1/ It must b possible 2 say something abt John McCain that is neither hagiographic worship on the 1 hand nor 'fuck that war criminal' on the other. While the former is plainly unwarranted the latter is peak strategic ignorance 4 those who say it and think it'll help the left...
2/...it's the kind of performative radicalism that some affect to sound revolutionary, even though, ironically, it's the kind of rhetoric FBI plants used to use precisely to discredit the left for years. So ya know, by all means let's copy that. it's always worked so well...
3/...We can insist on a proper accounting of McCain's actions in an unjust war, as well as the awful things he said about SE Asians, among other things, while not using a rhetorical tone guaranteed to turn most folks off and do nothing at all to add to our base...
4/ There is no need for false praise, in other words, but, fun fact, shitting on dead people generally doesn't endear folks to your position, as a general rule. And it's more important for people to hear what we say than it is for us to say it...
