'Everywhere the centrist argument that the Left has to abandon its principles to fight fascism, leaving the only choice between corporate bureaucrats and Nazis, has had the effect of empowering Nazis. That's a failed formula every time.' David Graeber.
IT'S NOT surprising that a Labour-friendly liberal like New Zealand Herald journalist Simon Wilson should claim that the principal reason why US presidential contender Kamala Harris lost was because she was a woman:
'And there’s this. America has twice now refused to elect a woman, even though she’s been highly qualified, and the alternative was the worst specimen of a man you could imagine, right down to boasting about it.
'In my view, this is the deepest thing exposed by this election. Women are never good enough to qualify. Men are never bad enough to disqualify. That’s what America is.'
Apparently, Wilson thinks highly of a woman who supports the continued slaughter of innocent people in Gaza by the Israeli military.
I also note that former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has quoted Wilson's article approvingly. I imagine another former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, would also agree with Wilson's views. Ardern has recently been working for a Democratic Party-linked centrist think tank in Washington and was at the Democratic Party convention in August.
The retreat to identity politics to explain Harris's comprehensive loss to Donald Trump is as implausible as the argument that blames Joe Biden for not dropping out of the race earlier enough. And its just as implausible as the argument that claims that the Democratic Party was 'too radical'. (yes, really). These arguments, and others like them, amount to little more than circling the wagons around the discredited Democratic Party establishment. It, alone, bears the responsibility for losing to Donald Trump, a charlatan, convicted criminal and rapist.
While people like Simon Wilson and Helen Clark might want to continue to ignore the facts and console themselves with the fantasy that America hates female political leaders, it ignores the stark reality that the Democratic Party lost because it failed to provide a credible alternative to the right wing.
The Democratic Party establishment had a choice; either double down on a corporate-friendly centrist strategy or embrace a bold, progressive agenda that focused on working class concerns. Dismally, It chose the same centrist strategy that also lost the Democratic Party the 2016 presidential election.
The Democratic Party could have been the political voice for a new generation but instead it tried to entice disaffected Republican voters into the fold. There was always something wrong with having former Republican heavyweight Liz Cheney up on the stage with Kamala Harris. That suggested that the Democratic Party's only real concern was protecting the status quo.
Kamala Harris defended her administration’s role in supply Israel the arms to commit genocide in Gaza while abandoning the Arab and Muslim community and the progressive base who helped put Democrats in power last time round.
Where does the Democratic Party go from here? If it remains the domain of the Democratic Party elite, then it's going nowhere but further to the right. That's because the Democratic Party establishment fear left wing politics more than they fear the authoritarianism of Donald Trump. And they will resist any attempts to give the grassroots membership more say in the Democratic Party's political direction.
Bernie Sanders. who was rejected by the Democratic Party as its presidential candidate both in 2016 and 2020, has attacked its leadership for being out of touch with the concerns of the American electorate:
'It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic party which has abandoned working-class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.
'Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign? … Probably not.'
Socialist congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has echoed Sanders comments:
' At the end of the day, the ultimate problem is our ability to clearly and forthrightly advocate for an agenda that clearly champions the working class,' she told supporters.
'And there’s this. America has twice now refused to elect a woman, even though she’s been highly qualified, and the alternative was the worst specimen of a man you could imagine, right down to boasting about it.
'In my view, this is the deepest thing exposed by this election. Women are never good enough to qualify. Men are never bad enough to disqualify. That’s what America is.'
Apparently, Wilson thinks highly of a woman who supports the continued slaughter of innocent people in Gaza by the Israeli military.
I also note that former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has quoted Wilson's article approvingly. I imagine another former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, would also agree with Wilson's views. Ardern has recently been working for a Democratic Party-linked centrist think tank in Washington and was at the Democratic Party convention in August.
The retreat to identity politics to explain Harris's comprehensive loss to Donald Trump is as implausible as the argument that blames Joe Biden for not dropping out of the race earlier enough. And its just as implausible as the argument that claims that the Democratic Party was 'too radical'. (yes, really). These arguments, and others like them, amount to little more than circling the wagons around the discredited Democratic Party establishment. It, alone, bears the responsibility for losing to Donald Trump, a charlatan, convicted criminal and rapist.
While people like Simon Wilson and Helen Clark might want to continue to ignore the facts and console themselves with the fantasy that America hates female political leaders, it ignores the stark reality that the Democratic Party lost because it failed to provide a credible alternative to the right wing.
The Democratic Party establishment had a choice; either double down on a corporate-friendly centrist strategy or embrace a bold, progressive agenda that focused on working class concerns. Dismally, It chose the same centrist strategy that also lost the Democratic Party the 2016 presidential election.
The Democratic Party could have been the political voice for a new generation but instead it tried to entice disaffected Republican voters into the fold. There was always something wrong with having former Republican heavyweight Liz Cheney up on the stage with Kamala Harris. That suggested that the Democratic Party's only real concern was protecting the status quo.
Kamala Harris defended her administration’s role in supply Israel the arms to commit genocide in Gaza while abandoning the Arab and Muslim community and the progressive base who helped put Democrats in power last time round.
Where does the Democratic Party go from here? If it remains the domain of the Democratic Party elite, then it's going nowhere but further to the right. That's because the Democratic Party establishment fear left wing politics more than they fear the authoritarianism of Donald Trump. And they will resist any attempts to give the grassroots membership more say in the Democratic Party's political direction.
Bernie Sanders. who was rejected by the Democratic Party as its presidential candidate both in 2016 and 2020, has attacked its leadership for being out of touch with the concerns of the American electorate:
'It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic party which has abandoned working-class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.
'Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign? … Probably not.'
Socialist congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has echoed Sanders comments:
' At the end of the day, the ultimate problem is our ability to clearly and forthrightly advocate for an agenda that clearly champions the working class,' she told supporters.
Once again, the corporate Democrats have got America into another fine mess, and it will be the American and international working classes that will pay the price for another epic centrist fail.
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