Sacrificial Lamb

 “A sacrificial lamb is someone or something made to suffer, be blamed, or be sacrificed so others can avoid the consequences. It can also mean a person deliberately put in a losing position for someone else’s benefit.”

The Democratic Party is far and away preferable to the Republican Party in every way that is meaningful to me and anyone who thinks like me.  What the Democratic Party is not, is perfect.

Much of the money that wends its way to the coffers of the Democratic Party is essentially the same money that funds the fascists of the reich-wing.  The organizations and individuals behind that funding do not magically change depending on what direction the money is headed.

The 2026 midterm election results are beyond historic.  People that had never voted made the time to register and vote.  Well before the elections, protests around the nation were seeing massive turnout.  I don’t know who needs to hear this but, maintenance of the status quo is not an exciting concept.  While it may well motivate those that are directly benefitting from the way things are, those who don’t see the benefits are unlikely to ginn up a lot of energy to make sure things don’t change.  People protested and registered and voted because they were unhappy with the way things were going.  They were unhappy with the uneven application of the law.  They were unhappy with the declining reputation of the nation, unhappy with the treatment of our allies, unhappy with the solicitous attitude towards brutal autocrats.  

So while big money knew we the people were unhappy, they did not know just how unhappy we were.  They did not know what of their traditional behaviors and policies would continue to be acceptable and which of those would bring them scrutiny they would rather not have.  The protests and elections gave them the rough outline but the money folks want to know exactly where the limit is so that they can push against it without actually endangering themselves.

The desire for more detailed information on exactly what they could get away with is firmly rooted in their desire to remain in or near power.  That made it very important information and information they needed prior to making any significant moves.  Rather obviously, if you ask the individuals in a coalition of marginally like-minded folk, you will get a multitude of different answers.  They needed a way to get clear answers and to get those answers as expeditiously as possible.

Enter the Sacrificial Lamb.  To find out what the motivated populace is willing to accept, the easiest and most direct way was to send someone out to state an intention or propose a policy and then observe how it lands.  So Hakeem Jeffries gets his marching orders.  Then he makes a statement about conciliation with those who want us deported, enslaved, imprisoned, executed and/or generally diminished.  He gently suggests that we should not seek accountability for those who violated law, tradition or acceptable social norms.  If it goes badly, the only loss is the sacrificial lamb that is there for that purpose. They are clearly testing the limits.

Our jobs as justifiably indignant citizens is to make sure the moneyed class and their elected surrogates understand that accountability is non-negotiable.  This is the true cost of freedom.  We don’t get to quit.  We must constantly supervise those we entrust with power over us.  We must show them the limits over and over and over again - as many times as it takes and then probably a few more times to make sure.

I am but one voice and possessed of extremely limited power.  All I have is a vote, whether official or unofficial, all I have is a vote. My vote is that Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are the wrong choice to lead the energized and motivated Left.  They are predisposed to compromise with an opposition that will simply move further to the right as compromise is offered.  I find it probable they have knowledge and experience that could be valuable to those who should be in leadership but again, Schumer and Jeffries have shown themselves to be the wrong choice to exercise that power.