I had a revelation yesterday.

And I believe it's the key for Democrats moving forward and kicking ass. I really do.

I was driving to Orange yesterday afternoon, when a thought entered my mind. And I literally pulled over and texted this to myself …

Now, generally, I hate when writers quote themselves. It’s pretentious meets douchey. But, eh, I’ll make the exception. Because, truly, I know I’m right.

Or, put differently …

Below is a photo of a bunch of QAnon types flashing that preposterous white power hand signal. The woman in the yellow circle sporting the MAGA cap is Gracey Larrea-Van Der Mark, who happens to be: A. The person you don’t want to see at the high school reunion. B. The Alf puppet in human form. C. A longtime member of the Huntington Beach City Council.

Gracey was—according to this Los Angeles Times profile—”born Gricelda Larrea to immigrant Mexican and Ecuadorean parents.” Meaning she’s a … Latina woman expressing support for … white power. I wanna type that twice, because it’s beyond the scope of standard-issue insanity: Gracey is a Latina woman who supports white power.

And no matter the technique, we have zero shot at changing her warped viewpoints. No matter how many people speak up at the next Huntington Beach City Council meeting. No matter how many letters and calls she receives. No matter if Jesus, literally, levitates above her bed tonight and says, “Gricelda, Trump is a conman”—she will never, ever, ever, ever, ever waver. Because, between the time she was birthed to immigrant parents and now, something inside of her shattered. Just, pow! And no amount of Elmer’s Glue can adhere it.

The same goes for Mike Munzing of the Aliso Viejo City Council.

The same goes for Jennifer Adnams and Lisa Davis and Judy Bullockus of the Capo Unified School District.

The same goes for Wendy Bucknum of the Mission Viejo City Council.

And Mari Barke of the Orange County Board of Education.

On.

And on.

And on.

I don’t know what happened to these individuals, but they are broken. They don’t know it and can’t see it, but they are. There is no reasoning. There is no compromise. God placed them in their positions. Donald Trump can do no wrong. The Black guy working the counter is a DEI hire. The trans kid is mentally ill. Gay men want to rape cheerleaders. Librarians want to groom children. Abortion clinic receptionists are murderers. Ashli Babbitt is a martyr. Michael Flynn is a patriot.

You cannot reason with these folks. You will not sway them. They consider libs to be enemies of the state. Hell, watch when folks stand to speak at the Huntington Beach City Council meetings. Watch how Chad Williams smirks at them; how l’il Pat Burns snarls their way. They do not listen. They won’t listen.

So … fuck ‘em.

Seriously—fuck ‘em.

Our job is not to convince the lunatics that we’re right. No—our job is to convince the public that these right-wing elected officials are lunatics. The way most of these nuts landed in office is by operating campaigns that stressed … normalcy. The blonde, smiling women who ran for school board want your children to be happy (Cough—by banning library books and introducing the teachings of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ). The Huntington Beach City Council members want to keep the streets safe (Cough—by installing a MAGA-themed plaque outside the library). Mike Munzing respects everyone (Cough—but keep the queers away from me).

The Orange County GOP is keenly, keenly, keenly aware that most people don’t pay attention to local elections, so just make sure candidates present well and don’t say anything nutty. Then, win the race and do whatever the hell you please.

Well, for my money, those days are coming to an end.

Yes, we need our candidates to be great campaigners.

But we also need to be loud, rabid truth tellers in regards to who the opposition really is.

And what they plan to do.