6 ms·
Once the New Deal coalition fell apart after the Civil Rights Act passed and the GOP implemented the Southern Strategy and right-to-work laws destroyed unions,
by js2 6y ago
Once the New Deal coalition fell apart after the Civil Rights Act passed and the GOP implemented the Southern Strategy and right-to-work laws destroyed unions, the Democrats lost unions as their base of financial support. They still held on in Congress for a while, but couldn't win the Presidency until the Third Way/neoliberal Democrats and groups like the Blue Dogs took charge of the party. At that point, the Democrats became captured (at least financially) by Wall Street and rich urban professionals who were socially liberal but fiscally conservative. There's no "firing" Clinton at that point. The party has been captured. The Democrats are also a much more diverse party since they are as much "not-GOP" as anything else. Why should a conservative Black voter vote Democratic? Of course they shouldn't, but the GOP was pretty explicitly home to racists for decades.
Both parties continue to self-sort in unhealthy ways. The GOP needs more diversity (but of course, is doubling-down on gerrymandering) and the Democrats, frankly, need less. I'd love to trade off some fiscally conservative Democrats for some working-collar populist Republicans. Bernie's support came from appealing to what used to be the base of the Democratic party: the working-class. But it's not enough voters in the raucous big-tent Democratic party to win a primary, and likely not the general election.
We also can't even have a serious conversation about policy since the GOP attacks everything the Democrats do as socialism.
Anyway, to your last point: the left is part of the Democratic party, but it doesn't have a strong-enough hand to play.
Also, look, voters are weird. I volunteered as a Democratic poll greeter here in NC with two women, both professionals, a white woman originally from Cincinnati and a Black woman originally from New Jersey. They'd both voted for Biden in the primary. I was like, what, why? Why didn't you pick someone more progressive? They both said: "because Biden is who we thought would make the strongest general election candidate." So they're not even voting on who they think is best, but who they think the rest of America will accept.
p.s. don't be so hard on Hillary. Let's not forget that she expended a lot of political capital trying to pass universal healthcare. She got killed on that, by Democrats and Republicans alike. I think that really changed her idea of what was possible in politics in the US. She is not the devil she's been made out to be.
- pdonis 6y ago> Both parties continue to self-sort in unhealthy ways. I agree. > the left is part of the Democratic party, but it doesn't have a strong-enough hand to play If by "the left" you mean people like Bernie Sanders, I agree. But his hand isn't strong enough not because he's a leftist, but because he's an outsider. The insider policies of the Democratic party are just as leftist; they're just a different flavor of leftist--roughly speaking, New Left vs. Sanders-style Old Left, hardball power politics vs. "softer" socialism. That's also why the Democrats now are just fine allying with Wall Street and big business: power politics needs financing, and that's where the money is. > don't be so hard on Hillary You're entitled to your opinion, but I'm also entitled to mine.
- ianai 6y agoReally glad to see your comment and others pointing out what’s really happened and happening. I typically can’t get out a fifth of this in conversation before being told I’m wrong. Of course sources are dismissed outright. The one thing Democrats can do is dictate what republicans won’t back by taking it on themselves. There’s got to be a way to snap back go normalcy that way
- DubiousPusher 6y agoI'm not sure that would work. The Republican party, at least the powerful do seem to believe that government can do no right. Even Donald Trump could not turn them toward fiscal stimulus nor infrastructure. Whereas democrats seem willing to take just about anything (though this has stemmed a bit under Trump). In this case there is no middle as there is no place to compromise between "any" and "none".
- js2 6y ago> Even Donald Trump could not turn them toward fiscal stimulus nor infrastructure. He can't pass an infrastructure plan because anything of that scope requires persuasion and compromise across many competing interests, things I believe he's constitutionally incapable of. It's the same reason he never had a healthcare bill. If he can't strong arm a deal, he can't get it done at all. I think he actually used the bully pulpit of the presidency to pretty poor effect as far as that goes.
- NateEag 6y agoTo be effective, a US president needs to be a consensus-builder and compromise-broker. I think Trump doesn't even know what those words mean.
- ianai 6y agoDon’t forget the wide reports of death threats towards republicans and democrats - anyone remotely open to pushing back gets death threats. And they’re credible. That clearly has kept progress from being made.
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago> Bernie's support came from appealing to what used to be the base of the Democratic party: the working-class. But it's not enough voters in the raucous big-tent Democratic party to win a primary, and likely not the general election. > Anyway, to your last point: the left is part of the Democratic party, but it doesn't have a strong-enough hand to play. If those farther left types don't have enough support even to win the Democratic primary, how will they do in the actual race?
- raincom 6y agoInteresting to see how Democratic party has been captured in order to win elections.