Literally every four years we do this. Democrats sweep the elections promising huge economic reforms to benefit the poorest and most vulnerable people. The show up in Congress, fart around, complain that nobody gave them a 99 vote supermajority, and then write enormous concessions to the opposition party so they can claim they didn't turn the lights off at the Social Security office.
Under Carter, under Clinton, under Obama, and now under Biden. Same fucking story every time. Amazing that its worked this long and I can't say I'll be surprised to see it work again in 2028. But people just don't have any more fucks to give on this electoralism grift.
Georgia's still got enough die-hard Trumpies who haven't burned out on Republicanism as fast as Bidencrats have burned out on the Democrats, so it'll probably go to the GOP this time around. But we're burning the candle at both ends, here. Popularity is an increasingly scarce resource on either side of the aisle.
I can't help but wonder how successful a left-wing third party would be in the US. It abandons all the baggage that came with the dems, and while this hypothetical party probably won't be winning on a federal level any time soon, how would it fare at a local level?
The one thing I'm concerned about is that it needs to hide its power level to not scare off too many people, but if it hides its power level, then you might as well vote blue if you're able to catch on, or vote red because democrats being watered down republicans isn't working.
I think there's something viable there but it shouldn't be called something that directly references socialism. It should be something like the Dignity party and aim to target people dissatisfied with the political status quo. If it doesn't trigger anti-socialism in people it can hoover up a shitload of votes from people who just want ANY outsider.
Dignity works for us because it's basically what we advocate for anyway, dignity for workers, dignity for elderly, dignity for the homeless, dignity for all. I really think it's the strongest and shortest way to describe what socialists want without ever saying socialism.
I'd imagine that the only way this works is if somebody spent 20+ years doing groundwork state by state. In the off election years, the election campaign staff work feeding the hungry, advocating for those that can't advocate for themselves, and shepherding people through the minefields of social service bureaucracies. Then, when election years roll around, the candidates have something to point to as an accomplishment as an outsider without political position followed by, "Now think what I could get done with the power and money of the federal government..."
Direct action + electioneering is a viable means for a socialist party to take power. The only trouble is in the US the electioneering always takes precedence and there are structural mean to encourage that.
Yeah, its really hard to see third party runs from people who you only hear about during their election season as much more than a really fancy Patreon scam.
Bernie “flared out” because he bent the knee. People wanted opposition to Hilary, opposition to the DNC and “fuck it, burn it all down” angry grandpa energy. Every time he cucked to the Dems and repeated their narratives and endorsed them he got weaker and weaker
He flaired out because the party unified around Biden and his campaign in the Midwest failed.
Every time he cucked to the Dems and repeated their narratives and endorsed them he got weaker and weaker
He'd been a consistent team player and entryist into the party since he took his house seat in '02. Even if he had won, you can guarantee he would have incorporated a bunch of Obama guys into his cabinet and negotiated with all the Senate haters.
Unlike Trump, he didn't have the core of the party on his side, so he was forever compromising and triangulating.
I hate to admit it, but it makes me feel jealous of because at least there's the NDP as an alternative to the liberals. Sure, many folks are too scared of losing their seat to the conservatives, but if Justin Trudeau wasn't such a lying piece of shit and actually implemented STV, imagine just how much the CHUDs would get stomped. Even the Bloc Quebecois are fully invited to the CHUD dunkfest.
The NDP are funny to hold up as an example to two-party-brained types of how things play out in a country where there is actually a viable left-wing third party. For various reasons, but mainly because even in Canada liberals scream at NDP supporters to "vote strategically" (vote liberal) so they can keep the conservatives from coming into power. So the lack of a viable third party in the US doesn't even matter. These people don't want things to get better.
Literally every four years we do this. Democrats sweep the elections promising huge economic reforms to benefit the poorest and most vulnerable people. The show up in Congress, fart around, complain that nobody gave them a 99 vote supermajority, and then write enormous concessions to the opposition party so they can claim they didn't turn the lights off at the Social Security office.
Under Carter, under Clinton, under Obama, and now under Biden. Same fucking story every time. Amazing that its worked this long and I can't say I'll be surprised to see it work again in 2028. But people just don't have any more fucks to give on this electoralism grift.
Georgia's still got enough die-hard Trumpies who haven't burned out on Republicanism as fast as Bidencrats have burned out on the Democrats, so it'll probably go to the GOP this time around. But we're burning the candle at both ends, here. Popularity is an increasingly scarce resource on either side of the aisle.
You would think this is an ideal time for a serious (actually serious about winning) Socialist party to form and contest elections.
But we can't have nice things in Burgerland
I think we're seeing movement on the political front.
Nebraska has a union man running an indie campaign, Dan Osborne, out polling the sitting Republican Deb Fisher
The DSA has been sprouting up all over the Northeast and Midwest
But after Bernie flared out twice, I don't know who else seriously wants to raise that mast again.
I can't help but wonder how successful a left-wing third party would be in the US. It abandons all the baggage that came with the dems, and while this hypothetical party probably won't be winning on a federal level any time soon, how would it fare at a local level?
The one thing I'm concerned about is that it needs to hide its power level to not scare off too many people, but if it hides its power level, then you might as well vote blue if you're able to catch on, or vote red because democrats being watered down republicans isn't working.
I think there's something viable there but it shouldn't be called something that directly references socialism. It should be something like the Dignity party and aim to target people dissatisfied with the political status quo. If it doesn't trigger anti-socialism in people it can hoover up a shitload of votes from people who just want ANY outsider.
Dignity works for us because it's basically what we advocate for anyway, dignity for workers, dignity for elderly, dignity for the homeless, dignity for all. I really think it's the strongest and shortest way to describe what socialists want without ever saying socialism.
I'd imagine that the only way this works is if somebody spent 20+ years doing groundwork state by state. In the off election years, the election campaign staff work feeding the hungry, advocating for those that can't advocate for themselves, and shepherding people through the minefields of social service bureaucracies. Then, when election years roll around, the candidates have something to point to as an accomplishment as an outsider without political position followed by, "Now think what I could get done with the power and money of the federal government..."
Direct action + electioneering is a viable means for a socialist party to take power. The only trouble is in the US the electioneering always takes precedence and there are structural mean to encourage that.
Yeah, its really hard to see third party runs from people who you only hear about during their election season as much more than a really fancy Patreon scam.
Bernie “flared out” because he bent the knee. People wanted opposition to Hilary, opposition to the DNC and “fuck it, burn it all down” angry grandpa energy. Every time he cucked to the Dems and repeated their narratives and endorsed them he got weaker and weaker
He flaired out because the party unified around Biden and his campaign in the Midwest failed.
He'd been a consistent team player and entryist into the party since he took his house seat in '02. Even if he had won, you can guarantee he would have incorporated a bunch of Obama guys into his cabinet and negotiated with all the Senate haters.
Unlike Trump, he didn't have the core of the party on his side, so he was forever compromising and triangulating.
I hate to admit it, but it makes me feel jealous of
because at least there's the NDP as an alternative to the liberals. Sure, many folks are too scared of losing their seat to the conservatives, but if Justin Trudeau wasn't such a lying piece of shit and actually implemented STV, imagine just how much the CHUDs would get stomped. Even the Bloc Quebecois are fully invited to the CHUD dunkfest.
The NDP are funny to hold up as an example to two-party-brained types of how things play out in a country where there is actually a viable left-wing third party. For various reasons, but mainly because even in Canada liberals scream at NDP supporters to "vote strategically" (vote liberal) so they can keep the conservatives from coming into power. So the lack of a viable third party in the US doesn't even matter. These people don't want things to get better.
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It's doubly bad because some of these programs were implemented under fucking Trump of all people.