"[Republicans] do not quake at the prospect of the electorate’s displeasure, especially when they’ve done so much to ensure that the will of the electorate can be thwarted with the right combination of gerrymandering and voter suppression. They know what they want, and they’ll do what’s necessary to get it.
"And Democrats? They fret and worry, they restrain themselves, they recommit to norms the other side has already trashed, they live in fear of political repercussions that never come. And their own goals languish while Republicans turn America into a darker, meaner, crueller place." -- Paul Waldman, in a widely- quoted op/ ed in the Washington Post yesterday.
Waldman's excellent analysis on why Republicans understand power and Democrats don't. It's sure damn frustrating to be a Democrat, work hard to elect people who run on an agenda you support, but then have it thwarted (at least for now) by a few pseudo Democrats and a lack of will about what it takes today to exercise the power you were elected to exercise. But, that's where we are at the moment. So, we need to be the backbone so many of our representatives seem to lack. We need to let them know the "political repercussions" will be coming from us if they don't do what's needed to be done at this tipping point in American history. (Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog has a take on how the Republicans' long game has led us to this place.)
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