Whither the Democrats?

Moderators: Elvis, DrVolin, Jeff

Whither the Democrats?

Postby Elvis » Sun Jul 15, 2018 7:28 pm

Block that warmonger!

In rebuke of Dianne Feinstein, Kevin de León wins endorsement of California Democrats in Senate race
By Phil Willon
Jul 14, 2018 | 11:45 PM
| Oakland


California Democratic Party leaders took a step to the left Saturday night, endorsing liberal state lawmaker Kevin de León for Senate in a stinging rebuke of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

De León’s victory reflected the increasing strength of the state party’s liberal activist core, which was energized by the election of Republican Donald Trump as president.

The endorsement was an embarrassment for Feinstein, who is running for a fifth full term, and indicates that Democratic activists in California have soured on her reputation for pragmatism and deference to bipartisanship as Trump and a Republican-led Congress are attacking Democratic priorities on immigration, healthcare and environmental protections.

De León, a former state Senate leader from Los Angeles, received 65% of the vote of about 330 members of the state party’s executive board — more than the 60% needed to secure the endorsement. Feinstein, who pleaded with party leaders meeting in Oakland this weekend not to endorse any candidate, received 7%, and 28% voted for “no endorsement.”

“We have presented Californians with the first real alternative to the worn-out Washington playbook in a quarter-century,” De León said in a statement shortly after the endorsement was announced.

It’s not clear that the endorsement will have a significant effect on the general election. Feinstein crushed De León in the June primary, winning every county and finishing in first place with 44% of the overall vote. De León finished far behind with 12%, which was enough for a second-place finish and a ticket to the November election under the state’s top-two primary system.

The endorsement can come with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign money, which the De León campaign will have to help raise, as well as party volunteers and political organizing assistance. De León needs that support to increase his odds of victory in November. Feinstein had $7 million in campaign cash socked away as of May, 10 times what De León had.

The Feinstein campaign touted her primary win in a statement Saturday night.

Lynne Standard-Nightengale, a member of the Amador County Democratic Central Committee, said she supported De León even though she realizes he has almost no chance of beating Feinstein. She said she wanted to send a message.

“I just think we need a younger, progressive person there,” she said. “The Democratic Party in California has moved to the left, and he personifies those values.”

De León had some inherent advantages with the California Democratic leaders who decided the endorsement. He’s been a fixture at state party conventions and has spearheaded legislation in a Democratic-dominated state Legislature. Feinstein, who spends much of her time in Washington, has had a distant relationship with party activists for years.

"Kevin, by nature of his job, is visible and active here at home,” said state Party Chairman Eric Bauman.

As the vote approached, Feinstein appeared to have little expectation of winning her party’s seal of approval. Instead she urged party leaders not to endorse a candidate for the November election, calling for party unity as Democrats try to regain control of Congress in the November election.

Supporters of De León, 51, dismissed Feinstein’s plea as a thinly veiled attempt to avoid a home state defeat for the 85-year-old senator.

This was the second go-around for an endorsement fight in the Senate race. Ahead of the primary at the party’s February convention in San Diego, where a larger contingent of 2,700 delegates voted, De León won 54% — short of the 60% required to secure an endorsement. Feinstein received just 37%.

De León’s strong showing in February had his allies hopeful that he’d win. His supporters, sporting De León T-shirts, stickers and other campaign paraphernalia swarmed the hotel hallways, crowding caucus meetings and lobbying party leaders.

The Feinstein campaign weeks ago launched an aggressive effort to persuade Democrats in Oakland to vote “no endorsement” in the Senate race, flooding delegates with calls and text messages and drafting the help of political surrogates. Six Democratic congressional candidates who are trying to flip Republican-held districts in California joined Feinstein, urging party delegates in a letter to opt not to endorse a candidate.

Party insiders and politically attentive bystanders see the Democrat vs. Democrat Senate fight as evidence of a deepening chasm between the party’s moderates and progressives — a California version of the Democratic battle between Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election.

In every other Democrat vs. Democrat race on the November ballot, the party is not making an endorsement. Candidates for lieutenant governor all the way down to Assembly have issued statements calling for unity.

While meeting with delegates on Saturday, Feinstein emphasized her position as the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She told them she will play a pivotal role in confirmation hearings for President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. Feinstein warned that the appointment could lead to the end of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed women nationwide the right to an abortion.

“Given the White House situation, at this time and place a senator with her experience is the right choice for California,” said Carolyn Fowler of Inglewood, a vice chair of the state party’s Women’s Caucus and Feinstein backer.

De León’s campaign has focused on the party’s energized liberal faction. He supports single-payer healthcare, aggressive goals for renewable energy and helped lead the successful effort to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. He has criticized Feinstein, known for having moderate tendencies, for being too conciliatory toward Trump, such as when she urged people to have “patience” with the president last year.

On Friday night, De León hosted an “ABOLISH ICE CREAM SOCIAL” for delegates, a nod toward the Democratic-led effort to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency after its agents separated thousands of children from their parents after they crossed the border.

One of De León’s supporters, Contra Costa Democratic Party secretary Diddo Clark, said California needs new, younger blood in the Senate. Clark argued that some of Feinstein’s most impressive accomplishments happened during her first years in the Senate when she wrote the now-expired assault weapon ban in 1994 and legislation that same year that created the Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks.

Clark also thinks that Feinstein, a former San Francisco mayor, has become so embedded in Washington that she’s lost touch with Californians.

“Feinstein lives in an adjacent county, and I have not seen her in my county in this millennia,” Clark said. “Kevin lives 500 miles away and he’s come to Contra Costa three times in the last year. He’s hustling.”

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol- ... tory.html#



Like it or not, it matters who the Democrats field as candidates. The successes of the Sanders campaign is encouraging. Reform or re-form?

Also see:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28 yo NY Democrat Socialist upsets
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=41175

DNC doubles down. Democrats Bid to block Bernie Sanders?
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=41133
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
User avatar
Elvis
 
Posts: 7413
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Grizzly » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:18 pm

Good fucking riddance of Feinstein. I’m surprised it took this long.
“The more we do to you, the less you seem to believe we are doing it.”

― Joseph mengele
User avatar
Grizzly
 
Posts: 4722
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2011 4:15 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Elvis » Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:24 am

She's not gone yet, and can still be returned to the Senate. :(
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
User avatar
Elvis
 
Posts: 7413
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Grizzly » Mon Jul 16, 2018 1:01 am

yeah...
“The more we do to you, the less you seem to believe we are doing it.”

― Joseph mengele
User avatar
Grizzly
 
Posts: 4722
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2011 4:15 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby American Dream » Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:57 am

The Purpose of a Movement Is What It Does

SOPHIA BURNS

Where do opportunistic ideas come from?

According to the cybernetician, the purpose of a system is what it does. This is a basic dictum. It stands for bald fact, which makes a better starting point in seeking understanding than the familiar attributions of good intention, prejudices about expectations, moral judgment, or sheer ignorance of circumstances.

–Stafford Beer


Bernie Sanders made his name winning against a series of Democrats in Burlington, VT in the 80s. So why did he become a Democrat in all but name, supported by the Vermont Democratic Party and supporting it in return, starting in 1990?

SYRIZA, the Greek socialist party, came to power in 2015 on an anti-austerity platform. Why did it go on to implement those same austerity policies once in office?

The purpose of a system is what it does. A political organization is a complex system. To understand it, you can’t take its stated goals at face value. Its choices don’t simply follow from its ideas.

Instead, its internal dynamics interact with the demands of its external circumstances to create its strategic attitude – the general stance it takes towards other political actors, the framework within which it makes decisions. That doesn’t exist at the level of conscious ideology. Instead, it forms the taken-for-granted assumptions about what doing politics entails. Whatever ideology it follows in words matters less than the guiding assumptions embodied in a strategic attitude. By and large, a party’s official philosophy is just the particular language it uses to justify its choices post hoc – ideas are not the basis on which organizations make decisions. The internal and external pressures and feedback loops that do form that basis all operate regardless of its claimed ideology. Blue Dog Democrats and Green Party members might wave different protest signs, but politics means voting and going to rallies for them both.

So, why did Sanders become a Democrat?

His “movement” was centered around his career as an individual politician. During the 80s, being an independent allowed him to defeat city-level Democratic competitors. But then, when he ran first for governor and then for Congress in ’86 and ’88, the experience of losing taught him that he needed the Party’s support to advance beyond local office. So, he formed a “special working relationship” with the Vermont Democrats because he needed to. However, he never recanted his third-partyist ideas. Rather, he used them to justify his choices by continuing to nominally self-identify as an independent.

SYRIZA, on the other hand, arose in the midst of a years-long recession, during which the European Union forced Greece to implement harsh cuts to social services in exchange for needed cash bailouts. But, that provoked a massive protest response – young Greeks, with heavy anarchist and Marxist participation, took to the public squares of Athens, camping out and fighting the police. SYRIZA successfully channeled their anger into electoral politics, but that tied them to the viability of the Greek state and its institutions. After all, what other mechanism did they have for exercising social power? SYRIZA didn’t have the option of sacrificing the Greek state’s well-being, even at the cost of its core principles.

When a pro-Palestine democratic socialist finds herself bound for Congress, she must accommodate herself to the program of the Democratic Party. Otherwise, without the Party’s support, where would she find the allies she’ll need to effectively push for her list of reforms? So, unable to deliver on her voters’ priorities, she’d risk being punished by them, just like her predecessor.

Opportunistic ideas come from practice.

Image
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of SYRIZA. Source: Wikimedia Commons


Read more: https://godsandradicals.org/2018/07/17/ ... t-it-does/
American Dream
 
Posts: 19946
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: Planet Earth
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Elvis » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:02 pm

^^^ How does this article address the question, whither the Democrats now? Where do they go from here? I'm just not quite getting the connection, thanks.
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
User avatar
Elvis
 
Posts: 7413
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby American Dream » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:16 pm

Yeah, I think it's questioning the very logic of playing within that rubric. Can the Master's tools dismantle the Master's house? Possibly, but I rather doubt it.
American Dream
 
Posts: 19946
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: Planet Earth
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Elvis » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:41 pm

Ah, okay, thanks. I see it from this angle: Sanders 'could have' won the nomination as a Democrat (sure, that's debatable but close enough), and might very well have beaten Trump (I think Sanders would have won). So I think the Democratic party can deliver something like a Sanders presidency, which I think would be an enormous improvement, to put it lightly, over the last 45 or so presidents. I just don't see any other practical way of getting someone like Sanders into the White House.

And not to mention Congress, where socialist Democrats can make as great a difference if the Democratic party starts once more to be the "party of everybody else" in opposition to powerful big-money interests.
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
User avatar
Elvis
 
Posts: 7413
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby American Dream » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:49 pm

American Dream
 
Posts: 19946
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: Planet Earth
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby dada » Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:00 pm

Elvis wrote:I just don't see any other practical way of getting someone like Sanders into the White House.


Your bias shows when you insist on sticking to this 'idealist vs pragmatist' canard. It's tired, unhelpful, it keeps discussion within unproductive boundaries.
Both his words and manner of speech seemed at first totally unfamiliar to me, and yet somehow they stirred memories - as an actor might be stirred by the forgotten lines of some role he had played far away and long ago.
User avatar
dada
 
Posts: 2600
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:08 am
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Elvis » Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:23 pm

Instead of attacking me, please list your helpful ideas below. :thumbsup
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
User avatar
Elvis
 
Posts: 7413
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby dada » Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:27 pm

No, that's not at all what is going on here.

You're acting like a gatekeeper, Elvis. Your politics are way left, I know. But all politics to the left of you are not 'impractical.'

edited to add: I like Bernie, too, sure. I wouldn't have voted for him, but I certainly would've given anyone who did a pat on the head, a thumbs up, and a carrot.

The article above is basically a structural criticism. Not that Sanders is exempt from criticism from the left. The article discussed Berinie, but it wasn't really about Bernie, was it.

Jesus, I can't believe I'm coming down on the same side as Gods and Radicals. What the hell is this world coming to.

edited again to add: On further reflection, I see how my phrasing made you feel attacked. It wasn't you I was criticizing, I shouldn't have personalized it.

Here's take two:

elvis said: I just don't see any other practical way.

dada said: "This reminds me of the "noble sentiment" and the "ideal" that you ascribed to me in that other thread whenever that was. I think that this 'idealist vs pragmatist' canard is biased. I've seen it many times before. I feel that it's unhelpful, and keeps discussion within unproductive boundaries."
Last edited by dada on Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Both his words and manner of speech seemed at first totally unfamiliar to me, and yet somehow they stirred memories - as an actor might be stirred by the forgotten lines of some role he had played far away and long ago.
User avatar
dada
 
Posts: 2600
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:08 am
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Elvis » Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:02 pm

I'm asking if the Democratic party can be reformed, and how it might be reformed, or whether it should be abandoned as an instrument of "left'/socialist policies. If you don't like my approach to the question, for the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, please state your own opinions and recommendations, if you have any, about the Democratic party.

If you think the questions are invalid, then by all means explain why. Aside from that, if you don't want to talk about the mundane politics of the Democratic party, then feel free to excuse yourself from the thread, because that's the topic.


on edit: It's mundane but ultimately the question is, can the Democratic party be wrested from 'deep state' control and is that even possible?
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
User avatar
Elvis
 
Posts: 7413
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby Elvis » Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:10 pm

I'm better understanding the relevance of your post now, AD, thanks.

American Dream wrote:The Purpose of a Movement Is What It Does

SOPHIA BURNS



Btw I adore Malcom X, thanks for that, too.
“The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” ― Joan Robinson
User avatar
Elvis
 
Posts: 7413
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Whither the Democrats?

Postby dada » Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:31 pm

Do I think this discussion is invalid? What's next? Would you like to know if I beat my wife, too?

Do I think the Democratic party can be reformed? No. Do I think it should be abandoned as an instrument (I prefer "weapon") No. I'm all for political reforms that help the little guy/gal. How could I not be? Am I satisfied? Of course not. How could I be?

Shocking, I know, that I have any opinion at all, since I clearly think it's such a mundane subject.

I'd hate to give anyone a heart attack from the shock. So I will excuse myself from this thread. Thanks for reading me my miranda rights, by the way. Important to keep things by the book.) Your wish is my command.
Both his words and manner of speech seemed at first totally unfamiliar to me, and yet somehow they stirred memories - as an actor might be stirred by the forgotten lines of some role he had played far away and long ago.
User avatar
dada
 
Posts: 2600
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:08 am
Blog: View Blog (0)

Next

Return to General Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 54 guests