Opinion | Democrats Need to Wake Up From Their ‘West Wing’ Fantasy
www.nytimes.com
In the real world, noble ideals don’t guarantee a victory.
  • John Richard@lemmy.world
    199·
    2 months ago

    The issue isn’t their nobility. Bombing women and children to support a religious genocide isn’t noble. It is that they pick bad candidates. In a West Wing fantasy the President wouldn’t be 81 years old. Democrats in 4 months will be asking how this happened, just like in 2016. Then they’ll pick another bad corporate puppet and blame anyone that doesn’t unify behind them.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
      151·
      2 months ago

      I think there’s a little bit of hero worship. Seeing Bartlet struggle over impossible decisions, coming to the least bad solution, often failing but always trying, that’s how they imagine Biden behind the scenes. Or Obama, or even Clinton. They picture a room of impossibly competent and ideologically diverse paragons of civic duty respectfully debating the decisions of the day.

      So when Biden does something horrible, they can rationalize that the alternative must have been worse.

      The real delusion is that they are picking a candidate at all. The game is rigged, and the money picks the candidates.

        • DancingBear
          42·
          2 months ago

          Hmmm. You mean the candidate who has received the most aipac money than any other US politician in history?

          Let’s, see……

        • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
          22·
          2 months ago

          I mean, I’m sure they’re getting their money’s worth, but it’s still better than Trump selling Goya shit from the resolute desk. Vote for Biden, and when Trump’s in jail we can talk about what to do about corruption.

          • John Richard@lemmy.world
            13·
            2 months ago

            What will Trump be in jail for? His national documents case was dismissed today. Once appealed to the Supreme Court that will get thrown out. The New York case is unlikely to result in any jail time and may very well get thrown out too. Biden is losing to Trump already. The people that will vote blue no matter are not going to influence the swing voters and undecided who are leaning Trump.

            A different candidate that can actually speak the plan, policies & party in an intelligent and enthusiastic way will win. Biden’s condition is not improving without some serious drugs and/or experimental treatments. Maybe they’ll find a way to revert aging between now & November. If not and Biden stays in, might as well kiss whatever democracy you think Biden gave us goodbye.

    • Jake Farm@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      61·
      2 months ago

      Maybe the DNC policies for their primaries need to be changed. Like maybe they shouldn’t be able to over rule the primaries like they did with Burnie or be able to decide that there will be no primaries like they did this year.

    • Carrolade@lemmy.worldEnglish
      55·
      2 months ago

      If we want better candidates there is only one way to get that: convince more Americans to support better candidates so that they win more primaries.

      • John Richard@lemmy.world
        83·
        2 months ago

        And actually having primaries and not using the Democratic establishment to attack candidates that challenge the corporate puppets.

        • Carrolade@lemmy.worldEnglish
          53·
          2 months ago

          We did have primaries. Remember “write-in uncommitted”? Those were primaries. That could’ve been “write-in someone else”.

  • stallmer@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    6·
    2 months ago

    I lived in DC for seven years. I didn’t work on the hill, but several of my friends and roommates did. I remember one of them saying working in the government was much more like Veep than The West Wing.