Overcoming Chronic Liberal Amnesia

Overcoming Chronic Liberal Amnesia: 

A Brief History Lesson

Pathetically asking "How could Hillary Clinton and the Democrats lose?" isn't a good look for liberals and the radicals who backslide into liberalism.  "How could this have happened?" has some very obvious answers that are more complex than "The USA is racist and sexist because they voted for Trump!", especially when 47% of eligible voters didn't cast a ballot.

I'm going to list a series of American political events that happened in my adult lifetime that should explain how we got into this mess:

1.   2000: Gore, after running an uninspiring awful campaign, wins the election, but it gets stolen from him.  Progressives are angry, want to challenge the Electoral College and the way the vote was rigged, but the Liberal Elites have a different solution: "Let's blame Ralph Nader instead."  Americans eventually get over it, and resign themselves to four years of a doofus president.

2.   2003: After over 2 years of a total nightmare slumber plagued by bullshit like "Orange Alerts", the progressives and the Left form a powerful anti-war movement... for about a month.  The Liberal Elites quickly channel the movement into "In 2004, elect anybody but Bush!"

3.   2004: Kerry, after running an uninspiring awful campaign, probably would have won the election had it not been for massive voter suppression in Ohio.  Anti-war Progressives are angry, want to challenge the Electoral College and the way the vote was rigged, but the Liberal Elites dusts off this old gem: "Let's blame Ralph Nader again."  The Anti-War Left, having gone all-in on Centrist John Kerry, dissolves.

4.   2006:  Americans are sick and tired of the Cowboy President and wars that are still going on with no exit strategy.  They show up for mid-term elections and the Democrats win both the House and Senate.  "Hey, ‘member that time a President was impeached for lying about a blow job?  Well, now we have a blatant war criminal in office. You have a clear mandate: Stop the fucking wars and impeach this bastard!"  To which the newly elected Congress replies, "Where does it say anything in the Constitution about Congress authorizing war?  I'll have to double check that and get back to you.  Oh, and impeachment is off the table."

5.   2008: Obama, after running an inspiring campaign filled with empty platitudes, defeats Hillary Clinton in the primaries in large part due to the fact that Progressives loathed her pro-war voting record.  Barack "Yes We Can" Obama wins the general election; there is dancing in the streets.  "Hey, I guess that Electoral College thing is just fine after all."

6.   2009: Obama begins winding down the War in Iraq, aka Operation Have Our Troops Stand Around In A Belligerent Occupied Country And Wait To Get Randomly Blown Up By An IED.  Obama expands the War in Afghanistan aka Operation These Record Breaking Opium Crops Won't Guard Themselves.  Obama genially states he's going to start a drone strike program in 5 more countries, while keeping Gitmo open.  The Anti-War Progressives stir slightly at this, but are quickly shouted down by the Liberal Elites: "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GIVE THIS MAN A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE ALREADY!!!"

7.   2009 - 2010:  With Democratic clear majorities in both the House and Senate, Obama uses all of his political capital to pass a Republican Health Care plan.  No other progressive legislation gets passed through, via some new never before seen rule wherein now a 67% majority is necessary to pass a bill.  Americans dust off their 7th grade Civics textbooks: "Huh, I was always taught you only needed 50% +1, but then I'm not a Constitutional Lawyer." and this rule goes unchallenged.

8.   2010: Obama; after running an uninspiring awful first two years as President, both the House and the Senate fall to the Republicans.  Some Progressives stir slightly, and begin to point out that the loss was because of such an uninspiring term in office so far filled with broken promises, that American voters just stayed home, and it was the Democrats to blame for selling out their base.  To which the Liberal Elites replied: "AMERICA JUST CAN'T HANDLE A BLACK PRESIDENT."

9.   2011-2012:  The Occupy Movement has over 19,000 protest camps across the USA, decrying big banks and corrupt politicians of all stripes.  Just as the movement was leaving Stage One: Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit marches and encampments, and begins successfully organizing Stage Two, General Strikes and Industry Shutdowns with winnable demands to bend and break the system... Obama coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security and Democratic Mayors across the country to deploy a militarized police force to brutally crush the Occupy Movement.  "Freedom to Assemble doesn't mean Freedom to Assemble" says the Constitutional Lawyer Commander-in-Chief.  The Liberal Elites yell "LALALALALA: NOTHING TO SEE HERE."

10.   2012: Obama, after running an uninspiring awful campaign, wins reelection, with many shell-shocked and Stockholm Syndromed Progressives and ex-Occupiers saying, in a daze: "The two-party system is corrupt, they both serve the same plutocratic oligarchy... But Romney really would be a bad president.  Better vote for Obama..."

11.   2008-2016:  The Liberal Elites employ a new piece of propaganda over and over again: “You must elect a Democratic President, because they select the new Supreme Court Justices.  If Republicans select new judges, they’ll take our liberal freedoms away, and clearly your specific identity politics is more important than any other issue, and check your privilege if you say otherwise.”

Meanwhile, the Republican majority SCOTUS passes gay marriage, and there is dancing in the streets. The Leftist allies of the LGBTQIA community tepidly go, “Cool, so maybe now ally back with us on the whole dismantling capitalism thing?  You know, that old chestnut?”  To which the reply from the Liberal Elites (aka totally down with the cause now, even after years of denouncing gay marriage) is: “Maybe!  After we elect Hillary!”

“It is critical that we elect Hillary so Trump doesn’t get to fill Scalia’s vacated seat!”  Americans dust off their 7^th grade Civics textbook again: “…Is that how that works?  Is it just us, or is it weird that there’s only been 8 Supreme Court Justices for a while now?  Shouldn’t the Constitutional Lawyer President, maybe, I dunno, DO something about it…?”

12.   2016: Clinton, after running an uninspiring awful campaign, loses to Donald Trump.  The Liberal Elites are blaming Russia, the FBI, and yes, I shit you not, Ralph Nader.  Anything but their own shitty candidate.  Progressives are going through the motions of outrage: “It’s the Electoral College’s fault!  See, I’ve been saying this THE WHOLE TIME.”  People moan about Trump’s policies, like how awful it will be when he starts deporting undocumented immigrants, to which Leftists reply “Obama has deported more immigrants than any other president in history,” to which the Liberal Elites yell “NANANANANA NOT LISTENING!”

Etc.

…

Maybe the 47% of eligible voters who didn’t vote this election don’t have a firm grasp of points 1-12, but they got the gist of it: “Fuck this fucking system, these fucking awful candidates: voting doesn’t change fucking shit,”  and they stayed home.

Gee, maybe, just maybe, something inspiring for a change?

There is already some talk among the Rads and the Leftists about having a General Strike on Inauguration Day, months away.

A couple of things… 

‘Member when in November 2011 there was a General Strike where 100,000 people participated to shut down the Port of Oakland--- and that was organized in under seven days? I ‘member.

It’s not a bad idea-- it could be an excellent move: but my line of thinking is doing this on Inauguration Day is protesting Trump and validating the system that elected him, IE missing the fucking point entirely.

Let’s think this through and remember some shit for a change.