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Are you suggesting that far left politicians are less corrupt?

fallingfrog 5y ago
Currently, yes, that is the dynamic. They take special pride in not accepting money from corporations, lobbyists, big real estate, etc and the politician to lobbyist to consultant pipeline is the main center of corruption in the country today. For example, Jim Crowley is now a highly paid consultant for Squier Patton Boggs. In other times and places that may not have been the case but right now, the far left is noticeably less corrupt than the center or the right.
- jimmyed 5y ago
  The problem with the new far left (and new politicians in general) is they are corrupt for power, whereas the swamp is corrupt for money.
  - wayoutthere 5y ago
    I’m not even sure what this means? Power politics aren’t “corrupt”, they’re just politics. The power determines who gets the money / resources; in the case of the far-left that generally ends up being the working class. Things have been out of balance for so long there is a lot of sentiment in favor of wealth distribution right now. The power is a means to an end.
  - Ericson2314 5y ago
    And how is the opposition not supposed to appear desirous of more power?
joshgrib 5y ago
It's probably fair to say most "outside" candidates would be less corrupt than someone entrenched in the existing political structure. But also anecdotally, in the US the more moderate liberal part of the left doesn't care much about corruption, but the farther left socialist part does a lot because they see it as a roadblock to gaining power. Anyone currently in power wouldn't be as concerned about corruption because they actively benefit from it
intergalplan 5y ago
I'd expect most challenger parties to be less corrupt than an incumbent party that had held power for a long time, at least for a while, and maybe for a long while if their hold on power remains more tenuous than the incumbents' had been. I'd expect this to be especially true at the local level, where the money involved in running a challenger party operation and campaign is unlikely to be high enough to support much corruption before office is taken.
wayoutthere 5y ago
Than the Democratic Party? Absolutely; the far-left politicians tend to be idealists explicitly foregoing the deep power / money networks that the DNC provides. Which is why they don’t have much success at the state / federal level.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

Currently, yes, that is the dynamic. They take special pride in not accepting money from corporations, lobbyists, big real estate, etc and the politician to lobbyist to consultant pipeline is the main center of corruption in the country today. For example, Jim Crowley is now a highly paid consultant for Squier Patton Boggs. In other times and places that may not have been the case but right now, the far left is noticeably less corrupt than the center or the right.

jimmyed 5y ago
The problem with the new far left (and new politicians in general) is they are corrupt for power, whereas the swamp is corrupt for money.
- wayoutthere 5y ago
  I’m not even sure what this means? Power politics aren’t “corrupt”, they’re just politics. The power determines who gets the money / resources; in the case of the far-left that generally ends up being the working class. Things have been out of balance for so long there is a lot of sentiment in favor of wealth distribution right now. The power is a means to an end.
- Ericson2314 5y ago
  And how is the opposition not supposed to appear desirous of more power?

joshgrib 5y ago

It's probably fair to say most "outside" candidates would be less corrupt than someone entrenched in the existing political structure. But also anecdotally, in the US the more moderate liberal part of the left doesn't care much about corruption, but the farther left socialist part does a lot because they see it as a roadblock to gaining power. Anyone currently in power wouldn't be as concerned about corruption because they actively benefit from it

intergalplan 5y ago

I'd expect most challenger parties to be less corrupt than an incumbent party that had held power for a long time, at least for a while, and maybe for a long while if their hold on power remains more tenuous than the incumbents' had been. I'd expect this to be especially true at the local level, where the money involved in running a challenger party operation and campaign is unlikely to be high enough to support much corruption before office is taken.

wayoutthere 5y ago

Than the Democratic Party? Absolutely; the far-left politicians tend to be idealists explicitly foregoing the deep power / money networks that the DNC provides. Which is why they don’t have much success at the state / federal level.

deleted 5y ago
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