It's hilarious to see the name calling already - the US,, we are told, 'is sexist and its men can't bring themselves to vote for a women!'. Absolute self entitlement; no thought to the fact that their candidate could only offer biz as usual in a country crying out for reform. I loathe Trump but he could at least mobilize his base - from here it looked inevitable.
Will the Democrats learn from their mistakes? It would be an achievement of immense insularity if they continue to believe their own shite. I suspect its a something they'll continue to do though.
Same situation in the UK, with the same old bureaucrats telling us one thing whilst we live the experience of something else entirely.
I think we need some new stories to buy into - and quick. Authoritarianism is landing with it's own irresistible tale to tell.
Now we'll see if the Democrats even believe what they were selling. As per their line, so now Trump the Fascist won and will be coming into power in January. He'll use the Insurrection Act of 1807 to put down protests and the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to mass deport immigrants. He probably will try, but these aren't some new Nazi laws that came out of nowhere, they're American laws that have been on the books for 200 years.
OK, now the Dems have two months while they still have control of the Senate and the White House to try to mitigate or even rescind these laws. If they really believe this is the "threat to democracy" they say it is, they could even appeal to a few outgoing moderate Republicans in the House and try to do something. That may not work, but at least they'll look like they're taking it seriously.
Will they do any of this? I'm not holding my breath. So how can they expect us to take it seriously if they don't?
There is deeper question here. Why has the US - uniquely amongst western countries - never developed a successful social democratic movement ? It's notable I think that both Trump and his liberal opponents often like to push the notion that things like universal healthcare are only possible because Europe and Canada are somehow freeriding off the US defence budget, which is nonsense for multiple reasons. One explanation I've seen is that the working classes were divided on racial lines, which made solidarity much harder. And a constant influx of immigrants make labour much more disposable and non-unionisable (if that's a word ?!) As for the orange man himself, I suspect he's too old and incompetent to last out his 4 years or even implement much of what he says he is going to. Whether he paves the way for a competent fascist to take control is another question.
...There are certainly millions who believe that capitalism is an awful economic system and that American imperialism needs to end, but there are no really-existing institutions or organisations which represent those beliefs anymore....
Since you speak in plural, true. From my vantage point in E. Europe, there appears to be one (only one) such organisation: a new party, the American Communist Party.
They show some vitality. Some of the readers may be interested to hear this.
I'm not sure that most people on the left really understand the situation on the ground in America. I work retail, and travel with my wife working craft fairs and farmers markets. Everywhere we go people are talking about how much rent has increased the last few years (mine increase 150 in a year), and products in stores have either increased in price or reduced their size while keeping prices the same.
At our places of employment, there's been a huge influx of Spanish speaking people. Some of the can't speak The language, and we have to use translation apps to communicate. A nation requires at least a shared language to actually function. The great replacement conspiracy feels real for a lot of people (and I'm in the north).
Of course, not being a coffee shop leftist, I will be called racist and be demanded to provide "evidence" for people's struggles... if youre reading this, and that attitude is you, that is why you lost. You don't understand the working class, you don't talk to them, and you don't care about their problems.
I’m get a free subscription to the New York Times, and I’m trying not laugh-cry at the deluge of “why the Democrats lost” opinion pieces. Especially when it comes to why Black men didn’t love Harris. I’ve seen a lot of theories- sexism, the economy, greater prosperity for Black men in recent years. But not a single whisper that maybe a demographic which experiences disproportionate incarceration and exploitation by various prison-industrial fringe industries were never going to love a prosecutor.
The strategy for a Democratic victory and the explanations for the Democratic loss in this election season sounded eeriely like someone asked chatGPT to sell Harris to the average voter. “Human, if we cap the price of eggs at $2/dozen, will you give us your vote to be your overlord?” turned into “Why did they not like our promise of cheap eggs? Irrational pests! We must fix our algorithm to offer them eggs AND bread next time.”
It's hilarious to see the name calling already - the US,, we are told, 'is sexist and its men can't bring themselves to vote for a women!'. Absolute self entitlement; no thought to the fact that their candidate could only offer biz as usual in a country crying out for reform. I loathe Trump but he could at least mobilize his base - from here it looked inevitable.
Will the Democrats learn from their mistakes? It would be an achievement of immense insularity if they continue to believe their own shite. I suspect its a something they'll continue to do though.
Same situation in the UK, with the same old bureaucrats telling us one thing whilst we live the experience of something else entirely.
I think we need some new stories to buy into - and quick. Authoritarianism is landing with it's own irresistible tale to tell.
I voted for a woman….Dr. Jill Stein😉
Absolutely the BEST analysis of the outcome of this election. Bravo!
Now we'll see if the Democrats even believe what they were selling. As per their line, so now Trump the Fascist won and will be coming into power in January. He'll use the Insurrection Act of 1807 to put down protests and the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to mass deport immigrants. He probably will try, but these aren't some new Nazi laws that came out of nowhere, they're American laws that have been on the books for 200 years.
OK, now the Dems have two months while they still have control of the Senate and the White House to try to mitigate or even rescind these laws. If they really believe this is the "threat to democracy" they say it is, they could even appeal to a few outgoing moderate Republicans in the House and try to do something. That may not work, but at least they'll look like they're taking it seriously.
Will they do any of this? I'm not holding my breath. So how can they expect us to take it seriously if they don't?
There is deeper question here. Why has the US - uniquely amongst western countries - never developed a successful social democratic movement ? It's notable I think that both Trump and his liberal opponents often like to push the notion that things like universal healthcare are only possible because Europe and Canada are somehow freeriding off the US defence budget, which is nonsense for multiple reasons. One explanation I've seen is that the working classes were divided on racial lines, which made solidarity much harder. And a constant influx of immigrants make labour much more disposable and non-unionisable (if that's a word ?!) As for the orange man himself, I suspect he's too old and incompetent to last out his 4 years or even implement much of what he says he is going to. Whether he paves the way for a competent fascist to take control is another question.
We didn't develop social democracy because we're not commies. The soul of America is Conservative and Libertarian. We're also not a nation.
super excited about the new publishing venture, it's great to see the official announcement!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
...There are certainly millions who believe that capitalism is an awful economic system and that American imperialism needs to end, but there are no really-existing institutions or organisations which represent those beliefs anymore....
Since you speak in plural, true. From my vantage point in E. Europe, there appears to be one (only one) such organisation: a new party, the American Communist Party.
They show some vitality. Some of the readers may be interested to hear this.
- from a new subscriber. Cheers
I'm not sure that most people on the left really understand the situation on the ground in America. I work retail, and travel with my wife working craft fairs and farmers markets. Everywhere we go people are talking about how much rent has increased the last few years (mine increase 150 in a year), and products in stores have either increased in price or reduced their size while keeping prices the same.
At our places of employment, there's been a huge influx of Spanish speaking people. Some of the can't speak The language, and we have to use translation apps to communicate. A nation requires at least a shared language to actually function. The great replacement conspiracy feels real for a lot of people (and I'm in the north).
Of course, not being a coffee shop leftist, I will be called racist and be demanded to provide "evidence" for people's struggles... if youre reading this, and that attitude is you, that is why you lost. You don't understand the working class, you don't talk to them, and you don't care about their problems.
I’m get a free subscription to the New York Times, and I’m trying not laugh-cry at the deluge of “why the Democrats lost” opinion pieces. Especially when it comes to why Black men didn’t love Harris. I’ve seen a lot of theories- sexism, the economy, greater prosperity for Black men in recent years. But not a single whisper that maybe a demographic which experiences disproportionate incarceration and exploitation by various prison-industrial fringe industries were never going to love a prosecutor.
The strategy for a Democratic victory and the explanations for the Democratic loss in this election season sounded eeriely like someone asked chatGPT to sell Harris to the average voter. “Human, if we cap the price of eggs at $2/dozen, will you give us your vote to be your overlord?” turned into “Why did they not like our promise of cheap eggs? Irrational pests! We must fix our algorithm to offer them eggs AND bread next time.”