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[Stumpokapow]

I'm confused about Sanders. Is he for globalization again or...?

Your problem is believing anyone has a preference about process rather than outcome. Sanders is for the benefits of globalization accruing to citizens at the expense of companies and against the benefits of globalization accruing to companies at the expense of citizens. There's no inconsistency here.

 

[Autoignition]

Keep playing identity politics, it worked so well for the centrist wing of the Dems last election. Asking for sensible policies like $15 minimum wage isn't a goddamn "purity test".

Recognizing the struggles of people in this country shouldn't be considered a dirty word. I'm not sure how this ever became an issue that we were supposed to shy away from.

And I never said anything about how asking for $15/hr minimum was bad, so I have no idea where you got that from. I support that proposal, too. It's more than I've ever personally made in my life.

 

[shamanick]

Recognizing the struggles of people in this country shouldn't be considered a dirty word. I'm not sure how this ever became an issue that we were supposed to shy away from.

And I never said anything about how asking for $15/hr minimum was bad, so I have no idea where you got that from. I support that proposal, too. It's more than I've ever personally made in my life.

Calling everyone to the left of Hillary white is playing identity politics. Listening to and addressing the concerns of marginalized people is not.

 

[Autoignition]

Calling everyone to the left of Hillary white is playing identity politics. Listening to and addressing the concerns of marginalized people is not.

I literally never said that, either. You're reading things I never said and generalizing my statements.

You can be to the left of Hillary and not be someone who runs purity tests. You can very, very easily be someone who has far left philosophies and look at someone in the Dem party and say, "okay I don't agree with you 100% on this, but our ideologies are similar enough that we can work together and compromise."

When I say "purity tests" I mean people who look at politicians and see one or two things on their record and go, "THIS PERSON SHOULD NEVER HAVE POWER" even if it's for minor things.

 

[KefkaPalazzo]

Gearing up for 2020...eww. Really hope Sherrod runs.

Brown-Harris 2020.

 

[fauxtrot]

Gearing up for 2020...eww. Really hope Sherrod runs.

Brown-Harris 2020.

Sherrod would make a good VP candidate, but I don't see how he could reach any type of mainstream appeal with that voice. He sounds like an older, hoarser version of the scientist from the Simpsons. Then again, I never thought anyone would take Sanders seriously due to his looks/voice/mannerisms, and I was happily proven wrong there...

 

[Frosty Droid]

BS. How is that even remotely true, when the GOP is filled with the most corrupt, money-fueled politicians ever? If "failing to run purity tests" is what keeps a party out of power, then wouldn't logic dictate that the Republican party should rightfully be in its death throes?

Gerrymandering and voter suppression is how the GOP gained control. To ignore that is to ignore the struggles of very very large portions of the US population, mainly people of color, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic.

So then you're left with a bunch of pissed off white liberals who demand flawless messianic figures at every level of the government, because they don't realize how much of the country is being oppressed by the GOP. Purity demands of Hillary hurt her campaign, and the purity argument of having to "overthrow" the Democratic party "to weed out corruption" hurt downballots, because it cast the image that the entire party couldn't be trusted. Let's maybe not make the same mistakes moving forward in the future and not vilify someone like Cory Booker, who has a consistent ideology and already has a strong, loyal base.

Gerrymandering and voter suppression has contributed to Republican victories, but it isn't the only reason they're in power. (How Democrats Killed Their Populist Soul and Many in Milwaukee Neighborhood Didn’t Vote — and Don’t Regret It)

Purity demands of Clinton didn't hurt her campaign, Clinton's decision to chase Republicans in the suburbs at the expense of working class and union families did.

 

[excelsiorlef]

Keep playing identity politics, it worked so well for the centrist wing of the Dems last election. Asking for sensible policies like $15 minimum wage isn't a goddamn "purity test".

What do "identity politics" have to do with literally anything in that post you quoted?

 

[kirblar]

Keep playing identity politics, it worked so well for the centrist wing of the Dems last election. Asking for sensible policies like $15 minimum wage isn't a goddamn "purity test".

$15 minimum wage isn't a sensible policy in many parts of the country.

edit: Quoting in my own post from another thread-

Out of 3138 counties in the US, 298 have a median income of $15/hr or less, and 1422 have a median income of $19.5/hr (1.3x) or less. (data source: http://matthodges.com/2009_to_2015_household_income/ )

To say this idea plays poorly there would be an understatement.

And it's not just about the optics, the economics aren't going to work there either.

 

[Autoignition]

Gerrymandering and voter suppression has contributed to Republican victories, but it isn't the only reason they're in power. (How Democrats Killed Their Populist Soul and Many in Milwaukee Neighborhood Didn't Vote — and Don't Regret It)

Purity demands of Clinton didn't hurt her campaign, Clinton's decision to chase Republicans in the suburbs at the expense of working class and union families did.

All of these things can be true at the same time, though. It's dishonest to say that purity demands didn't hurt Hillary. It's also dishonest to say that her campaign strategy was sound. I also don't think that you can contribute the rise of the GOP to populism, since Trump was the only populist in the running, and his emergence as a political figure happened only very recently. Republicans have been taking control since 2010.

It's not just one thing that contributed to the outcome of the 2016 election(s). But I feel like too often there are people on the far left end of the spectrum who believe that the populist message is the ONLY reason the Democratic party lost so many seats. It's not.