When my fellow liberals complain to me about right-wing nut jobs who keep getting elected and then ask me, “What can we do to defeat these extremists?” My answer to them is, “Dial back your own extremism.” If you’re liberal, ask yourself why folks like Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and our own Lt. Governor Mark Robinson came to power? It’s because they were able to tap into the anger that common folk have for liberal agendas. I’m not saying that any of us liberals can reform far-right extremists who hate Gays, Transgenders, Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, and anyone else who isn’t white and Christian. Those idiots are hard-core misfits who still think Trump is the real president. But, if we use some common sense, we might be able to pry well-meaning conservatives away from the clutches of the haters. If not, then Democrats could lose the White House and the Senate next year, and have no chance of controlling the majority of state legislatures. Here are just a few examples of rhetoric and policy that we liberals need to tone down until after the 2024 elections:
First of all, Democrats don’t need to defend everything Biden does or says. For example, it’s not going to help us elect liberal candidates next year by yelling at a reasonable conservative who doesn’t think we should be sending money and weapons to fight Russia. Keep in mind that, until recently, Ukraine couldn’t even get into NATO because it was so corrupt. But now, Biden is proud to be giving away resources that we can’t spare. To add insult to injury, Uncle Joe pledged to “protect Ukraine’s borders.” That left even the most moderate Republicans asking, “Hey Joe, what about protecting OUR borders?” MAGA may have been commandeered by Trump to stand for White supremacy, but there’s nothing wrong with liberal candidates and their followers embracing an “America First” stance if they want to win over moderate voters next year.
Another issue that angers mainstream voters involves Transgender policy initiatives. The overwhelming majority of taxpayers believe that there are only two genders: male and female, yet most liberals want to use tax dollars to cover the costs for government employees to have gender reassignment procedures. Well-meaning conservatives also don’t like it when teachers get suspended or fired for refusing to use politically correct pronouns. Meanwhile, the left keeps pushing for Trans males to be able to compete in women’s sports, even though female athletes (both Gay and straight) oppose it. And God forbid, if a moderate Republican individual utters a word in opposition to the Trans agenda, they get shouted down and unjustly labeled transphobic. As a result, those non-transphobic Republicans end up voting for actual transphobic candidates.
Then there’s the matter of public safety. Conservatives who don’t even like or want to vote for right-wing nuts, go nuts themselves when liberals call for de-funding the police. Yes, there are bad cops who abuse their power and deserve to be prosecuted, but if you want to weed out the far-right wackos from government, please don’t go around saying that all cops are bad. Generalizations and stereotypes are never constructive, but right now they are downright destructive. That’s because police and sheriff’s departments all over the country are dealing with unprecedented shortages of officers, and that poses a danger to everyone.
How Liberals Can Win in 2024
When my fellow liberals complain to me about right-wing nut jobs who keep getting elected and then ask me, “What can we do to defeat these extremists?” My answer to them is, “Dial back your own extremism.” If you’re liberal, ask yourself why folks like Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and our own Lt. Governor Mark Robinson came to power? It’s because they were able to tap into the anger that common folk have for liberal agendas. I’m not saying that any of us liberals can reform far-right extremists who hate Gays, Transgenders, Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, and anyone else who isn’t white and Christian. Those idiots are hard-core misfits who still think Trump is the real president. But, if we use some common sense, we might be able to pry well-meaning conservatives away from the clutches of the haters. If not, then Democrats could lose the White House and the Senate next year, and have no chance of controlling the majority of state legislatures. Here are just a few examples of rhetoric and policy that we liberals need to tone down until after the 2024 elections:
First of all, Democrats don’t need to defend everything Biden does or says. For example, it’s not going to help us elect liberal candidates next year by yelling at a reasonable conservative who doesn’t think we should be sending money and weapons to fight Russia. Keep in mind that, until recently, Ukraine couldn’t even get into NATO because it was so corrupt. But now, Biden is proud to be giving away resources that we can’t spare. To add insult to injury, Uncle Joe pledged to “protect Ukraine’s borders.” That left even the most moderate Republicans asking, “Hey Joe, what about protecting OUR borders?” MAGA may have been commandeered by Trump to stand for White supremacy, but there’s nothing wrong with liberal candidates and their followers embracing an “America First” stance if they want to win over moderate voters next year.
Another issue that angers mainstream voters involves Transgender policy initiatives. The overwhelming majority of taxpayers believe that there are only two genders: male and female, yet most liberals want to use tax dollars to cover the costs for government employees to have gender reassignment procedures. Well-meaning conservatives also don’t like it when teachers get suspended or fired for refusing to use politically correct pronouns. Meanwhile, the left keeps pushing for Trans males to be able to compete in women’s sports, even though female athletes (both Gay and straight) oppose it. And God forbid, if a moderate Republican individual utters a word in opposition to the Trans agenda, they get shouted down and unjustly labeled transphobic. As a result, those non-transphobic Republicans end up voting for actual transphobic candidates.
Then there’s the matter of public safety. Conservatives who don’t even like or want to vote for right-wing nuts, go nuts themselves when liberals call for de-funding the police. Yes, there are bad cops who abuse their power and deserve to be prosecuted, but if you want to weed out the far-right wackos from government, please don’t go around saying that all cops are bad. Generalizations and stereotypes are never constructive, but right now they are downright destructive. That’s because police and sheriff’s departments all over the country are dealing with unprecedented shortages of officers, and that poses a danger to everyone.