Reply #52: Everyone should read the above post because

[John_H]

it sums up the thinking of the majority of Dem strategists in a nutshell: "Since our careers trump all other concerns, we do not fight. Fighting raises the possibility of risk. Risk may hurt our careers. So fight we won't." People not wanting to be the one who "lost the election" is the reason the words "judo chess" and "rope-a-dope" exist in the democratic political lexicon.

The down side of this is that our opponents, elected officials or not, take a different view: "This is a bloodsport and the only way to win a bloodsport is to fight for keeps. Any risk I take is better than the risk of political judo---which in 21st century American politicsguarantees loss."

The result: A republican in the White House. GOP control of both houses. Right wing courts. War. Poverty. Deficits.

Maybe some day it will occur to the prom kings and queens that tell our candidates and surrogates what to say that their approach is the riskiest strategy of all.