Smears

Back when I had a tiny bit of contact with DC people, educating them about how the puke funnel works and how to deal with right wing media was part of what I tried to do (informally, mostly). They still are bad at it.

After eight years of the Obama presidency, Democrats should be very good at identifying a baseless smear campaign when they see one. The skills they should have honed under Obama would be crucial now, with prolific liar Donald Trump in office. Relentless fact-checking won’t end Trumpism’s hold on America, but the president’s political opponents ought to at least be able to discern between truth and fiction. Instead, it’s not clear what, if anything, the party’s leaders learned from its Obama-era battles. Faced with a smear campaign against one of its newest congresswomen, the party has stumbled repeatedly.

The instinct is to always blame the victim. This can't happen to me. If I just behave, they won't punch me.

Sure.