***Official Political Discussion Thread***

[rexanglorum]

OutKast lasted longer than the Confederacy.

 

[dacomeup]

What I'm asking is how do you conceive of translating that goal into a specific political program that you would see as adequately addressing it.

My whole point is that leftists should be considering this as you all push these race neutral plans. I personally don’t have programs to suggest, but I can easily foresee the ways that the race neutral ones fall short. I agree with everything Methodical Management posted. Definitely get Trumpian “What do you have to lose?” energy with some of the rhetoric.

 

[-Red-]

I referenced this in a previous conversation in this thread, and was essentially told that, because Du Bois wrote a century ago, he is less relevant to a discussion of racial inequality in the US than the dogma of a White man who died in London before Du Bois was even born. (And you wonder why people don't want to engage.)

I don't believe I quoted or brought up Karl Marx once in that exchange, nor have I even read Capital as you had intimated in an apparent attempt to reduce me to some aloof "coffee shop revolutionary," so there goes that theory...

 

[storm2006]

OutKast lasted longer than the Confederacy.

This man blankly said “(and other bad things!)“ like he was trying to convince a group of Kindergarteners of what will happen if they don’t eat all their vegetables

 

[-Red-]

My whole point is that leftists should be considering this as you all push these race neutral plans. I personally don’t have programs to suggest, but I can easily foresee the ways that the race neutral ones fall short. I agree with everything Methodical Management posted. Definitely get Trumpian “What do you have to lose?” energy with some of the rhetoric.

Imagine someone said the following: "My political program is designed to accomplish the following. Every black person will be guaranteed living wage employment by the federal government. Every black person will be covered under a universal healthcare program in which there will be no premiums, deductibles, or co-pays, and medical services will be free at the point of delivery. Every black person will receive a generously funded, high-quality public education, including free public higher education. Every black person will be guaranteed decent and affordable housing, and the federal government will build housing to meet those needs to whatever extent necessary. Black workers will be empowered to take over collective management (if not ownership) of their workplaces. The federal government will invest billions of dollars in revitalizing public infrastructure in black communities." And on and on.

Who in their rightful mind that cares about the well-being of black folks would say "Nah, I don't want that"?

But if the targets of those sentences change to "every person," these same proposals have now somehow become detrimental to black people? Akin to Trump's reactionary appeals?

 

[boxer15]

Also, left, right, center and grill pilled can all agree that this man is daaaaaaaaaaaapper AF!

Manopause is wreaking havoc on that portly swine.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Imagine someone said the following: "My political program is designed to accomplish the following. Every black person will be guaranteed living wage employment by the federal government. Every black person will be covered under a universal healthcare program in which there will be no premiums, deductibles, or co-pays, and medical services will be free at the point of delivery. Every black person will receive a generously funded, high-quality public education, including free public higher education. Every black person will be guaranteed decent and affordable housing, and the federal government will build housing to meet those needs to whatever extent necessary. Black workers will be empowered to take over collective management (if not ownership) of their workplaces. The federal government will invest billions of dollars in revitalizing public infrastructure in black communities." And on and on.

Who in their rightful mind that cares about the well-being of black folks would say "Nah, I don't want that"?

But if the targets of those sentences change to "every person," these same proposals have now somehow become detrimental to black people? Akin to Trump's reactionary appeals?

I think what people are pointing out is that even leftist policies are insufficient to achieve real economic and social justice for black people. You can claim there are better that whatever someone else is pushing, but they are still inadequate. They are only part of the solution. People want more because more will be needed to make the black community whole. More than what it will take to make poor white people whole.

To achieve that, at some point, you have to add additional policies and goals that explicitly spell out that their aim is to help specifically black people. The issue is that what guarantee will there be that new socialist coalition that pushes through colorblind universal policies, will also be on board with pushing through other programs specifically aimed at helping black Americans?

The goal is to use this class first rhetoric to attract a ton of new marginal voters into supporting the leftist agenda. Is it not?

But whenever someone points out the friction there, you circle back to how much good the leftist agenda will do for black people, how it is better than the liberal policy plan, or how pure of heart the median leftist is, without ever addressing that friction.

Secondly, when you have socialist/leftist/Marxist that have done an abysmal job at building a political movement big enough to gain power. That can't win in swing districts. That can't win where the Democratic brand is dead. That can't pry a decent amount of the left-wing coalition away from the Democratic establishment. A group of people that can't even prove their theories on coalition building. That is disproportionately white already. That ask we use rhetoric that is clearly designed not to trigger marginal white voters. Yet the request is made that people should just jump in, put concerns aside, treat anything outside of their narrow framing as distractions, and just trust socialist have are right.

So yes, it does come off as some "what do you have to lose" steez.

 

[-Red-]

I think what people are pointing out is that even leftist policies are insufficient to achieve real economic and social justice for black people. You can claim there are better that whatever someone else is pushing, but they are still inadequate. They are only part of the solution. People want more because more will be needed to make the black community whole. More than what it will take to make poor white people whole.

To achieve that, at some point, you have to add additional policies and goals that explicitly spell out that their aim is to help specifically black people. The issue is that what guarantee will there be that new socialist coalition that pushes through colorblind universal policies, will also be on board with pushing through other programs specifically aimed at helping black Americans?

The goal is to use this class first rhetoric to attract a ton of new marginal voters into supporting the leftist agenda. Is it not?

But whenever someone points out the friction there, you circle back to how much good the leftist agenda will do for black people, how it is better than the liberal policy plan, or how pure of heart the median leftist is, without ever addressing that friction.

Secondly, when you have socialist/leftist/Marxist that have done an abysmal job at building a political movement big enough to gain power. That can't win in swing districts. That can't win where the Democratic brand is dead. That can't pry a decent amount of the left-wing coalition away from the Democratic establishment. A group of people that can't even prove their theories on coalition building. To trust and buy into a plan of a group that is disproportionately white already. Use rhetoric that is clearly designed not to trigger white people. Yet the request is made that people should just jump in, put concerns aside, treat anything outside of their narrow framing as distractions, and just trust socialist have ir right.

So yes, it does come off as some "what do you have to lose" steez.

Appreciate the dialogue as always fam. I will respond tomorrow.

 

[rexanglorum]

Nearly every group-specific measure requires a confrontation with capital. Affluent black peoples get pulled over 40 times a year, a lot of that has to do with the fact that capital needs an army, called the police, to maintain a racial and economic caste system. We’ve tried reforming the police and they still keep harassing black people even those who are well off. You have to abolish, defund or at least severely reduce the size of the police force, capital will block us.

Want black, trans people to live longer. You need a housing policy, you need FAFSA to assume their parents haven’t cut them off financially. Better yet, do tuition free college, either way, get them access to education along with housing. How do we make anti discrimination laws stick? End at-will employment and have a federal jobs guarantee. It goes without saying that we need universal healthcare/single payer which will cover mental health and any costs associated with transitioning.

Harassment from micro aggressions up to hate crimes from private citizens do damage to PoC, women, LGBT and the state and horizontalist community efforts can and should work to negate that. Most the damage, though, results from something’s done by capital, be it discrimination in hiring or an unwillingness to accommodate a disability, or the damage is caused by state policy that is the result of capital’s influence e.g. austerity or capital’s need for violent police.

No one’s struggle or combination of struggles should be subordinated but someone and/or something is causing those struggles and those forces that cause struggles are not equal, there is a senior partner within this coalition of oppressors.

 

[rexanglorum]

RustyShackleford

To be fair, progressives and moderates don’t win very many elections either. We live in an oligarchic Republic which has only become more oligarchic and undemocratic over the last decade or so.

That’s why leftists are largely committed to building power outside of the formal channels of power. If we do that, in concert with electoralism we can have more democracy. With more democracy we can address a wide variety of injustices. Also, with more democracy smart progressives like you and Matt Yglesias, Noah Smith and Elizabeth Warren can have your ideas in play. Right now, no one to the left Ted Cruz has their ideas considered in terms of forming public policy.

So just as social and economic justice are intertwined, leftists and liberals need each other given all the constraints that exist on anyone whose public policy goals include anything other than plunder and cruelty.

 

[boris]

If I understand this correctly:
Taxpayers helped fund the development of remdesivir.
The Trump administration and GOP have done a terrible job of handling coronavirus. They have directly contributed to the spread of the virus.
The Trump administration uses more taxpayer money to buy pretty much the entire supply of remdesivir.
This **** alone will cost $3,120.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/29/gilead-sciences-remdesivir-cost-coronavirus/

 

[junglejim]

This is the guy dwalk is bending the knee for

 

[IATT]

 

[junglejim]

Well I guess that solves where Texas stands on science. It will be fascinating to see how this all plays out come election time. The 65+ block is far and away the Republicans largest, most reliable voting block and they are basically giving them the middle finger telling them to go **** themselves.

 

[IATT]

 

[Methodical Management]

Also, left, right, center and grill pilled can all agree that this man is daaaaaaaaaaaapper AF!

Trump watching Spaceballs like

I don't believe I quoted or brought up Karl Marx once in that exchange, nor have I even read Capital as you had intimated in an apparent attempt to reduce me to some aloof "coffee shop revolutionary," so there goes that theory...

It seems that paranoia might be contagious. If you check the tape, the description you’re referring to was applied to the first year grad students who burned me out with their facile class reductionist nonsense a long time ago.

In the very next sentence, I exempted you from this: “I know that this discussion isn't coming from the same place as the self-satisfied Bernie Bros who would have us believe that our petty preoccupations with "identity politics" stand as evidence that we've all been turned against each other by our true enemy, the shadowy puppet masters, and that if we all set our differences aside via "class consciousness" to take on sources of White "economic anxiety," surely social justice will trickle down to everyone else.”

The Du Bois quote I selected specifically references Marx, so if you’re taking the con on that, it certainly looks like you’re saying “Marx was right, class rules everything around me.” And that may very well appear accurate from your perspective, but, as Bomani Jones aptly observed about libertarians, it takes a particular set of circumstances for someone to earnestly believe this. While I found several aspects of your argument problematic, I wasn't out here taking pot shots at you personally.


Raising the basic standard of living for everyone is obviously a laudable goal for its own sake, but in a society where even the affluent are (often publicly) subjected to racism, sexism, cissexism, ableism, and heterosexism, the notion that class inequality is the only form of inequality worth treating directly is difficult to swallow - especially when coming from a vanguard movement that otherwise isn't afraid to dream big.

 

[dwalk31]

Senate passes extension of Paycheck Protection Program until August 8, hours ahead of deadline

Senate passes extension of Paycheck Protection Program until August 8, hours ahead of deadline

The US Senate, just hours before the expiration of the small business loan Paycheck Protection Program, passed an extension of the program to August 8.

www.cnn.com

 

[junglejim]

YAY more corporate socialism!!!!!!!

 

[AEA18]

I bet he uses an iPhone though.

Whole fit probably made in China just like trump and ivanka's products

 

[IATT]

 

[hipstermike]

 

[Belgium]

 

[IATT]

 

[IATT]

not a racist according to the southern black American expert dwalk31

 

[Belgium]

Trump explicitly calls Black Lives Matter a symbol of hate