I’m not in Texas. But today Beto said he is running. The comments on the NY Times about Beto winning are mixed like always over there. I can’t tell who the trolls are anymore there. I personally have no idea about him being able to win or not.
I’m tired of playing fair. I have a suggestion. The republicans have been doing this for awhile funding green and independent candidates and I think progressives need to start playing hard ball if you can.
Consider running progressives under the R category without the labels. Support hunters and gun rights but maybe some background checks for crimes. Reality is guns aren’t going anywhere in our lifetime but earning respect to make rational policy changes means building long term relationships with voters who trust you.
Most hunters I knew supported rational policies at one time but I’m getting older so I am not sure anymore.
Pick a few good policy goals that progressives support plus some conservative stands that don’t harm nor hurt. Do this in primaries on both sides of the aisle. So basically run a candidate under the R and under the D if you can. This is what the wealthy do to us with funding bribing both sides.
If one or both win you have a path forward. If the republican progressive losses but had some support run as an independent to eat republicans votes. Drop out if you are a dem to not eat votes from that side if you had lost.
Just tired of playing fair.
But the main point is the democrat brand is destroyed in the media. Fox news and propaganda can’t attack republicans so might as well use that to our advantage. Basically hide behind the R so you have leverage against abuse from the right wing media.
Also if progressives without labels can run under R and Fox does start attacking them and this is in many races it starts undermining the republican brand by using them to attack their own so to speak.
A note on why moderate democrats aren’t popular. Hillary was an egotistical moron for running against Trump because her husband globalized and destroyed the rust belt. All the union jobs were destroyed. First with NAFTA and secondly with CAFTA. So the democratic brand is just decimated in red states for all kinds of reasons. Globalization was a big reason and is a major reason for the push back on immigration beyond race issues. Some people aren’t racist but they absolutely hate globalization and this places into all the bad tropes even if the person is just angry their life was destroyed. This also plays into the right wing racism issue that the real racists are abusing the dog whistles to drive these people where they want them to go. Many of these people in red states were decimated by globalization. So that hatred is real and I don’t see how moderates can over come that. A progressive may though or a republican progressive with no labels could.
The party in the end doesn’t matter. The policies and helping American and democracy does matter though.
Immigration and globalization go hand in hand. It’s going to come up. Maybe talk about immigration in terms of job competition and globalization this will likely sell better with Texans. Less focus on race but also wanting to treat people with respect. So how do we find a balance that gets jobs back but also allows us to try and fix immigration problems.
Also progressive need to ally with small businesses. M4A is a way for small businesses to compete with big businesses. Also ending corruption benefits small businesses so they compete instead of being stepped on by politics. M4A takes worrying about medical away from small businesses. Maybe vacation leave support for small businesses with help from government taxes on big businesses also helps small businesses give more benefits.
Basically think of way to make small business our allies and help them compete against big businesses with policy that gives us all more leverage. More competition from below in a progressive taxation policy will improve competition and draw down the power of the wealthy.
There are multiple ways to deal with what we are facing. Let’s think outside the box.
Also don’t lie. But it is okay to leave things unsaid because that is just life. Take it from an old guy. Just tell the truth and realize that as a representative you can’t do everything. Pick a few things you want to do that has a good chance of support and build that relationship with your voters as best as you can on those things.
If you can’t support gun owners rights to some degree don’t run saying you will. I personally don’t care about guns but I grew up with them. Nor would I take them away from people in Alaska for example. They live in a different world with man eating bears. So remember we live in a big country. You don’t have to be the perfect progressive. Just be the best person you can be and represent people to the best of your ability while moving them in the direction as a leader where you want to end up.
You do this by building relationships.
Take care.
