Justice Democrats are Just Demagogues
I'll begin at the beginning of my determination the JD are nothing but a sham and a scam. I watched the Jimmy Dore show which featured Rohit Khanna (D-CA Silicon Valley) on two of it's segments.
A little background is in order here. The issue arises because of Khanna's shady financing, cloaked in the guise of Berniecratic-like avoidance of PAC money:
https://willyloman.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/neoliberal-silicon-valley-owned-rep-rohit-khanna-d-ca-is-the-new-alternative-pied-piper-of-the-corporate-left/
This bit was not revealed on Jimmy's first video featuring RK. So Jimmy presented an apologia for RK's somewhat misleading statements about his campaign financing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kykXC9qCapQ
Here is an abbreviated excerpt of Jimmy's defense of RK's funding:
[video: https://youtu.be/kykXC9qCapQ?t=11m24]
More comments about that illogical conclusion drawn by Jimmy (to which by the way I commented on his site about the odious inconsistency of such a stance) are found below.
Debbie, the Sane Progressive, given to rants but always factual had this analysis of RK, in a somewhat subdued tone for her (love the passion though!)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGkbTjcXnGE]
Now it appears that RK has joined forces with the Cenkosaurus's Justice Democrats (JD):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIS0k9DcWL0
Pardon me if this essay loosely partakes of sonata form with themes A and B alternating, to be followed with a coda.
So more about the JDs main founder, Kyle culinsky Being another; taken from an above citation:
Cenk Uygur is a former republican (like Hillary Clinton for example). He went to Wharton business school (same as Donald Trump). He was pro-life, anti-affirmative action, opposed feminism and wrote repeatedly that the Armenian genocide didn’t constitute genocide. Some time after 1999 he claims he started turning “progressive” He later said it was the illegal invasion of Iraq that did it.
In 2014 a Republican politician and businessman gave Uygur $4,000,000 to expand his reach with his “progressive” YT network. In April of 2014, Buddy Roemer pumped that lump sum of cash into Cenk’s “progressive” network and promised he would give him another 4 mil if he needed it. That’s a whole bunch of cash for a Youtube and internet radio show network.
Buddy Roemer was a fake Democrat before he become a Republican. Did you know that? Once the gig was up and everyone was on to his trick, he had to switch party affiliation to Republican.
And:
closeted Republicans [the 3 identified JDs so far] pretending to be Democrats like Cenk Uygur, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi et al would rather keep a corporate Democrat in power than see a real candidate with a real shot at beating them primary them in the next election.
So how does the real Cenk Uyghur really shape up for his allegedly progressive ideals? True, he was strongly pro-Bernie during almost the entire Dem primary, until it was so apparent that the fix was in, that Cenk began telling his viewers to fall in line, support Killary, and not promote divisiveness in the DemonRATic party. I found his policy as wretched but at least had some semblance of rationality: party unity. However my trust in him, along with the trust of many others, was severely shaken by this suck it up and go for Hillary "because Trump".
So I continued to watch TYT, primarily because I liked Jordan Chariton and his up-to-then excellent reporting--until the most horrendous and glaring betrayal of any semblance of Progressivism vaporized. This involved the show in which John Iadirrola, Michael Shure, and Mark Thomson poo-poo'd the hurt feelings of Bernie supporters who have been properly outraged by the revelation of DNC fraud. These three a-holes actually tried to justify this fraud.
Here is an unflinching review of the show, which contains the original TYT video in toto by the Hard Bastard. HD is an excellent analyst. He is not a self-styled progressive but his politics are straightforward. I recommend his YouTube channel for person who use that resource.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CyksDHHXSs]
End of part B, reprise of part A:
As prelude to this reprise, think upon the rise of Barack Hussain Obama, who came from nowhere, became a Dem. Senator in illinois and two year's later was nominated for president, fortunately defeating Killary. Yes, yes, he made a speech at the 2004 convention, but so what?
Now coming down the road a la Obama comes this candidate of color who has a nice identity: he is of Indian descent. This makes him almost unique in Congress. He's thin, he's charming, he's articulate. Just could be the next Barry two-faced Obama.
[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3wXkIWXWeg]
Coda
Reviewing prior themes as all good codas do, let's start with former Republican Cenk Uyghur, who received massive funding from a Republican to strengthen his YouTube empire and who was an eager Quisling for the Berniecrat movement. Why the hell didn't he just say that the result of the DNC convention were so awful that people should either vote for Jill Stein, or someone not named Clinton, or just stay home? Then he sends 3 of his minions to smear the DNC lawsuit's lawyers, including Jared Beck as being "opportunists". Even Michael Tracey, one of Cenk's reporters, has more integrity by not falling for the Russia-Russia-Russia mantra and doing so on TYT. Amazingly he has not yet been exiled.
Then there is Ro Khanna, smooth, saying what we want to hear, just like BHO did in 2008. No he doesn't take PAC money--he takes HUGE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS. This therefore qualifies him to be a JD! In fact, RK sucked up to Klinton in 2013 asking if she could come to his wedding in Cleveland, even if for only "10 minutes". Now this is a true progressive bullshit artist. He also proffered a $50,000,000 bribe to the DNC if they (DNC and Killary) would play nice with him.
So now let us apply the same logic which is the One, the Only qualification to be a JD: accepting no PAC money. We see that RK has already raised $5 million for his campaigns. So, hypothetically let's assume that Hillary Rotten Clinton does the same, i.e. refuse to accept PAC money but while still accepting massive donations from individuals. Therefore, according to the One, the Only qualification to be a JD. Wouldn't that be peachy?! Sound far-fetched? Hell, she's already doing this!
Comments
Follow the money
When I read that Ro Khanna had signed up with the Justice Democrats, I knew it was just another scam trying disguise the influence of corporate money. The tech industry was heavily behind Khanna to unseat eight term Rep. Mike Honda because Khanna said he supported the TPP and Honda was against it. Khanna ran against Honda in 2014 but Honda prevailed. Since then, Honda has had problems with ethics and the timing was perfect for Khanna to beat Honda in a very tight race in 2016.
Khanna may not be using PAC money, but you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be bringing in a lot of money to the Democratic party one way or another.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Really? A populist candidate? LOL
OK, I know "litmus tests" are prone to error. But still I'm pretty satisfied with the notion that anyone who was for TPP is against people. It's not so much that I'm against global trade. I'm simply against US policy being written in dark rooms by corporate attorneys and then being rushed through congress -- all in secrecy.
I don't see any way at all to be for that and still stand for people... the corporeal kind not the corporate kind.
I've said all the way along. You want me to get behind a trad deal? Send 500 LABOR lawyers into a conference that is transparent but excludes corporate attorneys et.al. That's what a people-first trade deal would look like at least in my mind.
So do any of you have any spin on the process for TPP that makes it sound less shady?
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Pseudo-progressive Ro Khanna is for TPP
Anything else you need to know, hmmm?
; - )
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Silicon Valley.” n/t
@SnappleBC It's not so much that I
I think that first sentence there is the kind of language that was used against folks who were against TPP. It is a false statement really.
That somehow being against a dark-room trade deal, crafted by corporate lawyers to benefit the multinational corporations is simultaneously against global trade.
I mean, I like tea. The tea I drink is grown in China and Japan for instance. So yeah, no problems with global trade. But corporate extortion via TPP? No thanks.
feel the bern, 'cause cenk says he's on your side
Which side? I don't know. He did repeatedly say it in the vid where he ripped on kos though. It is weird, the most popular politician in the country, maybe on the planet, and the Ds hate on him? So much for coat tails...
Leon Russell Tight Rope
Peace & Love
Edited: for f-bombs, sorry about that.
Leon Russell’s “Carney” — I loved that album!
I’d probably still have it somewhere, if back in the 1970s I hadn’t done this hippie spiritual-journey thing where I gave away all my possessions.
(Goes to look for Leon Russell albums on iTunes)
May your journey be filled with happiness
right on, hope you find the sentimental groove again online, um... brother? lol I don't even perceive gender in ether space, unless it's embedded in the avatar. Either yours inherited two orange genes, or not I guess? I don't know. It is one thing I kind of like about anonymity, maybe the only thing. Thanks
Does anyone else see the irony of YouTube a.k.a. The Google if you go up the chain a link or two, being in total control of all this "alternative media" we are watching, or most of it after the Facebook eyeballs?
and
Did anyone else notice during Jimmy's "in defense of Ro" video, he mentioned "ads are back, that's good, I don't know why"? That's me paraphrasing, I could go back and look it up but nenni ekki. I'm too lazy to care about it that much right now, too bummed about total capture of everything in sight.
Edit: went back and looked it up, it was the same day a couple of uploads after the "Ro Khanna Addresses Critics Of His Fundraising" vid. He begins this one Exactly What Is Trump Accused Of With Russia? with t-shirt sales, then:
etc.. Another discomforting coincidence if you ask me, bad timing.
Thanks
The most important break-through that Bernie
pioneered was the small donor only caveat. That was the single most revolutionary aspect of his run - that no corporation or PAC or individual would be put in a position to purchase influence or legislation.
If any "Progressive" or "Grass Roots" or "Liberal" or "Revolutionary" or "Justice" seeking new political organization starts out immediately subverting this core principle, then I think we can assume that the effort is nothing more than a branding and veal penning enterprise.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
Small donor pioneer was shockingly brilliant
thanks, I am being hyperbolic but really, I was surprised at first by his immediate and immense popularity, and also thought it was deviously brilliant to use ActBlue out of the gate like that, out-raising Clinton every quarter. LOL, oops? Now it is the basis of a big lawsuit, yuge I hope. Fingers crossed.
Cheers
Fees paid to Act Blue when donations were made to Bernie
form the basis for material damages, thus enabling one of the two prongs for the class action law suit. The other prong is fraud by failing to follow the DNC charter. No monetary damage is assessable for this item, to my knowledge, but certainly reliance upon false promises is certainly fraud.
With such a large, coördinated effort, I’d even call it a RACKET
Apply RICO, the law against racketeering — treble damages.
You know that is a good idea for another DNC lawsuit!
The most important part for me personally was...
... it told me I wasn't some lonely misfit tinfoil hat nutter all alone in his delusions. If I'm deluded then a CRAP LOAD of other people must be also for Bernie to have fundraised as effectively as he did.
By far that was the most motivation part of his whole campaign... I'm not alone... not by a LONG shot.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@Phoebe Loosinhouse He pioneered it at the
He pioneered it at the presidential level, but it had been going on at the congressional level since DFA.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I keep misreading this title
What I read when I first glance at the title of this essay is Justice Democrats are Just
DemogoguesDangerous! Maybe both titles are true?Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
How about deceptive, duplicitous, dangerous, devilish
and demagogic democrats?
and so it goes
https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/
Jesse's Café Américain
"FOR WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN, IF HE GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, BUT LOSE HIS SOUL?" MARK 8:36
17 MAY 2017
Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Mind the Gap
"Starting around 1980, American society began to undergo a series of deep shifts. Deregulation, weakened antitrust enforcement, and technological changes led to increasing concentration of industry and finance. Money began to play a larger and more corrupting role in politics. America fell behind other nations in education, in infrastructure, and in the performance of many of its major industries. Inequality increased.
As a result of these and other changes, America was turning into a rigged game—a society that denies opportunity to those who are not born into wealthy families, one that resembles a third-world dictatorship more than an advanced democracy."
Charles H. Ferguson, Predator Nation
“When the system is rigged, when ordinary citizens are powerless, and when whistle-blowers are pariahs at best, three things happen:
First, the worst people rise to the top. They behave appallingly, and they wreak havoc.
Second, people who could make productive contributions to society are incented to become destructive, because corruption is far more lucrative than honest work.
And third, everyone else pays, both economically and emotionally; people become cynical, selfish, and fatalistic. Often they go along with the system, but they hate themselves for it. They play the game to survive and feed their families, but both they and society suffer.”
Charles H. Ferguson, Inside Job
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Wow! Great quote from Ferguson!
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
I'd like to bookmark this comment
And the only way I can see to do it is to copy and paste a link into a draft diary labelled Bookmarks. Is that what people are doing?
So far I've mostly been bookmarking by replying and then seeking out the comment later in my own comments which is kind of cumbersome and inefficient. Plus, when I fail to reply to a comment, I invariably can't find it again.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
Bookmarking comments
if you can hover over the Subject line, it is an URL you can bookmark. I use a PC with mouse so right-click is the thing I do to bring up the context menu with option to Bookmark. I use a Mozilla browser, Safari might be different, I don't know about Android or the other phones.
When I right-click over your title "I'd like to bookmark this comment" there is an option to "Bookmark this link", it looks like this: https://caucus99percent.com/comment/265424#comment-265424, which I pasta'd from the context menu option "Copy link location". Hope that helps. Perhaps others can chime in how to access different things on the page, depending on device and UI (user interface) options. Thanks.
Peace
That's what I've been doing.
Hovering doesn't bring up any info here, but I click on the title line and choose "open link in new tab." Then I go to my C99 folder of bookmarks with a list of c99 writers, and save that link to the appropriate author -- even though (or especially if) it brings along with it all the comments related to that post. This is in Firefox with Duck Duck Go in the background.
Bookmark it in your browser...
make a new folder in your browser's bookmarks and name it "c99p" or whatever.
Click the title (subject line) of the comment and that will take you to the comment's permalink. Bookmark that permalink page in your newly created "c99p" folder. That will also work for essays.
Sorry can't help you there Phoebe
I would love to see that website linked here in the blog roll.
I seem to be the only admirer of that site though.
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
It's a new world.
When RK ran against Honda in 2014 the SF Bay Guardian (a now defunct weekly) endorsed Honda, calling RK a fake liberal and an Objectivist. I'm not in that district, and was just starting to have problems of my own, so I thought,"It's Silicon Valley, maybe all his friends are Randian, and the BG can be pretty knee-jerk, but then, their bullshit detector is very reliable." and didn't follow it further.
My point is that in 2014 only a knee-jerk liberal weekly evolving into progressivism while being forced out of business smelled something fishy. Today, RK is challenged almost within hours, by people.
On to Biden since 1973
An Objectivist? OMG!
That is pretty damning - do you recall why he was assigned to that phylum? Was he known for gifting Atlas Shrugged like Ryan?
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
Sorry Phoebe
I haven't looked into him at all, but apparently during an endorsement interview in 2014 he used a lot of objectivist language and really turned off the BG people. It is possible that, surrounded by silicon valley objectivists that it was the language he was used to, but you can see what that "defense" implies.
On to Biden since 1973
This is what Wikipedia has to say about objectivism
The first part of the description I definitely agree with (i.e., the non-bolded portion). A long philosophical debate could be made here. But the bolded part is what I highly object to. This stilted broadening of the applicant ion to solipsistic self-indulgence at the expense of the common good. Social advancement is impossible with the collective effort of many in society. For those less gifted in producing "socially valuable" output, objectivism offers no benefit. Taken to its extreme, Randian philosophy could be used to justify eugenics and "disposing" of the ill or handicapped.
Why We Don't allow Wikipedia quotes ...
... in academia, because, in my dictionary objectivism is defined as a noun with two uses:
So, when, on line, I describe the nature of science, there is always someone that dumps shit all over my efforts because they are incapable of understanding context and ancillary sentences.
See it is only the subsidiary definition that involves the shit. The primary definition is clean and unencumbered by shit.
For what it's worth, just one of my pet peeves.
Too much scientific bias in your too literal definition
This is precisely WRONG. Morality, ethics exist only because of the human mind. Morality is NOT measurable. Morality does not exist in a void. Morality does not exist in the absence of human beings. Morality is neither replicable nor susceptible to proof. Do not confuse morality with utilitarianism, which DOES have measurable results. The Randian extension of morality to an objective existence, i.e. observable and measurable quantity no matter how formulated, is illogical and amoral.
Precisely my point
When I use the word "The tendency to lay stress on what is external to or independent of the mind." and some idiot accuses me of spewing shit I get pissed off. You and I both see the shit, but others are incapable of seeing it for what it is so when I use the word "objectivism" I ... what the hell, screw it ...
Thank you much for your clarification, PR
You and I are almost always on the same page so I missed your sarcasm. Snark detector malfunction.
It would seem Silicon Valley is full of narcissistic people who
are either already very very rich, or aspire to soon become so through stock options in their start-up ’n’ such . . .
Everyone claims to want to make the world a better place, but look beyond the b.s. and it’s a regular Galt’s Gulch out there.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-silicon-valley-nails-s...
Sure.
This is corporate conservatism at its finest. Remember that the best the Democrats could do was Bernie "we'll offer you something" Sanders, to which Hillary Clinton responded "maybe we'll offer you something." Corporate conservatism is about promising to buy you off to maintain the status quo. Maybe the Justice Democrats will offer you something slightly better than the theocratic Handmaid's Tale state suggested by their party's current Presidential choice, Mike Pence. And maybe they won't. They reason that since you've already bought into the logic of the Eternal Two-Party System you'll eat it up, and support the Justice Democrats.
I can't say their logic has any real flaws. You currently have two choices for American governance at the Federal level: corporate conservatives, or antipublic conservatives. There is no "Left" choice. If you want a "Left" choice, you have to create an American Left, because at present THERE IS NO SUCH THING. All of those nice arguments that "oh of course there's a Left in America because I call myself a 'leftist'" -- all you are really doing is sculpting your self-perceived identities, and it's all about as politically effective as dyeing your hair green.
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
By choosing to dethrone Trump, the dumbocrats will knowingly get us Pence. Want theocracy, you've got it. But the Warlovers will get a willing "Crusader" imbued with righteous Christian indignation of the Saracens living in the mid-east.
@ggersh
Brilliant Ferguson quote! I notice the "magic" date: 1980 (Bronx cheer). Rec'd!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Plus I hate the logo: dead giveaway right there!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
I Disagree, @Phoebe Loosinhouse
The most important breakthrough was correctly identifying the bad buys as Big Corporate & the Oligarchs and their corporate sponsored pols. This is the reason he was actually able to attract the small donors.
Words like that are weapons and proof that words and messaging matter.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
You make a great case, Ed.
In the end, it seems like Cenk's objective is to promote his brand. Like he makes athletic shoes and he wanted "progressive" Democrats to wear them on the campaign trail. That's the ticket. Get some exposure.
I'm troubled by the "One Rule" — no corporate money or pac money. As you put it:
But for different reasons.
This is far from the most fucked-up thing about the US fauxmocracy, and it does not change the structural flaws that make it naturally corrupt. Buying polititians merely sits atop the steaming pile of the dead-men's rules we follow without specific consent. I realize that People-funding was an amazing and salient moment in Bernie's campaign, but that was a tall poppy situation. It's not sustainable to base a political party on the backs of the already asset-stripped People. The first one in the gate gets it all and none for the rest. "Oh sorry. I already gave." Structural Flaw: No strict public funding Law.
Prognosis: A sputtering gesture of a movement; or a complete capitulation to the status quo. Either way, it doesn't deliver anything to the people except a potential sellout of a candidate.
I'm totally issue bound and I simply don't care how I get there. If I were a philanthropist, I'd write big money checks to put a candidate in office if they pledged to fight for what I need (let's call it cutting all war funding). I'd suck up to anyone to get him there. They'd have to take a ticket and stand in line. It's that important and I, and the voters I've met, will not settle for less than black-and-white immediate issue positions guaranteed. We want to throw money around and rig the corrupt system anyway we can, instead of handicapping candidates so they can wear Cenk's brand.
So, hey. Thank's for the heads-up.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
As Caitlin Johnstone says this is some
fucked fuckery.
You are absolutely correct: we need public funding of elections at all governmental levels, the limits for which might be proportional to the number of citizens "represented". I use quotes because it would be hard to prove any of us are represented.
Pluto, another thought here
The swamp water's been a little cold lately making my thinking slower than usual. If anyone thinks Cenk is being altruistic, doing his civic duty gratis, please invest in my swamp. You bet he's going to get a nice slice of the action--guaranteed. Kyle may cash in too.
Great videos. Wow.
Love the Sane Progressive, as usual she's spot on where I am. And liked Hard Bastard too, great logical take down. I think TYT sounds just like the MSM on the parsing, the non-committal attitudes, "they feel" being such a shitty way to put the outrage at a blatantly stolen primary. Disappointed in Jimmy Dore. I hope he takes another look at his stance on money - it ALL needs to go. Public financing and a short schedule for campaigns based on reality, not TV hype. And the wars must end, that's my purity test.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
I agree.
Just look at the UK and France with their compact elections for prime minister and president, respectively. With strict spending limits and reduced campaign length, we would all be better off--or at least perception of the illusion of make a choice would be bolstered.