Moyers And Winship: ‘Turn Left On Main Street’

Leave it to the estimable Bill Moyers and his senior writer Michael Winship to come down hard on people like Rep. John K. Delaney, who in his WaPo op‑ed lambastes all members of the Democratic Party who are politically to the left of John Boehner. Thank you, Messrs. Moyers and Winship; my patience with purportedly Democratic members of Congress who insist on pretending the Democratic Party is, was and ever shall be hardcore conservative just because self-proclaimed "New Democrats," "Blue Democrats," etc. have made inroads into the process of turning the DP into a Second Republican Party. Who the fv<k needs that?

The Enemy Of My Enemy — Can A Left-Right Populist Alliance Overthrow The Parties And The Wall Street Establishment?

The Parties are over broken

Robert Reich thinks it's possible. In a post titled "The Six Principles of the New Populism (and the Establishment’s Nightmare)" Reich asserts that there are at least six items on which the Tea Party and the increasingly disempowered progressive wing of the Democratic Party can agree, items which might serve as a basis for an active populism that would save America from its ongoing and apparently never-ending economic recession. (When can we stop being polite and call it a depression, which seems a more accurate name to me?)

The six items are big enough (break up the big banks; resurrect Glass-Steagall; end corporate welfare; rein in the NSA; put brakes on America's overseas interventions; stop corporate-crafted trade agreements), and Reich offers evidence of support for them from left-wing populists and right-wing populists.

I would love to see this work. What a concept... a popular takeover of an aging, failing democracy! But of course I have some cautionary words:

• Left populists and right populists share no goals, only means. Any such alliance would be temporary at best, and the aftermath of the breakup may be difficult to say the least.
• Right populists cannot be trusted. Will they follow through on their promises? only as far as those freely made promises further their goals, which are not the same goals... see above.
• Establishment parties and related institutions have ways of getting what they want in the face of all sorts of adversity. One of the main ways they have is money. In this respect, there is less difference than you might think between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Dems have done absolutely nothing to support their left-leaning progressives, and the Tea Party appears to be supported primarily by obscenely wealthy individuals whose goals overlap those of the membership only as far as they serve the interests of the wealthy supporters.

In other words, it's a great idea, but how can it be pulled off for an extended enough period to make any real dent in establishment institutions and ambitions?

Senator Elizabeth Warren Has Something To Say

... on Kos. Need a dose of inspiration today? Here she is!

The Wealthy In America: Perception And Reality

Josh Marshall, editor of TPM, undertakes to explain the vast chasm between the reality of the lives of wealthy Americans and their own perceptions of themselves as put upon, unjustly condemned, morally superior to people of lesser means, the standard-bearers of the American economy, etc. Marshall addresses the fact that, while President Obama has, in real life, done almost everything the 1% could possibly have hoped for... bailed out their corporations even as those corporations engaged in the most destructive, ineffective economic behavior, declined to prosecute or even investigate those whose actions either verged on or actually engaged in outright illegality in pursuit of ever greater profits... but Obama himself is remembered by Wall Street almost entirely for a half dozen purely political declarations aimed at recapturing his base in election years and scarcely followed up on in his terms of office that followed. Marshall's essays on the subject are to be found in posts titled The Brittle Grip, part 1 and part 2. These can be read independently; if you have time to read only one, read part 2.

Marshall is an interesting middle-of-the-road Democrat, a former blogger who actually succeeded in his ambition to turn his blog into a small but sustainable media "empire" of sorts. Back when he was a blogger and I was a rank-and-file Democrat, I corresponded with him for a year or two. It was simultaneously a rewarding and exasperating experience, much as I imagine those who actually engage Mr. Obama experience when they face him. Marshall understands politics probably as well as Obama, but both seem to have little deep comprehension of the left side of the American political spectrum. Marshall is at least interested in understanding the left as a phenomenon even if he has no desire to participate in it; Obama, on the other hand, seems to perceive the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party as a force to be coped with and manipulated into supporting his own political aims. It is the nature of political analysis versus political office-holding that distinguishes the behavior of the president from even the most supportive journalists, which under ordinary circumstances I believe would include Josh Marshall. But apparently Obama is interested only in the functional support, not in the alignment of philosophical/political positions with his own. This is certain to bring him grief to one degree or another. Marshall's posts on the nature of both the positions and the inevitable conflicts are worth your time to read.

I still find myself not even a tiny bit more aligned with President Obama's sociopolitical views than I was before he was elected to a second term (with my vote, I admit). As surely as Obama will never have the ideological support of the Tea Party no matter what he does or says, he will also never fully gain the ideological support of what the late great Paul Wellstone used to call "the democratic wing of the Democratic Party": Obama is simply too conservative to capture their spirit.

And I am not sure that wing of the Democratic Party can survive the utter neglect it is experiencing in this peculiar Democratic-but-not-democratic administration. As for us unabashed liberals, the good Dog help us all, because Mr. Obama never will.

Progressive Wins In 2013

Joshua Holland of billmoyers.com points out that for progressives, 2013 was not the painful, awful year some of us might have thought it was. Holland lists 15 progressive victories, some small, some not so small (e.g., two of our largest cities, NYC and LA, elected distinctly progressive mayors, despite aggressive pro-business fundraising). Do yourself a favor... read about some of the wins.

Holland appears to see these victories as the beginning of a trend. I'm not so sure, but I'll take all the wins we can get. The right-wing nut-jobs never cease, though; we have to keep winning the battles in 2014.

(The graphic at the right bearing a quote of the late lamented Senator Paul Wellstone appears to be a poster, but I know nothing of its origin. If anyone has any information, I'd be happy to give credit where it is due...)

Dear Courage Campaign

I don't know who gave you my email for your list; there are many possibilities... and for the moment I'll leave you on my list. And I have to admit that, to all appearances, your political positions and my political views are very, very similar. Thank you for being sane.

But I can't help noticing that your logo is a recolored version of the California state flag. And of the 20 issues linked from the home page of your web site, five (5) are introduced with that California flag, and the linked articles are about issues that may or may not be nationwide in scope, but are certainly California-based in the specific versions that you have chosen to address.

Your splash screen throws up a popup asking me to contribute money. If you're truly an org that spans America in addressing progressive issues, and you want to prove yourself worthy of my money, why don't you take on something harder?

Texas, for example, has far more tough nuts to crack than California...

I notice your logo graphic is named bear_thumb.gif ... an org that actually wants to confront Texas nuts will need to be able to crack them with its (ahem) bear [sic] thumbs! Contact me again when your org is prepared to do that.

Good luck,
Steve