Could we all just take a few moments, access our current political mess, and maybe have a ceasefire among those who resist Trump and his policies?  

As to my meager qualifications for calling for a ceasefire, I offer the following about my past stances and transgressions:

• I’m a partisan Democrat who once listened to the local newspaper endorsement of Mitch McConnell for what was then called “County Judge” in Jefferson County, Kentucky.  Yeah, major fuck up there on my part.  I have since learned never to give a Republican the time of day when it comes to ANY elective office.  They use it as a stepping stone to higher office.
• I was for Gary Hart in 1984 and 1988.
• I was a frequent critic of Bill Clinton.  I voted for him both times, but he was the one who came up with triangulation, embraced free trade, a crime bill that sent a lot of young African Americans to prison, deregulation of the banking industry, and so on.
• I voted for Al Gore in 2000.  
• I gave the most money ever to a political candidate by the name of Howard Dean when he ran for president in 2004.
• I voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary here in KY.
• I was and am a frequent critic of Barack Obama.  For proof, look to any of my past diaries.  I’ve thought that Obama appropriated the talk of a progressive but he governed like a centrist.  While Obama did some good things like the stimulus plan, the automobile industry bailout, and the ACA, which I directly benefited from I might add, the stimulus wasn’t enough, no Wall Street Bankers went to jail for the financial collapse, and he embraced fiscal austerity and was willing to make a Grand Bargain with Republicans that would have hurt Social Security.  BUT I VOTED FOR HIM BOTH TIMES and donated money.
• I voted for Bernie Sanders in the KY primary, but I voted for and gave money to Hillary Clinton in the general election.
• Except for 2 years in NYC, I was born and raised in Louisville, KY.  I went to college in that hotbed of liberalism Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.  And I lived in North Carolina for 17 years before returning back to Louisville.  Yeah, I have some idea what redstate voters are like.

I’m betting that there are many on Daily Kos with similar life experiences, but I wanted to get that out in the open.

So what is your point Merlin?  My point is that you can CRITICIZE your side without giving aid and comfort to the enemy.  In fact, it is your duty to give Democrats shit when they are screwing up!  Does ANYONE on Daily Kos believe that Democrats in the Congress would have held together on an issue like the ACA without all those office visits and phone calls?  

And yes, we should have fights while the primary season is upon us.  It is the time when you as a voter have the most direct impact on the Democratic Party.  You do not like the Democrat you have in office?  Support someone who will run against them in a primary and VOTE!  

You really want to try and work on your people skills and persuade people of the rightness of a policy?  Get them to register as Democrats and vote in the primaries and the general election!  I think it would be a lot easier to convince people who have tuned out politics or are discouraged to register and vote as a Democrat than to try and persuade people who are already Republicans.

Focus on the truly persuadable!

And I know there a lot of us who are pissed off about the 2016 Election.  I freely admit to that, but I can’t let my anger at what some Democrats did and did not do during that election affect what I do this fall, at least I won’t.  OK.  Maybe I don’t give money directly to the DCCC or DSC, but I target my money to specific candidates now. 

For example, I’ve touted Amy McGrath for Congress in KY and sent her money, but I don’t agree with all her positions, especially on saving coal.  But I live in KY, and I realize that every damn politician in KY has to say some BS about using all available energy platforms, which means doing something for the coal industry.  FUCKING UGH!   

But Kentucky Republican Congressman Andy Barr supports Trump, and I will do whatever I can to help McGrath get elected.

What I want to stress is that you can have an honest disagreement or criticize a politician, pundit, journalist, or activist without being a member of the so called purity police.  Last time I checked, Democratic voters and the Resistance are not sliding into fascism like the Republicans.  And I never thought I would live to see the day when a major political party did so, but it is happening.

Finally, Democratic voters and the Resistance have a lot of real political enemies to fight with.  As we thrash out strategies and tactics, keep in mind that the Russians will attack our elections this fall.  The GOP will do whatever it can to stay in power.  And the Media is actively trying to divide us with “the Left is going to sink this election for the Democrats!” meme. 

Anyway, that is my two cents on this.