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OK, this is just my attempt to capture the paradox I experience trying to be a fairly loyal activist Democrat today, as we approach an important election year. That's all it is and it is two dimensional, meaning I'm not trying here to explain the possible motivations of the good guys and bad guys in this tale. Let us assume though that the bad guys have an escape plan involving the use of Black Op helicopters:
So, we find ourselves at sea in a large wooden boat, and it seems that we are in trouble. There are bad guys on it with us, Republicans, and they are busy drilling holes into the bottom of the hull. Water is pouring into our boat from all of the holes that they have already drilled. Fortunately for us, there are good guys in the boat with us also, Democrats, and they are busy too. A few of them are using some sort of wood putty to try to fill in the holes, but most of they have buckets and they are bailing water out of the boat as fast as they possibly can.
It doesn't take long for you to realize that the Republicans can drill new holes a lot faster than the Democrats can repair the old ones, and the only reason the boat is still afloat is because of the Democrats bailing water with their buckets. One of them calls out to you; "We need help to keep from sinking, grab a bucket and start bailing."
The danger of sinking is real, so you grab a bucket and start bailing furiously. After a while you notice that the water is slowly rising in the boat even though you and the Democrats are bailing as fast as you can. So you go running to the guy who recruited your help, to alert him of the threat. "Yes we know, but we have a back up plan" he assures you. "Whenever the water rises too high, we throw a few sacks of food over board to lighten the load in the boat."
Again, in parables figures are two dimensional. Real Republicans and Real Democrats are a lot more complex in real life. Democrats aren't dumb like the good guys on that boat of course, and Republicans not quite so transparent. Clearly in this parable the Democrats are trying to offset the damage that the Republicans are doing; they are not the bad guys, the Republicans are. Democrats are the good guys.
It makes a lot of sense to aid them in their efforts to keep the boat afloat. As you gaze upon the scene those effort are the only thing that has prevented everyone from already drowning, and if they stopped we all would quickly sink.
And yet you just can't hide from the stark conclusion you have now reluctantly reached. If this struggle continues to be fought in the same way that it has, the day is coming when you and everyone else traveling on that boat will face starvation, that is if you don't drown first.
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