A word of advice about controlling the Democratic Party message

[JCanete]

48. Except that I didn't say populist rhetoric was good just cuz it feels good to hear it.

I said if you want to get something done in this environment you have to rally the people behind it with all your might. I gave you a prescription. The same one Sanders gave too. You can't reason with somebody who is voting based upon the interests of the people who got them their seat. You can only get the public to want, and then to demand, something from their government officials. You can use the bully pulpit for that. That is at least something that directly puts pressure on these seats.

You haven't convinced me that shit can be done the other way, and you didn't even try.

If you really think things get done, not from unilateral work, but from within congress, entirely internally, what exactly is it that is getting done? How does it get done? Sure budget battles get prosecuted and compromises have to be made by both sides, and typically are, but legislation? You are pretending that something about moderate policy makes it palatable to the Republicans. It doesn't. You're pretending that in this gerrymandered nation that the Republicans are afraid of being obstructionists and can be reasoned with. They can't be. and you can't rise up a people on vague substance. You have to give them a rallying cry.

And still the bigger picture remains...we are never the party with our hands on the levers of power because corporate interests own our media and we don't take them on, so we're not likely to ever have a majority let alone a filibuster proof one.

But aside from the media, in the context of this conversation who is trying to control somebody else's vote? I'm certainly not. I'm having a conversation, because I learn through these, even if it doesn't seem like it from your side of the discussion.