The Other Liberal
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2020
- Messages
- 77
- Reaction score
- 61
- Age
- 56
- Location
- Lexington Kentucky
- Website
- theotherliberal.blogspot.com
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If the polls and pundits are right, then Democrats will probably lose control of Congress this November. Blame it on COVID fatigue or inflation Biden's approval ratings continue to worsen. I think progressive Democrats should make this election about missed opportunities in not passing Build Back Better. More importantly with abortion rights in jeopardy this should be an issue too. I don't expect moderate Democrats to go along with any of this. Their determination to be nice and Republican lite won't save them anyway. So, progressives have nothing to lose. They should tell it like it really is about right-wing extremism.
Right wing Republicans backed up by centrist Democrats and the media effectively pushed the false narrative that Biden had given in to left leaning Democrats pushing big spending and big government to " radically " change the country. Wow! What a load of crap. Single Payer healthcare was never part of the agenda. Neither was a Public Option under the existing ACA. Instead, reasonable and necessary things like paid family leave, a $ 15 per hour minimum wage, adding vision, and dental benefits to Medicare were opposed by moderate Democrats and Republicans. Ultimately these things were stripped from Build Back Better which went from 3.5 to 1.7 trillion. Then West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin killed the bill's chances altogether in the Senate.
Abortion rights have been in trouble for a long time as Republican controlled states have passed regulations making it almost impossible to get an abortion. Once again Democrats blew it. For years they tried not to talk about the issue hoping to get socially conservative working-class voters concerned about economic issues. Opposing Republican rhetoric and efforts to end access was considered too controversial. It was deemed culture war divisiveness. Conservatives now have a majority on the Supreme Court and will strike down Roe V. Wade any minute.
Progressives need to make the case that Republicans don't care about working people's economic struggles and they only want to control Womens' bodies. Many of them are in safe districts just like those extremist Republicans who create the problems. As for Democratic moderates who want to act like Republicans they are on their own to lose. The cold hard fact of politics is that people in swing districts who want a conservative will chose a Republican every time over a Democrat acting like a pale imitation. So be it.
Right wing Republicans backed up by centrist Democrats and the media effectively pushed the false narrative that Biden had given in to left leaning Democrats pushing big spending and big government to " radically " change the country. Wow! What a load of crap. Single Payer healthcare was never part of the agenda. Neither was a Public Option under the existing ACA. Instead, reasonable and necessary things like paid family leave, a $ 15 per hour minimum wage, adding vision, and dental benefits to Medicare were opposed by moderate Democrats and Republicans. Ultimately these things were stripped from Build Back Better which went from 3.5 to 1.7 trillion. Then West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin killed the bill's chances altogether in the Senate.
Abortion rights have been in trouble for a long time as Republican controlled states have passed regulations making it almost impossible to get an abortion. Once again Democrats blew it. For years they tried not to talk about the issue hoping to get socially conservative working-class voters concerned about economic issues. Opposing Republican rhetoric and efforts to end access was considered too controversial. It was deemed culture war divisiveness. Conservatives now have a majority on the Supreme Court and will strike down Roe V. Wade any minute.
Progressives need to make the case that Republicans don't care about working people's economic struggles and they only want to control Womens' bodies. Many of them are in safe districts just like those extremist Republicans who create the problems. As for Democratic moderates who want to act like Republicans they are on their own to lose. The cold hard fact of politics is that people in swing districts who want a conservative will chose a Republican every time over a Democrat acting like a pale imitation. So be it.