Carl, lets put this in terms that people actually care about, ie "its about the
economy stupid". Take a look at our ridicously overvalued stock market. We are
heading for a really big recession and maybe even a depression. If Sanders or
even Warren for that matter were to win in November it would be considered
"their" recession. That very well could be the end to theleft. The right would
have afield day with that one. The left has already conceded this election to
Trump. Let it be his recession and maybe there would be hope for 2024. Have you
noticed in the debates about how all of the candidates carefully dance around
direct topics on the economy? I agree with Tom Steyer that the only real
effective means of going after Trump is on the economy. Truth is that he is
taking credit for the Obama economy and is heading us into a recession.
However, the current crop of challengers are focusing on his racism, sexism,
bigotry, etc. As horrible as those things are, we have to realize that those
are the traits that got him elected and most likely get him reelected if none
has the backbone to call him out on the economy.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2020 8:48 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: The Left is Back!
Blah Blah Blah.
Everybody's an expert.
Well, from a guy who knew beyond a doubt that 2012 belonged to Clinton, I'm
offering my unprofessional opinion.
The Left is not now, nor will it in the near future, rise again.
Bernie may or may not win the election. If he wins it will not mean that the
Left is back. Not as long as the Empire controls the wealth, the military and
the Press.
And Frank, I have no idea what your point is.
Carl Jarvis
On 2/26/20, Frank Ventura <frank.ventura@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The only problem with this fantasy is that Sanders doesn't want to
beat Trump just like he didn't want Clinton to beat Trump four years ago.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 6:32 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] The Left is Back!
The Left is Back!
WALTER L. HIXSON
02/25/2020
Akron, OH (Special to Informed Comment) - It's official: the American
left is back! Whether Bernie Sanders goes on to win the Democratic
nomination, which appears increasingly likely, the left has risen and
it is not likely to recede anytime soon.
Virtually destroyed by World War II and the Cold War, the left
attempted a revival in the 1960s, but the new left was too narrowly
focused, too divided, and too immature to have staying power. The
Reagan Cold War revival, Clinton centrism, the global war on terror,
and right-wing populist demagoguery have all worked to keep the left on the
sidelines.
It is now back, albeit as a politics pumping precariously through the
veins and cardiac stents of a steady Vermont warhorse who has had the
temerity to call himself a democratic socialist.
The demonization of that term and of Sanders himself of course will
continue. The Cold War cast a long shadow over American culture and
politics and it has not yet fully receded. President Donald Trump,
Michael Bloomberg and many others have already invoked the proverbial
specter of communism in relation to Sanders.
One lesson Trump should have taught us by now, however, is that many
Americans do not like labels, being told how to think, and that
certain candidates are too far out of the mainstream to be elected
president. At this point both political parties are so discredited-and
rightfully so-that alternatives on the far right are being challenged by the
revivified left.
Centrists like Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden whine that
Sanders is too far to the left, but none of them has excited a base.
Clinton centrism is dead and they are its residue. Democrats may have
no choice but to move to the left, to get on the Bernie bandwagon, if
they are serious not only about defeating Trump but about having a
political future of their own.
In 2016 an electoral college-driven outcome produced a white
nationalist demagogue obsessed with the outgoing black president and
nurtured by daily doses of Fox News. Americans may now get a second
chance and a more genuine alternative to Trump than the uninspiring
Hillary Clinton, who secured the nomination through a corrupted Democratic
Party machine.
If Democrats move to the left, if they shed the discredited Clinton
centrism, they can win the 2020 election. If Trump tries to dodge
presidential debates, he will pay a price politically. If he accedes
to them, Sanders will destroy him. One man is tempestuous, imperious,
and bound to a record of climate denial, impeachment, ripping
immigrant children from their parents' arms, tax cuts for the rich,
and efforts to undermine Medicaid and Social Security.
Sanders, by contrast, champions taxation of the super-rich, a green
revolution, corporate regulation, universal health care, free
education, and higher wages for working people.
If it pits Trump against Sanders the 2020 election will offer
meaningful alternatives for minority groups. The results in Nevada,
the excitement in Texas, suggest that Hispanics will continue rally in
high numbers around Sanders. African-Americans, feminists, LGBTQ-hard
to believe they won't join in large numbers the millennials already on
the Bernie bandwagon. That leaves the mainstream white folks, male and
female-both of which turned out majority votes for Trump over Clinton
in 2016-but many of them may by now have now seen enough.
Finally, American Jews, a small minority but known for their high
turnout, can help elect the son of a Polish Jewish immigrant whose
family was victimized by the Holocaust. That heritage underscores
something very important about Bernie Sanders: his honesty, integrity,
and issue-orientated approach to policymaking. Because alone among the
candidates Sanders has had the political courage to condemn Israeli
racism and repression of Palestinians, he will confront AIPAC and the
right-wing Zionist lobby with a choice of supporting vicious
authoritarians, Trump and Netanyahu, or backing a progressive more aligned
with traditional American Jewish liberal values.
Nine months is an eternity in politics and many things can and will happen.
But whatever happens, the American left is back in mainstream
politics-and perhaps for good, in more ways than one.
Featured photo: Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa. 8 November 2019, 18:54. Credit: Matt A.J..
H/t
