The Democrats will find some way of screwing this up.
I came very close to putting this in the “dumbest things” thread, but it seemed more on topic here…
More seriously, hot takes are already spooling up about the pledge:
They only have 48 or 42 votes for any nominee, as it happens. Thanks, you bastards who bought the Midwest with direct mail! Glad yer dying.
“The enemy of my enemy is…”
Even if the answer is “my enemy’s enemy”, why the heck wouldn’t you try to sic them on each other?
It’s okay to sell arms to the participants in a war, though, even if one’s country isn’t one of them.
Not an old clip. Friday in Ohio.
White supremacy is bipartisan.
Yup.
The Democratic establishment has been using progressives and Leftists as their scapegoats for years now, whenever they need someone to blame for bills failing to pass or candidates losing. Even now, Bernie and his supporters are still catching finger-pointing for Clinton’s loss in 2016, almost 6 years ago. The progressives in Congress who attempt to use whatever influence they have to push more progressive legislation get blamed when bills aren’t passed, despite Republican obstruction and the point-blank refusal of Dems with power to spend political capital to make things happen. Anyone who strays from being 100% in lockstep with party leaders are told to “get in line” and “vote Blue no matter who”… forgetting that they are supposed to support us in return for us supporting them.
(One of the Twitch streamers I watch who covers politics has noticed that some prominent liberals have begun to insult Leftists with the same language Republicans and right-wingers use against the liberals. If I could remember which stream it was, I’d try to post it here; it’s an interesting concept.)
Before anyone says anything: yes, I understand it’s about working with the power structures we have, not holding out for the perfect candidates. Ever since I got my voter registration card, I’ve been voting Democratic, and since my battleground state is deeply divided, I will continue to do so as a strategic move. But with a few exceptions, I’m doing it more as a way to keep power away from Republicans than as a sign of faith in the Democrats and their ability to deliver on their promises. I’ve drifted too far Leftward to feel like the corporate establishment Dems give a damn about me, and as long as they’ve got a stranglehold over the party I don’t feel like there’s a place for me in it.
I agree completely with all you typed, especially the last paragraph.
The power structures aren’t working for everybody, but they weren’t designed to do that; they were designed to work for the wealthy and predominantly white male property owners.
We need new power structures, or new humans. I’m not sure which of those are more feasible, TBTH.
We definitely need new power structures, and new people in charge of them.
I don’t think it’s impossible for people to change their political thinking-- I’ve done it, and I know people who’ve made larger shifts than my own liberal-to-leftist drift. I think a lot of the problem is how our system demonizes the alternatives to it and reinforces itself. I’ve heard more than one person say they’ve had success promoting leftist ideas without using the words socialist or communist. Those terms get a knee-jerk “no, BAD!” reaction, because that’s what people have been taught. I don’t know how we get beyond that, but it’s encouraging to see so many of the younger folk rejecting the status quo and pushing for change.
Oh, I love that, I so much do!
And this conversation could’ve taken place, what…40 years ago? 50? The problem is, those young people can make the changes, but what happens when they get older? Do they automatically start to harden into conservatives? Or, in a lighter vein, will their present super-liberal-leftist values be considered old-fashioned and out-of-date in the future (a future where it’s legal to dance naked on one’s front lawn, for example, as long as one is wearing shoes and sunscreen in the summertime)?
That’s the thing about young 'uns - they grow up to be old 'uns.
I feel more and more like Lt. Col. Henry Blake, every day…
