Reply #96: It's like they have no concept of a "position of strength" or "higher ground."

[Mythsaje]

It's always "oh, we might be opposed." No shit? The way the Repugs deal with opposition is rolling right over them. We don't have to adopt their methods, precisely, but we DO need to understand we can throw the net a little wider. People were offered "change." So what's wrong with actually working to give them change? And I don't mean primarily symbolic victories.

Like I said in another post--the first rule of negotiation is to ask for far more than you believe you're likely to get. If we must compromise, there's no point in asking for something anywhere close to what we believe we might actually be able to get. That's not negotiation, that's surrendering before the fight even starts.

Gawd, I hope I'm wrong. I really do. But I can't get rid of this niggling feeling I'm not, and that's just too bad. I am not a man of faith. I want to see results, or even clear attempts to get something done. Baby steps aren't going to do it. Table scraps don't feed the bulldog.