How would you have reacted if any Republican ran promising to do the following?

[woo me with science]

8. THANK YOU.

I am tired beyond words of seeing legitimate outcries against what is happening to our political system and our country turned into blowback on those who raise them. The list of outrages in this column is alarming and yet it is just a partial list.

We are in serious trouble in this nation, and it is *bipartisan* and has to do with the pervasive corrupting influence of corporate money in our political system. The list in your OP is not a mirage and all of these decisions are having devastating, real-world effects on all of us. Ignoring the pattern and pretending that it is happening only from one side is suicidal, period. You cannot fix a problem if you refuse to acknowledge it, and every Democrat should be deeply invested in addressing this problem. To claim that such concerns are new this year is flatly at odds with reality, as a simple review of DU will show.

Legitimate appraisal of malignant policy and discussion about how to improve the representation of our representatives should NEVER be silenced or swept under the rug in some misguided belief that doing so will help our party or our candidate.

In fact, I am certain that the opposite is true. I have absolutely no doubt that all the hostility and derision and contempt toward anyone who raises these important issues here has driven away more potential Democratic voters than it has attracted.

People who go to the trouble of seeking out political websites are generally not stupid. Why do they seek them out in the first place? Usually because they are already aware of and concerned about what is happening in the country, and they want to learn more and make a difference.

How deeply insulting to come to a site where, we are told, problems must not be mentioned "because it is an election year." As though these potential Democratic voters are stupid and won't notice the problems if we don't talk about them. As though their awareness of these problems weren't probably the reason they came here in the first place. This used to be a website for adult discussions about policy and politics. Now apparently every visitor to this site is a childlike customer to be manipulated and messaged to, because it is too dangerous for us to speak honestly to them. It is disgusting.

I'll tell you what people who come here looking for discussion and perhaps a political party WILL notice. They will notice the absolute contempt hurled at those who attempt to discuss the real problems we are facing, and they may conclude, sadly and completely illegitimately, that Democrats don't give a damn about all these things that are happening to them, and that they are just fine with the road we're on. What happens then? IMO it will be off to some another political group's website to find some people who are being honest about the problems...because, again, YOU CANNOT SOLVE PROBLEMS IF YOU REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM.

Thank you for this OP and for refusing to allow it to be smeared and mischaracterized as some attempt to manipulate the vote against Democrats. How utterly beyond the pale. You are absolutely right to end the above post by bringing this discussion back to the question you asked, because it is an important and legitimate question.