We have to explain ALL the losses

[Orsino]

31. It's okay to count swings of the pendulum...

...but amplitude is as significant as polarity.

Should the two parties be taking turns in power just because? Isn't it true that the party consistently offering the best ideas and most progressive accomplishments ought to be entrusted with more power more often?

It's not working that way. Sixty days the Democrats had in 2010, sixty days with the presidency and Republican-proof majorities in Congress. We got the ACA out of it, barely. What has happened in every other month of every other year? Republicans simply say no rather than even having to compromise. Dark money has twisted them ever further toward fascism, and it keeps Dems from getting too liberal, too.

When Citizens United's world has reduced two allegedly-competing parties into mere brands, the swings of the pendulum are less significant. Corporations and hereditary wealth are stealing power, and in that context waiting for the next leftward swing is ultimately a losing proposition.

Ask North Carolina's next governor. Watch the next Supreme Court Justice for hints as to how the next decades will go. Watch the next Democratic president, and see if s/he is allowed to do much more than pardon a goddamned turkey.