Is the Democratic Donkey named Eyeore? Or can we do better?

[Armstead]

"If you try you might fail. If you don't try, you'll definetly fail"

IMO that old adage ought to be our motto. Frankly, I personally don't give a rip whether one supports Bernie or Hillary or O'Malley or whomever. Plenty of good reasons to want any of them in a broad positive sense, though we may disagree of which is the best choice.

But there is an all pervasive meme that gets repeated about why supporting the Bernster is a lost cause. "He has good idea but he'll never get anything done in the current make up of Congress." Or its variations about rainbows and unicorns, or socialist peasants storming the castle, or how "those mean old Republicans will stop him from doing anything."

Or further variations about how this is a critical time and the only major goal is to keep the GOP from getting more power.

And the ever-popular "Be realistic. Stop dreaming."

Welll......That same old stuff has been repeated endlessly anytime anyone has tried to make a positive difference that does not fit into the stale centrist template of GOP solutions with a Democratic veneer. It's all so predictable.

Perhaps we should name the Democratic Donkey as Eyore, and the motto should be "oooohhhh noooooooo. We can't do that."

Cripes on a cracker. If the tables were turned and the GOP had been like us for the last 30 years, we'd be living in a socialist utopia right now. "ooooohhhhh noooo. Those mean old Democrats will never let us do that conservative stuff."

I don't admire much about the GOP. But I do admire their perseverance, commitment to their beliefs, and their relentless determination to go for what they want.


But the combination of defeatism (sometimes disguised as hardnosed "realism&quot that is used on our side so often as an excuse to do nothing different....Well, it's just soooooooo stale and moldy as a reason not to try and stop hitting ourselves over the head with the same old hammer, and then complaining about a headache.

[Juicy_Bellows]

1. Thanks for noticing.

I agree with you - KICK.

[Armstead]

7. lol

just another day in congress

[Motown_Johnny]

2. I would go with Dapple.

But then again, I am a Bernie supporter. So maybe I am just tilting at windmills.



http://www.shmoop.com/don-quixote/rocinante-dapple.html

^snip^


They don't have any lines, but apart from Don Quixote and Sancho, the horse Rocinante and the donkey Dapple are the only other characters who are present during all of the book's adventures.


Sancho's donkey Dapple, on the other hand, is just a plain donkey from the beginning of the book to the end. Sancho loves him dearly, though, and considers him to be a very sturdy and reliable animal. As he says to the Duke, "[He] cannot gallop in the air: but on the king's highway, he shall pace ye with the best ambler that ever went on four legs" (2.1.40.6). Dapple has his own kind of dignity; he's just being what he is, and what he is isn't too bad.

[ibegurpard]

3. this is deliberate in my opinion

There is a very powerful faction of the Democratic Party that is fully on board with the "free-market is the solution to everything" message and DO NO WANT lawmakers who advocate for anything else.

[Armstead]

6. Lot of shades of grey methinks

but brainwashing over the last 35 years has a lot of to with people dismissing things they would have accepted as normal regarding all that.

The current "center" is what would have been considered right wing before all that

[HFRN]

4. 'be realistic' translation 'give us your support, and stop asking questions'

'your betters know what's best'

Sanders supporters vs party 'mainstream' kind of reminds me of the lyrics from a 'Rush' song, many years ago

yes, we know, it's nothing new
It's just a waste of time
We have no need for ancient ways
The world is doing fine
Another toy that helped destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the plan

I can't believe you're saying
These things just can't be true
Our world could use this beauty
Just think what we might do
Listen to my music
And hear what it can do
There's something here as strong as life
I know that it will reach you

Don't annoy us further!
We have our work to do
Just think about the average
What use have they for you?
Another toy that helped destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the Plan!

[Armstead]

5. "Everybody wants to deviate from the norm, elevate from the norm...."

well, not everyone

[Autumn]

8. We can and we are doing better.

I'm not going to settle anymore. The situation is dire and in need of a fix to badly to go along with the status quo any longer. Bernie Sanders is the one we need.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. A chameleon would be more apt.

[TheKentuckian]

10. Maybe a cardboard cutout of Eyeore, just don't have substance of the actual 2D animation anymore.

[Efilroft Sul]

11. I'm one of those who prefers the New York Democratic Tiger

http://www.newroosevelt.com/tiger-v-donkey/comment-page-1/

Always in aggressive pursuit of its goals. Never Eeyore.

[Armstead]

12. Not Tigger though. I assume tougher.

[Efilroft Sul]

13. Good comeback!

[LWolf]

14. We can do better.

But the combination of defeatism (sometimes disguised as hardnosed "realism&quot that is used on our side so often as an excuse to do nothing different....Well, it's just soooooooo stale and moldy as a reason not to try and stop hitting ourselves over the head with the same old hammer, and then complaining about a headache.


THIS.

[Armstead]

15. I agree....But too many around here don't seem to

[LWolf]

16. Interestingly enough,

that's something I learned at DU; that we can never achieve what we want to, so we have to act like less is more. I'd never encountered this determined mind-set before.

[Armstead]

17. It's out in the 3D world too

I've encountered it with individuals, and there are variations of it constantly spouted and/or implied in the MSM and by mainstream pols.

Just not expressed as, er, colorfully as it is on DU

[LWolf]

18. I guess it's my background.

I was raised with the mantra that there were two topics that did not belong in polite conversation: religion and politics.

We still, in 2015, don't spend much time talking about religion and politics in my family. We're not political junkies. My small family is an interesting mix of political perspective, and we chat a bit, but nothing heavy. My friends? The same. There are some colleagues and acquaintances that sometimes want to talk politics, of course. One is a Democrat who likes to pontificate, but never lets anyone else get a word in, so people just kind of nod and move on. The other is a right-wing Glenn Beck follower who is always trying to start a rant; those around him nod and move on...

I guess a real political conversation needs the willingness to listen as well as speak; to listen to hear, not to line up talking points/responses as soon as it's our "turn." That is rare these days in the real world, and rarer online, where we're anonymous and not held to the same conventions of civilized conversation we'd be face-to-face.

And, of course, I really am a Lone Wolf, politically as well as in other arenas. I am pretty good at collaboration with others when needed, but I'm not one to go along with the team when I don't agree with them, and, defiant idealist that I am, the whole political process often leaves me feeling like I need a sweat lodge.

I'm straightforward and I'm blunt. I've spent a lifetime trying not to be, because it offends or intimidates people. My efforts at being politic are draining, because they aren't me.

For me, my vote, my duties as a citizen, are not about advancing a party, but about issues. I'm straightforward. I vote for the candidate who is best on the issues. I think if everyone did that, instead of constantly "eyeoring" people into lesser evils, we'd be a better world. But then, I'm still that defiant idealist.

[Armstead]

19. I live in an area that is probably more politically engaged than most

Most people I know pay attention, and don't mind arguing about it (being cranky northeasterners). And my family like to argue such stuff. My mother used to watch TV spouting off.