General Discussion

I empathize with you in spirit. It is disheartening to see people we've seen fight for us lose because of our inherent human tribalism. They're with our team, so we want them to win.

Please understand I am not trying to box you into feeling a certain way, I'm simply offering my perspective on coping with, shall we say, electoral disappointment.

I've stated before on this forum that it is healthier to view our elected officials strictly through a transactional, public policy agenda. When we are in a primary we ask ourselves, of the choices presented, which of these fulfills the conditions to both achieve the tactical victory of getting elected and the strategic victory of advancing social justice and protecting liberty.

Within this space, "narratives" or other electoral currents drift the conversation one way or the other. In this case, the endorsement of Mamdani and the general anti-establishment, anti-genocide currents pulled an incumbent down and elevated a pseudo-insurgent. I say "pseudo" because Lander is by no means an outsider or without independent qualifications of his own. His candidacy cannot be compared to true insurgent candidacies like Graham Platner or Zohran Mamdani himself.

At this point in history, I am of the opinion that the Democratic party is feeling a need to resist against old paradigms that have given us essentially no political success in the 21st century.

Finding "heroes" in politicians is a recipe for heartbreak because they aren't heroes. They are humans with ambitions. Moreover, they are often compromised by the system that elevates and exalts the rich and the powerful at the expense of those without. This selects for a 'ruling class' of self-interested, arrogant, and insulated leaders.

I was real sad to see Al Franken go, for example. I read his books. He made me laugh. But, on the whole, there was no value lost because his replacement was just as competent as he is, and he got to continue fighting the good fight on a different front than in the Senate. While I was sad to see him go, I processed that he isn't my personal friend and he isn't owed anything by virtue of being famous or having occupied the position he had.

So look... I feel like I know where you are coming from. I hope I understand. We are on the same team.