The right doesn’t have a problem with people refusing to vote for right-wing politicians because they want to punish them for not being right-wing enough.
Meanwhile the far-left goes on and on about how voting is pointless and you’re a lib if you think voting can effect change, and then expect you to be insulted by that term
The right has been cleaning house in primaries getting rid of 'RINO’s in favor of first the tea partiers and now MAGA for years.
This article is from over five years ago: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/12/the-demise-of-the-moderate-republican
Thanks for sharing that. It was terrible and depressing read, 5½ years in the future.
The local spending is exactly the cleaning house that you’re talking about.
They’re just going to keep going further and further right.
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Who could have imagined that doing what your base wants would bring in more donations than ordering your base to be happy while you do what the other party’s base wants.
The grass roots apparatus that Bernie built is basically gone at this point.
Because it was never supposed to be about raising money, it was supposed to be about answering the call and running for office in your community to directly impact change, but unfortunately nobody wants to do the work and take on the responsibility of running and holding offices.
And of course to be clear, I say this as somebody who also hasn’t answered the call, but nonetheless I feel like we keep forgetting that Bernie was telling all of our to be the architects of our own political destinies
Because it was never supposed to be about raising money, it was supposed to be about answering the call and running for office in your community to directly impact change, but unfortunately nobody wants to do the work and take on the responsibility of running and holding offices.
I don’t/ can’t entirely agree with that, primarily because what Bernie was doing was working. Progressives were running and winning nationally, largely supported by the apparatus that Bernie had built starting in 2014. More progressives landed state and local positions nationallly through out that time period, and still, because of Bernies leadership and vision that went beyond himself. In terms of seats, Progressive candidates were competitive with the rates at which more rightwing candidates were winning. From 2014-2022, and still, mainstream (read: neolib & neocon corporatism) were getting eaten from the left and the right. The difference is that when the Republicans noticed this happening, they rallied and used it to fight the left and used it to defeat the Democrats. When the Democrats noticed it, they also rallied and fought the left to the defeat the Democrats.
The biggest threat to progressive populism/ social democracy in this country has never been the Republicans or right. The biggest threat has always been the Democrats, as gate-keepers of the party apparatus and access to national elections. The Democrats preferred a Trump presidency in 2016 over a running popular leftwing candidate. The Democratic party is more invested in the maintenance of the status quo than it is the will of its voting base. To the Democrats, their voters are an inconvenience they occasionally have to service. Seeing as the Democrats are working to lose another election right now with their insistence on running rightwing candidates that don’t appeal broadly to their base, it might be time to start worrying about the next fight. Because unless something drastically changes, the DNC has thrown yet another election.
But about that next fight… Bernie gave us the blueprint. He’s shown us how to run successful leftwing campaigns at all levels of government. I’m going to run eventually. Maybe just for dogcatcher, but something. Probably not next cycle but maybe the one after that. I wont be running as a Democrat. I’ll be running as an independent but I can assure you my platform will be left af. And just like Bernie, I’m going to speak directly to issues people are experiencing in their every day god damned lives.
*when I say Democrats, I mean party leadership Democrats/ figurehead Democrats, not Democratic voters.
I think the biggest flaw with Bernie is he turns into a cheerleader for the democratic nominee after he loses the primaries. He did it for Hillary and he does it with Biden. I understand he is doing it because he thinks trump would be worse, but at the same time it kinda hurts the progressive movement and messaging. It feels like we are giving up our progressive goals just to elect Biden, or else suffer an even worse option. It kills the enthusiasm when both the options suck and it feels inevitable that the one we actually want will lose or has lost already.
Don’t get me wrong tho I love Bernie, but this is my biggest gripe with him.
I mean he tucked his head down and got to work. I think he does recognize the kind of existential thread Trump represents to even being able to fix the system.
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This looks more like evidence of red State governments becoming more red or rather, the wealthy interest groups trying harder to keep it red. I think the majority of Americans are not brainwashed conservatives. Churches are losing membership. Spirituality is falling, as well. With a proven economic gain from rational science based reasonings it’s a lot less likely there will be any regression unless society is destroyed. And I think, in the end, Republicans and conservative groups at large are just going to cheat to win. Consistently. They will rig votes and do all the things they accuse the Democrats of. Democrats really need to expose that for what it is. Give it the ol’ Conservative media spin like they do. Stop focusing on trump but keep talking about conservatives at large. Expose more churches and private schools and sensationalize the shit out of them.
Liberals rarely seem all that interested in state and local elections. Maybe liberals don’t feel connected to their state or to a community. I think liberals move around more than conservatives, maybe that has something to do with it. You’re less likely to be involved in local politics if you never put down roots anywhere.
No. Liberals are just as invested in local politics.
I don’t think that’s true. As the article points out, during Obama’s first term the Republicans built their tea party movement at the state and local levels, while Democrats were primarily focused on Washington. As a result, a majority of state legislatures became Republican controlled, which, I believe, is still the case today.
Democratic party is not equal to liberals. It’s the party with power closest to liberal ideas.
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I just read an article two days ago claiming the opposite. I don’t buy anything in election years.
Biden is outraising Trump by a lot but this isn’t about that or other federal races
