Do you want to resist the worst excesses and legitimate dangers posed by a Trump presidency? Well, SO DO I — but if our “dog in this fight” is the Democratic Party, maybe we should take at least some interest in its overall health.
(How is that principle not a sound one? Please take a minute to explain it to me, if you think I’m wrong.)
Because by restricting our political expression to transparently partisan and hollow condemnations of the new president — which has only marginalized the left and hardened Trump’s support (as predicted) — we are choosing to send into this gravely serious fight one DOG of a dog, positively riddled with vermin and disease. And that, my friends, is simply not good enough. In fact, it’s easy, cheap, and lazy, in addition to being patently irresponsible. We must do better — and be willing, even, to do a little self-examination — if we genuinely want to win this fight.
In short, Glenn Greenwald’s recently articulated thesis (about how best to defeat Donald Trump) is precisely what I’ve been arguing, these past few months. From his February 9th Intercept article, which also provides evidence, if more were needed, that the 2016 Democratic Primary was rigged by the warmongering, democracy-loathing corporatists who still dominate the party:
“One can spend all of one’s time and energy denouncing Donald Trump. But until the systemic causes that gave rise to him are addressed and resolved, those denunciations will do little other than generate social media benefits and flattering applause from those already devoted to opposing him. Focusing on and attempting to counter the fundamental flaws of the Democratic Party is not a distraction from #TheResistance; it is a central priority, a prerequisite for any kind of success.”
Bingo (was his name-o).