You don't remodel when your house is on fire.

[Qutzupalotl]

Put out the fire first, then you can rebuild.

Priorities.

[Newest Reality]

1. Good point!

That's a good point because it seems that dire priorities are being deprecated and disparaged in order to both weaken the political infrastructure of the country and conform it to the dictates of a toxic individual.

You could say that it is all on fire and they are just ordering more gasoline to put it out with.

[LongtimeAZDem]

2. Well said. I am reminded of the description of "Crazy Eddie"

“Renner, I must tell you of a creature of legend.”

“Say on.” Renner’s image dialed for coffee. Coffee and stories, they went together.

“We will call him Crazy Eddie, if you like. He is a... he is like me, sometimes, and he is a Brown, an idiot savant tinker, sometimes. Always he does the wrong things for excellent reasons. He does the same things over and over, and they always bring disaster, and he never learns.”

There were small sounds of whispering in MacArthur’s wardroom. Renner’s image said, “For instance?”

Renner’s Motie’s image paused to think. It said, “When a city has grown so overlarge and crowded that it is in immediate danger of collapse . . . when food and clean water flow into the city at a rate just sufficient to feed every mouth, and every hand must work constantly to keep it that way. . . when all transportation is involved in moving vital supplies, and none is left over to move people out of the city should the need arise . . . then it is that Crazy Eddie leads the movers of garbage out on strike for better working conditions.”

- Larry Niven and Jerry Pournell, The Mote in God's Eye (1974)

[redstatebluegirl]

3. Great analogy!

[thesquanderer]

4. Alternate analogy...

Half the old kitchen is gone. Do you rebuild what was there and then change it? Or do you start fresh with the new design?

The analogy works either way.

[DownriverDem]

6. You

go with the guy that will bring you to the dance. Biden running with a strong progressive Dem woman will be a winner.

[mac56]

8. You put out the fire before any of that.

[LongtimeAZDem]

15. This +1

[LanternWaste]

13. Sub-alternate analogy

Don't take the wrapper off a new candy bar when the are M&Ms still in the bowl.

No idea what it means or its relevance. But we get to feel more clever in doing so.
Kinda like yours.

[thesquanderer]

18. Kinda like mine? I clicked your profile to see who you were, and found this advice...

Last edited Tue Mar 3, 2020, 06:52 PM - Edit history (1)

"Fights over words are very, very simple to avoid-- simply choose our words somewhat carefully, and holster the desire to cleverly insult"

[IronLionZion]

21. These analogies are less effective for people who can't afford to buy a house

let alone remodel it

[DownriverDem]

5. Exactly

Center/Left voters will vote for Biden in November. We will need them to beat trump.

[johnthewoodworker]

29. Will center/right voters vote for Bernie in November?

[LongtimeAZDem]

32. You must be new. Of course we will vote for the Democratic nominee; we're Democrats.

Asked and answered ad nauseam.


Only about half of Sanders supporters said they would do the same in a recent poll.

[Mme. Defarge]

7. Exactement!

[CaptYossarian]

9. Unconscious people don't know their house is on fire.

[woundedkarma]

10. Yeah but...

Most people don't shake hands and "work together" with the arsonist the day after the fire is out.

[MoonlitKnight]

11. You don't give stories about what you did back in the day to create the fire department

You call 911 and let Elizabeth Warren save your ass again.

[NYMinute]

12. Great analogy!

[zackymilly]

14. But it's Berning! nt

[TCJ70]

16. Isn't getting rid of Trump "putting out the fire" in this analogy?

After that, you’re in rebuilding mode. You wouldn’t just rebuild it the exact same way I expect.

[Qutzupalotl]

23. I meant this to refer to the foundations of our democracy,

the rule of law, fair election, balance of power. Those I hope will be rebuilt following the Constitution. But we will take into account the weaknesses Vlad has found and fix them, so not the exact same way, no.

[MoonlitKnight]

34. I think a Harvard law professor would do great

Tackling those issues.

[Qutzupalotl]

37. She would indeed.

I am hoping now for a unity ticket of Biden/Warren. They like and respect each other. I love them both.

[Act_of_Reparation]

17. Jesus Christ...

I mean... REALLY?

[Gore1FL]

19. I am not sure we should put it out with the fire of GOP talking points, however. nt

[IronLionZion]

20. In some ways, the house was on fire before Trump

he just dumped gasoline all over it like a dumbass. And then we have to care for the burn survivors with some sort of universal program.

So there are some who would like to burn this mother down, and then build affordable housing for all, or something.

I'm voting blue no matter who. But fearmongering is a little less effective on some folks.

[Red Oak]

22. You also dont rebuild the old house

You dont install lifetime conservative supreme court justices or go "my bad" on horrific wars of convenience. You dont vote to allow student debt to not be forgiven, unlike bankers debt. You dont allow big pharma to go without drug price negotiation or stopping the pillage of the ill with $900 Epipens (thanks Joe Manchins daughter) or $500 monthly insulin.

In other words, once the fire is out it might be nice to own a modern progressive home rather than a decaying1960's rambler.

[NurseJackie]

24. And you don't bulldoze the house because you have a squeaky floorboard and ...

And you don't bulldoze the house because you have a squeaky floorboard and a leaky faucet. When it comes to the Democratic party, some folks want to demolish it and start over to make it a Socialist party instead. Well, I say that we keep what we have and simply continue to build on its strengths and improve in practical and realistic ways.

There will be no "revolution". We're not razing this house.

[sellitman]

25. You don't change your political viewpoint B/C of a Clever post.

[C_U_L8R]

26. Another analogy

Sometimes you gotta change the wings on the plane in mid-flight.

Competence.

[TinCup]

28. Change Is Hard

When we think about what it will take to make this country more equitable for all you cannot think in small terms. It will take large sweeping changes over many years to set in motion the changes we need. People will always react from their comforts before they react with their hearts. If these changes were spoke of in terms of 5-8 year terms instead of "Day 1 of my administration" if would give those hesitating more time to adjust.

[JustAnotherGen]

27. That is the single

Best simple analogy I've seen that expresses my thoughts on 2020.

Thank you.

[William769]

30. Kick & recommended.

[johnthewoodworker]

31. Analogies are fine, but imperfect. Many people, and I am one, are dissatisfied with

our economic, healthcare, and educational systems. This thought that we should be the party that, in essence, says lets go back to the way things were before the cat grabber came to power is a mistake. If the democrats win the GE and things don't change significantly there is going to be some significant frustration.

The chances are exceedingly slim that republicans will do anything to help democrats. I know that Biden has mentioned that once Trump is gone republicans will begin to function as rational human beings again. I don't see it. Trump is the face of the republican coup, but the republican rank and file are it's soul.

[onetexan]

33. Excellent analogy!

[Hortensis]

35. Unless, of course, you don't care or even want the house to burn down.

Our conservative founders believed it was important to keep dominant power in the hands of those who had vested interest in a stable society. They feared a system that barnburners and those with nothing to lose could use to destroy out of anger and ignorance, instead of building. They lost, of course, to our liberal founders and predecessors of today's Democrats, who felt all should have equal rights and self interest would help most people make responsible decisions.

But as Ben Franklin worried then, they chose for a democracy -- if we can keep it. The weakness of the electorate they all, liberal and conservative, feared could bring it and them down is what we're seeing exploited and dangerously amplified now.

[Duppers]

36. Dang close to what I've been yelling to my millennial son

For weeks.

My line: "You don't clean dirty windows when your house is on fire." I swear. 😁

[hangaleft]

38. Put out the fire & restore to prior condition, unchanged