Economic inequality has skyrocketed under both Democratic and Republican governments, and voters know this. Runaway fossil-fuel consumption is ravaging the planet. Mass incarceration has become a social plague. Each of these problems is approaching an irreversible tipping point. To solve them, we'll need braver and bolder solutions than their stagnant ideology permits.
Fighting about Hillary Clinton's personality is a waste of time. But it's important to debate values. It's even more important to offer constructive alternatives.
Case in point: As these words are being written, Bernie Sanders is about to introduce a Medicare For All bill in the Senate, with the support of Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and other leading Democrats.
What Do We Stand For?"People don't really know what we stand for," historian Michael Kazin said recently of his fellow Democrats. That's clearly true. But the real problem is that Democrats don't know what Democrats stand for. They need to choose, once and for all.
It's no wonder some Democrats want to police the discourse. That's part of a larger goal: policing the limits of the possible. But the old ideas of the politically possible aren't just wrong. They're disastrous. If we don't do big things there's a good chance we won't make it as a civilization.
Yes I'll read Clinton's book, cover to cover. I'll argue about it too, if that helps shape the future in some small way. Otherwise, I'll let it pass. This is a time of emergency, with more urgent issues at hand. There's no point fighting about the failures of the past, unless it clears the way for the successes of the future.
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