Conservatives have one super power and one major weakness. Progressives have one super power and one major weakness. Every election cycle sees the collision of these strengths and these weaknesses. We saw both flare up during that fateful debate and we continue to see it in the aftermath. The sad truth is that the Democratic party has placed themselves in a no win scenario of their own making.

Republicans can craft a narrative and they have the discipline to stay on that narrative. That is their superpower. Whether that narrative has any truth to it, whether it is raging hypocrisy, or whether it ignores large swaths of truth doesn’t matter. Of course, we are seeing their weakness in full display here in Texas. They couldn’t govern a two car funeral. Yet, I digress.

The whole business about Joe Biden and Ukraine early on in the Trump presidency was a test balloon. Trump was able to paint Hillary Clinton as corrupt and right or wrong that label stuck. So maybe he could paint Biden as corrupt. Obviously that has never worked. He continues to try to fight a two-front war but the vast majority of people don’t see Biden as corrupt. They do see him as old and that is the other plank they have fought on. Watching conservatives fight on both fronts is maddening. One cannot be a criminal mastermind and senile at the same time. I suspect deep down inside they know this, but they almost see it as an insult buffet. You take your pick.

As Democrats/progressives we do one thing really well. We govern. When we are in charge things get done. Legislation passes and people in control do the things day to day that need to be done for things to run smoothly. The economy starts humming and people get the services they need. When polled without labels, people routinely favor what Democrats and progressives do and what they call for. That is our superpower. When we look back at these last three and a half years we see a ton of good in the Biden presidency.

Our weakness is that we care what people think. If you think back to every major progressive achievement, you see we have spent far too much time and energy asking people that will never support it to weigh in. We lost a public option in the Affordable Care Act that way. Now, we see ourselves at the precipice of a national crisis. We see a collision of the GOP strength (discipline in messaging) matched squarely against our weakness (we care what others think). What is one to do?

We blew this one folks. Joe Biden should always have been a one term president. A successor should have been groomed (the positive meaning of that word) and introduced to the public long before now. At this point it doesn’t even particularly matter if he is capable of doing the job for another four years. Politics and reality are at best estranged lovers. What we shouldn’t do is worry about the 40 percent that will vote Trump religiously. Those folks won’t vote for anyone you put up. The key now is the other 60 percent.

Yet again, this is where we burn ourselves. We worry about the narrative.Kamala Harris is too liberal and too abrasive. Gavin Newsom is too California and California is a hell hole. Bernie and Elizabeth are too old and too extreme. Secretary Pete is just too gay. Remember, these are all things the 40 percent will say and they are the folks that would never vote for them anyway. I personally don’t care what they say. I say let’s ask the 60 percent.

Anyone you put up at this point will have about a week or two where they are the darling. Then, the right wing noise machine when craft a new message and start chipping away. That’s the way these things work. So, as hard as it is we have to dial out the noise. We cannot listen to people that won’t vote for anyone we put up. This is all about people that might support the cause. Who are they more likely to support? The clock is ticking.

I have a tiny piece of advice for the Democrats. As I sit here, Kevin McCarthy has failed to gain the speakership after eleven ballots. The last time this happened (1923) the eventual speaker was elected after nine ballots. So, McCarthy has made history. Congratulations Kevin. Democrats have had their pictures taken with popcorn and thoroughly enjoying the whole spectacle. Tread lightly Democrats. The Republicans are disintegrating before our very eyes and you don’t want to be anywhere near them when they do.

No one likes a bully and no one likes someone that laughs at someone else’s misfortune. There is a time when the joke has gone on long enough and everyone wants to move on. The people see what is going on and the longer it goes on the less people need for anyone to spin it. The House of Representatives literally cannot govern until they elect a speaker and which each passing day the symbol becomes more and more emboldened.

Republicans are not interested in governing and they really can’t govern. Of course, one leads to the other, but I couldn’t tell you which one of those comes first. Think about Texas Republicans. They keep complaining about how liberals have ruined the state. They have been in power for 30 years. They’ve controlled the legislature, governor’s chair, and lieutenant governor’s chair every day this century. Yet, they blamed the power outage on renewable energy. It’s like the chef that goes to the market, buys the ingredients, preps the food, and then cooks the food blaming the meal on someone else.

They at least can seat leadership. The House can’t even do that. Democrats passed numerous bills over the past two years with narrow majorities in the House and an even Senate. During the Trump years they literally passed only one landmark piece of legislation in four years. So, just stay out of the way. Do not call any attention to yourselves. Don’t get caught enjoying the moment too much. The American people will learn a painful lesson before too long. Republicans are not serious actors and they won’t get any serious policy ideas from them. They are performance artists, carnival barkers, and frauds. The people will see it. You don’t have to break your arm pointing it out to them.

In England there are signs everywhere to “mind the gap.” If we translate that into English we would discover they are talking about the gap between the platform and the train. Since public transportation really isn’t a thing here in Texas, we can certainly borrow that term and apply it to our politics.

We see two gaps that threaten long-term stability in our country. The first gap is the gap between how many people consider themselves to be moderate, liberal, progressive, or leftist and how many of those politicians actually end up representing us in Congress. Yet, the percentage of total voters registering as Democrats is growing. So, there is a gap between the number of representatives that are Democrats and the number that should be Democrats.

That’s a problem that’s not easily fixed. As we have seen in Texas, the GOP has a stranglehold on the state. Very few particularly like any of the Republicans that occupy state offices and yet they continue to vote for them. This has been a two decade tradition. They have rigged the game to make it easier for them to win. It will take a doubling of efforts to get that turned around and we see the same thing nationwide.

The second gap is one Democrats can address and address immediately. This is the gap between what gets done in Washington, Austin, and any other government center and what people actually think on the issues. Take any issue and you can see clear fault lines of where the public actually is on the issue. You could talk abortion, gun control, health care, public safety, education, or any other issue.

What Americans think on these issues is pretty clear. Overwhelming majorities agree on numerous planks on all of those issues. Yet, we are told America is a center-right country with center-right values. The problem is that this statement has no basis in fact when you actually look at public opinion polling on each of those issues individually. The GOP is on the wrong side of each issue and it isn’t even particularly close.

Democrats collectively make the mistake of getting off message. Either they overshoot these widespread popular opinions by suggesting things beyond what the general public want or they bungle up the messaging with slogans that don’t reflect the will of the people. These things are simple. Let’s keep them simple.

For instance, Americans want background checks on gun sales, don’t want guns in the hands of dangerous criminals, and generally don’t want automatic weapons in anyone’s hands. These are easy things to keep hitting over and over again. Yet, Beto O’Rourke introduced the idea of gun confiscation. That pushed the envelope too far and made him seem extreme. So, stick to background checks, keeping guns away from criminals, and an assault weapons ban. That’s easy messaging that will resonate with the majority.

It’s about simple messaging. When people understand what you are for and they are for the same things they vote for you. When they think you are an extremist or if they don’t understand what you are for they don’t vote for you. It’s really as simple as that. You find out what they like and then keep repeating that you are for that and the other side is against that. You keep repeating that until they understand. You keep repeating it. That is how you close the gap.

One of the things that some loyal readers of this blog have asked me is to outline a battle plan for liberals, progressives, and Democrats. Admittedly, those are three different things and that’s one of the things that presents a problem. However, it is a fair question.

My first suggestion is easy and yet it hasn’t successfully been done. We have a list of problems people commonly agree on. At least we agree that they are problems. The first thing you do is list all of the things that you have done to fix those problems. That includes mostly legislation passed by the House. You include what the bill was for, how many Republicans voted for it, and what percentage of Americans were in favor of it. Usually, these things died in the Senate and that’s also something you have to mention.

Believe it or not, Congress has enacted 139 laws since January 3, 2021. So, Congress is always acting more than people think. Most of these laws are ones you’ve never heard of, but it always is a good idea to remind them of the good stuff you have done. How many Republicans voted for those measures? What percentage of Americans were in favor of those measures?

The picture you begin to see is the fact that Democrats (be they progressive, liberal, or moderate) are trying to address our nation’s problems. The way they are addressing them are popular with a majority of the American people. The other side is not. They are actively blocking those things even when a majority of the people want them.

The second thing we need to do is the harder thing. Hearts and minds are tough to change, but the conservatives in this country have managed to beat the drum on gas prices, supply chain issues, and inflation. They have pulled off two major coups. First, they have convinced enough people that these are the main issues of the day. Secondly, they have managed to successfully blame Joe Biden.

You can tell people that the president doesn’t set the gas prices. You can tell people that the president can’t control world markets. You can tell people that world markets are terribly complex and susceptible to numerous factors out of everyone’s control. Then, you are explaining. When you are explaining you are losing.

This one is hard because it requires resetting people’s priorities. If the price of gas is the most important thing in your life then you don’t have much of a life. If the availability of a particular product or rising costs of goods are the most important thing then you’ve lost them. In many cases it will be. Some people can’t be bothered to care about quality of life issues. They can’t be bothered to care about safety. They can’t be bothered to care about anyone else’s life and how it has been improved by something Democrats have actively done. You won’t capture everyone or even most. You can capture some.

From there, you simply circle back to what is currently being done to alleviate that problem. You also go back to the fact that the other side hasn’t done a damn thing or even suggested a damn thing. They’ll tell you something Biden has supposedly done wrong. Make sure to fact check those things. Did he actually do that? If he did then did it have the negative impact those people say it did? Again, we won’t capture the majority, but we can capture some. Some is what we need.

As we all know, Cruz beat Beto last night in a tighter race than anyone could have imagined a year ago.  In his victory shout, Cruz actually offered a fragment of an olive branch to Beto supporters saying, “I want to also say millions across this state were inspired by his campaign. They didn’t prevail and I am grateful the people of Texas chose a different path.   But let me say to all of those who worked on his campaign, all of those who were inspired that I am your Senator as well. My responsibility is to represent every Texan.”  Questions for Raphael – does this mean you’re going to stop trying to destroy health insurance and public schools in Texas?  I doubt it.  Are you going to stop demagoguing and spending all of your time running for president in Iowa?  No way.

In more dark news, Kim Olson lost to the worst human being in Texas, Sid Miller, and all other statewide offices were kept in the death grip of deplorables.  It’s so depressing.  I’m reading that turnout was even larger than in 2014 AND 2016, but straight party voting was the kiss of death to really good statewide candidates on the Dem side.

One really bright spot, though, was that “Liberal Lizzie Fletcher” decisively beat John Culberson.  Lizzie is a real breath of fresh air, and the message was clear that Houstonians are sick and tired of being unrepresented by an unresponsive, out of touch career politician.  Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out the door, John.

Dems also had strong showings in Dallas and Tarrant Counties as well as in Harris and Fort Bend. At a minimum, the Dems wrested control of the House of Representatives from Republicans, so at least one part of the legislative branch will begin doing its job holding His Orangeness in check.  That should prove to be ugly, but I’m looking forward to the entertainment value.

All in all, though, I am personally sick to death of Texas being controlled by stupid people.  I’m sick and tired of the Texas Democratic Party being the millstone around great candidates necks instead of the wind at their backs.  I’m tired of poor turnout that simply hands races to the Repubs.  Yeah, I’m still in the ditch, but I’m still here.

Interesting posts on my Facebook feed this morning.  There are articles one after the other about how BOTH major political parties are on the ropes.  I give you the headlines:

‘Trump is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’ – Politico

and right after it –

Sen. Bernie Sanders – “Democratic Brand is Pretty Bad” – CNN

In recent days, talkers from both sides have been bemoaning the condition of their own parties.  Some are going after their party leaders; some are blaming everyone from the Russians to their political rivals.  For the first time in over a decade, Nancy Pelosi’s job is in jeopardy.  After the Dems were skunked in the recent special elections, younger Dems are publicly talking about new party leadership in the House. Republican senators are openly refusing to support Mitch McConnell’s plan to destroy the US healthcare system.  The only oddity that continues is that the Republicans remain terrified of Trump and his Twitter fingers.

Are we finally reaching a crossroads in political party life?  Deep inside, the Repubs certainly recognize the smoldering ruin of their party after Trumpzilla rampaged through in 2016.  But it’s worse than that – to cling to power, the GOP has abandoned common decency and common sense, appealing to the worst instincts of the ignorant base.  That’s their problem.

The problem on the Dem side is more subtle.  Party leadership is fossilized.  It’s not adapted to the new normal.  Although the vast majority of creative thinkers and visualizers are Democrats, the party has remarkably failed to engage them in dragging the party out of the 1990’s.  The Dems don’t stand for anything – not to say they don’t have the interests of workers, families, and the disadvantaged – they can’t articulate it.  That was Hillary’s well documented problem…she couldn’t connect on that level.  Senate and House leadership now has the same problem.  While the GOP is in smoldering ruins, instead of taking advantage of that weakness, the Dems are arranging furniture and counting noses – no one is leading.

Maybe the voices of the younger generation will get loud enough for the geriatric leadership of both parties to get the message and get out of the way.  Can you imagine what America would be if we had youthful enthusiasm involved?  Can you imagine if political leadership was 50/50 men to women, inclusive of all faiths and ethnicities?

We’re a long way from that, but I can still dream.