I'm about to become wildly unpopular ...

[Hortensis]

301. Most of those we're saying are negative and defeatist to an irrational,

damaging degree are targets and victims of enemies foreign and domestic working to subvert their political beliefs and electoral behaviors. Most of those malicious influences are elsewhere, their poisonous messages and effects brought here, though DU also has to work constantly to identify and expel as many as possible who arrive here.

NEGATIVISM is the giant weapon anti-Democratic and anti-democracy forces everywhere use to turn people against liberals and liberal democracy. It's worked horribly across the spectrum. From RW populists who are attempting to take over our democracy for tRump and "hang Pence," to so-called anti-vaxxers occupying Ottawa's streets, to LW counterparts also determined to destroy the Democratic establishment and also yelling "lock her up."

To those who started out excited by what Democrats are doing but abandoned hope easily under the influence of insidious whisperers, to those reassured by everyone else that there's nothing good to vote for because we're all evil corporatists or commies. Destruction of trust is epidemic. And deliberate. Ideally, we'd all turn against ourselves or surrender without firing a shot. As so many did in 2016 and 2020.

This thread and posts are a huge indication that manipulated negativism has built to a degree that it's overwhelming our culture of confidence and belief in what we're doing, and the ability of some swamped in negativism to connect with more clear-eyed views. And thanks to Nance for addressing it. It's been coming in waves for some time but has been especially heavy lately, kind of like the influx of trucks that have overwhelmed Ottawa's center. And the similarity is not at all coincidental.

It's because this is an existentially important election year, of course. The stakes are enormous, both nationally and internationally.