirty years.  Was she the smartest crook for getting away with the crimes they had been accusing her of all these years?  Or was she just the nerviest criminal, getting away with dirty dealings in plain sight?  The result of thirty years of accusations is that we Dems forgot who Hillary actually is and felt uneasy about her; we couldn't tell you why, but we just didn't trust her.  Or we remembered that we heard something about something she did that was shady.

Instead of remembering her lifelong battle for children's health and her fight to bring independence to women in third world countries, we remember that we laughed at her pantsuits and changing hairstyles.  We criticized her for staying with Bill, and you know we would have criticized her for leaving him.  But the fact that she had financial dealings made it so much easier to accuse her of crimes, to question her honesty in every sphere of her life.  To walk away feeling that there was just... something... we didn't trust about her.

And during the 2016 election season, instead of listening to her speeches, we listened to every damn pundit talk about how she was as unpopular as Donald Trump, and we watched as the media flooded us with Trump's campaign rants and Hillary's email investigation.  Remember when CNN and MSNBC carried Hillary's stump speech live?  No, you don't, because it didn't happen.  It didn't take a bot or a troll to turn our heads; whatever possessed James Comey to publicly carry water for the republican email witch hunt (and we have yet to find out what exactly motivated him to go so far against his principles and the law), the media was happy to spread the bad news. 

A few years ago, there was a guy who was beginning a campaign to run against Lindsey Graham.  He was smart, he was funny, he was unafraid.  And you know that he had to go.  It didn't take much.  Rumor had it that he wasn't even from here, and that he had had some shady financial dealings, and -- oh my god -- he had pranked some republican or other.

In the same circumstances, republicans would have ignored the "accusations," or laughed at them, or defended them.  But we Dems wouldn't let our guy run.  We couldn't stop him, but we damned sure wouldn't help him.  To the point, I am still embarrassed to say, that he was not allowed to come and introduce himself to a group where candidates had always been invited to stop by.

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend about the candidate who is running against Joe Wilson.  You remember Joe Wilson, the ignorant piece of work that shouted "You lie!" at president Obama during a speech to Congress.  He is being opposed by the most wonderful woman you could imagine:  smart, strong, activist, and someone who stands up for our values and our lives.  My friend's problem was that she had heard that she was once a republican.

If that is all it takes to back off from supporting a Democratic candidate, we can honestly say that we are doing the work of our opponents for them.

I can't get very excited about the bots and trolls crawling around Facebook.  The Russians aren't doing any more to us than actual republicans have been doing to us since Reagan's handlers brought together big business and the moral majority, the latter of which was neither moral nor a majority of anything other than bigots.

We could use a good dash of cynicism, and a lot more intelligence as we approach the 2018 election.

We have so much information at our fingertips, there is no reason we should be spreading rumors.  And when we run across something that sounds suspect, it takes seconds to go to Google and look for confirmation.  We know the major media outlets and, yes they have biases and make mistakes, but they are the fastest way to discount a blatant lie.  And when media gets a detail wrong, let them know it.

Candidates have Facebook pages and websites.  They are often on Youtube.  If you hear something about a candidate that makes you wonder, check it out, don't just spread it around.

And most important, we need to remind ourselves what we are doing here.  We are voting for candidates that will work to promote issues we believe are important.  We are not voting for the candidate with the least controversial college years, or the one who has never made a mistake.  We are voting for people who will go to county council or the statehouse or congress and fight for all of us.  And should our candidate lose the primary, we need to fight just as hard for second best, because second best is going to be a whole lot better than what the other party is offering.

The republicans know they could lose their power in November.  What republicans do when they are afraid they are going to lose is, they double down.  They fight with more viciousness and greater lies.  And because we are a country being ruled by billionaires, there is lots of money being funneled into the coffers of anyone willing to do their bidding.

We need look no further than the ridiculous and ugly ads that were run against Jon Ossof last year, when republicans realized the seat wasn't going to be easily won.  And, for those of us who weren't so easily manipulated by videos of college parties, they horrified us by pointing out that Ossof lived just outside the district in which he was running!

Archie Parnell's special election campaign ran pretty much under the radar, and to our delight, he lost by only 3 points.  He is running again in November, and now he has the attention of the republican party.  And they will throw everything they've got at him.  I imagine they will start with attacking him for being a Goldman Sachs elite.  Oh, the irony, but it works every time.  Just like accusing someone of having been a republican works just as well as accusing someone of being a liberal.

Much as the right wing has promoted the fiction that Hillary is crooked, they have spent years frightening republican voters with the image of Nancy Pelosi and her liberal -- read, evil -- agenda.  Mark Sanford did it when he had to run against a smart woman a few years ago.  Couldn't have possibly beaten her on the issues, so he ran against Pelosi.  And NOT the issues Pelosi represents.  He ran against a woman that the republican party had invented over the years as a symbol of the devil.  You know, like they do with Hillary and Elizabeth Warren.

I recently watched supporters of accused pedophile Roy Moore state proudly that they would support him over a Democrat, the word spoken in a tone that clearly implied sins far worse that pedophilia.  I see that we have tried to move away from the word "liberal" and we on the left are preferring to call ourselves progressives.  Until the right-wing focuses their laser linguistic experts on it at least. 

We have let the right wing control our message through their  attacks and innuendos.  Yes, those repeated attacks make their supporters more unthinkingly and rabidly loyal.  And they make us on the receiving end defensive and queasy.  We find ourselves backing away from Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi, two of the strongest defenders of Democratic values.  We also lost Congress because candidates backed off from Obama, believing the hype that the Affordable Care Act fight had rendered him toxic.

We don't need to convert Trump supporters to win in 2018.  We need to find candidates that will fight for all of us and throw our support behind them.  That means we need to know where they stand on the issues, and not be manipulated by the rumor mills, whether they come from Russian trolls or republican trolls.

We need to encourage debate throughout the primary season, because here in South Carolina, that is the way we Dems will be heard.  We need to cheer on the candidates who have the courage to step up to run knowing that they will have to fight rumors and lies, and knowing how hard it will be to even be heard.  And after the primaries, dammit, we need to get together and fight for the winner.

Hone your instincts.  If you hear something that doesn't sound right, check it out.  And keep going back to the reason we are doing this.  We aren't voting for best looking or best personality.  This is about our values.  This is about rights that have been decimated, and about taking them back.  This is too important for us to allow ourselves to be manipulated.  And we are better than that.

When They Go Low...

In that sparkling election campaign that was Hillary Clinton's, Michelle Obama led the call and response:  "When they go low... we go high."  Problem is, and the election of 2016 is proof, when they go low... we lose.

This is what republicans are good at.  In The Cynic, a disturbing book about the political career of Mitch McConnell, we find a gawky, not-very-popular young man who supported women's reproductive rights (!) as well as collective bargaining (!) in his early years.  He soon found out, though, just how sweet was the taste of victory, won in any way possible.  And the easiest way to win was by attacking your opponent.  And claiming to support any cause that would win the election, followed by enacting legislation that benefits the wealthy and powerful.

This is the republican playbook.  The moral vacuity that is the republican party will stoop to any depth to win.  The wealthy and powerful pay their way.  Voters hear what they want to hear, and believe the lies they are told writ large:  in ad buys, billboards, Russian fake news (yeah, that's what fake news was until Donald Trump appropriated it to his narcissistic ends).

We Dems just aren't comfortable with lying to win an election.  We shy away from attacking our opponent, whether it is because of our values or fear of retaliation.  I don't believe we need to, or could possibly, stoop as low as has the republican party.  But we have let republican strategists beat us to a pulp while we fight among ourselves.

I imagine that republican opposition research just can't be any more fun these days.  What happens is:  they find some questionable detail about a candidate, toss it out, and watch Dems fight about it.  And if they can't find some small actual thing, they make something up.

Take Jon Ossoff.  It wasn't that long ago that he ran the most exciting campaign since Bernie, in the truly red (don't get me started on gerrymandering) district in Georgia from which Trump's handlers plucked the evil Tom Price to Orwellize the Department of Health and Human Services.  It is no accident that they have been plucking their deplorables from redder than red districts (South Carolina has been fertile ground).  But Georgia's 6th, while solidly republican, also has its share of intelligent republicans, who chose Trump over Hillary by only one percent.

So imagine their alarm when republicans saw the populist excitement over candidate Jon Ossoff.  Of course, they did not spend much time biting their nails.  They went into action, fund raising and scheming.  They (RNC, PACs, and those even shadier groups) went into overdrive.  Had the situation been reversed, Dems might have made excuses for why they probably wouldn't win, or complained about how unfair it was that someone from the other side was giving them a tough race (only Donald Trump, in his robocalls, did that, telling voters not to let Democrats STEAL THE ELECTION).  Republicans immediately regrouped.  McConnell's playbook from his early years proves to have been the gift that keeps on giving.  When you are running against a formidable candidate there are two things that work:  lying about your opponent, running attack ads, and running attack ads that lie about your opponent (three things...).

Beginning with an ad showing clips that under a more, shall we say, objective framework, would have us think: "What a fun guy, and he sure is clever."  But in the hands of the Congressional Leadership Fund, it became a dark-tinged piece of hysteria that nonetheless made national news.  And why shouldn't it?  Republicans and republican supporters know how to get oppo research and negative messages into every crevice of the American media.  That success was followed by pieces of work that became progressively more desperate and evil, from falsely linking Ossoff to "Bay area liberals" and Nancy Pelosi, to a last truly disgusting ad that pronounces that "Now the unhinged left is endorsing and applauding shooting republicans."  Of course, once it was out, it was an easy matter for opponent Karen Handel to denounce the ad.  But fact is, it may have gotten those last crazies out to the polls, for which she is no doubt quietly grateful.

Yes, there was some grumbling about the ugliness of these ads.  But what did not happen was Democrats coming out in droves to talk to the voters about what they were seeing, that is, a desperate, nasty effort to manipulate the election to vote for the least popular candidate of the two.

If you are planning on running for office as anything other than a right-wing republican these days, you need to start with the assumption that the first thing republicans are going to do is find dirt on you.  If it's not dirt, they will make it so.  If they can't find anything to turn into dirt, they will lie.  So you need to tell the voters that this is going to happen.  You need to say:

"Republicans are going to do everything they can to win.  They will turn over everything in my past to find something they can twist to make it look bad.  They will distort everyday aspects of my life to make them look questionable.  They will lie.  They will put ads on TV that you won't want your kids to watch....  Why will they do this?  Because they can't run honestly on the issues.  They know that if you take a good look at their candidate, you will see that they don't have your interests in mind.  They know that if you are able to hear my message, without their lies and distortions, you will vote for me.  So know that, and let's run this campaign on the issues."

And you need to say it and say it again, every time there is a negative ad or attack.  Keep bringing voters back to the issues.  Keep reminding them why your opponent is going so low.

The other thing we Dems need to all get together on is getting together on our candidates.  These are people who for the most part don't have donors with deep pockets.  If they do, as did Hillary, you can bet republicans (talk about the pot and the kettle) will bring up their ties to Wall Street.  If they have gone to Harvard, they will make the Ivies sound like dirty words.  For gods' sake, they will bring up Nancy Pelosi and make it sound like you cohabit.

And here is where they get us, every time.  I am still hearing the smackdown between Bernie and Hillary supporters.  Trump taunted us by talking about his love for Bernie, gloated in the in-fighting.  Could he have done better after Bernie's admittedly half-hearted pleas to support Hillary than to have us turn against each other?

And then they threw out the Ossoff bones and sat back and watched us fight.  Does he support Pelosi, and why didn't he stand up for Pelosi?  Republican hate of all things liberal even became, "Is Jon Ossoff really a liberal, or is he just pretending?"  After the attack ads claiming that Ossoff wasn't really a small business owner, I heard Democrats repeating their concern that he wasn't really a small business owner.  Boy-o, talk about getting bang for your buck.

In some ways it is truly nice that Democrats don't toe the line the way republicans do.  But it is time to get political, folks.  I may have my problems with the Democratic Party, but I value any candidate that steps up to what is likely going to be a bloodbath.  Republicans don't just control all three branches of government, plus most of the states.  They have made sure that their tentacles reach the media and college campuses, where they successfully divert attention from their own manipulations by attacks on "liberal media" and "liberal college campuses."

And what they will do every time in every way, is support their candidate.  Right-wing republicans represent corporate America.  Period.  And they will do anything they need to do to get that victory.  McConnell is the master at controlling the message and the race.  Ryan knows where his financial bread is buttered.  And voters routinely mistake the unity of those who run the republican machine for truth.

Democrats can "go high," but we need to recognize the reality of politics.  You are not going to get your perfect candidate.  That means you confront a candidate that threatens not to support those democratic causes that make us Democrats.  But when it comes down to the vote, you ALWAYS vote for the best person.  That means Hillary over Trump, no matter how your heart aches for Bernie.  That means Archie Parnell even though you could see Alexis Frank, another woman on the floor of the House over the years becoming a national treasure.  And that means, stop chasing those nasty old bones the republicans throw out so they can step back and watch us fight.

About Pelosi.  She is the person who brought a bunch of hissing cats together to get the Affordable Care Act passed.  And Hillary.  She is the one who has fought internationally for the rights of women, standing up to Putin knowing that he would be a nasty and powerful enemy.  When republicans are done with them as useful targets, they will turn their sights on Elizabeth Warren (as both Trump and McConnell have already done).

These women are being targeted, not only because they are women, but because they are smart, powerful women.  And they tell truth to power, and to everyone else who will listen.  We need them, and we need to support them, wholeheartedly.  Shame on those who say Pelosi is too old to be effective, when republicans stand behind the old white men who are united with Trump in his plan to destroy our democracy (After the Georgia election there was a time when I was hearing Dems say Pelosi is too old AND Ossoff was too young, both bones tossed out by republicans.).  And shame to those who have let the unproved allegations of thirty years keep them from taking a look at all Hillary has done for us.

Fact is, when they feel threatened they attack.  What threatens them is candidates that will fight for the people and for democratic values.  And the louder we shout, the more voters respond, the bigger and uglier the attacks.  We know this.  We can fight back.

2018 is happening.  Let's stand with our courageous candidates.  Let's stop fighting among ourselves; let's stop listening to the lies and rumors put out by republican opponents.  Let us vote for our values, but let us be loud in our outrage at the perversion of our democracy that has been created by money and power.

We can go high when they go low, but we need to get down to their level to look them in the eye when we call them out.

Dems Are Asking: Is It Safe to Come Out Now?

I don't know about you, but I just keep asking myself these days, "Where the hell did the Democrats go?"  There was a Senate election in Louisiana last weekend, and just as with Patrick Murphy in Florida, nary a Democrat around to throw their support to him.  It was that important that, even though the republicans had already won the Senate, both Trump and Pence were out there stumping for their guy.  But no Dems.

And we here in South Carolina have resorted to sending thanks to republican Senator Lindsey Graham for taking a stand on investigating Russia's manipulation of our presidential election.  Meanwhile, google our own Jim Clyburn and all you come up with for news is that on November 30 he announced his support for Jaime Harrison for head of the DNC.  Try googling "Jim Clyburn Russia" and the lack of news will make you want to cry.

Or spit.  Which is what I have been doing a lot of lately.  With twitter rants that threaten to destroy US / Fill In Country Here diplomacy and major US businesses, our president-elect is just beginning to enjoy the power he will wield on January 20.  As we have come to expect, our Democrats in Congress, with a very few notable exceptions, are willing to crawl as one under a rock and wait till it all blows over, at which time we may well no longer have a democracy.

Let us take a moment to remember the Obama Inauguration in 2009.  At the very time we were tearfully welcoming in our hope and change president, republican leaders were secretly congregating to figure out how to block him from seeing any of that hope and change materialize.  And then they came out in public and said the same thing.  It was just that important to them.  So all we can conclude is that the threat of disemboweling all the positive change that Obama got through that obstructionist congress is just not worth sticking your neck out for.

And those brave Democrats who are speaking out against this clear threat?  The republicans have them in their sights.  Elizabeth Warren will be attacked at every turn.  Al Franken will be in the crosshairs.  Nancy Pelosi, well, they might leave her alone this time because her considerable power is already being eroded by those white men of the Blue Dog conservatives.

Way to stick together, Dems.  Don't ever disappoint us.

While creeps like Tim Ryan advise that the reason the Dems lost was that they didn't fawn over the white middle class enough, the Russians and Giuliani's New York FBI got away with the most egregious fowl play ever to happen in US electoral politics.  Trump was in charge of misdirecting the uninformed masses, Russia provided the props in terms of constant email leaks, republicans like Trey Gowdy gave the lies the guise of authenticity in Congress, and FBI Director James Comey was coerced into nailing the election with the last-minute sleight-of-hand that kept just enough Democrats away from the polls.  Meanwhile, idiots like Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd did the dirty work we all thought was the purview of Fox News by prefacing every damn news segment by saying that Trump and Clinton were the most disliked candidates in history, equating the proven crimes of Donald Trump with the mistruths being spread about Clinton.

And when our Democratic Party adds that all up, what do they come up with?  That Hillary didn't reach all those white voters; that she didn't show enough of herself; that people don't trust her; that she wasn't genuine; that blah blah blah....

Well, let me tell you, Party Dems.  You may be afraid to come out and represent all of us.  Or you may not think it is possible to reach out to all those white middle class working folk if you keep talking about what the rest of us need.

Or maybe you think that the country blames you for being in the "do-nothing" congress.  If that is true, it is because you have failed to speak up EVERY TIME the republicans blocked progress.  This should have been a piece of cake.  The republicans gave the narrative to us on a silver platter:  "Our economy has gotten stronger since the last failed republican administration in spite of the obstructionist republicans.  Just imagine if Obama had had a majority in congress that was willing to work with him to move the country forward -- imagine what he could have done."

But instead, in 2010, Blue Dogs lost in Kentucky and Texas (yes I mean you Wendy Davis), by backing away from both liberal issues and from President Obama.

And here they are, once again, after the incredible popularity of Bernie Sanders, talking about how they are going to cooperate with the takeover of our government by a plutocracy which purpose is to further the wealth of the few, predominantly the Trumps.  Admitted ties to Russia, and nobody on our side is yelling for the release of tax returns.  Remember Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign manager?  After he was found to have ties to the Ukraine, Trump let him go with a nod and a wink, and sure enough, now that he doesn't need your vote anymore, Manafort is back, bigger and dirty as ever.  For gods' sake, Democrats have been heard singing the praises of racist Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, likely our next attorney general.

So while Paul Ryan is scheming over taking away our social security and medicare (food stamps is small potatoes these days), the Democratic Party is waiting for the republicans to take front and center against the incoming corrupt regime.  That is, when they are not debating among themselves as to whether they should bring a gift or just wave a white flag on Inauguration Day.

Shame on you for not uniting to depose the biggest threat to the country we have had in our lifetimes.  Stop fighting over what you think Hillary did wrong and get it together to fight the real bad guy.  The voters will remember you if you do; if you don't they may never have the chance. 

Looking Down on South Carolina

I am not watching a lot of news coverage these days.  It's ugly, and too many news shows are getting off on the ugliness.  These days, the most important thing in the country appears to be the South Carolina primaries.  Why anyone would look to SC is a bit frightening, as we tend to take the lead in ignorance and bigotry, except that seems to be the appeal.

Here are the two bits that I saw on MSNBC yesterday, en route to more enjoyable DVR'd fare like Colbert:

There was an interview in a field full of cows.  The interviewer appeared to be a little unnerved by the size and number of cows; he made a point of being out of the way of anywhere they might intend to head.  There were two guys being interviewed; one of them was a younger white guy, the other an older black guy who was the more well-spoken of the two.

The black guy identified himself as a blue-dog Democratic, and pointed out more than once that he was proud to be such.  On the other hand, he was perturbed that neither of the candidates were talking about what they would do for the farmer.  Our intrepid interviewer then asked what he would like to see them address.  And this guy, who appeared to be intelligent, would get no more specific than to say that they needed to address the needs of the farmer.  Which he wouldn't specify.  And implied that maybe he wouldn't vote for the Democrats because they weren't addressing his needs, which apparently he couldn't address either.

After a few minutes of this go-round, the interviewer turned to the young white guy and there was an uncomfortable exchange in which the interviewer asked if he had decided who he would vote for, and then with an embarrassed chuckle added, "or if you are going to vote at all."

I was so flabbergasted by how unimpressive this blue-dog Democrat sounded in his fifteen minutes of fame that I wondered what was going on.  It occurred to me that he maybe has heard or even talked to someone on the republican side who maybe suggested that the Dems weren't addressing the needs of the farmer in South Carolina.  Just enough to sow the seeds of doubt, but vague enough not to bring up specific problems that could be addressed.

If I were working a Democratic campaign right now, I would be watching all those interviews.  The blue-dog guy had a name and location.  I would make absolutely sure that he was contacted, face-to-face, and that someone knowledgeable would be talking to him about exactly what he could expect from the Democratic candidate, versus from any one of the republican candidates.  Because it is the republicans that are killing family farms with subsidies going to big agra, and refusing to provide aid and incentives to our local farmers.  Let this guy know you are listening, and explain the actual policies and votes of each side, and of your Democratic candidate, and you have a vote, one who will share his view with others.

Here's the other gem I got from yesterday's "news."  It was that jackass Donald Trump talking in Walterboro.  I could only stomach a minute, but in that minute he said "second amendment rights" about a half dozen times.  In the way he has of stirring up the paranoia and of course without any facts to spare, he convincingly lay the groundwork for getting out to vote because otherwise they would lose their right to bear arms.

It was insulting.  This was not any more clever than Marco Rubio's repeating the same anti-Obama line at one of those debates a week or so ago.  This is what you do when you don't want to spend a lot of time or brain-power trying to reach a crowd.  An adviser had apparently informed Mr. Trump that guns was THE way to go with this crowd of yahoos in Walterboro, South Carolina.  He wouldn't need to know a thing about the economy and jobs, or the poor schools, because if you just throw a little red meat at this bunch, they will follow you right over the cliff.

So this is politics in South Carolina.  I have heard a few times over the past couple of weeks about Lee Atwater, the icon of dirty politics, and the dirty push polls against McCain in the 2000 primary.  Mark Sanford was interviewed by Maddow or Hayes or one of them, and they had a good laugh at how South Carolina was kind of the "wild west" of politics.  He should know.  He has played the game well, with his own gimmicks, as well as by following the playbook of national right-wing groups, as he did two years ago by running against Nancy Pelosi instead of his actual opponent.  The unspoken elephant in the room (no pun intended) of course is that here in SC, even someone as loathed as Mark Sanford can win election after election.  Sanford who votes consistently against small business, the environment, funding for his constituents.  Because our voters are obviously easily led by innuendo and bias.

And the Democrats again, true to form, are nowhere to be found to counter those strategies of lies and hate.

We keep talking about turning this red state blue, but in order to do that you have to actually listen and react to what is going on on the ground.  And even better, you have to anticipate what is going to be said.  You need to ask people what is important to them and respond with what you have done and what you plan to do.  You need to know who makes up your audience and what they think is important.  Because it really is not about the second amendment.  It may be farms, or development, or schools, or environment.  And there are votes that prove those right wing-nuts are not going to do a thing to move SC forward.

That blue-dog Democrat somewhere in farm country is just waiting to hear from one of us.

Making Noise

I think there is one thing about the Republican Party that we can all agree on:  they make a lot of noise.  Unabashedly.  They may be idiots, but they are bombastic and cocksure idiots.  And we all know when they are in the room.

Look at Mark Sanford.  He is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he does know how to attract a crowd.  We Dems all laughed at the stunt he pulled in front of MUSC,

but Mark got the last laugh.

And more recently, there was the traveling circus act that involved Lindsey Graham and his pack of wannabees.  From the minute he learned that dim bulb Lee Bright was planning on running at him from the right in the primary, Lindsey began to beat his chest and pound the news shows; his face was on every media outlet he could finagle.  Whenever there was a shooting or an abortion bill, you would find Lindsey Graham flashing his conservative credentials in most ridiculous fashion.

All that talk about guns and abortion fired up a few more of South Carolina's right wing-nuts.  We ended up with quite the circus, four (or more?) challengers for Graham's seat.  And did they make noise!  You may not be able to name all those who ran against Graham, but you probably had fun watching the fireworks.  And the media complied.

On the Democratic side, we tend to shy away from attention.  We want people to understand that we are on the side of the good, and because we really do represent all those middle class ideals the republicans pretend to value, we don't get the support of the billionaires.  Groups like A.L.E.C.  just aren't very likely to want to throw big bucks at candidates that don't see government as a tool for, say, A.L.E.C.

So we don't have a lot of money, but our intentions are good.  What's to be done?

There was an interesting race in Virginia's 7th District.  You may have heard of it, especially if you've watched or read anything about Tuesday's primaries.  Eric Cantor, GOP leader for well over a decade and current US House majority leader was toppled.  Furthermore, he was toppled by an unknown, a university professor, who spent a fraction on his campaign (spending little more on his entire campaign than Cantor spent at steakhouses, according to the New York Times.)  David Brat won handily, by more than ten points, leaving everybody -- except his supporters -- stunned.

David Brat is a creepy guy.  Student evaluations of faculty comment more about how cute and charming he is than his teaching abilities.  And so he got out to voters in the 7th District, constantly, tirelessly.  He hammered out the message that -- are you ready for this? -- Cantor is a liberal.  His proof?  That Cantor had made some comments indicating that immigration reform, particularly in regard to children brought to the US, made sense.

Within this nasty success story is the kernel of a lesson.  We Dems need to seek attention, not hide from it.  We need to brag about our differences, and more important, if we really believe in Democratic principles, we should be able to tell people why they will benefit.

Here's another thing.  There is a lot of free publicity available out there.  The media loves something different.  The four idiots that ran against Graham made the Republican Senate primary the centerpiece of the primary news cycle.  When they all vowed to support each other against Graham in a runoff, it made front page.

Our candidates need to get together and work together.  They need to figure out how to make news, and how to turn news to their advantage.

Here's another example.  In our Senate primary, even those who try to follow the news mostly don't know who is running against Tim Scott (yes, I am guilty).  But on the other side, Brad Hutto had a challenger.  And that lit a fire under the Democrats that made the difference.  It would have been a far better effort if the result had been state-wide debates and arguments rather than trash-talking, but any attention was better than none.  Because we are the party that speaks for the people.

There is a race here in South Carolina District 114 for state representative.  Most of us know Bobby Harrell.  As far as I can tell, nobody likes him.  His voting record is awful, and he is about as corrupt as they come.  But unless we make some noise, he will win.

Bobby has two opponents.  Yes, two.  What an opportunity for us Dems.  Mark Sanford knew that if he stood on the sidewalk downtown and gave a speech he would be ignored, but bring along a cardboard cutout of Nancy Pelosi and people are paying attention.  Let's suppose that Sue Edward of the Green Party and Mary Tinkler of the Democratic Party coordinated events -- debates and even ads.  Why would they do that?  They would get twice the coverage for less dollars.  They would not only be able to debate their differences, but talk about their similar goals.  Even better, they would be able to talk about how Harrell's votes have worked against the people of South Carolina.  What the heck, invite Bobby and make news whether he shows up or not.

My point is -- one of them, anyway -- is that when you have two great candidates, there is no reason for that third one that nobody likes to win an election because of name recognition.  We need to be creative and open to really different ideas about how to get the word out.  Think about Sanford debating Pelosi's cardboard image.  We can do better.  We just have to be willing to take the risk.  And we need to believe in ourselves.

In the end, we increase our chances of winning -- look at the Cantor upset.  And whether we win or not, we will have influenced the discussion, and perhaps even our elected officials' votes.  And isn't that really what it's all about?