Appeasement is not a Strategy

Democrats are twisting themselves into pretzel knots trying to gaze into their navels in search of answers to the MAGA steamroller.

Some, like AOC and Bernie, are taking a good old-fashioned rabble rouse across the country. Others are trying to find a few square yards of common ground with Republicans, hoping that reason will cultivate reasonableness. That does seems rather like trying to mollify a lion by holding out a pork chop. Bye-bye arm.

A piece of longish-form journalism in today’s New York Times chronicled a very long fool’s errand. Arlie Russell Hochschild, venerated sociologist and partner of progressive icon Adam Hochschild, embarked on a journey among the MAGA stalwarts in a poor, mostly white, rural area of Kentucky. She was hopeful to find second thoughts, since Trump has failed to fulfill any promises and has surpassed his usual stupidity and cruelty.

Er, no.

She found no voter remorse or thoughtful reconsideration. Their love for Trump is not unconditional, but their bitter hatred of Democrats is unconditional and unabated. Hochschild, like so many others, thinks we progressively-minded folks just need to listen. And then listen some more. We need to understand them and develop empathy.

Er, no.

Those well-meaning folks who think these Kentuckians or their peers around the country will come to their senses when shit hits the fan should read Hochschild’s piece. The shit is already flying off the fan blades and it only deepens their resolve. No matter how bad it gets, it will be Joe Biden’s fault, Hunter’s laptop, Hilary’s emails or the work of George Soros’s Jewish cabal.

The teeth-gnashing over what to do is growing tiresome. The inference to be drawn is that progressive notions and progressive people have brought this on ourselves. I despair over the persistent expressions of this attitude. The majority of so-called liberals think DEI has gone too far, often because they had to sit through a training exercise that suggested that their privileged selves might be part of the problem. They see “identity politics” as an obscene phrase, bemoaning the divisions they see as a result. This, despite that their “identity” has advantaged them at every juncture of their lives.

In recent weeks, Democrats have ceded ground on nearly everything. “Maybe we did need a bit more control of migrants, even if kidnapping 4 year-olds strays over the line. Maybe if she’d been five . . .”

The most urgent crisis in human history is ignored, as people like Colorado Governor Jared Polis boast of working with the oil and gas industry to reach compromises that will delay the incineration of the planet by a few decades.

Hochschild’s piece cited Democrats who think some tax cuts are not such a bad idea. And nearly every Democrat speaking up - oh so cautiously - about the wholesale demolition of agencies and programs serving the least privileged, finds it necessary to equivocate. “But we do need to root out that waste, fraud and abuse.”

Nary a compliant Golden Retriever has ever been as skilled at rolling over and playing dead.

I do have sympathy for folks who are suffering, even though it is partially political self-immolation. Life is hard for these folks, as it has been for a generation. Coal is not coming back, poverty is debilitating, and the associated problems, including malaise and addiction among the young, are tragic.

But let us put the responsibility where the blame lies. With Republicans, not Democrats. Democrats need not cede the moral or political high ground. And as has been shown last week and last century, appeasement is not the answer.

There are several varietals in the Republican whineyard. The MAGA electorate has always been a blend of self-interest, authentic conservatism, unmitigated racism, homophobia and misogyny, and opportunistic dishonesty. Last last category is most appalling, most responsible and has the greatest capacity to reverse the engines before the ICEberg sinks us. (Sorry - couldn’t stop my fingers in time.)

The self-interested, like crypto crooks and bankers in corner offices, will not yield. Even their current yields are not quite high enough to lift a conscience.

The authentic conservatives, like the Heritage folks, are getting what they’ve sought for 50 years. A little human suffering is just inconvenient collateral damage.

The unmitigated racists, homophobes and virulent sexists are happy as, to retrieve an old phrase, “pigs in shit.” This time around it’s actually an accurate descriptor.

And there are quite a few irredeemably stupid people who actually believe the MAGA propaganda.

But the opportunist liars in Congress and the media hold the only key. Among them, there are enough well-read, well-bred, well-fed hypocrites who can find a spine and fess up. Every decent reporter knows dozens of Republicans who are quite aware that we have a incompetent monster at the helm. It only takes a few and this horror show can end.

That’s where the blame and the responsibility rest. They should be shamed, haunted and hounded until they find their missing consciences.

Enough of the self-flagellation already.