OPINION:
Democrats may have gotten drunk on their Tuesday night victories, but they will have a hangover as they wake up to the months leading into the midterms.
They have gone from not knowing who they are to becoming schizophrenic — that is, of split mind. I say this because the Democrats this week had two categories of winners: rational moderates and ultraliberal maniacs. The two cannot coexist for too long, both calling themselves Democrats, and we might see a bit of a civil war erupt in the party’s ranks.
The single biggest problem for Democrats moving forward is that they won their elections by making promises that are impossible to keep. The first promise is that because life is unaffordable, they will make it affordable. They can’t because they have no control over the forces that cause a lack of affordability. The second promise is that they will fight successfully against President Trump, which they also can’t do because if they could they would already have done it.
In short, nothing has really changed and nothing is going to change because the constraints on the game haven’t changed. You still can’t turn lead into gold.
What we saw this week is what happens when a snake oil salesman convinces a desperate parent that he can cure their child’s cancer. It’s the worst form of opportunism imaginable: capitalizing on tragic circumstances for personal gain or glory, but such is politics.
I don’t know who’s more to blame: the abuser or the abused. As the Romans used to say, “Caveat emptor.” Let the buyer beware.
ARTHUR SAGINIAN
Santa Clarita, California
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