To win progressives must fight fiercely

As Maher has joked, Democrats don't even bring a knife to a gun fight; they bring a covered dish. No amount of reason, negotiation or compromise is going to work with Repugnantans. Even framing isn't going to work with them. They win because they fight and they fight hard. And that's the only thing that's going to defeat them: The willingness and the capacity to fight back with ferocity. 

Sanders, Warren and a few other progressives know this and they continue to win elections. Namby-pamby Democrats that think we need to be kind to those who hate us, that we need to understand and reach them and thereby they will reciprocate are not only in denial but delusional. When faced with hateful bullies you punch them in the face, not invite them to a housewarming party. If only the reality of this article could reach them then more of them would win. But as the author concludes, it's doubtful it will, as many of them still believe in the false Enlightenment notion that reason, or even better framing, wins the day. Some excerpts:

"It may be time to face the fact that there is no magic message, no persuasive strategy, that can get us out of this mess. There’s no persuading the conservative base without conservative elites and there’s no persuading conservative elites as long as their material interests point the wrong direction. It may just be that we’re not all going to get along — that the only way to move forward on this is to fight it out. If that’s true, then what matters most on the left is not the breadth of agreement, but the depth. It is intensity that wins political battles. The only way Democrats can achieve progress on this is to intensify the fight."

"For Democrats, raising intensity would mean making it a fight, staking a claim, defining the core values involved, telling vivid stories with heroes and villains and repeating them frequently. It would mean making climate change and clean energy tier-one priorities — organizing around them, talking about them at every opportunity, pushing them into the news and popular culture. It would mean, rather than begging Republicans for assent or small scraps of policy assistance, doing everything possible to publicize their intransigence and make it core to their identity. Tie it around their necks every time a microphone appears; make them own it."