Which means it's about time for a "Fill-in-the-blank-cost-HRC-the-election" post or three.

We have elections coming up. Figuring out how to win them is not a waste of time. Let's do that, shall we?

I would have thought your wishes would have been obvious to most, like months ago. However, we STILL have posts bitching about a variety of folks who put us in this situation. I understand venting, but that ship has fucking sailed. Your post is nothing more than logic and common sense. That's why we'll have somebody jump in and post about shaming some group again. Errbody gotta be a PUMA, I guess, bots or not.

Everybody has to quit shaming everybody for what they've done that made one another mad. Me included. We can't keep quarreling and figure out some way to compromise. All of us.

Perhaps you missed the point of my post.

Heck, I don't even know if you mean leave the thread as in me leaving it or as in letting it stay where it is. (I really do but it's a nice underscore re how easily we can misunderstand.

Do explain.

I was poking fun at the myriad of bot/whomever posts that claim divisiveness as some method of venting their frustrations. If they (whoever they may be, robot or otherwise) take offense to that, who cares? They're disruptions. I'll shame them because they are the antithesis of unity, which was the original point of the OP, I believe. I hope that helps. Cheers.

Votes are needed for Democrats, period, to contain and or get rid of Trump. Then we can debate the particulars about public policy after he is gone.

do that. That's the job at hand. Not enough people did that in enough states in 2016. We need to see to it that the same thing doesn't happen again. Many people need to be convinced to go and vote. We did a lousy job of that. We need to do better, and we won't do that if we're fighting among ourselves, I guarantee.

The mature way to approach this is to problem solve for the future. This is dire, man. A true crisis!

Does the past inform? Yes. Does getting mired in past divisions help in any way? Absolutely not.

so I can rely on my rep and senators to act as I wish (still call them, though).

How can we get this jut-jawed Mussolini out of office (peacefully, of course) before he blows us all to hell?

We can do it, if we have the will and make the effort required to do it.

Especially for the midterms.
I know we outnumber them and not voting cannot be an option.

We need that always and we need people who care to help with it. GOTV doesn't start a month before the election. It starts NOW!

It's every bit as important as new registrations and GOTV, if not more so. Yet, it's a big yawn to everybody, including, apparently, the DNC.

... see any disagreement as total mayhem.

We need to be 100% unified when those elections come around. Period.

should be able to unify on a complete rejection of Trump and his enablers. If we can't get our shit together to fight a clear and present danger to everything we deem American, then we better pack it up and hide under our beds. Because the monsters are here; they're real and they ain't going away on their own. Unless we shove the bigots, the haters, the white nationalist reactionaries to the exits with our voices/votes. That requires a massive, leave-no-doubt exercise of will and effort at the ballot box.

MM is right: it's up to us to choose the path wisely. It's all on us.

From what I've seen around here the last several days, "unify" for most DUers means something like "ya'll get your act together, all of you who are such WRONG and damnable human miscreants, and bow down to the party now or else."

Sometimes I see calls to stop relitigating the primaries. But that never works either, to such an extent I sometimes wonder if it's not just camouflaged but intentional seeding of dissent in some cases.

Lotta hardcore folks here who simply will NOT get over whatever it is they're not over yet from 2016. Makes unification difficult. Little bit of authoritarianism going on, you see. And they really seem to enjoy lording it over others. Tough to "unify" in that environment.

Now that I think about it, I don't even have any idea what unification would entail.

Do you? If so, why don't you share this magical vision with us?

But TBH, based primarily on what I've seen here (esp. the hardened and brittle self-righteousness), I think it would be easier to get Republicans to impeach Trump than to unify the Democratic party. Seriously.

If you read it again, you might discern what I meant by it.

I think my sticking point is:

Feel free to argue amongst ourselves, but don't piss in the bed. And for fuck's sake, when it's over, don't drag it out, fostering resentment and grudges.

We don't have the luxury of such infighting in the face of the destruction of decades of progress.

I see a big likelihood that if they see themselves being talked about they will be insulted and their likelihood of wanting to do the work of cooperating and wrestling with hard questions will go down considerably. The end result is that we stay fractured and lose.

if I even understand your point / question / whatever, I posted what I did because *I* felt as you describe. IOW, I see nothing here at DU including the OP that encourages unity. I see a DEMAND for unity, but not an open-hearted invitation to unity.

As long as this horror show continues, more and more people are going to become "radicalized". I don't mean taking to the streets. I mean joining the likes of Nina Turner. The best way to win 2018 is to run moderates against tRump and the GOP, not to muddy the waters in the hope of changing the entire face of politics.

"Run Moderates".

REALLY with this?

And how is wanting things 31 other countries and several dozen million people just HAVE and think nothing of politicizing reduced to "muddying the waters"??? COME on.

I am SO tired of people and their "ponies" crap. Wanting America to move into the goddamned 21st century when it comes to economic, human, civil and voting rights is NOT asking for the sky and the moon, goddamn it.

As opposed to Turner's "anyone who is progressive" and that includes rethugs. We have a two party system that works against large scale change. Those are the facts. Turner thinks she alone can bring us into the 21st century by somehow assembling congress people whose party allegiance matters less than progressiveness. Well, all I've seen (and it should be clear to anyone with a pulse) is rethugs putting their party ahead of everything including the very continuation of life on earth. How can what she is doing not be called "muddying the waters"? As if every candidate has his or her own agenda that is completely separate from their party's. As if these candidates are going to eagerly vote against their party's interests because it will benefit their constituents. Really? So none of 24 million who were going to be unburdened of healthcare were actually constituents of rethug candidates? So none of 43% who want to impeach tRump represent a majority of constituents of rethug candidates?

Compare Our Revolution's agenda to the Dem 2016 platform and show me any major, must have differences. It's not the platform that's a fault. It's not the messaging that's at fault. It's outside forces like the MSM giving tRump the majority of their attention. THIS is where we must fight. This is an all or nothing team battle, and Turner is causing rifts within the team.

Both parties have moved so far to the right, just talking about something like public healthcare and people start shitting themselves

Getting really old

I mean, some menu in the "greatest nation on Earth", right?

But know this -

I will NEVER "bend the knee" to milquetoasts and NEVER stop fighting for progressive values.

Too many dem hating fucking purists running around. If a candidate disagrees with them on one issue, they've threatened to sit out an election. I've seen it here. We're our own worst enemies.

difficult to generate that much emotion and energy when you know dark forces are at work behind the scenes that will lie, cheat, trash, and steal using methods and resources well hidden from scrutiny.

That said, I will work my fingers to the bone to do whatever it takes to unseat every man, woman, and child who is GOP, P, or I. It's D or nothing for me. STRONGER TOGETHER never has been truer than now.

For certainly, people will be more than disheartened if we fail to gain control of government again. Don't be disheartened. Get angry and work for change. That's the appropriate response.

I went to a women's equality day event today and I left angry! Disheartened!? Fuck that! It's time to get MAD!