"Of course Republican campaigns and aligned media are going to try to portray Democrats as extremists and use any vaguely leftist quote as evidence to support that. That literally happens in every election."
This is a take I've had for a while, especially with the rise of social media. Republicans can and will take quotes from accounts with ones of followers and use this cherrypicked evidence to make wild claims. In contrast, Democrats use the words of the literal party leaders and the retort is that they "cannot take a joke." I might be beating a dead squid, but with January 6th, the lead up to that saw the primary spreaders of misinformation almost entirely arising from the GOP elite, as thoroughly documented by Ian Kennedy and their colleagues at the University of Washington (https://journalqd.org/article/view/3137). While it will be important to be vigilant so as to prevent people like Platner from claiming the mantle of the new left, I personally am getting tired of the empirically questionable and vibes based electability argument.
As I taught to my Congress students, how many are part of the DSA caucus? How do these compare to their GOP equivalent in size and action? How often has this DSA caucus overthrown establishment party leaders without a consensus replacement in mind? How many government shutdowns has this DSA caucus caused? How often have these DSA caucus members violently refused to cede power following an election? Using the framework of party cartel theory, how do these fringes thwart acts that prove to be necessary conditions for party collective goods? It is this inability to weight that is the bane of constructive conversations.
I think the point might be that the answers to many of those questions will change by approximately January 3, 2027. The distinctions you make were temporary and did not carry the day…the concerns people had with the DSA are being validated. But really it is up to you to tell your students that the rise of socialism is fine because the GOP did some things you didn’t like when things didn’t go your way.
I always thought leftists focused too much on Israel. I thought criticisms of their actions against Hamas went too far. But now, after Israel convinced us to join them on Feb 28 in launching a surprise attack in Iran (during negotiations), I think a large focus on Israel is completely justified. We really need to disassociate ourselves from Israel and stop getting dragged into their conflicts.
I agree with your analysis, SM. I'm reminded, too, of the epigram attributed to Gandhi and Disraeli, among others: "There go my people. I must follow them because I am their leader." Real or not, and tactically sound or not, this quote signals deference to the body politic. A cohort of current D leadership seems to be trying to steer its voters rather than figure out how to adapt to them as they change. That doesn't seem built for success.
That’s a quote from Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin in 1848 Paris. And a party trying to guide its voters is often a good idea, in my opinion! The current Dem establishment is not doing a particularly great job of it.
I agree, SM: guidance from party leadership can be a good idea and a useful process that successfully advances political and policy goals. I also agree that current D establishment-leadership is not successfully riding to the challenge of the moment.
The party would benefit from more leaders like, e.g., Reid and Pelosi, who could play the inside game and were better at the outside game. I didn't always agree with their processes and outcomes, but they were usually effective.
That said, the electorate seems to be in really significant flux right now (partly due to demographic turnover and partly due to the issues on the table). I'm not sure the current leadership knows how to deal with that flux, including how to galvanize and channel it.
I came up with a great joke the other day, "I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat." Unfortunately, after some brief research I found out that some guy named Will Rogers beat me to the punch by 80 years. (One of the Roosevelts was president - man he must have found it incredibly hard to get anything done with such a fractious coalition.)
Oh well, if I can get "Democrats in disarray" to catch on, I'll be happy.
From my micro view, my Rep is Diana DeGette. I am very critical of her general practice as my Congressperson and was hoping for a good challenger, some in the vein of Joe Neguse of Jason Crow. We instead got a DSA challenger. I view this as a consequence of SOP for an incumbent: strangle all viable competition at birth. This is why DSA candidates emerge. So now my options are a Republican or a DSA candidate whose origin story and primary motivator is what is going on in Gaza (which is roughly 3X the population of CO District 1). I hope they have greater interest in the district and structural national issues, but I admit it is unsettling
"Of course Republican campaigns and aligned media are going to try to portray Democrats as extremists and use any vaguely leftist quote as evidence to support that. That literally happens in every election."
This is a take I've had for a while, especially with the rise of social media. Republicans can and will take quotes from accounts with ones of followers and use this cherrypicked evidence to make wild claims. In contrast, Democrats use the words of the literal party leaders and the retort is that they "cannot take a joke." I might be beating a dead squid, but with January 6th, the lead up to that saw the primary spreaders of misinformation almost entirely arising from the GOP elite, as thoroughly documented by Ian Kennedy and their colleagues at the University of Washington (https://journalqd.org/article/view/3137). While it will be important to be vigilant so as to prevent people like Platner from claiming the mantle of the new left, I personally am getting tired of the empirically questionable and vibes based electability argument.
If you elect DSA members to Congress, it is not cherry picking to quote them and their bills.
As I taught to my Congress students, how many are part of the DSA caucus? How do these compare to their GOP equivalent in size and action? How often has this DSA caucus overthrown establishment party leaders without a consensus replacement in mind? How many government shutdowns has this DSA caucus caused? How often have these DSA caucus members violently refused to cede power following an election? Using the framework of party cartel theory, how do these fringes thwart acts that prove to be necessary conditions for party collective goods? It is this inability to weight that is the bane of constructive conversations.
I think the point might be that the answers to many of those questions will change by approximately January 3, 2027. The distinctions you make were temporary and did not carry the day…the concerns people had with the DSA are being validated. But really it is up to you to tell your students that the rise of socialism is fine because the GOP did some things you didn’t like when things didn’t go your way.
This nicely organized analysis of survey results shows that pretty much everyone everywhere shares the DSA goals. https://gelliottmorris.substack.com/p/what-do-voters-in-each-congressional
I always thought leftists focused too much on Israel. I thought criticisms of their actions against Hamas went too far. But now, after Israel convinced us to join them on Feb 28 in launching a surprise attack in Iran (during negotiations), I think a large focus on Israel is completely justified. We really need to disassociate ourselves from Israel and stop getting dragged into their conflicts.
I agree with your analysis, SM. I'm reminded, too, of the epigram attributed to Gandhi and Disraeli, among others: "There go my people. I must follow them because I am their leader." Real or not, and tactically sound or not, this quote signals deference to the body politic. A cohort of current D leadership seems to be trying to steer its voters rather than figure out how to adapt to them as they change. That doesn't seem built for success.
That’s a quote from Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin in 1848 Paris. And a party trying to guide its voters is often a good idea, in my opinion! The current Dem establishment is not doing a particularly great job of it.
I agree, SM: guidance from party leadership can be a good idea and a useful process that successfully advances political and policy goals. I also agree that current D establishment-leadership is not successfully riding to the challenge of the moment.
The party would benefit from more leaders like, e.g., Reid and Pelosi, who could play the inside game and were better at the outside game. I didn't always agree with their processes and outcomes, but they were usually effective.
That said, the electorate seems to be in really significant flux right now (partly due to demographic turnover and partly due to the issues on the table). I'm not sure the current leadership knows how to deal with that flux, including how to galvanize and channel it.
I came up with a great joke the other day, "I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat." Unfortunately, after some brief research I found out that some guy named Will Rogers beat me to the punch by 80 years. (One of the Roosevelts was president - man he must have found it incredibly hard to get anything done with such a fractious coalition.)
Oh well, if I can get "Democrats in disarray" to catch on, I'll be happy.
Stay on the issues. Fuck the labels.
From my micro view, my Rep is Diana DeGette. I am very critical of her general practice as my Congressperson and was hoping for a good challenger, some in the vein of Joe Neguse of Jason Crow. We instead got a DSA challenger. I view this as a consequence of SOP for an incumbent: strangle all viable competition at birth. This is why DSA candidates emerge. So now my options are a Republican or a DSA candidate whose origin story and primary motivator is what is going on in Gaza (which is roughly 3X the population of CO District 1). I hope they have greater interest in the district and structural national issues, but I admit it is unsettling