We Have to Be Able to Criticize the DNC or We're a Cult Just Like MAGA

Hello Friends,I'm a little reluctant to write this argument because I know I'm wading into some contentious waters. There have been many times when people have informed me that they're unsubscribing because they didn't appreciate what they felt was undeserved criticism of their favorite politicians.I find that viewpoint disturbing for a number of reasons. For one thing, we can't have areas of exploration be “off limits.” I've wasted too much of my life attempting to operate under those conditions. It doesn't work and in my experience it's always done to maintain a system of oppression and exploitation.Over the years, I've developed a great appreciation for the scientific method. I've made a lot of intuitive choices throughout my life. One of the best decisions I ever made was to pick up a minor in Physics in the last few years of college.That was actually the end point of a series of good decisions. All through high school and in college, I always took the hardest courses available to me. So, even though I aspired to study English, I took college calculus as a Freshman. I could have said, “Well, I'm never going to use this so why bother?”But I don't think like that. Honestly, I was kind of curious about calculus. Mathematics is actually a language, and the more you study it, the more you begin to perceive a truly intricate and bizarre story that encompasses all of reality.Every semester, I always took a challenging science class because school didn't feel like school without a bit of science. So, in my last year, I realized I only needed to take three core Physics classes to pick up a minor. I also got a Bachelor of Science because at the time I was too introverted to take foreign language classes. The very idea threw me into a panic.To some extent, it was my frustration with that limitation that sent me to Peru to learn Spanish.Over the decades, the thing that's helped me most in life by far is my education in the scientific method. What that taught me is that our intuition is terrible. You can't begin your intellectual inquiry with a preconceived sense of truth. Instead, you have to follow the evidence and see where it takes you.You can't start off by saying, “Well this person is perfect, so the flaw can't be with him.”If you impose that restriction on your thinking, you'll end up spinning your wheels for all eternity.Instead, you have to follow the data.One of my main sources of frustration with Democrats is how many topics are “off limits.” Personally, I reserve the right to criticize anyone. By far, the person I've criticized most in my life is myself. So why should anyone else be spared?That being said, I realize that there is a time and a place for everything. Throughout the last three elections, I've been committed to seeing fascism defeated. When you're in the midst of a fight like that, it's not the time for nuanced conversation that could erode your chance at victory.But I have to say that in 2016, 2020, and 2024 certain actions of the DNC caused alarm bells to go off in my mind. The times I tried to talk about these moments, I was hit with a chorus of “You're part of the problem!”It's frustrating the extent to which establishment Democrats will try to hammer knowledgeable people into silence. But now, the gloves are off. We're witnessing the complete dismantling of our society. So, I no longer feel any obligation to obey the demands of the democratic party.Now, I say that knowing I risk losing followers. But if we are the party of reason, we have to be able to separate constructive criticism from malicious or unfair criticism.The simple fact is that the party keeps losing. They're doing something wrong. I realize they tell us that their campaigns are perfect and they lose because of racism and misogyny. But I feel it's irresponsible to act as if that question has been resolved and that we shouldn't talk about it ever again.Lately I've been reaching out to politicians in order to have conversations. One of the big problems I see in politics today is that our representatives don't feel like “real” people. Instead, they feel like polished salesmen who work for their billionaire donors.If politicians are willing to go to town halls to address a couple hundred people, they should be ecstatic to sit down for a conversation with me because that will go out to thousands of people. But they seem unwilling to have conversations on platforms that they don't control.Why are they doing that? Why aren't they taking advantage of a resource that could put them in front of thousands of people? They should be out there spreading their message every day.I recently wrote a post that got a little bit of a pushback. I mentioned that I wanted to see a new generation of politicians that aren't rich. I qualified this by saying I didn't want them to have money in the bank, investments, or a house.A few people got angry at this and said, “Having a house doesn't make you rich, you're acting like my position doesn't matter.”But that's not what I was saying at all. I only wanted to emphasize that I think we need more people in government who are still in the middle of the struggle. When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first got elected, she had a hard time covering her rent because she didn't get her first check until January.That's what we need! We need people who know the challenge of not having enough.What we don't need is for potential allies to read constructive criticism and immediately assume the author is working for the other side.I'm really frustrated with the DNC's attitude about primaries. I think their unwillingness to hold honest primaries is why fascism has taken root in our society. They didn't hold a presidential primary at all in 2024. I absolutely love Kamala Harris as a candidate, but I supported Biden up to the withdrawal because I was terrified the DNC was going to stick us with some neoliberal candidate.Looking back at the last few election cycles, it's clear the DNC is more opposed to progressive leadership than they are to fascism. There's also evidence that the establishment turned on Biden for being too progressive. He achieved a lot of wonderful things, but centrists Democrats also sabotaged much of his agenda.Rather than saying, “We lost because of racism and misogyny stupid!” We should consider whether the DNC establishment became uncomfortable with how successful Biden was.The DNC's resistance to progressive policies is really bizarre. If you look at American history, the periods of greatest prosperity always came under progressive leaders. FDR was the most popular president in history, and he was hugely progressive.All of our fancy representatives that have plenty of money in the bank and own multiple homes all went to ivy league schools. They should know basic facts. Yet they insist that progressive policies aren't the way?Based on what? There is literally no evidence anywhere to suggest that these ideas don't work. There's an overwhelming amount of evidence that proves they do. Yet we get entitled men looking down their noses at us and lecturing the voters when fascists get elected?Did you ever notice how fast the “there's no perfect candidate” or “blue no matter who” arguments go out the window when a progressive wins a primary? Look at Mamdani, prominent Democrats refuse to endorse him. Where's the “get behind our candidate or else” outrage in that scenario?I realize that it's uncomfortable, but we need to have these conversations. We need to resist the idea that people who provide constructive criticism are “part of the problem.” Look at what's happening! The status quo is leading us right over the edge. We have to make changes. We need another new deal.Challenge yourself to put aside your preconceived notions. Nothing is sacred. The thing about truth is that it withstands a challenge. If people are saying, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” it's because there's something lurking there they don't want you to see.We need to pull back the curtain on the DNC for the sake of our very survival.You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI'm so happy you're here, and I'm looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe