Democrats Need to Get a Grip on Reality According to BTRTN

Born to Run the Numbers: Has America Lost its Mind? 

This particular piece is one of the best I've read on BTRTN for quite a while.  It's pretty direct, not a lot of hedging in explanation, and I think the message is clear and for the most part, on target.  It raises some legitimate questions, in some cases it begs the question, so to speak and it appears to drive for a conclusion to support the question it asks in the title, "Has America lost its mind?"  

There is no question about it, that some Americans have clearly lost their mind, become radicalized and are now a danger to democracy and freedom.  There are many reasons for this, the biggest, as far as I am concerned, is how dumbed down this country has become under the opiate influence of social media and conspiracy theory, a clear sign that the criticism of our educational system over the past thirty years is justified.  There are some particular points in this BTRTN piece that I think are worth a discussion, some thought and motivation to take action. 

BTRTN:  "The American experiment in democracy does not demand much of our citizens, but it does require at least a modicum of effort, at least some attempt at independent thinking, objectivity and logic.  But we appear to be, collectively, and with deep consequence, incapable of it."

First of all, I am glad to see that I'm not the only person who thinks this.  The critical thinking skills required to participate in and support American democracy should be taught and caught before students reach the 5th or 6th grade, and that's not intended to be insulting, that's the way it was designed, on purpose.  On the other hand, let's face it, as hard as it is, especially for those of us who are engaged in the education sector, and for those of us who, as political liberals, place a high level of trust in public education, that's where we have really failed.  

If the electorate were as educated as someone like John Dewey intended or expected, then the candidacy of Donald Trump would have fallen on its face before it ever gained any momentum.  Frankly, if it were as educated as the money and effort we put into it says that it should be, Ronald Reagan would have been beaten by Jimmy Carter as badly as LBJ smacked Goldwater and the Bushes would have watched politics from their Kennebunkport living room, a long way from the White House.

We hosted a 17 year old Swiss foreign exchange student during the 2016 election year, while we lived in rural Western Pennsylvania.  He was fairly fluent in English, but after four weeks in the public high school, where his impression of America vanished over the vapid nature of the curriculum and academic requirements and quality of the instruction, which included comments about student rudeness and disrespect toward teachers and the whole thing being "a waste of time," we moved him to a private school with a better academic program.  

"No wonder Donald Trump is getting attention," he observed.  

BTRTN:  "The Republican-controlled House of Representatives nearly shut down the government, causing needless anxiety for millions of Americans, including our military, because of a handful of lunatics, led by the despicable Matt Gaetz, who has no business holding one of the 435 seats in the House."  

Gaetz represents Florida District 1, which is made up of the counties in the far western panhandle of the state in the Central time zone.  I've been there several times, a flat, sultry, hot wasteland with dumpy, dirty towns and small cities that looks a lot like the Mississippi Delta, where flashy vacation hotels line the beaches, separated by coastal waterways from the run down housing of impoverished, underpaid service workers.  

It's my understanding that tourism and the military are the backbone of the local economy there.  I can understand Gaetz running and getting elected as a Republican in a heavily Republican district the first time around.  But seeing his anti-government antics in Congress, his rudeness and disrespect of witnesses in hearings, and some big hints that if he got the chance to vote to shut government down, and turn off the tap of local paychecks, he would, the fact that he was re-elected makes me wonder if anyone pays attention any more, or whether they just vote party and forget about it.  

Voting Republican is seen as a faithful expression of being conservative and Christian in this country, so the fact that he gets a lot of Evangelical support in an area where there are a lot of Evangelicals is not surprising.  His morality and the questions around his behavior with younger women aside, the ability most white Evangelicals have to justify their votes for candidates who mock their morals and values by flaunting their worldly immorality is evidence of unbelievable hypocrisy.  

Watch him "question" witnesses in congressional hearings.  He's like a child with severe ADHD who cannot sit still and who can't focus on the answer after he asks a question.  That is, if he ever gets around to asking a question rather than making a political statement.  

BTRTN:  "It would be easy to say that the American people deserve better than what Congress is offering.  But do we?  We were the ones who elected a GOP majority in Congress including each and every one of these lunatics."  

It is beyond my understanding to even try to figure out why Democrats, when we gain political victories that give us control of Congress, seem unable to do what it takes to hold on to that victory.  We know why we lose mid-term elections.  It's because many of our voters don't bother to go cast ballots.  Some of the pollsters and commenters refer to this as "lack of enthusiasm."  It took the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and the aftermath of the single most corrupt and disastrous Presidency in American history--and that's not hyperbole--to retain, by the narrowest of margins, control of the senate.  And while some people think that the "red wave" which never materialized was some kind of victory, we lost control of the House.  Yes, by a narrow margin, but nevertheless, we lost it.  

The party, once again, has failed to get control of the narrative.  Are there not people, expert in this field, who see the daily routine of Trump did this, Trump did that, Donald Trump said this, Donald Trump said that, as the pattern of media coverage?  Why are our politicians, most notably the President and some of our more articulate, progressive, "lightning rod" members of the House and Senate not getting the same kind of face time?  Is this a problem at the DNC headquarters?  

BTRTN:  The Democrats are obsessing unhelpfully over their own President and whining about the lack of alternatives for 2024.  

I get the open mindedness, the freedom of expression and the diversity that are all Democratic party values.  But those things do not have to create voter suppression, or fragmentation or divisiveness.  The biggest danger is the creeping fascism of the right, and the mechanisms they are organizing, including help from Russia and money from Saudi Arabia, which get some warnings and tongue clicking, and not much else.  More than most Republicans, many of whom seem unaware of, or who simply ignore the horrific, anti-patriotic, anti-American things Trump keeps doing, many Democrats do know.  But they'd rather sit around and hold discussions on talk shows about how to peel off support for their own brand of liberalism than unite the party and defeat, once and for all, this enemy of the people's government. 

"But we're not getting our way!"  "It's taking too long!" 

How much attention will be given to the more liberal, progressive wing of the Democratic party if Trump happens to get re-elected in 2024?  And what part of the "way" isn't being addressed that makes it worth sabotaging the whole Trump opposition to achieve?  I've heard some ridiculous whining from people who throw out false claims and conspiracy theories that are just as false, and just as dangerous as what the right puts out.  Discernment is a key.  We should be the party of facts and truth.  And we should be smart enough to discern between Russian planted propaganda and reality.  

Joe Biden has been one of the most effective Presidents since the Second World War.  That's a fact.  And whether various constituencies in the Democratic party realize it or not, he's been as effective for them as Barack Obama.  He's a seasoned politician who knows how government works and even in this age of partisan rancor and ridiculousness, has achieved bi-partisan success.  And no matter what the agenda is, he's an incumbent with a strong backup plan.  

The party leadership at the DNC needs to pull this together.  We need to see as much of Joe Biden on television as we do Donald Trump.  We need to put out the talking points over and over and over again.  And bottom line, we need an organization that will go after every Democratic and independent anti-Trump vote, even in deep red counties in deep red states.  

BTRTN:  Democrats need to get a grip on their own reality and back the one candidate we have who can ensure we will never see another Trump presidency, and that is Joe Biden.