Beto using the right tactic.

[The Grand Nudger]

We're told, of late..for example, that we ought to appeal to white supremacy if we want to avoid fascism.  That we have to allow them to take some other person hostage if we expect them to free a captive in their possession, lol.  Namely, ourselves.

Who tells us that?

Voices all across the spectrum, in their own (often enough batshit crazy) way.  Right wing think tanks churn out WALL pron blaming the rise of antifa and the alt right on "The Border Crisis".  Left wing think tanks are still wringing their hands over "economic anxiety" and the need to reach out to those affected.  The alt right is convinced that opposition to them -is- fascism.  The disaffected left parrots much the same.  

We recently had an article by David Frum, in the atlantic, linked on the boards...asking the question "how much immigration is too much", aptly titled No Vacancy: If liberals won't enforce the border, fascists will.

Then, there are our politicians. The president straight up tried to pull some dictator shit because he couldn't get money for his hate monument. If only our government would have cooperated, then he wouldn't have had to. Republicans seem concerned, mostly, with building the hate monument "the right way". Dems want to appeal to WALL values voters.

The notion that we need to toss white supremacy a bone if we want to avoid the bad thing™ is truly bipartisan (and always has been). We just don't like to think of it that way. We rationalize it as something else. You know who doesn't, though? White supremacists. They see it for what it is and they're very happy about it. Ultimately, the notion may actually be true on it's own merits even if it's a terrible idea. It may be the case that a dem will have to validate white supremacist rhetoric in order to secure political victory. It may be the case that we have to let president babyshits have his toys to keep him from pressing the button out of boredom. It may be the case that WALL fetishists will only become more extreme if they don't get what they want.

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Consider the effect, if you will, of a democratic candidate finding a way to thread the needle between their own built in constituency and flyover voters if they took the stage to confirm the suspicion that so many people seem to have.  That they have been victimized, discriminated against, that they have been unfairly stigmatized and denied pride.  That they should recapture their lost self esteem and that they will not be replaced by illegals.  That the government will commit itself to helping them raise -their- children, and bring about a new prosperity in which they could afford that next child they've been wanting and putting off. Bonus points if that candidate tosses in some stuff about not wanting to be labeled a progressive, of not liking labels..and..you know, has a "history of cooperation" with republicans. Double bonus if they vow to deal with our border crisis in a kind and fair way.

If we can't already hear the sound of uproarious applause...perhaps we should roll some trump rally tape.

Odd as it may seem at first blush, Beto is the kind of politician that can tap into that.