Copyright © 2016 - 2021, The Troy Press
Copyright © 2016 - 2021, The Troy Press
Copyright © 2016 - 2021, The Troy Press
EDITOR'S NOTE: The source article here, by Briahna Gray, must be the very best article written in modern times about "the left" and its relationship with the Democratic Party. In short, it illustrates that the Democratic Party is not a left-wing party. The text below is commentary about the article and its content by our own Art Richards.
There are a few superb comments under the original article, one of which was my own:
From the article:
Today, most 2020 hopefuls seem to have responded to the popularity of the progressive movement by simply embracing many of its policy prescriptions. (They kind of have to: Medicare for All has gone from something that Clinton insisted would "never, ever" happen, to a policy which has the backing of a majority of the American public - including Republicans.)
But some still employ a mixed strategy, which pairs a shift to the left with an attack on progressivism under the pretext of anti-bigotry. This needs to end, before it ends badly.
Indeed - this is one of the most important points of the whole article!
Here's my take on the worst of the article, updated here based on a better understanding of the author's motives, since I originally reacted after having read only the first several paragraphs:
According to an increasingly popular narrative among the center-left, a dispiriting plurality of progressives are "class reductionists" - people who believe that economic equality is a cure-all for societal ills, and who, as a result, would neglect policy prescriptions which seek to remedy identity-based disparities.
THAT is a serious mis-read.
The fear that identity-based issues might be "thrown under the bus" in favor of more populist, "universal" policies is legitimate:
NO, it isn't legitimate. Considering the whole article's content I believe the author is trying to say they fear the Democratic Party is trying to throw populist, "universal" policies under the bus by using identity politics. And that is completely correct.
In reference to the first quoted paragraph, there isn't any such thing as a "center-left" in the USA. Here's a very important insight:
The continuum of political spectrum from left through a proverbial center to right is not a relative measure. There is a right and a left and these don't change with the times as the ultra-rich would have you believe. This concept was intentionally created by the Main Stream Media as a mechanism to try and move the whole country to the right and it has largely worked, but DO NOT FALL FOR IT.
Now that that's said, lets understand that when people like this author say things like "center left" what they REALLY mean are the current batch of Republicans who are decidedly on the right, but who prefer to wear the letter D and a blue jersey rather than the letter R and a red jersey. They're a little bit, but only a tiny bit left of today's hard-core Republicans who wear red and an R, but where they differ is only a matter of degree and not of kind.
Let us also note that Hillary Clinton and her die-hard supporters also fall into this right-wing group, though they may think of themselves as "left" or "liberal." Those that do have fallen into the trap set for us by the ultra-rich; that what's left or right is relative when it is not. If you're supporting Hillary, you're supporting an old-school Republican, and she is in no way a Progressive. (Recall, for but one instance, how she told us we'd never, ever get single-payer, when it is now the most popular progressive policy in the nation with super-majority status; if she's right, it means we do not have a democracy.)
Now, back to the assertions made here by the author: The CORRECT way to understand this is that We, The people are under attack by the ultra-rich and until we (re?)gain control over our society these other issues are secondary since we really can't fix problems when we're not in control.
FURTHERMORE, use of identity in politics is dangerous because FAR too many people use identity as a short-cut to avoid having to take policy into consideration - it means they don't have to think. Voting based on identity is what has led us to the terrible situation we're in today: Please VOTE BASE ON POLICY ONLY!
Most Daily News Summary entries come from The Progressives' Chat Forum, which typically receives has between 700 and 1000 comments per day. Join us right now by picking the top list entry on this page.