Democrats problems: Race and Class
Lately I've been seeing a lot of articles pushing back against the idea of the Democratic Party changing their focus for reasons of race.
Some of the articles come from a place obviously motivated by fear, such as this one.
African American activists are issuing a terse warning to the Democratic Party: Don’t ignore us while pursuing the white working class voters who eluded the party in the 2016 elections.
Some of them come from legitimate frustration.
“When you get to the top of the Democratic Party, it looks just like the GOP.” That’s the insight Maze Jackson expressed at the beginning of our conversation...All around us, beautiful white people tapped away on their MacBooks while sipping pretentious cocktails. Jackson was decked out in his new signature, a t-shirt bearing the hashtag #WIIFTBP – “What’s in it for the Black People.”
On the other hand, some of them are from the same liberal identity politics dead-enders that drove the Democratic party into the ditch in the first place.
When they say “working class,” they don’t mean all working-class people. They mean white, straight, cisgender, U.S.-born men, just as people who say the Democrats have a “religion” problem mean a white religion problem.
This is what is known as "bullshit". It's an attempt to define your political opponent by attacking a strawman of your own creation.
In reality the Dems' problem is much more broad.
The Democrats don’t have a “white working-class problem.” They have a “working-class problem,” which progressives have been reluctant to address honestly or boldly. The fact is that Democrats have lost support with all working-class voters across the electorate, including the Rising American Electorate of minorities, unmarried women, and millennials.
Then there are the obvious political operatives that want to position themselves, and are willing to divide Democrats along racial lines to advance their personal agenda.
That white man means a whole lot more to Bernie bros than he will ever mean to me...There’s no way Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) should be considered the Democratic Party’s 2020 front-runner.
There's a fundamental flaw on the Democratic side where someone can throw around baseless accusations of racism, without ever suffering any consequences.
A great response to this smear is this article.
Bernie Sanders Doesn't Have a Black Problem—He Has a Pundit Problem
However, the people I want to focus on are those people that mistake race for politics, and vice versa.
Hilary Shelton, head of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, said “It could be difficult” for Democrats in the future without an African American on the ticket.
On their list are a growing roster of black politicians, notably Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J. and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., former Attorney General Eric Holder and Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts....
Yvette Stone longs for the days when Barack Obama occupied the White House. She wants African American voters shouldn’t settle for anything less than a Democratic ticket with a black candidate in 2020.
“We have to represent what we want. We have to represent who we are,” Stone, a Huntington, N.Y. convention delegate. “Everyone always comes for our vote, and what do we get in return?”
Yvette is asking the right question, but coming to a very wrong conclusion.
Do you really think Booker, Harris or Holder share your values and concerns? Why? Because of their skin color? Like Obama? Things were disastrous for the black community under Obama.
"Sadly, and it pains me to say this, over the last decade black folk, in the era of Obama have lost ground in every major economic category," Smiley said Friday in an interview with Huffington Post. "Not one, two or three [categories], but every major economic category, black americans have lost ground"
"We've been so caught up in the symbolism of the Obama presidency, we haven't pressed as hard as we should on the substance of this presidency," Smiley said.
Far too many people get caught up in symbolic actions.
Too many white conservatives care about Trump's symbolic anti-liberal tweets, while ignoring his proposed policies to destroy their lives.
In the same regard, too many blacks care about the symbolism of shared skin color. I'm not basing that on opinion.
Since the 1960s, black leaders have placed a heavy emphasis on gaining political power, and Barack Obama’s presidency represented the apex of those efforts. The assumption — rarely challenged — is that black political clout must come before black social and economic advancement.
...Between 1970 and 2010, the number of black elected officials nationwide increased from fewer than 1,500 to more than 10,000.Yet the socioeconomic progress that was supposed to follow in the wake of these political gains never materialized. During an era of growing black political influence, blacks as a group progressed at a slower rate than whites, and the black poor actually lost ground.
...
But the integration of these institutions proved to be insufficient. “Many blacks have reached positions of local power, such as mayor, county commission chairman or superintendent of schools, positions undreamed of 30 years ago,” they wrote. Their findings, however, showed that “these achievements do not necessarily produce success for blacks as a whole.” The empirical evidence, they said, “indicates that there may be little relationship between the success of local black leaders and the opportunities of typical black families.”
It shouldn't be a controversial statement to say "skin color isn't enough".
It's also not controversial to say "Politicians of all skin colors are capable of ignoring the interests of their communities."
What matters most is the values of the individual. Booker, Harris and Holder do not share the values of most Democrats. Nina Turner, Barbara Lee, and Professor West on the other hand, would be fantastic choices.
Somewhere along the way a weird idea became accepted by liberals as "the truth".
This idea was that if you wanted to speak to the interests of a minority group, then you had to speak to that issues that was unique to that group.
For example, if you wanted to talk to Latinos you had to talk about fixing immigration. You can't talk about fixing issues like Education, Jobs, and Health Care, because that would benefit other groups like working class whites as well.
And if you talk to the black community, you can't bring up issues that all poor people have in common (like Education, Jobs, and Health Care), because they are not interested in issues that effect other ethnic groups.
Above all, you must defer to ethnicity above class. That's what the voters want.
Or maybe, just maybe, what is "common knowledge" with liberals is just a bunch of bullsh*t, and that's a big reason why so many people hate modern liberals.
Maybe the loudest liberals out there are also the most mistaken.
Maybe, just maybe, it's better to embrace policies that benefit the most working class people regardless of race and gender, because that is simply smart politics.
Maybe instead of micro-targeting policies to specific niches, the Dems should macro-target the entire working class, which would help all the ethnic groups.
Comments
gjohnsit on fire
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
If you think about it
Social Security would never, ever be created by the modern Democratic Party.
1) It doesn't target minority groups; i.e. it helps too many whites
2) it's paid for by a regressive tax, that includes employers
And yet a program in which even rich people can collect on, it's immensely popular with poor people.
Poor minority people in particular.
Yes, you can help everyone and do wonderful things for minorities at the same time.
Pity it's too long for a bumper sticker
But this cogently sums up the ingrained genuflection that is now part of the Obama Presidency.
The question in my mind is if I'll be called a "racist" whenever I critique the substance of a Harris, Booker or what ever Obama-Lite candidate TPTB polish up for the 2020 political kabuki theater we'll be subjected to?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Feature, not a bug.
Take a look at how they've tried to use claims of sexism to neutralize any criticism of Her. I don't think that was a coincidence and I fully would expect similar with any of the names mentioned.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
I just don't see that approach
Ending well in the long run. Has a kind of Boy Who Cried Wolf quality to it. But hindsight was never their strong suit.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Agreed
Really, how well did it work for Her? I don't know how many were guilted/shamed/harangued back into the fold, but if we cost Her the election, as they like to allege, then it wasn't enough. Not that I expect 2020 to be anything other than a re-run of 2016 with the smallest variations they have to make.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
I was called a sexist for not voting for Her
when I voted for Stein.
Everything old is new again.
When I don't vote for Harris, I will be both sexist and racist in one fell swoop.
Good times!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
whaddya think?
Too long to put on a T-Shirt?
"Snap Judgements and Herd Mentality are for the feeble minded. I ask questions and think for myself. What about you?"
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
@Anja Geitz My political party! I
My political party! I knew there was one for me somewhere!
Freethinkers United vs Crappy Kleptocrats.
Welcome, brothers and sisters! The drinks table is to the left, and the smoking porch is round the back.
"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
Crappy Kleptocrats
I dunno. Kinda has a nice ring to it....
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
@on the cusp Oh yeah, there is always
Oh yeah, there is always a fall back, a way to push the goal post.
"You have to vote for Clinton, otherwise you are a sexist and misogynist."
"Well, I'm voting for Stein."
"Still a sexist and misogynist cause you are voting for a woman who doesn't have a chance to win."
Wait, what? See, there is always a fall back. Basically, the terms have morphed to merely be an insult, nothing to actually deal with the real definition of the words.
This is from an essay by a someone named Wolfgang Streeck.
The full essay is here: Trump and the Trumpists
Also, here's BAR's Margaret Kimberley on Kamala Harris and America's Oligarchs
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Interesting article
I like the comparison of Trump to Napoleon III.
Love the Black Agenda Report.
Hard hitting logical take downs of all the ugly sell outs. If one needs confirmation you're not a bigot for calling out the Harris's, Bookers and Obamas of the world, all one need do is go there and see just how some very smart black people see them - as sell out shills for the American oligarchy, no bones about it.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
There IS a Black Left,
they just never seem to get the attention that the sell-outs do. The Democrats would have us believe that all African-Americans are war-mongering neoliberals and that opposition to wars abroad and austerity at home is somehow a racist position.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
I believe the black left
is far, far larger than the white left, percentage-wise.
You wouldn't know that from reading
the corporate press or Democratic blogs.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
I'm tired of their whining and divisiveness.
They'll either drop the identity politics to embrace policy that benefit all people because all lives matter, or I'll do what I can to make them lose. Hope they are enjoying Trump.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Personally I'm going to encourage working/barely surviving
class people to stay as far away from the democratic party as possible no matter how they micro or macro target them. In fact, I would encourage the dem party to stay the fuck away from us.
That is where the independent movement is going to have to happen.
Of all the damage done
by Her toxic campaign this is the worst of it. It all started with swiftboating Bernie on race.
They knew those pics of Bernie chained to Black protesters existed and they knew those were taken during Her Goldwater Girl days so they painted him as a racist in time for the Southern state primaries as a preemptive strike. And it worked.
She tried to divide and conquer the party and the country but failed on the conquer part. All she ended up accomplishing was dividing us.
Goldwater Girl days
"Her Goldwater Girl days" include these days.
Her is a perpetual Goldwater Girl. In fact, Her is now to the right of good ol' AuH2O in many ways.
And enthroning Donald Trump. Don't forget that part!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
And John Lewis in most cynical way, helped that narrative.
Lewis didn't just imply that Bernie wasn't involved, he started using right wing talking points against Bernie's policy positions.
What John Lewis
did was an absolute disgrace. Add him to the long list of people I lost all respect for in 2016.
There are more/bigger reasons to lose respect for him.
"The fact that Lewis marched with Martin Luther King many years ago is laudable but it should not confer permanent hero status on him. As Michael Tracey noted on Twitter, he long ago transformed himself into a sock puppet of the political establishment, including his role as a Hillary campaign surrogate deployed against Bernie Sanders.
Lewis’s political courage is seen in his long-time ties and support for the Faith and Politics Institute, which he co-chaired for eight years and aggressively promotes. This little-known organization is based in the DC swamp and it’s board is dominated by (white, just incidentally) lobbyists and representatives of do-good organizations like Goldman Sachs, Fluor, Microsoft and United Health Group, as well as former and current congressional staffers, including at least one of Lewis’s.
It’s a classic Washington influence peddling operation, as seen in its annual Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage across Alabama, which Lewis has led. The Institute apparently charges a minimum of $25,000 to participate and according to this story by Center for Public Integrity, a lot of the those who go along for the ride are corporations and donors to the Institute, along with members of congress.
The Center identified some of the corporate particpants as Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Altria and Freddie Mac (this story dates to before the housing collapse). “They [the lobbyists] have a sincere interest in the civil rights movement,” Lewis explained.
Uh huh."
http://washingtonbabylon.com/which-side-are-you-on-when-it-comes-to-trum...
John Lewis
Most of which were far more beneficial to working-class black folks than Clinton's stances were.
Worse, his Judas goat maneuvers worked. Southern black voters voted
against their own interestsfor Hillary Clinton in droves in those primaries, essentially guaranteeing a Trump victory in the general election."US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
John Lewis loved/s Rayguns and Rayguns National
Drug Testing Policy. Liberal he ain't!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Drug testing was the beginning of a whole bunch of other crap
When TPTB saw how the public accepted this violation of our constitutional rights and the violation of our bodies with such docility, it was nothing less than a green light for subsequent violations.
Absolutely
but that incident was also an important moment in the campaign. When Berners on social media were able to force him to correct his lie, I knew we were a new force to be reckoned with. I really expected him to just ignore them and pretend he said nothing.
So many exposed their inner scumbag. Although Lewis was the worst- forfeiting his integrity to cynically push the lie of hillary as a party to the civil rights movement- I have an especially low opinion of barbara boxer for those NV lies. What a piece of shit she showed herself to be. And I am embarrassed to say she had me fooled.
I personally think we should let these politicians know what we think of them. If I bumped into one of these people in public, I'd have no problem calling them out. Loudly. They need to be publicly shamed.
it's a start. (++)
as long as they are fat & happy, there will be no change.
And John Lewis in most cynical way, helped that narrative.
Lewis didn't just imply that Bernie wasn't involved, he started using right wing talking points against Bernie's policy positions.
I knew Hillary would lose when she picked Kaine.
Up to the end of the nomination, African Americans remained the most loyal coalition group for Hillary. And in reward for this political backing she simply ignored them and picked somebody who was in many ways anathema to the interests and concerns of African Americans. This is NOT about identity politics but realizing who is in your coalition based on commonality of purpose and policy rewarding and putting those members, whoever they are, in positions of power and influence. And when it came out who she wanted to appoint to her cabinet, it was basically her rich white donors.
Hillary Clinton's actions depressed the African American vote by her actions.
This is not about race, but what any group brings to the table. Having worked in a democratic machine city, the ultimate question was 'how many votes can you deliver?"
But instead of building coalitions, Hillary and TOP democrats engaged another question: what identity group are you in, and are you allowed to participate--instead of building coalitions, they were destroying them. Don't need to go after that one, but we know the results.
You raise a very, very good point.
I've always wondered why Her got a pass on this (it's a rhetorical question, really). For a campaign that only seemed to stand for identity politics, Her didn't pick a person who was a minority or female or LGBT or any of the groups the Democrats pander to be Her running mate. Instead, she picked the person who if I was asked to picture a stereotypical politician would be the guy I'd think of. He had nothing to offer the ticket for anyone who wasn't standard issue white, straight, rich male, and yet, I don't recall a peep among the same people who were slaughtering Sanders for alleged insults that were trumped up lies.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
@Dr. John Carpenter I sincerely believe she
I sincerely believe she picked Kaine as insurance for her donors. The concerns about her health became real on 9/11 and she needed to let them know that even if something did happen to her, the VP would carry on paying back their investments. There's no other rational reason. He had no charisma (in fact, he comes off as mildly retarded) and no constituency. Worst of all, choosing him was the final slap in the face to the left wing and sanders voters. If she had any chance of winning (I don't think she ever did), she lost it when she chose Kaine.
Interesting take on Kaine.
Seems to make sense. I am sure her donors saw the video and probably even other incidents where they attended private functions with Hillary.
Kaine was a strange choice, and have to be re-invented.
I remember on TOP how mightily people there tried to re-invent Kaine as a progressive. And what was hypocritical was that he could have been the poster child for every attack which accused Bernie and his supporters for being sexist and racist. And Hillary picks someone who before would have been despised by their narratives. And nary a peep as you said.
Dems will be catering to white working class
voters (in 2018) by running fiscally conservative (Blues Dogs)--especially entrepreneurs and ex-military types, according to a MoveOn spokesperson on CNN about a week ago.
Also, the Dem Leadership will focus on picking up more votes from black women, since some Dem strategists believe that the drop off of this voter demographic may have cost them the Presidency in 2016.
Today, I heard a political strategist on CNN point out that the fight that DT appears to be picking with the transgender (military) community, could derail the Dem Party from getting away from identity politics [in the 2018 midterms].
IOW, while DT may have Tweeted to pacify his evangelical base, it's possible that it might help muddy the waters regarding the efforts of the Dem Party to "change their message"--to one of economic populism, instead of one focused on identity politics.
Time will tell, I suppose.
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
2012 election -- Once again-death of the liberal class
Once Again—Death of the Liberal Class
Chris Hedges posted this the week after Obama won in 2012
I am going to put in white space in Chris' first paragraph
That was 4 1/2 years ago.
In the 2016 election I learned about the horrible Cliton's and the corrupt democratic party.
Will the party change???
Where would US politics be without the Bernie inspired movements?
Thanks for posting the Hedges blurb, Don. I posted
the same excerpt at several blogs when he first wrote it.
No one better with words than Hedges and Paul Street. (IMO)
Mollie
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
The worst thing is
that I can see Chris Hedges writing this in 2018 and 2020. Our "leaders' will say all the right things, they just won't do them.
If the Dems start saying the right things
even that much would be an improvement.
Sad.
@gjohnsit No, it would not be.
No, it would not be. It would con enough people to keep them going. As it has done in the past.
But ... I don't understand ...
... I was assured that HRC was The Choice Of The Black Folks. What more do these people want?
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
@UntimelyRippd She has an Honorary
She has an Honorary Black Person Certificate. All Clintons get one.
"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
Dems can't address economy
without hurting their business partners in Banking, Corporations and the War Machine. That's where they get their money and future employment. So what's left is their insane "divide by identity" game. While pretending each group is too stupid to notice their wallets are empty and needs can't be met.
We'll never hear "Full Human Rights and Fairness for All" from the Dem hahaha Leadership.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
Backing Oligarchs While Black
Money quote:
You can add Los Angeles D.A. Jackie Lacey and Chauncey Devega to the long list of opportunistic black politicians who could care less about dark skinned Americans. They play race and class issues like a fiddle.
Who spoke up for The Water Protectors? Who has challenged mass incarceration? Prison abolition and slashing law enforcement budgets would free up over 50% of L.A.'s budget.
Environmental lefties are just as bad, targeting individuals and personal lifestyle choices instead of focusing exclusively on corporate environmental destruction. One hundred companies are responsible for 70% of global warming. Elitest Lefties target plastic shopping bags and cigarette butts.
Wanna help the environment? Cut military spending by 50%. Abolish the CIA. The Pentagon may be the most environmentally destructive force on the planet. Are there even three national Democrats talking about reducing military spending? The savings would fund all kinds of social programs for all Americans.
Race and class issues are both being manipulated to divide and conquer American voters at the ballot box. Poor white Americans supporting anti-union Right to Work laws? How do you straighten that knot out?
God didn't play favorites when she passed out Stupid. Every racial, cultural and ethnic group got their very large share of Stupid.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
save the Earth
And put this country out of the business of being the world's unpaid policeman. (Same set of ideas.)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Bingo!
You got that right. This was a very strong argument against American military interventions in the 70's. Guess whose complaining now? The American Conservative:
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/should-america-be-the-wo...
I thought principled conservatism was dead. Might be making a comeback, but not in the Republican party. Actually, anti-war .com has a number of conservative war critics writing against the Bush/Obama wars.
http://www.antiwar.com/
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Right to Work
Implying Unions are stopping you from having a job. Another example of Republican contra-labeling like "Religious Freedom" which forces people under the thumb of someone else's religion.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Party should have nominated Kucinich in 2008
Identity politics has become the most vocal and socially acceptable form of the racism it purports to fight.
It amazes me how people are
It amazes me how people are able to fall for this stuff so easily.
Like, what does this mean? Really, what does it mean? This is something that I still can't grasp. I mean, what exactly is going to happen here? How, exactly, is saying pushing for $15 ignoring black people? How? Or put another way, how exactly are pushing economic things somehow going to stop social issues? If you push for better wages does that somehow flip the switch and prevent people from doing social issues? You're not forgetting these things, or stopping them, I mean this isn't that hard folks.
What would the Dems do? Go for $15 but then tell black people that they are All Lives Matter? That's never going to happen.
Oh God here is a doozy. Or perhaps the greatest thing ever in fact. This could actually kill the Dem party, which would be great. So basically AA's shouldn't come out and vote unless there is a black candidate in 2020? OK, so what about Latinos? If a Latino isn't on the ballot does that mean they shouldn't come out and vote either? What about Asians? LGBT? Women? How far down the rabbit hole do we go here?
Yes, I'm a white male LGBT millennial. If I follow this type of insidious identity politics garbage, that means I am aligned with the likes of say George W Bush, or Kissinger, or Bill Clinton. Here's the thing: Not a chance.
Good Question
No shortage of corrupt Latino Democrats in California or nationally. Likewise Asians and LGBT politicians I'm sure, they just haven't achieved as much national prominence yet.
Identity politics is a horrible way to vote.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
A Manufactured Zero Sum Game...
This shit is crazy.
Politics is not a zero sum game... unless you make it one.
This is the complete antithesis of solidarity.
How do we cut through this?
Maybe we need a repeating chorus of solidarity? It could be a real problem with the "alt-Left" idea that is burbling around these days.
A Human Agenda requires solidarity. It can't be pursued if normal humans can't get together.
We have to fight this push into a zero sum political game.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Solidarity 2017
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=bNGJy495L1I&feature=share
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Solidarity 2017 embed
Meteor Man, your link goes to a place that won't play, at least on my machine. (I didn't download the proffered app, which is probably why.)
Here's a traditional embedded video of "Solidarity Forever 2017":
[video:https://youtu.be/bNGJy495L1I]
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
That's It
Same video. Works for me. I can't get the video embed link to work. Probably operator error.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Zero-sum is everywhere — academia especially. Even mathematics.
Certain persons of color to whites: give up your job so I can have it. Not being divisive, just “provocative” of discussion, of course. Yeah right.
http://blogs.ams.org/inclusionexclusion/2017/05/11/get-out-the-way/
I Wanted to Post This as a Response: "Solidarity." nt
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
the problem in a nutshell
dem party is big part of what's wrong around here.
The obvious solution
The Dem candidate must by mixed-race: AA+Latino+Asian+White+LBGT+Woman.
Policies are unimportant as long as all the boxes are checked.
And when that happens,
we'll know that we finally conquered racism, sexism and all the other isms. Sure, that worked out so well with Obama, I'm just sure it will work out again. Oh wait a minute, you mean that didn't cure racism? Well shit howdy, then where do we go from here?
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
@lizzyh7 While all this is
While all this is going on, they're changing the definitions of racism and sexism, a fact which the people lining up behind the Democrats (Black and white) don't seem to notice.
"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
(No subject)
@gjohnsit Nobody should come out
Nobody should come out and vote for people who aren't going to represent them anyway.
But if some Black people want to continue to indulge in the fantasy that people who share their skin color and history will automatically be good guys who will represent them, that's their deal. I can't even get through to white people who believe similar things, and those white people don't have an already-established reason to distrust me.
I'll just end with a quotation from Chuck D:
Every brother ain't a brother cause a color
Just as well could be undercover
He was talking about cops, but the same sentiment could be applied to politicians.
"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
(No subject)
One more thing...
The ideal candidate should exhibit all of those traits, but should also work for Goldman Sachs, and have a deep disdain for working people.
The oligarchs will be proud.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
@Strife Delivery Well, Hill did start by
Well, Hill did start by saying All Lives Matter. Another fact that was conveniently flushed down the memory hole.
She'd never advocate for $15 though.
"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
"AuH2O" Girl.
@Dopeman: Rec'd comment X 1M for too clever. Briiliant. Liberal isn't liberal (courtesy Webster's Dictionary). Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Typo. I meant @thanatokephaloides.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
thank you! :-)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Well, yeah, because Black people got more Black politicians
during the same era that the political class ceased to serve the people. Apparently they thought that was only a problem for white people, but au contraire, mon frere.
Now you've got a Black political class doing the same shit to Black people that the white political class has been doing to white people for the past 40 years.
"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
Rude Awakening For Trump Voters
Things are gonna get very interesting when they figure out Trump is just like Obama. Trump is gonna do just as much for "working whites" as Obama did for BLM.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
@Meteor Man Yeah I see the same
Yeah I see the same thing. It actually makes me sorry for them; I was just in that position myself.
"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
(No subject)
Sanders/Turner 2020!
'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member