From "Joe Biden’s Big Squeeze Progressive donors to the left of him, cynical centrists to the right — a theory of why his popular agenda is so unpopular" by Jonathan Chait (NY Magazine).
December 1, 2021
"When confronted with the reality that the Democratic Party is losing Black and Latino moderates, the response on the left is often to treat their views as morally beyond the pale."
"'Yes, it turns out that a number of people of color, especially those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans,' wrote The Nation’s Elie Mystal.... Obviously, nobody is proposing Democrats run on authoritarian thuggery. The question is whether any compromise with the center is acceptable. Obama competed for moderate views by promising that people could keep their private insurance even as he covered those who couldn’t get any coverage, that he would secure the border even as he gave amnesty to Dreamers. Reducing all these spectra of belief to a simple binary, then declaring the opposing position so horrific it cannot be accommodated, is not a political strategy. It is a kind of anti-politics.
This anti-politics did not materialize out of thin air. It is the working assumption of a vast array of progressive nonprofit organizations and the millionaires who fund them. Over the past half-dozen years, several people who work in and around the nonprofit world have told me, the internal political culture at progressive foundations has undergone the same changes that have torn through elite universities, mainstream-media newsrooms, and private schools. An uncompromising version of left-wing political rhetoric has put the leadership of these organizations on the defensive and often prodded them to fund more radical organizations and ideas than before."
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“ Yes, it turns out that a number of people of color, especially those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans ...”
Jackboot thuggery? What the heck is she talking about?
I've been in Puerto Rico too long. I'm losing my ability to understand simple English.
How can a "popular" agenda be "unpopular"? If the agenda is unpopular, it is an "unpopular agenda", isn't it?
What am I missing here?
John LGBTQBNY Henry
I don’t like Johnathan Chiat, but that’s a scathing editorial of the progressive Democrats running our country. But the effort to casually accuse Republicans of jack booted thuggery is the reason why Chiat has narrow appeal.
I suppose this dumb bunny with repulsive parenting and education sees someone wearing work boots and thinks they are jackboots.
I also bet she unironically wears Doc Martins, which are far more resonant with jackboots.
As someone who read Above The Law back when it was interesting and relevant, I am rather horrified that Mystal has become a journalist with national exposure. There are a few people out there who are as morally, ethically, personally, and financially bankrupt as he.
Well, I suppose that is one explanation of why Biden's popular agenda is so unpopular.
I hope it's not the only explanation.
But the truth is that Biden’s presidency began to disintegrate without his abandoning the center at all. He found himself trapped instead between a well-funded left wing that has poisoned the party’s image with many of its former supporters and centrists unable to conceive of their job in any terms save as valets for the business elite. Biden’s party has not veered too far left or too far right so much as it has simply come apart.
To be fair, this is the story of both parties. Trump was a rebellion by the base who were sick and tired of gentlemanly losers like Romney, or the outright disdain and self-sabotage of people like McCain. They were also angry over the way Bush refused to defend the base for eight years while they were attacked by left. Trump was a rebellion against the corporatist establishment GOP, many of whom turned to ally with the left over the next four years.
Biden's problems stem from the fact that the establishment, across both parties, refuses to acknowledge that the world is changing, and that the old order in which they were comfortable is no longer acceptable. Instead they burned through every last scrap of political, social, economic, and cultural capital that they could in order to get rid of the BadOrangeMan, and put a doddering old fool in his place. But that capital is what was necessary to successfully govern.
...yet it is the Democrats who fund the DAs who authorize the angry mobs and empower career criminals to run over parades and shoot cops.
Politics is the art of compromise.
The progressive left is, unfortunately, practicing the art of war, not the art of compromise.
It's "popular" if you think it's free. Once you know it isn't, it isn't, and just as big omnibus bills add supporters by adding new provisions and new outlays, once the price tag is calculated, the expensive add-ons lose supporters.
We seem to be prisoners of the ridiculous online "What's your ideology?" quizzes. Conservatives feel compelled to say that government should do nothing, and liberals feel compelled to say that government should pay for everything, and we convince ourselves that is what we really believe and have to make happen.
Politics is the art of compromise.
The progressive left is, unfortunately, practicing the art of war, not the art of compromise.
This is a 180 degree flip of the "Big Tent" strategy of the Democratic Party from FDR through Clinton. This changed (versus Clinton's triangulation) with Obama's backdoor legislative efforts without control of congress through newfound "creative" interpretations of agency powers.
An accepting and tolerant big tent can control the direction of most political topics, but must cut deals and compromise at every step. Triangulate when needed.
When a group demands ideological purity they either guarantee their own minority status (e.g., Christian conservatives in the same period), or must dictate/dominate through propaganda, bullying, and coercion.
We now have open and explicit ideological contradictions within the Democratic party (e.g., globalization versus working class/unions/citizens). Something must break: their current ideology or the historical membership of the party.
There are no other options.
Even the Sally Anns have been infected.
This season, I intend to put a penny in the kettle and to make sure the bell ringer sees how much I am putting.
There are other, non-woke, charities that are deserving of my money.
Sorry about the Sally Anns. They used to be a good charity and I would give money in the kettles and occasional checks at other times.
No more. Even with the apology.
John LGBTQBNY Henry
This is the kind of garbage you get out of propaganda media in one party countries.
There are not enough "mail-in ballots" to keep democrats in power this time.
And it is time for the media and the oligarchs that own it to face social justice.
"'Yes, it turns out that a number of people of color, especially those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans,' wrote The Nation’s Elie Mystal....
The trifecta! Lack of college education, Nazi symbolism, and "thuggery." Nicely done.
It couldn't possibly be that the referenced "people of color" took a look at what Democrats have long claimed to provide versus what they actually do, or even more fundamentally, took a look at Democrat policies versus economic and social reality and found them wanting.
a theory of why his popular agenda is so unpopular
Why am I not 50 points ahead you might ask?
Same kind of cluelessness.
"'Yes, it turns out that a number of people of color, especially those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans,' wrote The Nation’s Elie Mystal.
She's projecting. That's what Democrats are doing right now with Joe "I'm a moron" Biden's mandates to take the jab. What else would you call a "Take the jab or be fired, court martialed and lose your pension" policy? Government mandating medical treatment is the very definition of "Jack Boot Authoritarianism."
What would she say if the CDC was to declare that there's a population emergency, that is there's not enough babies being born and our population is declining. The CDC then requires:
(1) the closure of all abortion clinics
(2) Women must take fertility drugs
(3) Only married men and women can have sex
(4) Unmarried men and women who have sex must marry
(5) Sex can only be used to create babies; sex for pleasure is forbidden
Democrats are the party of obey me or else. The eviction bans, the hundreds of Joe Biden's executive orders are evidence of this.
"'. . . can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans,' wrote The Nation’s Elie Mystal"
Hmmmm, promises to be a fair-minded article.
"If you like telling people what to do, you might be a Democrat."
Sorry about the Sally Anns. They used to be a good charity and I would give money in the kettles and occasional checks at other times.
No more. Even with the apology.
The entire board of directors and their CEO must resign. Then I can make a contribution. No sooner.
It looks like Goodwill is also going woke.
I'm maintaining my contributions to Union Gospel Mission. They do good work for the homeless.
"cynical moderates."
It's the old "everybody secretly admits that we are the sole possessors of the Truth, and only oppose us out of selfishness, or even just plain evil" bit.
Biden keeps trying to ram his unpopular bill, which is nothing more than a payoff to his most fervent supporters at the expense of everybody else, and wonders why he becomes more unpopular every day.
And the "jackboot" part is hilarious, who has a police force, like the old Soviet FSB, only we call it the FBI, that does pre-dawn raids on Biden's political opponents? It wouldn't be Trump.
Who shuts their political opponents out of the media? How can they compare Trump's tweets to Nazi Germany's utter control of the media and their ability to shut down opponents? Because Democrats utterly control the media and have the power to shut down their opponents.
Face it Althouse, I know that at 70, it's uncomfortable to come to the realization that the country you loved has been lost to an undemocratic cabal, and turned into a propaganda state, especially since they have used the political party that you have long respected to do it, but it has happened, and our media are simply liars, and their main job is to create confusion, by doing things like accusing the other side of the very things that they are doing. We have allowed a small number of individuals to amass so much wealth that buying off our media and our politicians is pocket change for them.
We are not in the novel 1984 yet, this is the prequel, where Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, the three totalitarian states are just getting their boots onto our neck.
"What would she say if the CDC was to declare that there's a population emergency"
It sounds absurd, but it's not impossible, and this is why abortion comes under the province of the legislature, and not the courts. The courts keep on creating these suicide pacts, that must and can be broken, should the need becomes pressing.
"jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans,.."
The same kind of thuggery that caused a man to kill 6+ people with his SUV?
Is that the same thuggery and party who excuse and promote white left antifa nazis to arson and destroy billions in property damage?
The "authoritarian" label is a puzzler. What did Trump ever do that deserves that label? When I think of "authoritarians," I think of Stalin, Hitler, Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, Iran's ayatollahs, Castro, and others of that ilk. I'm not sure what exactly it takes to make a leader "authoritarian," but I would assume it includes the ordering of government officials and/or private entities to conduct themselves in a certain way lest they be killed or imprisoned. Again, what did Trump or the GOP ever do that was even remotely evocative of that?
From where I sit “jackboot authoritarian thuggery” would include things like using the FBI and DoJ to intimidate (or attempt to intimidate) parents critical of school board policies, revoking the licenses of doctors who report too many cases to VAERS, threatening jobs of people who decline vaccination even those who have natural immunity from having survived the disease, and using the rioting and looting of violent mobs to get their way in places like Kenosha, Minneapolis, and even Madison. But that’s not the Republicans doing these things.
democrats are the party of big corporate, the wealthy, and bait and switch lying?
NO way!
"As someone who read Above The Law back when it was interesting and relevant, I am rather horrified that Mystal has become a journalist with national exposure."
Mystal got onto Above the Law through a contest — where the contestants were all anonymous — and I was one of the judges. There were several rounds and an "American Idol" style process of elimination. I had no idea that I was reading the work of a black person, and at one point, I chided him for racism!
the jackboot authoritarian thuggery
Which party is attempting to enforce an unpopular mask mandate and quarantine?
why Biden's popular agenda is so unpopular.
maybe the dogs don't like the dog food??
@John Henry, you’re not the only person who feels that way about the Salvation Army! I give mostly to Disabled American Veterans, since 85% of donations goes to support disabled vets, in contrast to Wounded Warrior Project, which 71% on veterans and 29% on overhead.
Can anyone tell me whether Boys Town is still okay? Or have the Jesuits gone woke, too?
@Althouse, thanks for making it clear to the other commentators that Elie Mystal is a black male. I already knew he was that, plus obese, and possessing both a large white Afro and an overweening self-regard. He comes across to me in his writing as a person whose attitudes were set in the late 1950s and he has no interest in catching up to 2021.
Don’t feel bad about having chided him for racism, Professor. There are few people more racist than those who depend on seeing racism under every fallen leaf to make a living.
Democrats are getting the same 85-90 percent of the black vote they always do. If they're losing Black moderates, its irrelevant due to their low numbers. Democrats are losing support among college educated women and suburban soccer moms. That's beause of High inflation, and the fact that none of the legislation helps them. That's the important thing to them.
Its also why we're getting all these "R's will overturn Roe!!!!" articles in the newspaper. If the SCOTUS overturns Roe, Schumer and Pelosi will be popping bottles of Champagne.
I love this: "Over the past half-dozen years, several people who work in and around the nonprofit world have told me, the internal political culture at progressive foundations has undergone the same changes that have torn through elite universities, mainstream-media newsrooms, and private schools. An uncompromising version of left-wing political rhetoric has put the leadership of these organizations on the defensive and often prodded them to fund more radical organizations and ideas than before."
Several people have told him. He could not see or hear these things with his own lying eyes and ears within the world he lives. Seems almost impossible- like you'd have to purposefully walk around with your hands over your ears, your eyes blindfolded, as you repeatedly shout "La, La, La, La, La..." to block out what might leak into your head. It's as if someone is drowning. They're in a tight quarters in a sinking ship. The water has been steadily rising around their ankles, then knees, up to the crotch- and they still don't notice it until it covers their mouth and then threatens their nostrils. At that point they have a 'Eureka!' moment. At that point, they think...I may be seeing something of a problem here.
And yes, we have Elie Mystal. So amusing to read of your interaction with him, not knowing actually who he was, yet nailing him on his words and thoughts. Of course his take is "those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans." Lefties always with the 'we're smarter than you' start to their argument, followed by the pronouncement of your being a Fascist. They don't see the totalitarianism in their own words, thoughts, actions. I'm not sure what you call that. Self-sought ignorance?
People keep thinking the Left's rigid "No enemy to the Left" and "One strike and you're labeled a heretic and cast out" way of thinking is a weakness. Its not. There iron disclipine is what's given them one victory after another.
The Center-Right is so pathetic they'll give a Moderate not just a rear seat in the conservative car, they'll give them keys to car and let them drive. That's why the Center-Right is constantly attacking each other, can't organize, and can't fight. The R's in Congress need massive majorites to pass legislation they've been promising for years. The D's need 1 vote.
'Obama competed for moderate views by promising that people could keep their private insurance even as he covered those who couldn’t get any coverage, that he would secure the border even as he gave amnesty to Dreamers.'
So the lesson is, politicians are lying bastards?
Obama's third term was smashed to pieces by Trump, and the only way to get Joe in place was a bullshit virus and massive fraud.
If you change the races or ethnicity of who Mystal is talking about he is indistinguishable from the average KKK or NAZI party member.
If I understand this correctly, Chait is advocating a move towards moderation, but dangling Mystal's in front of
conservatives to convince them that he still hates them, and that is intended to convince the left that Chait isn't a sellout.
"Obviously, nobody is proposing Democrats run on authoritarian thuggery."
Of course not. The way it works is (as always) you lie about what you're going to do and then, once in office, ignore your earlier promises.
Hey, people, if you are attracted to authoritarian thuggery, why not go Democrat? The statist Dems have been perfecting their authoritarian thuggery since the days of Woodrow Wilson.
"Conservatives feel compelled to say that government should do nothing..."
Oh really? Perhaps you might consider whether an overwhelming number conservatives feel compelled to follow the Constitution, which sets forth the structure and powers of our government.
But go ahead an name those who say the government should govern by doing nothing...
The agenda of the left, as illustrated by Biden's nominee for C of C, is not compatible with civilization. Look at Chicago and San Francisco for examples. The collapse of the Soviet Union should have been enough evidence that leftism doesn't work as a political system of governance. It is fine for seeking power from the ignorant, which includes too many college students today, but it does not work to actually run an economy.
Hey Skipper said...
“ Yes, it turns out that a number of people of color, especially those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans ...”
Jackboot thuggery? What the heck is she talking about?
Mystal's talking about arresting criminals who murder black people and / or hispanic people. Apparently Mystal's protected enough that Mystal's upset when other "brown skinned people" get the same protection without having go to the same "elite" schools Mystal went too.
I see I misread the quote to see the quote.
Ann Althouse said...Mystal got onto Above the Law through a contest — where the contestants were all anonymous — and I was one of the judges
He may have done a good job with anonymous essays, but holdfast's point is correct. Mystal is a moral degenerate and an intellectual fraud. I can think of few better proofs of the failure of our media than that he still gets a platform.
Trump winning the GOP nomination in 2016, and then the election, broke the Left.
After Trump won the nomination, they were sure they were going to win the House, the Senate, and the White House in 2016, they were going to replace Scalia with a hard left Democrat, and they were going to run everything.
Then Trump won, and the GOP kept the House and the Senate.
Ever since then, the Left has been on a jihad to drive out all wrong-think, including all compromise. They turned social media into bubbles that push them ever further left, they do the same with Academia, and they are convinced that the entire rest of America either agrees with them, or is totally evil.
So we're all "Nazis", and you don't debate Nazis, you punch them.
What blew their minds about the Kyle Rittenhouse trial is that Kyle was carrying an "assault rifle", and trying to protect property from being destroyed by "righteous protesters", which made him a "Nazi". So they can't understand how it could possible be legal for a Nazi to defend himself from righteous punchers.
It takes two sides to have peace. it only takes one side to have war. The Left wants war. I'm pretty sure they're going to get it, and be very unhappy with the results.
" a theory of why his popular agenda is so unpopular"
That's just pathetic.
"a number of people of color, especially those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans . . . ."
Agree or disagree with Mystal, at least he's committed to framing the issue with honesty and objectivity.
It isn't just the viewpoints of nonsupporters that are beyond the pale to leftists - it is the very existence of nonsupporters that is so far beyond the pale that all such should be eliminated.
"'Yes, it turns out that a number of people of color, especially those without a college education, can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans,'"
Even a blind man knows when the Sun is shining.
"I had no idea that I was reading the work of a black person, and at one point, I chided him for racism!"
Should we take it as a given, that had you known you were reading the work of a Black person, you would not have chided him for racism?
Yikes Ann! Your 8:43 comment could be taken to almost imply that you think black people are less racist than people of other races.
Mr Wibble: "To be fair, this is the story of both parties. Trump was a rebellion by the base who were sick and tired of gentlemanly losers like Romney, or the outright disdain and self-sabotage of people like McCain. They were also angry over the way Bush refused to defend the base for eight years while they were attacked by left. Trump was a rebellion against the corporatist establishment GOP, many of whom turned to ally with the left over the next four years.
Biden's problems stem from the fact that the establishment, across both parties, refuses to acknowledge that the world is changing, and that the old order in which they were comfortable is no longer acceptable. Instead they burned through every last scrap of political, social, economic, and cultural capital that they could in order to get rid of the BadOrangeMan, and put a doddering old fool in his place. But that capital is what was necessary to successfully govern."
Correct and concise.
Perfect.
Bears repeating.
Mystal a racist? You were prescient, Ms. Althouse. I too read Above the Law while he was there. He was abhorrent back then, I can only imagine it has gotten worse since.
At least it is at the Nation, an openly leftist organization. Above the Law was supposed to, as I recall, focus on funny law firm stuff and openings/trends in BigLaw.
But it was openly far left. Why? Was there no Republican or Conservative big law, or anything like that? Apparently not, and while that may in fact be true, it was very intolerant and bigoted. Republicans, conservatives, etc. all need lawyers too. But not according to Mystal's Above the Law.
The continued use of the term "the left" when referring to the Democrats is an intentional use of the "big lie" practices of the Nazis and other similar entities.
There may be a handful of Dems who are "leftists" (or, more likely, "leftish"), but the majority are middle of the road toadies to the corporate state.
"Indeed, given the U.S.’s steady job growth, nobody can ascertain exactly why the public has turned so sour so fast. Biden is like a patient wasting away from some undiagnosable disease."
I ascertain that it is because the public has finally been allowed to get a somewhat better look at the real Joe Biden and they have come to see that he is a dishonest, bullying jackass with a disease that is easily diagnosed - senile dementia.
I read the whole thing and Chait never considers that the popularity of Biden's presidency is directly tied to the popularity of Biden himself.
Well I'm just a tired old retired lawyer---with more than a bit of education. And what the heck, if you call me a jackbooted authoritarian thug, well in for a penny in for a pound. May as well be a thug if you are going to call me one.
But the reality is that most of the folks on the right just want to live their lives--all the jackboots and such are out in the barn and haven't been used--ever. But the extreme left does lead a rich fantasy life.
I think we know it's gone to far when outfits like The Salvation Army and various evangelical churches feel they have to introduce CRT to their members, volunteers and donors.
"This is the kind of garbage you get out of propaganda media in one party countries."
Which is essentially what we have in America.
Robert Cook:
Well OK if you are going to go down that semantic road - try this on..
The continued use of the term "the right" or "right-wing" when referring to Republicans is an intentional use of the "big lie" practices of the Nazis and other similar entities.
There may be a handful of Republicans who are "right-wingers - jackbooted or otherwise" (or, more likely, "rightish"), but the majority are middle of the road types.. who pander as needed to the chamber of commerce.
Robert Cook said...
The continued use of the term "the left" when referring to the Democrats is an intentional use of the "big lie" practices of the Nazis and other similar entities.
There may be a handful of Dems who are "leftists" (or, more likely, "leftish"), but the majority are middle of the road toadies to the corporate state.
*****************
Explain wokeness and CRT. Explain why "equity" isn't a leftist concept. Tell us with a straight face that those ideologies are not leftist and held by many Dems. Tell that CNN and MSNBC are not leftist propaganda organs.
can see the allure of the jackboot authoritarian thuggery offered by modern Republicans
Compare Jay Inslee and Ron DeSantis and tell me who's the jackbooted, authoritarian thug.
There may be a handful of Dems who are "leftists" (or, more likely, "leftish"), but the majority are middle of the road toadies to the corporate state.
I'm sure the Stasi considered themselves middle of the road in East Germany.
They didn't make the laws, they just enforced them.
There may be a handful of Dems who are "leftists" (or, more likely, "leftish"), but the majority are middle of the road toadies to the corporate state.
Snort.
In case you haven't noticed, the 'corporate state' is openly leftist. Nothing middle-of-the-road about it. Or their supporters and elected officials, for that matter.
The three major crime families in the US are:
Biden
Pelosi
Clinton
and the loyalist climbers who want to take their places.
Cook was no doubt disappointed when the communist nominated to be Comptroller of the Currency was rejected or will be.
"Indeed, given the U.S.’s steady job growth, nobody can ascertain exactly why the public has turned so sour so fast. Biden is like a patient wasting away from some undiagnosable disease."
The job growth is just employment recovering from the covid hole. A potted plant would have achieved the same result.
Obama's third term was smashed to pieces by Trump, and the only way to get Joe in place was a bullshit virus and massive fraud.
Bingo !
I'm reading Scott Atlas' book, "A Plague Upon Our House."
Pretty revealing.
I can't believe there's an entire industry based upon looking-down-there-nose.
They don't bring anything to the table, but "tsk-tsk".
White Blacks and White "Latinos". People of White Color who expose the incongruity of judgments and labels of color blocs under diversity [dogma].
Anyone who knows just a handful of Blacks and Hispanics is not surprised at this.
Explain wokeness and CRT. Explain why "equity" isn't a leftist concept.
Diversity [dogma], inequity, and exclusion.
I've been in Puerto Rico too long. I'm losing my ability to understand simple English. How can a "popular" agenda be "unpopular"? If the agenda is unpopular, it is an "unpopular agenda", isn't it? What am I missing here?
John LGBTQBNY Henry
Naw. You have just got too much common sense to read that clown's BS. I now spend 9 months in Florida and 3 summer months in Minnesota and I read that the same as you do. As one frequent commenter might say here, he is asserting something not supported by facts.
And as to that jackbooted accusation thingie, Trump never had control or loyalty among the FBI, CIA or Department of Justice or any other bureaucracy that would have allowed him to use it like Brandon does.
Actually, Cookie, if you consider their origin, "Left" and "Right" are misleading. As I'm sure you know, they originated in the French parlement of the Ancient Regime, with the Right being the Church and State crowd, and the Left being the more pro-freedom faction. If you were to translate that into today's terms, the Right would be the home of the "liberals" and other New Tories and State-shtuppers, such as yourself.
Re Elie Mystal.
He's a guy, double affirmative action at Harvard/HLS. Roommate of mine worked with him at Debevoise, he passed the bar but failed C&F or something else. Roommate said the guy never even tried to work.
This feels like an argument between rich, white liberal and their adult, Ivy educated kids
When the middle of the roaders and the actual, self-professed socialists vote the same way on everything, the distinction becomes hard to maintain. Supporters of the government confiscating and nationalizing private property and Scoop Jackson or Dick Gephardt moderates are both very thin on the ground now. The new woke synthesis takes in most of the Democratic Party's officials in Washington.
"I had no idea that I was reading the work of a black person, and at one point, I chided him for racism!"
Perhaps even beyond the pale.
Back in 1918, a young woman named Alisa Rosenbaum was living through the Bolshevik Revolution. And one day, she had an insight: it’s rather difficult to oppose a course of action intended to implement a goal when you agree with said goal. Later in her life she wrote extensively on the subject.
I thought of Rosenbaum’s insight when I read "An uncompromising version of left-wing political rhetoric has put the leadership of these organizations on the defensive and often prodded them to fund more radical organizations and ideas than before.” The ‘leadership’ of those foundations would not be on the defensive against political rhetoric demanding the death penalty for drug dealers, because they are morally opposed to the death penalty. But they are helpless against the Left because they agree with Left’s basic premises.
The basic premise of “the Left,” since it’s formation during the French Revolution, is the idea that the existing society is evil and must be destroyed. The “centrist” Democrats are an uneasy coalition of those who pretend not to believe this, but actually agree deep in their hearts; those who think the existing society is very bad, but reformable; and the usual opportunists. They are inherently helpless against the Left activists.
In the end, the struggle is fundamental. Do we have a moral right to live in an individualist society with private ownership of the means of production, or not? That is the question at the root of today’s politics.
Hispanics and black males will save America from the elites who want to dominate if not enslave Americans. God bless them.
Of course, Chait doesn't mention the obvious tactic of breaking Biden's "popular" agenda into parts, and bringing them up as separate bills. That would expose the fact that many parts of his program are deeply UNpopular. But such dishonesty is typical of the MSM.
You want 'beyond the pale'? He said "'Latino' voters" and not 'Latinx'. That is such a nx-nx.
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