2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumPSA: You do NOT seek radical change in government by electing a president.
People should learn the lesson of the extreme right. They did not rise to power by electing a radically conservative president. They adopted a fairly conservative president as the icon of their movement and drove radically rightwing policies from the ground up. They started with school boards, county boards, and city councils. They moved on to state legislative districts and state senate districts and wound up controlling the redistricting process, thus solidifying a minority of the voters controlling the majority of the federal House of Representatives.
This has ever been the problem on the left. The left consistently tries to drive radical change every four years in the presidential election and then are consistently disappointed.
Get a grip. All politics is local, and until you regain local control, you have nothing.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)That's fine.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)The movement adopts a president as an icon.
The conservatives adopted Reagan as their icon even though he raised taxes 11 times, granted amnesty to undocumented aliens, and did nothing other than give lip service to the anti-abortion movement.
Now we have what could be the Left's Ronald Reagan in office right now and all the left does is spit in his face.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)A possible future.
We already have grass roots progressive movements. We thought Obama was going to help lead. We thought he would be an ally.
But hasn't been a very strong ally.
Your words about "spitting in" faces... I think those words are used just to provoke rage and emotional response. Basically flame bait that doesn't even deserve a response.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)He didn't start the movement but he gave it enough strength to rid us of LBJ.
Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)Some movement.
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)and work locally. That was very clear.
Your attempt at being witty ends up exposing you as having nothing to add to an important discussion.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Very well then!
arcane1
(38,613 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)A year later when the city council was voted on, that number dropped to 248.
In reality, that city council had far more of a daily effect on the lives of the voters than the president ever will.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)Drives me crazy.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)The primaries should be one day, all states.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)MineralMan
(146,329 posts)country. It's a bottom-up company. It's a lesson we need to learn and act on.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)MineralMan
(146,329 posts)A funny one. Usually it makes no sense at all. I'll just leave it, thiugh. Good catch.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Armstead
(47,803 posts)Both political and addressed at correcting the root causes of problems.
This is a political discussion board, and this forum is the Primary forum. Hence the subjects are national in scope, especially the WH.
yodermon
(6,143 posts)That's why we need the 50-state strategy back.
Occupy, fantastic as its intentions were, tried to be "Local" but still shied away from political races, even local ones. (I vaguely remember references to "occupy" candidates in some local elections but it was very few).
However, none of this precludes choosing a progressive or "radical" for President. Leadership at the top can still inspire participation at the bottom.
Ron Green
(9,823 posts)With straight talk coming from the White House, people will (or won't, it's their choice) build local systems that work for them in their communities.
But at least there's a clarion call for change, and in 2016 that's where we've got to start. Bernie is not sufficient, but he's necessary.