No one elected Hoyer and Pelosi king and queen of anything, let along of the House Democratic caucus. Their innate, across-the-board, status quo, establishment perspective-- especially Hoyer's-- holds the Democrats in the House back and saddles America with no-can-do policies on virtually everything to the left of Pay-Go... meaning everything.
Greg Sargent summed up Tuesday's SOTU speech very well: "Trump's State of the Union speech repeated all of his most reprehensible lies, and suggests he still won't accept the new reality in Washington." Sargent boded that he "demanded total capitulation" from Pelosi and that "he won;'t get it." Even aside from the disdain-- if not contempt-- in which most voters hold Trump, the Democrats have the issues.
The Morning Consult poll released by Politico this morning shows an electorate moving sharply left... at least on taxing the super-wealthy. The two party establishments may not like the progressive tax reform ideas Bernie, Elizabeth Warren and AOC are bringing up, but the voters do-- overwhelmingly. The Morning Consult poll shows 76% of registered voters believe the wealthiest Americans should pay more in taxes.
This morning, a friend of mine shared a thought from his meditation: "If Hillary and even Trump have given their country any substantial gifts, the biggest must be making many Democrats and Independents wary and prone to scrutinize contenders before it’s too late. Perhaps an award should be presented Trump for his role in opening the Democratic Party to reform." And that-- plus Colbert's show Monday night-- brings us to...
Luke Savage has a very good question for Jacobin readers this week: Who Will Be the American Justin Trudeau? "With a restless Democratic base leaning left," he wrote, "party centrists are looking for their Justin Trudeau-- a candidate who will seem progressive while preserving the status quo." I offered 4 pretty obvious possibilities in a twitter poll yesterda
See America's Sweetheart, Part I hereOver the weekend, the Financial Times published a short essay by Edward Luce, The Clinton-Obama Era Ends As U.S. Democrats Seek A Radical New Voice. He wrote that the Democrats owe a debt of gratitude to Trump "as it sweeps away a cautious mindset." Well... maybe an overly-cautious... and if it does. It sure hasn't yet. Luce bids us to listen carefully so we can hear "the retreat of the Democratic establishment." I'm trying.
For politics junkies, yesterday started with a pre-dawn Rachael Bade/Heather Caygle click magnetic piece at Politico, Exasperated Democrats try to rein in Ocasio-Cortez. One of my former jobs was editor of Alternative Rock, one of America's first punk zines.
I would be very happy seeing a President Elizabeth Warren or a President Jeff Merkley. I've spoken with both from early in their national political careers and I have no doubt whatsoever either would be an extraordinary president. Blue America has raised money for both of their Senate campaigns and if either is the Democratic nominee for president, the campaign would be Blue America's top priority for 2020.
Establishment media, as we've been pointing out, at the direction of transpartisan DC establishment politicians, has been working overtime to tear Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez down. Her ideas and her energy are too scary for them and too compelling for activists. Fox has made her famous among the imbeciles who watch the channel. This week a national reporter called me to ask why the fuss.
4 progressives recently elected to CongressWhen I was first getting into politics-- believe it or not, I was (briefly) the president of my college's Young Democrats-- the word "liberal" was worn proudly by people on the left. Now? It was tarnished from all sides and replaced by "progressive." I want to talk about that word...
