Each day the Democrats become outraged about another Trump outrage – stomping on immigrants, undermining the courts, attacking Canada, claiming Ukraine started the war, violating campus free speech, destroying the EPA, firing forest rangers, bullying Greenland, and on and on and on.
Kudos to you again for "speaking truth to power" back in 2023. Clearly the Dems are never going to be a working class party. Folks are clear about income and therefore power inequity. What they are not clear on is a viable, attainable alternative. There are good reasons why so many election races are uncontested. The costs are enormous and that will be brought home again tonight when the Wisconsin Purchase is completed. Newfoundland next? Right now what is more likely to fuel discontent is in fact inflation and gutting Social Security. Of course, aside from Chainsaw Musk, the reactionaries know the better road to success is to cripple the ability of the public agencies to do their job to serve working people and thus paving the road for demands to privatize.
Amen, Les! I'll be watching the WI Supreme Court election closely today. This has already become "the finest political race money can buy." Who voted for Elon Musk? I didn't see his name on my ballot! This is ridiculous. Money talks and the people walks...
Great article Les and it's part of a worrying trend both sides of the Atlantic. After the psychological warfare offensive against Jeremy Corbyn delivered the venal corrupt filth of Boris Johnson to office Starmer completely capitulated to big business, dark money, Rupert Murdoch and both BREXIT and a neo-liberal agenda that has amounted to a seamless continuation of austerity and a failed neo-liberal project under a government that is Labour in name only. Meanwhile, not only do they adapt to a fascist agenda framing immigration as a problem, they won't even re-join a Customs Union that would put them on the correct side of a trade war with fascist America. Indeed, Scab Starmer the Tory has practically given Trump a blow job in public, is up to his neck in war crimes in Palestine, is complicit in Trump's betrayal of Ukraine, has pissed all over OUR ALLIES in Canada and Denmark and is offering tax breaks to tech companies including that of Musk alongside attacks on public services and trade unions at home. Everybody knows that the price of any trade deal with Trump will be the seamless expansion of DOGE's attack on government and services into the UK and by scrapping NHS England Wes Streeting has already paved the way for it. This, as you say, will offer the next heavily manipulated election to the fascists of Farage's Reform UK on a bit-coin plate. Fighting a fascist Republican Party (which it has been since the Koch brothers and Mercer started backing Trump) and a fascist Reform (who have now replaced the Tories) means cleaning out our own Agean stables and ridding ourselves of a faux Democrat and faux Labour leadership. Unions like the GMB and UNISON (and the others) should withdraw support from Counterfiet Labour until the current Tory and neo-liberal policies of Counterfeit Labour are overturned and the present leadership removed. There are at least 28 Labour MPs who are really pissed off with Starmer's austerity and reactionary crap so where are they? If WE don't remove the reactionary leadership of our own party at the polls the fascists will do it for us and there will be blood and bullets on the street.
In Jan-Feb 2024, I predicted that no later than summer Biden would step aside for Kamala Harris (maybe Michelle Obama), and that this would be orchestrated by Barack "Pen and Phone" Obama. Biden had no intention of running again. He hung in because Trump would insist Hunter face charges and possible loss of liberty. All out lawfare to get Trump to drop. but instead the DEMs created a desperate Donald, who 'had to win' to avoid loss of liberty. Once Trump dropped, and Biden was assured Hunter would not be prosecuted (and possibly flip Joe to get a lighter penalty), Biden intended to step aside.
Only the debate happened and it was over.
Barack had been waiting in the wings with his black candidate who was such a downer that she had no chance of winning the primaries.
Kamala Harris was Barack's "icebreaker" testing the frozen waters to see if Michelle could run in 2028. Michelle, almost predictably, gave a speech at the convention, hoping to stir up the ghost of William Jennings Bryan's famous Cross of Gold speech that won his party's nomination 96.
Whether they stay married or not, this is all planned, and even if they split, Barack will be orchestrating his version of descriptive representation, the research agenda of Professor Claudine Gay.
From where I stand - in Paradise - it seems like a mystery that the unions are so week. Workers are poor and many. Are they too afraid to organize? In Denmark unions are loosing members too, for several reasons, but also because they did their job so good that many find them unnecessary.
As I've said here previously, I know most of this through bitter first hand experience. As a blue collar union activist and local Dem campaign mgr, I fought the neolib elite leveraged buy-out of the D party. All to make this country and the world safe for predatory capitalism.
Abandoning the New Deal and the majority working class was morally reprehensible. Worse yet for justification as practical realism, it proved politically stupid. The Schumer story in Les's book (also in Kelton's MMT book) says it all. We workers understand the effects of enormous D campaign contributions from multinational corporations and 1%ers. No surprise the Ds bailed out Wall St. after '08 while doing nothing for the millions of us who lost jobs, pensions, homes.
Recently Chris Hedges interviewed Ralph Nader. Of course some commenter used the spoiler argument. The sheer gall of people who think our votes belong to them!!! Offer us candidates who listen to us and who obviously care about us and we will consider voting for them.
The D loyalist also claimed had Gore won, we'd probably now be in eco-paradise. Only if you ignore how Clinton and Gore backed NAFTA and the WTO, corporate agenda writ very large. Were they and the rest of the D party elite serious about climate and ecological crises, they'd have to challenge this econopathic system. Where devastation of human communities and entire ecosystems are defined away as externalities. Where trickle up is accepted and even encouraged. Where the real producers, labor and the production of physically real goods and services, are neglected in favor of extractions through abstract financial manipulations by non-producers.
Until I hear these economic "inconvenient truths" spoken aloud by the Ds, I want no part of them.
What about the WFP's strategy as a way to build a third party and build a different vision. They avoid all the problems of having a third party and maintain the ability to stay visible and gradually build a progressive vision and power. Otherwise third parties have been a disaster.
A note about Biden: I held to supporting him because he was breaking with neoliberalism and I was afraid a replacement for him would take us backward. Without much knowledge about her I assumed Harris would at least support reforming the economics and would be opened to pushing her to more progressive policies and positions.
Once she fell into the stupidity of seeing moderate Republicans as the road to wining the election instead of appealing to the working class my guts told she was a looser. I see now it wasn't her stupidity it was in her class interest. I still supported her because of my fear of what the autocrats would do in power. And I was lulled to sleep by the Democratic pollsters who spouted their fantasies. I foolishly let them temper my fear of losing to those who were going to build a fascist power structure.
Pardon me for my obvious naivety. I also felt hopeless because people were just then talking about fascism as opposed to blowing me off.
Frankly you also appeared to be losing it by suggesting people should listen to Clinton and Obama the two main normalizers of neoliberalism.
Hi John, I don't think I've said a kind word about Clinton and Obama -- ever. I've been trying to understand the WFP strategy. But it seems at the end of the day, they funnel people into the Democratic Party. Also, I'm not sure how many working people are actually active in the WFP. But I'm open to learning more. Also I'm trying to pierce the idea that third parties are always a disaster. We're in a very strange place these days when so many districts actually are one party districts. So I'm really advocating a second party to challenge the one party monopolies in those districts. All of this is tough stuff. My goal for the next couple of years is kick up a discussion. Many thanks for your comment.
Les,
Kudos to you again for "speaking truth to power" back in 2023. Clearly the Dems are never going to be a working class party. Folks are clear about income and therefore power inequity. What they are not clear on is a viable, attainable alternative. There are good reasons why so many election races are uncontested. The costs are enormous and that will be brought home again tonight when the Wisconsin Purchase is completed. Newfoundland next? Right now what is more likely to fuel discontent is in fact inflation and gutting Social Security. Of course, aside from Chainsaw Musk, the reactionaries know the better road to success is to cripple the ability of the public agencies to do their job to serve working people and thus paving the road for demands to privatize.
Amen, Les! I'll be watching the WI Supreme Court election closely today. This has already become "the finest political race money can buy." Who voted for Elon Musk? I didn't see his name on my ballot! This is ridiculous. Money talks and the people walks...
Great article Les and it's part of a worrying trend both sides of the Atlantic. After the psychological warfare offensive against Jeremy Corbyn delivered the venal corrupt filth of Boris Johnson to office Starmer completely capitulated to big business, dark money, Rupert Murdoch and both BREXIT and a neo-liberal agenda that has amounted to a seamless continuation of austerity and a failed neo-liberal project under a government that is Labour in name only. Meanwhile, not only do they adapt to a fascist agenda framing immigration as a problem, they won't even re-join a Customs Union that would put them on the correct side of a trade war with fascist America. Indeed, Scab Starmer the Tory has practically given Trump a blow job in public, is up to his neck in war crimes in Palestine, is complicit in Trump's betrayal of Ukraine, has pissed all over OUR ALLIES in Canada and Denmark and is offering tax breaks to tech companies including that of Musk alongside attacks on public services and trade unions at home. Everybody knows that the price of any trade deal with Trump will be the seamless expansion of DOGE's attack on government and services into the UK and by scrapping NHS England Wes Streeting has already paved the way for it. This, as you say, will offer the next heavily manipulated election to the fascists of Farage's Reform UK on a bit-coin plate. Fighting a fascist Republican Party (which it has been since the Koch brothers and Mercer started backing Trump) and a fascist Reform (who have now replaced the Tories) means cleaning out our own Agean stables and ridding ourselves of a faux Democrat and faux Labour leadership. Unions like the GMB and UNISON (and the others) should withdraw support from Counterfiet Labour until the current Tory and neo-liberal policies of Counterfeit Labour are overturned and the present leadership removed. There are at least 28 Labour MPs who are really pissed off with Starmer's austerity and reactionary crap so where are they? If WE don't remove the reactionary leadership of our own party at the polls the fascists will do it for us and there will be blood and bullets on the street.
"They can’t be reformed into a working-class party, because that’s not who they are or what they want to be." Well said!
thx.
In Jan-Feb 2024, I predicted that no later than summer Biden would step aside for Kamala Harris (maybe Michelle Obama), and that this would be orchestrated by Barack "Pen and Phone" Obama. Biden had no intention of running again. He hung in because Trump would insist Hunter face charges and possible loss of liberty. All out lawfare to get Trump to drop. but instead the DEMs created a desperate Donald, who 'had to win' to avoid loss of liberty. Once Trump dropped, and Biden was assured Hunter would not be prosecuted (and possibly flip Joe to get a lighter penalty), Biden intended to step aside.
Only the debate happened and it was over.
Barack had been waiting in the wings with his black candidate who was such a downer that she had no chance of winning the primaries.
Kamala Harris was Barack's "icebreaker" testing the frozen waters to see if Michelle could run in 2028. Michelle, almost predictably, gave a speech at the convention, hoping to stir up the ghost of William Jennings Bryan's famous Cross of Gold speech that won his party's nomination 96.
Whether they stay married or not, this is all planned, and even if they split, Barack will be orchestrating his version of descriptive representation, the research agenda of Professor Claudine Gay.
Hi Les
From where I stand - in Paradise - it seems like a mystery that the unions are so week. Workers are poor and many. Are they too afraid to organize? In Denmark unions are loosing members too, for several reasons, but also because they did their job so good that many find them unnecessary.
As I've said here previously, I know most of this through bitter first hand experience. As a blue collar union activist and local Dem campaign mgr, I fought the neolib elite leveraged buy-out of the D party. All to make this country and the world safe for predatory capitalism.
Abandoning the New Deal and the majority working class was morally reprehensible. Worse yet for justification as practical realism, it proved politically stupid. The Schumer story in Les's book (also in Kelton's MMT book) says it all. We workers understand the effects of enormous D campaign contributions from multinational corporations and 1%ers. No surprise the Ds bailed out Wall St. after '08 while doing nothing for the millions of us who lost jobs, pensions, homes.
Recently Chris Hedges interviewed Ralph Nader. Of course some commenter used the spoiler argument. The sheer gall of people who think our votes belong to them!!! Offer us candidates who listen to us and who obviously care about us and we will consider voting for them.
The D loyalist also claimed had Gore won, we'd probably now be in eco-paradise. Only if you ignore how Clinton and Gore backed NAFTA and the WTO, corporate agenda writ very large. Were they and the rest of the D party elite serious about climate and ecological crises, they'd have to challenge this econopathic system. Where devastation of human communities and entire ecosystems are defined away as externalities. Where trickle up is accepted and even encouraged. Where the real producers, labor and the production of physically real goods and services, are neglected in favor of extractions through abstract financial manipulations by non-producers.
Until I hear these economic "inconvenient truths" spoken aloud by the Ds, I want no part of them.
amen to that!
What about the WFP's strategy as a way to build a third party and build a different vision. They avoid all the problems of having a third party and maintain the ability to stay visible and gradually build a progressive vision and power. Otherwise third parties have been a disaster.
A note about Biden: I held to supporting him because he was breaking with neoliberalism and I was afraid a replacement for him would take us backward. Without much knowledge about her I assumed Harris would at least support reforming the economics and would be opened to pushing her to more progressive policies and positions.
Once she fell into the stupidity of seeing moderate Republicans as the road to wining the election instead of appealing to the working class my guts told she was a looser. I see now it wasn't her stupidity it was in her class interest. I still supported her because of my fear of what the autocrats would do in power. And I was lulled to sleep by the Democratic pollsters who spouted their fantasies. I foolishly let them temper my fear of losing to those who were going to build a fascist power structure.
Pardon me for my obvious naivety. I also felt hopeless because people were just then talking about fascism as opposed to blowing me off.
Frankly you also appeared to be losing it by suggesting people should listen to Clinton and Obama the two main normalizers of neoliberalism.
Hi John, I don't think I've said a kind word about Clinton and Obama -- ever. I've been trying to understand the WFP strategy. But it seems at the end of the day, they funnel people into the Democratic Party. Also, I'm not sure how many working people are actually active in the WFP. But I'm open to learning more. Also I'm trying to pierce the idea that third parties are always a disaster. We're in a very strange place these days when so many districts actually are one party districts. So I'm really advocating a second party to challenge the one party monopolies in those districts. All of this is tough stuff. My goal for the next couple of years is kick up a discussion. Many thanks for your comment.