General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The "extreme left" didn't give us Trump. The path to hell was paved by [View all]pat_k
(9,313 posts).Perhaps an example would help?
Leaders of the reactionary right don't stop talking about banning abortion, even though actually passing a federal law banning abortion is believed to be "impossible." They keep up a constant drum beat for banning, regardless of their chances of "winning." Their relentlessness has been paying off. By going for the "whole loaf," they keep the momentum going in "their direction." And they keep making headway toward the goal.
Leaders of the Democratic Party do the opposite. When they decide something is not "politically viable' they essentially stop talking about it. For example, there is no constant drum beat in the leadership for universal health care. The leadership actually makes an effort to suppress calls for universal health care because it is not "politically viable.
Instead of "going big" the Democratic leadership has been taking a "go small" approach. They set some small incremental change as the "endpoint" and try to whip up support for that. Unsurprisingly, they have a tough time building up the political will necessary to get the incremental changes done. When you take the spotlight off the big goal, it is very hard to build enough momentum to move toward that goal at all. Incremental change doesn't inspire passion. It only inspires passion when it can be celebrated as a concrete step toward the big goal you keep demanding/make the case for.
The effective approach is to keep the spotlight on the endpoint, make whatever headway you can, but NEVER stop demanding/making the case for the big goal.