Thanks, Sean Murphy and Jessa Crispin, for another great discussion. You both were able to get to the meat of some of the tough post-election questions that plague Democrats, and you intelligently hashed out some of the complexity there. Some notes I took along the way as I listened,...
-Racism (fear of other, scapegoating) has to explain at least some, if not most, of why Trump got in to office. Why else would people want to deport the itinerant workers growing the food that goes in their fridges, the caretakers who give that 24/7 care to their parents in nursing homes and hospice, and myriad other service sector jobs? It was never a problem before, right? Trump used fear-of-other to galvanize people to vote against their own interest. It is an age-old strategy, but it takes a particularly unprincipled and unscrupulous deal-maker to wield it as a primary campaign platform. One of the hyper-trumpy Republican US Representatives in my state only ever reached out to me once, and that with a questionnaire about how much it bothers me that a trans kid might be on my daughter's soccer team. This is how low they will go, they persecute vulnerable groups and prey on fear.
-While so much of what you both verbalized about the missteps of the entrenched Democratic campaign machine is so true, at the same time, the energy of the masses who showed up at the Democratic convention, representing the left at large in their diversity and their priorities, that energy was authentic. There is an authentic majority of reasonable, democracy-loving, ordinary people. The silent middle. Their choice at that time was Harris. Just because the operatives who ran the campaign made a series of fatal mistakes does negate the power of half of this country who voted for a progressive, inclusive, future-forward America. That energy is still there, and while it may have gone into retreat, it is not shut off completely.
-the electoral college and gerrymandering cannot be discounted in the way they allow an overweighting of slim voting populations as against the millions of citizens residing in the vast and sprawling populations of the East and West Coast. It's a question of degree as to how much someone in Los Angeles or NYC's vote is underweighted against someone's vote in Utah or Montana. That "all or nothing" has turned states into red or blue. The 2-party system has turned into a 2 color country. This is a different avenue of discussion but people are seriously challenging the electoral college at long last.
-Lost opportunities...you mentioned the lost opportunity of the 2008 mortgage melt-down and the bank bailouts. I have a few more..how about when, during Covid, the "disposable, exploitable body" as Jessa so aptly put it suddenly became the "Essential Workers". What an opportunity for Democratic Socialism (or Social Democrat)! How revealing it suddenly became when your cashier and your bank teller put their lives on the line to keep serving you and preventing a complete and total economic collapse. But what we did we do with that? It fizzled out faster than a penny stock. And while the Teaparty did fill a void amongst the old-fashioned conservatives seeking a voice, that voice far more meager in its dimensions and its mobilization than the Occupy Movement.
-Can I add a few more contributors to the outcome of the election: social media, deficiencies in basic education, and right what you said, Jenna, about the disappearance of local news media. All these and more were aggravating circumstances. Those have to be taken into consideration going forward.
-Finally, lack of leadership. I know it sounds pretty basic, but maybe what appealed most to the ones who felt invisible was how often Trump told them he loved them. Over and over. And I really think they will continue say that 2 plus 2 equals 5, that vaccines are toxic, that bringing back coal is a good idea, just to keep hearing those three words. Take that as another suggestion to the next Democratic contender. Maybe just more love?
Thanks, Sean Murphy and Jessa Crispin, for another great discussion. You both were able to get to the meat of some of the tough post-election questions that plague Democrats, and you intelligently hashed out some of the complexity there. Some notes I took along the way as I listened,...
-Racism (fear of other, scapegoating) has to explain at least some, if not most, of why Trump got in to office. Why else would people want to deport the itinerant workers growing the food that goes in their fridges, the caretakers who give that 24/7 care to their parents in nursing homes and hospice, and myriad other service sector jobs? It was never a problem before, right? Trump used fear-of-other to galvanize people to vote against their own interest. It is an age-old strategy, but it takes a particularly unprincipled and unscrupulous deal-maker to wield it as a primary campaign platform. One of the hyper-trumpy Republican US Representatives in my state only ever reached out to me once, and that with a questionnaire about how much it bothers me that a trans kid might be on my daughter's soccer team. This is how low they will go, they persecute vulnerable groups and prey on fear.
-While so much of what you both verbalized about the missteps of the entrenched Democratic campaign machine is so true, at the same time, the energy of the masses who showed up at the Democratic convention, representing the left at large in their diversity and their priorities, that energy was authentic. There is an authentic majority of reasonable, democracy-loving, ordinary people. The silent middle. Their choice at that time was Harris. Just because the operatives who ran the campaign made a series of fatal mistakes does negate the power of half of this country who voted for a progressive, inclusive, future-forward America. That energy is still there, and while it may have gone into retreat, it is not shut off completely.
-the electoral college and gerrymandering cannot be discounted in the way they allow an overweighting of slim voting populations as against the millions of citizens residing in the vast and sprawling populations of the East and West Coast. It's a question of degree as to how much someone in Los Angeles or NYC's vote is underweighted against someone's vote in Utah or Montana. That "all or nothing" has turned states into red or blue. The 2-party system has turned into a 2 color country. This is a different avenue of discussion but people are seriously challenging the electoral college at long last.
-Lost opportunities...you mentioned the lost opportunity of the 2008 mortgage melt-down and the bank bailouts. I have a few more..how about when, during Covid, the "disposable, exploitable body" as Jessa so aptly put it suddenly became the "Essential Workers". What an opportunity for Democratic Socialism (or Social Democrat)! How revealing it suddenly became when your cashier and your bank teller put their lives on the line to keep serving you and preventing a complete and total economic collapse. But what we did we do with that? It fizzled out faster than a penny stock. And while the Teaparty did fill a void amongst the old-fashioned conservatives seeking a voice, that voice far more meager in its dimensions and its mobilization than the Occupy Movement.
-Can I add a few more contributors to the outcome of the election: social media, deficiencies in basic education, and right what you said, Jenna, about the disappearance of local news media. All these and more were aggravating circumstances. Those have to be taken into consideration going forward.
-Finally, lack of leadership. I know it sounds pretty basic, but maybe what appealed most to the ones who felt invisible was how often Trump told them he loved them. Over and over. And I really think they will continue say that 2 plus 2 equals 5, that vaccines are toxic, that bringing back coal is a good idea, just to keep hearing those three words. Take that as another suggestion to the next Democratic contender. Maybe just more love?