Democrats are missing the way that their shift into a more war-happy party is alienating them from voters and fueling the perception that they have no intention of addressing people’s needs.
Don’t blame Kamala. As Norman Finkelstein said: “She is not even a zero; she’s a minus one.” Kamala was/is an empty vessel. She acted in the only way she has ever known - to bend in the direction the current prevailing political winds are blowing. More specifically, she bends in the direction her “handlers” tell her to bend. If it means “ban fracking”, so be it. If it means “Liz Cheney”, so be it. Tony West, her brother-in-law and corporate lawyer for Uber, cautioned and influenced her to move away from the “price-gouging” message. She bends to the whims of money and power, and why would any voter want a president like that? What use would she serve for “we the people”? Americans have finally awakened to the reality that the American political system does not care for them in the least… once they are free from the uterus. Buckle-up America: climate change is coming for you now. Witness how much help the folks in devastated North Carolina got from the American political system. Zip! Nada! Less, even!
Perhaps the price of eggs, Coca-Cola, gasoline, and rent are important issues… but there is a rampaging elephant in the room and its name is murder, genocide, and war (another in and endless stream) that has taken a million lives, or more. Guns and butter: who cares? Obviously, Americans don’t.
Forty years in the making. Any true Congressional oversight evaporated after the Boland Amendments backfired, and GHWB then pardoned [other] Iran-Contra criminals. That was the last time Congress tried to limit funds for CIA terrorist proxies. Wtf do most Americans think resurrected Ukrainian Nazis and baby-killing genocidal Zionists were ever meant to be? Something else?
Empire must be dismantled for humanity to end greed-based tyranny and piracy, you know, to survive. How about we start with permanently closing 50% of all its worldwide military bases - and let's not build any new ICBMs? Just a thought.
We democrats totally skip the budget discussion when it comes to the military. Whatever they want is ok, with a little more added, because that shows they are for our defense. But that is only their view not the people's view. We would love to have more money for social programs like child care at the expense of the military. We cannot be the worlds peace keeper, it doesn't work. Whenever we help Israel we make more enemies. AND ISRAEL DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OUR CONCERNS.
One of the best takes I've read on the causes of anti-establishment backlash--thank you. Tracks with Martin Gurri's book, "The Revolt of the Masses."
I think humans are generally good at sensing when something is wrong, but not necessarily good at an accurate diagnosis. Which is why Paul Krugman's frequent bleating during the election to the effect of, "What are you people whining about? The data shows the economy is strong!" was so wrongheaded. Even if Krugman was right (I think he was more the victim of motivated reasoning), he was being too literal. People are correct to feel uneasy. Their specific diagnosis of the economy or anything else is secondary. Krugman never wanted to search below the surface self-diagnoses.
In which regard, conspiracy theories can be revealing diagnostics. People roll their eyes at, say, QAnon, but the notion that the establishment is crawling with child abusers and cannibals didn't come from outer space. More probably it's a literal rendering--a misdiagnosis--of the otherwise accurate sense that the establishment has become fundamentally parasitic.
Most Democratic takes on why Harris lost seem to be from people primarily engaging with the voices in their heads. A better approach is to engage with concerns voiced by actual voters. But other than the simplest behaviors ("I got a glass of water because I was thirsty"), there’s always more to our behavior than we ourselves can recognize, or articulate. So the best approach--the one you use here--is to engage with the concerns voiced by actual voters while also peering beneath the surface. There needs to be a lot more of this if the Democrats hope to recover from what they’ve become.
“The greatest enemy of progress is not stagnation, but false progress." Sydney J. Harris
Biden will go down in history as the embodiment of "talk's cheap". We should not vote people back in office if they support the Gaza war, no matter what they say. Their votes are on record. We need people who support programs that address people's needs.
Don’t blame Kamala. As Norman Finkelstein said: “She is not even a zero; she’s a minus one.” Kamala was/is an empty vessel. She acted in the only way she has ever known - to bend in the direction the current prevailing political winds are blowing. More specifically, she bends in the direction her “handlers” tell her to bend. If it means “ban fracking”, so be it. If it means “Liz Cheney”, so be it. Tony West, her brother-in-law and corporate lawyer for Uber, cautioned and influenced her to move away from the “price-gouging” message. She bends to the whims of money and power, and why would any voter want a president like that? What use would she serve for “we the people”? Americans have finally awakened to the reality that the American political system does not care for them in the least… once they are free from the uterus. Buckle-up America: climate change is coming for you now. Witness how much help the folks in devastated North Carolina got from the American political system. Zip! Nada! Less, even!
Perhaps the price of eggs, Coca-Cola, gasoline, and rent are important issues… but there is a rampaging elephant in the room and its name is murder, genocide, and war (another in and endless stream) that has taken a million lives, or more. Guns and butter: who cares? Obviously, Americans don’t.
Forty years in the making. Any true Congressional oversight evaporated after the Boland Amendments backfired, and GHWB then pardoned [other] Iran-Contra criminals. That was the last time Congress tried to limit funds for CIA terrorist proxies. Wtf do most Americans think resurrected Ukrainian Nazis and baby-killing genocidal Zionists were ever meant to be? Something else?
Empire must be dismantled for humanity to end greed-based tyranny and piracy, you know, to survive. How about we start with permanently closing 50% of all its worldwide military bases - and let's not build any new ICBMs? Just a thought.
;(
We democrats totally skip the budget discussion when it comes to the military. Whatever they want is ok, with a little more added, because that shows they are for our defense. But that is only their view not the people's view. We would love to have more money for social programs like child care at the expense of the military. We cannot be the worlds peace keeper, it doesn't work. Whenever we help Israel we make more enemies. AND ISRAEL DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OUR CONCERNS.
One of the best takes I've read on the causes of anti-establishment backlash--thank you. Tracks with Martin Gurri's book, "The Revolt of the Masses."
I think humans are generally good at sensing when something is wrong, but not necessarily good at an accurate diagnosis. Which is why Paul Krugman's frequent bleating during the election to the effect of, "What are you people whining about? The data shows the economy is strong!" was so wrongheaded. Even if Krugman was right (I think he was more the victim of motivated reasoning), he was being too literal. People are correct to feel uneasy. Their specific diagnosis of the economy or anything else is secondary. Krugman never wanted to search below the surface self-diagnoses.
In which regard, conspiracy theories can be revealing diagnostics. People roll their eyes at, say, QAnon, but the notion that the establishment is crawling with child abusers and cannibals didn't come from outer space. More probably it's a literal rendering--a misdiagnosis--of the otherwise accurate sense that the establishment has become fundamentally parasitic.
Most Democratic takes on why Harris lost seem to be from people primarily engaging with the voices in their heads. A better approach is to engage with concerns voiced by actual voters. But other than the simplest behaviors ("I got a glass of water because I was thirsty"), there’s always more to our behavior than we ourselves can recognize, or articulate. So the best approach--the one you use here--is to engage with the concerns voiced by actual voters while also peering beneath the surface. There needs to be a lot more of this if the Democrats hope to recover from what they’ve become.
Why did so many Americans not vote, enthusiastically, for a Democrat in the 2024 US Presidential Election? Here are some answers.
“The greatest enemy of progress is not stagnation, but false progress." Sydney J. Harris
Biden will go down in history as the embodiment of "talk's cheap". We should not vote people back in office if they support the Gaza war, no matter what they say. Their votes are on record. We need people who support programs that address people's needs.
Thank you Ryan! Love your work!