Dems Need to Drop the Double Standard

Yeah, yeah, it's late. Take it up with management.

So, wait, you may be thinking, weren't you just talking about double standards last blog post. (If you think I was nagging, go back and read it again. It clearly didn't sink in). Yes and no. Obviously the double standard that comes with misogyny is a big part of what helped put Trump in the White House.

But that's only part of the problem.

Dems/liberals/progressives have a serious problem. Not just that much of the country, whether we like it or not, is apparently hateful, ignorant or both--though that's pretty frustrating. No, we're also our own worst enemy.

Despite the abysmal failure of Republican policies when implemented, despite the historical failure of Republican policies, particularly economically, despite the overt cruelty inherent in many of the Republican policies and their fingerprints on several of the huge problems Obama inherited that people hated, they've managed to win a large foothold in local, state, and federal governments while they've been failing. That's absolutely mind-boggling to a thinking person as myself, especially with the heinous results seen to date. And then they get more power. How is that possible?

Propaganda is part of it, but there's something else that's key. When Republicans have a candidate, even one that tips their scales in sleaze, corruption or stupidity, they will still get plenty of support if they agree with one of several "pet" positions that have next to nothing to do with actually doing a decent job: abortion, gun regulation, gay rights. Those supporters don't expect perfection or even a modicum of humanity, which might explain the slippery slope of buffoon/psychopath/freaking criminal their candidates have taken over the years until we have the morass of incompetent cruelty we have now. That's insane.

But, no matter how we pretend it was all them, part of it was us, because liberals, too often, are the opposite of conservatives in terms of how we vote. We can agree with almost everything someone stands for, but one vote we don't like, one position we don't agree with, one decision that didn't pan out, and we turn our backs on our own candidates.

Think I'm talking about Hillary? Well, she fits, too, but it's much bigger than that.

Let's talk about Obama, handed two horrific failures of wars, (and the terrorist organizations growing as a result), the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and a concerted campaign aided and abetted by MSM to treat him like the anti-Christ. In amazingly short order, the worst of his crises had begun to reverse themselves and he managed to pull off as close to universal healthcare as our Congress would let him. He is not only intelligent, thoughtful, level-headed, strategic, and compassionate, as well as a hard worker (all key components for someone in his position), he is an expert in the Constitution, articulate, a great speaker, handsome, and an unabashedly devoted family man. Babies love him to an unprecedented level.

How did we reward this amazing man who took us from very maw of extreme failure and even gave us some key accomplishments? We freaking elected a red Congress. So, the many other accomplishments of his Presidency: gay marriage, drastically reducing our dependence on foreign oil, drastically increasing our efforts into green energy, putting some backbone into environmental regulations, imposing restrictions on banking to help preclude another collapse, Iran peace deal, Environmental accord, mending some very broken fences with allies around the world, even (gasp!) the TPP to help keep China from undercutting our future (but, hey, brainiacs, congrats on ruining that. Guess y'all want to be fry cooks) all had to be done without support. And, thanks to a grateful nation making his Congress increasingly red so that he couldn't even fill a SCOTUS seat (as if that was reasonable), he did it all almost single-handedly.

He should be treated as a bloody miracle, at least by the left, especially given the level of vilification on the right. The treatment he received, not just by the extremist "conservative" (racist) media, but tacitly accepted and reinforced my main stream media, down-played his incredible strengths and magnified even the tiniest misstep as if it were malicious, corrupt, or inept. And much of the left totally bought into that. The longest streak of job growth in history was blown off. Not good enough. More people insured than ever before and people with preexisting conditions, completely excluded from health care options before, could now find coverage. Not good enough.

Even his strongest supporters felt they had to make caveats, "He's a great president if only..." Does that mean I agree with all his choices? Why should I? I don't agree with all of anyone's choices, not my ex-husband's, not my mother's, not my daughters'. We're individuals. That's how things get worked out among grownups, we use our differences and our bits of commonness to work for the common good. That's how real people get things done, whether it's a craft club, a family, or any other organization. Dissenters are not tossed out the window summarily. We don't have to agree with everything. We're people.

Folks, that's what will keep us from being successful. Good men, good women will suddenly face a huge wave of truly amazing hatred by their fellow liberals if they don't agree on every topic, if they use their actual experience, knowledge, or judgment to do things they think best and others don't agree. That is also insane.

It's not just the far right that insists on perfection in liberal politicians but still have the warm fuzzies for their own even if they turn out to be pedophiles. The left also insists on perfection and gives the same pass to the right by normalizing monsters to the same level as devoted and capable people.

People aren't perfect. They make mistakes and the smart ones learn from them. As long as we insist on someone who pretends to be perfect, we'll be split from those who notice the lack of perfection and therefore reject, and those who understand that wanting perfection is stupid (and doomed to disappointment). How about competence and integrity instead? Because the other side not only is willing to vote for the woefully incompetent, they're apparently willing to keep doing so in the hopes that eventually pans out.

Someone has got to be smarter than that. I'd like it to be the people who care about the future and many of the most vulnerable groups in this nation.