who are cocky are right it throws a wild card into the mix: as in it becomes more a matter how successful they are which can only be countered by how vigilant we are. “Vigilant” rather than, well, “cocky.”
My guess is these victories were actually a hell of a lot bigger. Hillary Clinton, who certainly didn’t excite a good portion of the base, still got damn near 3 million more votes. I suspect many winning “rugs” made out of electoral margins that have been pulled out from underneath us over the years were larger. Because the drive to shove large portions of any group that votes in politically incorrect way for the Reich is ongoing we need to focus.
There’s a pattern here the left keeps missing. Damn near every winner in the past 30 years, or more, was dismissed by a cocky opposition. Too many thought anyone could beat Donald Trump and too many are convinced beyond even the most reasonable doubt that Bernie would have. The concept that this past loss was some one off because Hillary was “such a horrid candidate” is both statistically and historically ignorant. Obviously she was beyond “good enough” to get far more votes, but not good enough to overcome election fraud tactics the right has been perfecting for many years. Historically I remember comments like “a ham sandwich could beat George W.” Kerry lost, in part due to widening election fraud and, well… us being too cocky. I find it interesting that when Gore acted dismissive during a debate it was claimed by the media to be a problem. During one of the Kerry/W debates Bush made Gore’s past divisiveness look respectful in comparison. Odd how the media didn’t make the same claim.
So much for the supposed “liberal” media. We also lose because the media is an eager enabler of the right and intent on helping the right take advantage of our sometimes too cocky nature. When we get cocky we lose. Then we make it worse by blaming each other and back comes the ham sandwich-like assumptions to slap he or she who lost. So now we add the circular firing squad on top of cocky.
We are our own worst enemies and our enemy’s best enablers. And they know it.
The problem here is what we ignore, or deny. Logic dictates there were things we weren’t paying attention to. We were being too complacent, too self assured, too self absorbed with our own partisan specific perceptions. Too… shall I type it again? Yes, I shall: “cocky.”
The other reasons we give aren’t necessarily wrong. Maybe your favorite reason is we’re not paying enough attention to “real” progressives, or we’re abandoning moderates, or the media, or my obvious favorite: election fraud issues. Why couldn’t it be all of these and more? Maybe it’s also because we spend so much effort trying to demean or purify?
For many years the right has purified themselves. Indeed some of our side at one time might have been “Liberal Republicans:” a breed that’s only a tad more extinct than actual moderates. Many assume purifying is the best path for us too. But I believe sufficient support for such on the left simply doesn’t exist: not enough to assure constant big wins. The goosestepping required, the discipline, the Court approved system that they keep insisting on making more and more corporate/.1%-based. Large pep rallies in a system where money and media are king are impressive to those who attend, but count for little when there’s a simple solution: keep votes from problematic groups from counting. Unfortunately that makes these rallies hardly a blip on the scale of what consistently wins election after election, especially when we get too cocky.
No, I don’t support that, but ignoring such makes us too much like Pompeii residents dying in some arena cheering on our hero. It turns weekly policy statements made by Hillary into less than mere whispers washed over by the lava flow. Circular firing squads qualify as pushing those not pure enough into the flow; thinking sacrificing them will please the Gods of political correctness.
No, we need each other, and that means compromise from all. It means less “professional left” snarky comments like during Obama. It means making the primaries less reliant on defective concepts like super delegates. It means that the kind of anti-Hillary cultism that demands we despise her above all else is like Jimmy Jones Flavor Aid, just like Bernie bashing is. It means those who insist on these things apparently believe promoting such division is far more important than not having 4 more Trump/right wing/racist/Neo Nazi years.
I think we have a habit of under estimating the enemy and falling for the tactics like those pushed by trolls who pretend to be on our side. Choose your preferred reasons, or excuses if you wish, but respect those who feel differently. Never lose sight of the fact unless we understand individually we could be wrong in much matters, that others could also have valid points, we are exposing one hell of a very vulnerable Achilles Heel to those all to eager to destroy us with their ends justify any means tactics.
All from being too damn cocky.
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Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 40 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks, and into the unseen cracks and crevasses, that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
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