It’s no secret that I can’t get 100% behind a candidate. Whatever. I’m a mess. Yep, it’s me, not you.
Here’s what we can do…
Given the fact (yes, fact) that neither one of our candidates will get their agenda through Congress, we will need to stay focused and supportive. Some (some, not all) of the most vocal supporters on both sides were also vocal Obama supporters. They (some, not all) were also the first to throw in the towel when the Obama Presidency didn’t deliver exactly what was promised, or had to compromise. Yes we can! might have been a sincere campaign slogan, but today it’s never been more important. We dropped the “we” pretty fast last time, and, yes, that hurt us.
That cannot happen again. If you’re signing on to your candidate’s agenda, then no bailing when things get rough – and they will get rough.
I have always been fine with moving towards a goal, by taking steps. Everyone had better be on board with that reality, because if we win then we can’t go from cheerleader to complainer. And if you feel it’s not fair for me to call for you to hold your fire then you aren’t acknowledging the political landscape. This ain’t 2008. We know what’s coming. We didn’t then, but we do now.
If you think criticism will get you what you want once our candidate is President, you’re kidding yourself. Previous criticism turned into Republican and MSM talking points… unless you believe when the negative numbers for “Obamacare” were presented anyone took the time to discuss that a portion of those numbers were because it didn’t go far enough. Yeah, that sure as hell wasn’t the talking point.
So, if you’re on board today, then you have to be on board for the duration. If a Dem becomes President the goal will be to change hearts and minds, not getting the agenda enacted – because that ain’t happening any time soon.
I will support our chosen candidate. I will continue to support them through their term. If you can’t sign onto that… that’s a big problem. It’s also a familiar problem. So maybe it’s not me… it’s us?
So, who’s with me? Are we ready to go the distance?