Why Liberals Lose

[Mortos]

Last night on a right wing website, another thread devolved into personal attacks of which I was both victim and aggressor. Thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that the reason liberals lose is that we are unable to band together like right wingers. I was attacked by the right wing talk show host, again, and again his compatriots rushed to his defense, which I expected, while the liberals on this board (my philosophical brothers in arms), rushed, not to my defense, but to attack me for defending myself.

This is typical of our political voices on a grander scale. While right wingers speak with one voice, instigate devastating (though untruthful) personal attacks, use the echo chamber of the media to repeat hints, rumor and innuendo until it is accepted in the general population as truth, never apologize, never surrender and never admit defeat; liberals can't wait to turn on their own and criticize, condemn, withdraw support, apologize and beg for forgiveness. No wonder we are looked upon as weak.

The truth is right wing talk show hosts and those like them are doing irreparable damage to our country by siding with an ever secretive and domineering government. They truly wish for one party rule and follow a scorched earth policy to achieve it. They gleefully destroy opponents utilizing any means necessary and liberals help them achieve their goal by turning on each other and infighting while they take more control and power.

Those who dare stand up to the bullies of the right are beaten down by the sycophants who support them but also the people within their the same idealogical arena who can't wait to criticize one of their own with the idea that placating evil will somehow defeat it. We have become the battered wives of politics; apologizing for getting smacked by the abusers, because we shouldn't have angered them, while our family members secretly wonder what we did to deserve it or rush to defend the abuser.

"We are better than that", is the rallying cry of the placators. "We need to take the high ground", they shout while the right wingers dig holes under them and laugh as they fall. If we continue to take the high ground we will eventually fall off a cliff. We must challenge the wrongheaded ideas of the right and we must use harsh language and tactics to do it.

We have seen it happen time and time again on the national and local scene. We can't wait to tear down our candidates over any flaw, actual or perceived, and then moan and whine about losing. We are the greatest contributors to our loss of political standing. We allow the right to define, debase and, ultimately, destroy us and we do so without so much as a peep in protest.

The right wing of this country do not want to compromise, they do not want to work together; they want to destroy liberal philosophies and install their own bastardized brand of theocratical christian corporatism. The danger we face from corporations and the rich monopolizing and defining our system of government is greater than any threat from middle eastern terrorists.

In my opinion, there is not much difference between hard core right wing fundamentalists and hard core right wing muslims. They both want to install their version of religion based government wherein dissension is not tolerated and one religious view dominates and controls the masses.

Liberals should be ashamed of themselves for failing to fight the right wing menace with all the tenacity and anger it deserves. If you can't or won't fight, then don't turn on those who do. At least be an equal opportunity pacifist and refuse to fight those who fight your battles for you.

Right wingers don't win because they are have better ideas (they don't unless you are rich or a corporation) or even because more people support them (the majority of Americans support liberal ideas like higher minimum wage, reproductive rights, social security, conservation, etc), they win because liberals can't stop beating themselves up long enough to concentrate on the real enemy.