Cognitive Dissonance, A Reprisal - Editorial, The Week in Review

Analysis, Commentary, Opinion

12.22.2018

Cognitive Dissonance, A Reprisal

Politics is a nasty business, and a foolish one.

My Democratic Party is poised to enter another cycle of self-destruction, another cycle of finger pointing and purity tests, of driving ideological wedges between constituencies, and internecine conflict.

One month after a solid victory in the House of Representatives, in state houses and gubernatorial seats across the nation, the first straw polls for the 2020 presidential election are coming in and the camps are dividing.

A friend of mine posted an article published by the Guardian, to his Facebook page, the article digs into the voting record of Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke, calling out his history of voting for Republican legislation, and asking the question; “Does he deserve our support?”

I trust the Guardian, it is a reputable news service. I don’t have an issue with the article, I do have an issue with the divisive headline.

Other reporters are sharing the news that, as Beto O’Rourke makes strong appearances in these early polls, the political machinery of the so-called progressive caucus, the “Bernie Bros” and others, are seeking to tarnish his luster.

They want to bring him down.

It is politics and I know that. It is the same old self-serving non-sense that drove deep wedges into the Democratic constituency in the last cycle. It is as if we did not learn anything.

The same gang of supposed super-liberals have already spent a lot of energy tearing down Corey Booker for some votes he took supporting pharmaceutical companies.

Duvall Patrick, of Massachusetts won’t even get into the race on account of his connections to Wall Street and private equity firms.

If these super idealogues have paid any attention to the reporting on the havoc Russia caused in the 2016 election, they would stop with the nonsense, and let the field sort itself out.

The Democratic Party needs a galvanizing candidate, someone capable of turning out the vote, of exciting the masses, we do not need to live through the tired old passion play of the Bernie Sanders acolytes, the Elizabeth Warren fanatics, the Joe Biden fans.

We don’t need a repeat of the Jill Stein betrayal, and that is exactly what these articles by the Guardian, the posting and the sharing and the sensationalizing of them is meant to do.

Let me be clear, I am not coming out for Beto O’Rourke, not at this stage in the game, but shame on anyone who is trying to tear him down this early in the process.

I would like to see what Jerry Brown plans to do in the 2020 race, and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and I want to hear more from Kamala Harris too.

My hope is this; wherever you fall on the spectrum of left wing politics; whether you are a wing nut or a corrupt-corporate-centrist, you are prepared to tell the world that anyone of our candidates, no matter how flawed they might be (and they are all deeply flawed individuals or they would not be in politics in the first place), no matter what their ideological issues are, they are better than that criminal currently occupying the Oval Office, as better than that white haired imp serving as Vice President, and better than anyone else the right wing could ever put on their ticket.