Watching Republicans Flail is not a Strategy
It's pretty amazing to watch the disaster unfolding in the Republican Party on both the home front and the national stage. Scott Walker, the "unintimidated" governor, has returned from the triumphant launch of his presidential campaign with his tail between his legs, House Speaker John Boehner is departing in a river of tears, and the Republicans are scrambling to figure out how to fire Donald Trump, their frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race, before he blows up any chance the party has to win the White House.
It's pretty amazing to watch the disaster unfolding in the Republican Party on both the home front and the national stage. Scott Walker, the "unintimidated" governor, has returned from the triumphant launch of his presidential campaign with his tail between his legs, House Speaker John Boehner is departing in a river of tears, and the Republicans are scrambling to figure out how to fire Donald Trump, their frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race, before he blows up any chance the party has to win the White House.
Rubbernecking at the Republican debates was fun. See Donald Trump do what a million citizens who signed recall petitions and tens of thousands more who marched in the streets could not accomplish, dispatching Walker with a couple of deft put-downs. Watch Carly Fiorina, with her beautifully slick appeal to women, put Trump in his place. Giggle along as your friends on Twitter take up Rand Paul's challenge to the other candidates to come clean about their drug use.
But seriously, as much as the 2016 sideshow is more entertaining and distracting than any I can remember, we have drifted an awfully long way from any meaningful democratic exercise.
I can't help but worry that watching all of this is bad for progressives, Democrats and anyone who is not a card-carrying member of the burn-down-the-government, to-hell-with-civilization wing of the Republican Party.
Yes, the Republicans seem to be on the brink of self-destruction. But waiting for them to self-destruct is not a political strategy.
Any productive activity on our side is going to involve getting people engaged in the issues that matter to them. All the razzle-dazzle of the presidential race is a good way to make people stop paying attention, and, in the end, that's better for the party that wants to sneak some really bad policies past us.
The Republican brand is now all about not governing. It's about shutting down the entire federal government over some phony propaganda videos about Planned Parenthood. It's about obsessively attacking a modest health-care expansion and giving big tax breaks to corporations and billionaires at the expense of our schools and roads and state parks.
Most of all, the Republican brand is about a lot of destructive anger -- at immigrants, at the government and civil servants, at black people and poor people and Muslim Americans.
Some of that destructive energy is taking a toll on Republican politicians like Walker and Boehner. And it threatens to immolate the party itself.
Mike McCabe, who started Blue Jean Nation to try to re-energize progressive politics, likes to say that we have one party that's scary and another one that's scared.
The Republican destruction machine is opening up an opportunity. Democrats and progressives should start talking about what we are for.
Here is what we are for: great public institutions that serve the common good.
For decades, a right-wing propaganda campaign has been claiming, falsely, that our public institutions are no good, inefficient and wasteful, and that they should be handed over to private business. Part of the reason that message resonates with the public is that everyone has had a bad experience with bureaucracy; waiting in line at the DMV.
But here is something else Americans know from experience: In the deregulated private market, con artistry abounds. That's why Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have struck a chord with their criticism of hucksterism on Wall Street. Credit card companies routinely take advantage of their customers. And millions of Americans know what it's like to be ripped off by big banks and jerked around by health insurance companies. Fly-by-night voucher schools and shady charter-school operators are cashing in on public education funds by shortchanging students.
If the privatizers have their way, soon millions of Americans will be sending our kids to school at private academies in the same strip malls where we use the privatized postal services, bank at the check-cashing joint and shop at the deregulated rent-to-own shop.
Progressives need to stand up to this dystopian vision with better values: great public schools for each and every child, a well-maintained infrastructure and communities that are a great place to live for everybody -- not just those rich enough to send their kids to private schools, buy up the prettiest land and build big walls to keep the rest of us out.
A more positive, generous message leads to more progressive politics.
And, as Bernie Sanders show, with a campaign that is now catching up to Hillary Clinton in fundraising, but without a super PAC or a stable of big donors, progressive politics can still get serious traction in our country. Maybe there's hope for democracy after all.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
It's pretty amazing to watch the disaster unfolding in the Republican Party on both the home front and the national stage. Scott Walker, the "unintimidated" governor, has returned from the triumphant launch of his presidential campaign with his tail between his legs, House Speaker John Boehner is departing in a river of tears, and the Republicans are scrambling to figure out how to fire Donald Trump, their frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race, before he blows up any chance the party has to win the White House.
Rubbernecking at the Republican debates was fun. See Donald Trump do what a million citizens who signed recall petitions and tens of thousands more who marched in the streets could not accomplish, dispatching Walker with a couple of deft put-downs. Watch Carly Fiorina, with her beautifully slick appeal to women, put Trump in his place. Giggle along as your friends on Twitter take up Rand Paul's challenge to the other candidates to come clean about their drug use.
But seriously, as much as the 2016 sideshow is more entertaining and distracting than any I can remember, we have drifted an awfully long way from any meaningful democratic exercise.
I can't help but worry that watching all of this is bad for progressives, Democrats and anyone who is not a card-carrying member of the burn-down-the-government, to-hell-with-civilization wing of the Republican Party.
Yes, the Republicans seem to be on the brink of self-destruction. But waiting for them to self-destruct is not a political strategy.
Any productive activity on our side is going to involve getting people engaged in the issues that matter to them. All the razzle-dazzle of the presidential race is a good way to make people stop paying attention, and, in the end, that's better for the party that wants to sneak some really bad policies past us.
The Republican brand is now all about not governing. It's about shutting down the entire federal government over some phony propaganda videos about Planned Parenthood. It's about obsessively attacking a modest health-care expansion and giving big tax breaks to corporations and billionaires at the expense of our schools and roads and state parks.
Most of all, the Republican brand is about a lot of destructive anger -- at immigrants, at the government and civil servants, at black people and poor people and Muslim Americans.
Some of that destructive energy is taking a toll on Republican politicians like Walker and Boehner. And it threatens to immolate the party itself.
Mike McCabe, who started Blue Jean Nation to try to re-energize progressive politics, likes to say that we have one party that's scary and another one that's scared.
The Republican destruction machine is opening up an opportunity. Democrats and progressives should start talking about what we are for.
Here is what we are for: great public institutions that serve the common good.
For decades, a right-wing propaganda campaign has been claiming, falsely, that our public institutions are no good, inefficient and wasteful, and that they should be handed over to private business. Part of the reason that message resonates with the public is that everyone has had a bad experience with bureaucracy; waiting in line at the DMV.
But here is something else Americans know from experience: In the deregulated private market, con artistry abounds. That's why Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have struck a chord with their criticism of hucksterism on Wall Street. Credit card companies routinely take advantage of their customers. And millions of Americans know what it's like to be ripped off by big banks and jerked around by health insurance companies. Fly-by-night voucher schools and shady charter-school operators are cashing in on public education funds by shortchanging students.
If the privatizers have their way, soon millions of Americans will be sending our kids to school at private academies in the same strip malls where we use the privatized postal services, bank at the check-cashing joint and shop at the deregulated rent-to-own shop.
Progressives need to stand up to this dystopian vision with better values: great public schools for each and every child, a well-maintained infrastructure and communities that are a great place to live for everybody -- not just those rich enough to send their kids to private schools, buy up the prettiest land and build big walls to keep the rest of us out.
A more positive, generous message leads to more progressive politics.
And, as Bernie Sanders show, with a campaign that is now catching up to Hillary Clinton in fundraising, but without a super PAC or a stable of big donors, progressive politics can still get serious traction in our country. Maybe there's hope for democracy after all.
It's pretty amazing to watch the disaster unfolding in the Republican Party on both the home front and the national stage. Scott Walker, the "unintimidated" governor, has returned from the triumphant launch of his presidential campaign with his tail between his legs, House Speaker John Boehner is departing in a river of tears, and the Republicans are scrambling to figure out how to fire Donald Trump, their frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race, before he blows up any chance the party has to win the White House.
Rubbernecking at the Republican debates was fun. See Donald Trump do what a million citizens who signed recall petitions and tens of thousands more who marched in the streets could not accomplish, dispatching Walker with a couple of deft put-downs. Watch Carly Fiorina, with her beautifully slick appeal to women, put Trump in his place. Giggle along as your friends on Twitter take up Rand Paul's challenge to the other candidates to come clean about their drug use.
But seriously, as much as the 2016 sideshow is more entertaining and distracting than any I can remember, we have drifted an awfully long way from any meaningful democratic exercise.
I can't help but worry that watching all of this is bad for progressives, Democrats and anyone who is not a card-carrying member of the burn-down-the-government, to-hell-with-civilization wing of the Republican Party.
Yes, the Republicans seem to be on the brink of self-destruction. But waiting for them to self-destruct is not a political strategy.
Any productive activity on our side is going to involve getting people engaged in the issues that matter to them. All the razzle-dazzle of the presidential race is a good way to make people stop paying attention, and, in the end, that's better for the party that wants to sneak some really bad policies past us.
The Republican brand is now all about not governing. It's about shutting down the entire federal government over some phony propaganda videos about Planned Parenthood. It's about obsessively attacking a modest health-care expansion and giving big tax breaks to corporations and billionaires at the expense of our schools and roads and state parks.
Most of all, the Republican brand is about a lot of destructive anger -- at immigrants, at the government and civil servants, at black people and poor people and Muslim Americans.
Some of that destructive energy is taking a toll on Republican politicians like Walker and Boehner. And it threatens to immolate the party itself.
Mike McCabe, who started Blue Jean Nation to try to re-energize progressive politics, likes to say that we have one party that's scary and another one that's scared.
The Republican destruction machine is opening up an opportunity. Democrats and progressives should start talking about what we are for.
Here is what we are for: great public institutions that serve the common good.
For decades, a right-wing propaganda campaign has been claiming, falsely, that our public institutions are no good, inefficient and wasteful, and that they should be handed over to private business. Part of the reason that message resonates with the public is that everyone has had a bad experience with bureaucracy; waiting in line at the DMV.
But here is something else Americans know from experience: In the deregulated private market, con artistry abounds. That's why Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have struck a chord with their criticism of hucksterism on Wall Street. Credit card companies routinely take advantage of their customers. And millions of Americans know what it's like to be ripped off by big banks and jerked around by health insurance companies. Fly-by-night voucher schools and shady charter-school operators are cashing in on public education funds by shortchanging students.
If the privatizers have their way, soon millions of Americans will be sending our kids to school at private academies in the same strip malls where we use the privatized postal services, bank at the check-cashing joint and shop at the deregulated rent-to-own shop.
Progressives need to stand up to this dystopian vision with better values: great public schools for each and every child, a well-maintained infrastructure and communities that are a great place to live for everybody -- not just those rich enough to send their kids to private schools, buy up the prettiest land and build big walls to keep the rest of us out.
A more positive, generous message leads to more progressive politics.
And, as Bernie Sanders show, with a campaign that is now catching up to Hillary Clinton in fundraising, but without a super PAC or a stable of big donors, progressive politics can still get serious traction in our country. Maybe there's hope for democracy after all.