We did not want this war. We denied its existence. But now Democrats have a model for fighting.

[TygrBright]

This war started back as an offshoot of the Cold War, possibly as early as the 1970s, certainly by the end of the 1980s.

It did not take the highest-level strategic appreciation for Soviet Intel to identify a vulnerability in what they regarded as their most threatening adversary - the United States. It was absurdly simple, in fact: In a two-party system, if you can degrade, subvert, and take control of one party, you have the means to destroy the system.

I doubt it was difficult for them to decide which of the two parties they would target.

The GOP definition of "strength" has always had some overlap with authoritarian models and values. And their links with movement conservatism and choices of fear-based propaganda strategy (see "Southern Strategy" et al) made them an excellent fit.

The tactical battleplan seems to have been simple:

Identify loud voices pushing the fear buttons, amplify them, help them proliferate and create the mental constructs of fear and distrust.

Manipulate the agendas of those voices to align them with movement conservative, and eventually neo-conservative leaders.

Supply money, suborn and manipulate to link the GOP ever-more-closely with ever-more-extreme thought leaders, and seed the party with tools ready to exploit extremist agitation.

Morph the politics of fear and hate into the politics of control and repression.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union did not materially interfere with this battleplan - in some ways it actually facilitated and advanced it. A "free" Russia with a sham representative government provided much better cover when the tactics escalated to outright purchase of politicians, party leaders, media outlets, and propaganda voices.

They have been prosecuting this battleplan with increasing effectiveness and, like many such, it produces cumulative momentum and escalation increases by ever-greater factors as the momentum grows.

In 2016 they struck for the final blitzkrieg, and they expected victory by 2020. How not? They had already written off the only meaningful institutional opposition - the Democratic Party - as weak and divided, and they'd done a most thorough (they thought) job of degrading its effectiveness with negative propaganda. That effort was carefully calculated, nurtured in their own forces and then amplified so intensely that its ripple effects propagated into the broader public perception slowly but certainly.

A combination of two things saved us.

One is their incredibly bad choice of tool, and their misreading of the broader American culture and character. Yes, we have all kinds of fault lines of racism, misogyny, homophobia and other forms of fear to exploit, but we also have a stubbornly oppositional resistance to cooperation with authority that backfired on them more than once.

The other factor is the Democrats' unrecognized, and disregarded, secret superpower. A superpower often written off as a weakness, a deficit, a problem for our Party: The "moral strength" factor. The determination to do something not because it is expedient, or because it will pay back favors, or enrich powerful manipulators, but because it advances equity, compassion, and stronger, more diverse communities.

Disregarded, even despised in an era of Realpolitik, effectively overwritten by the clamoring voices of fear and hatred, this superpower has lain dormant. Democrats willing to deploy it have received very little support and encouragement - sometimes active discouragement - from their colleagues and leadership. But in 2019 it was awakened by the basic decency of Joe Biden, and the success of the Russian blitzkrieg was foiled - perhaps temporarily.

But the true strength of this heroism is now revealed by a people and their leader who stood up to Russia, meeting devastating cruelty and unbridled viciousness with determined strength and as much human compassion as they can apply amid the escalating violence. They are demonstrating that it is possible to engage in all-out combat, and not only maintain the moral high ground, but use it to multiply your strength and effectiveness, build broad support, and strike back with exponential power.

Democrats: Party leaders, elected representatives, committed voters - let us learn from Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine!

Let us stop denying that we are engaged in a war for the survival of American freedom and self-governance.

Let us stop deluding ourselves that our adversaries are not the knowing, committed enemies of American freedom and self-governance.

Let us not be blinded by the propaganda attempting to hide the Russian hand up their puppet asses.

It is time to fight, to fight with the all-out commitment and determination that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people have shown to saving, not just their nation, but the moral character of their nation.

They have shown us that true strength is not this:



but this:

Link to tweet

("Ukrainian trying to save disabled dogs from a shelter in Irpin, a city shelled by the Russian Army, and take them to a safer place" )

The GOP is, and has been, the Party of P*, for decades.

It is time for the Democratic Party to become the Party of P*'s Opponents, and we can have no more vivid and powerful model than the people of Ukraine and their leader, Zelenskyy.

If we can learn from them, fight like them, our victory may be costly, but it will be certain. And it will secure the blessings of a strong, diverse, compassionate democracy for our grandchildren's children.

determinedly,
Bright