Working people want to see the Squad stand up to the establishment. Progressive leaders and leaders of major labor unions need to harness that desire and publicly urge that the Squad use their numerical balance & refuse to vote on the MUST PASS stimulus bill unless $15 is in it.— Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) March 6, 2021
Or has the moment passed and the House already voted on the bill?
The $15 min wage vote didn’t get much media play, rejecting the Covid bill would suck up all the oxygen in the room.
Then we're back to the issue of who gets blamed in the media. The answer, of course, would be the left. Here's what you'd get non-stop from corporate media:
We were all ready to get you checks and unemployment funding, but the socialists threw a fit and blew the whole thing up. We already addressed the issue of the minimum wage. Not only will it not get past the Senate, but it couldn't get through the Senate even if all 50 Democrats got on board with it -- the parliamentarian already ruled on this. These socialists are in over their head, and their incompetence is keeping $1400 and unemployment funding from you. If they don't get with the program soon enough the adults in the room will have to cut a deal with Republicans to try and get some relief out.
Now this is all horseshit, and you can make all sorts of great arguments against it, but this is where the narrative will start and where the weight of the media will try to keep it. If we're focused on how this will play in the media, this is a bad fight to pick.
I'm sure the corporate media will blame the left, but no one can spin the optics of voting against Covid to prevent a $15 min wage increase. Preventing checks AND a $15 min wage would be a true sight to behold. And it would basically give the 'left' of the party swag to do it again.
Th spectacle of Sanders awakened so many people politically, the spectacle of the party refusing to improve people's lives beyond a single check would push people left. Worrying about minutiae at this point or who wins or loses the day's headlines is putting the cart before the horse.
no one can spin the optics of voting against Covid to prevent a $15 min wage increase
Which is why we would never come close to getting such a vote. The vote we had was up or down on the Covid bill without the minimum wage increase. So it would be the squad voting against the Covid bill, not centrist Democrats. And they would get all the blame for it because they're the reason it didn't pass.
Worrying about minutiae at this point or who wins or loses the day’s headlines
I'm not seeing a coherent position here. Is the media narrative we'd get from this important or not?
Which is why we would never come close to getting such a vote. The vote we had was up or down on the Covid bill without the minimum wage increase. So it would be the squad voting against the Covid bill, not centrist Democrats. And they would get all the blame for it because they’re the reason it didn’t pass.
It would be the squad voting against stripping the $15 min wage.
I’m not seeing a coherent position here. Is the media narrative we’d get from this important or not?
You're being a little pedantic here - Sam Seder is that you? Spectacle is important, winning the media headlines as decided by corporate media is not. You are basing this argument by the rules set by corporate media.
It would be the squad voting against stripping the $15 min wage.
No, the bill as-is includes Covid relief but not the $15 minimum wage. There was an up/down vote on that. The squad would have had to vote against the Covid relief bill and then make the case that this was justified because it lacked the minimum wage increase.
There is not a bill with Covid relief and the minimum wage increase that other Democrats would have to vote against.
You are basing this argument by the rules set by corporate media.
Corporate media does in fact play an enormous role in the overall media landscape. Ignoring their role is foolish.
Then we're back to the issue of who gets blamed in the media. The answer, of course, would be the left. Here's what you'd get non-stop from corporate media:
Now this is all horseshit, and you can make all sorts of great arguments against it, but this is where the narrative will start and where the weight of the media will try to keep it. If we're focused on how this will play in the media, this is a bad fight to pick.
I'm sure the corporate media will blame the left, but no one can spin the optics of voting against Covid to prevent a $15 min wage increase. Preventing checks AND a $15 min wage would be a true sight to behold. And it would basically give the 'left' of the party swag to do it again.
Th spectacle of Sanders awakened so many people politically, the spectacle of the party refusing to improve people's lives beyond a single check would push people left. Worrying about minutiae at this point or who wins or loses the day's headlines is putting the cart before the horse.
Which is why we would never come close to getting such a vote. The vote we had was up or down on the Covid bill without the minimum wage increase. So it would be the squad voting against the Covid bill, not centrist Democrats. And they would get all the blame for it because they're the reason it didn't pass.
I'm not seeing a coherent position here. Is the media narrative we'd get from this important or not?
It would be the squad voting against stripping the $15 min wage.
You're being a little pedantic here - Sam Seder is that you? Spectacle is important, winning the media headlines as decided by corporate media is not. You are basing this argument by the rules set by corporate media.
No, the bill as-is includes Covid relief but not the $15 minimum wage. There was an up/down vote on that. The squad would have had to vote against the Covid relief bill and then make the case that this was justified because it lacked the minimum wage increase.
There is not a bill with Covid relief and the minimum wage increase that other Democrats would have to vote against.
Corporate media does in fact play an enormous role in the overall media landscape. Ignoring their role is foolish.
We're just arguing semantics on the first point.
Sure, they play a role, but they aren't all powerful. Look at the success Trump and Sanders - both hates by corporate media.