You no longer comment on this board (I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss sparring with you) but on the off chance you still check in from time to time I beg of you to read this article and express your reaction to what is said.
Hello Dan. Hope you and yours are doing well. Yeah, I haven't commented or even really visited this board in a while. Just got tired of going around in circles with the Trump polemicists that had come to dominate this board. Didn't see the point in wasting any more time here. But, perhaps foolishly on my part lol, I'll reengage some. I'll start by giving you my thoughts on what the article is addressing. Here they are:
(1) First, I don't know if I agree "yet" with the narrative that many people "
actively conspired to hide the fact that Biden wasn’t actually capable of executing his responsibilities as president." Perhaps this was the case, but perhaps it wasn't also. Or maybe the actual truth lies somewhere in between (which I tend to think at this point is most likely the case).
I'm more than willing though to consider the actual evidence concerning this, but not the talking points (from all sides). Nor quotes from "anonymous" sources in books. Nor the political backbiting.
(2) As for the inner-party debate between progressives and the establishment (both Obama's faction and Clinton's third way faction), I'm firmly in line with the progressives, with a few caveats.
(3) As you know, I didn't support Biden in the 2020 primaries. I supported Sanders and Harris. The progressive Harris. I backed Biden in the general, of course, to defeat Trump. Also, early on, I did not want Biden to seek reelection in 2024. I stated as much on this board numerous times. Biden, for me and other progressives (after he won the 2020 primary), was a means to an end. The defeat of Trump in 2020. I wish Biden had understood the role he needed to play. A one term transitional President. Unfortunately, he and/or those around him got drunk on power and greedy.
(4) I fully supported Harris being the nominee after Biden dropped out. I wish Biden had dropped out before the primaries, but he didn't. By the time he did withdraw, it was too late for a new set of primaries, etc. I blame Biden and his people for this, not Harris or other establishment Democrats. Indeed, it was the establishment Democrats who forced Biden out, finally.
(5) Harris greatly disappointed me with the type of campaign she ran. She chose to run, essentially, as a Clinton third way Democrat. That was never the Harris I had supported before. I (and other progressives) went along with it because there was no other option but we didn't understand it. Harris should have ran a strong progressive left-wing populist campaign.
(6) It is way past time for the Democratic Party to move away from third way politics and neoliberalism. In my opinion, 2024 prove this. The Democratic Party has got to once again embrace progressivism and left-wing populism. It has got to challenge Trump Republicans in the arena of populism.
(7) I know that last point may surprise you some given my past disagreements with populism. But my disagreements with populism are directed at the type of populism Trump uses, a fascist populism that actually protects those in power while scapegoating those with little to no power.
So in conclusion, yes, I agree with the article's hope that the Democratic establishment has learned their lesson. I hope, if we have a 2028 election, Democrats will nominate a progressive left-wing populist who will actually run a progressive left-wing populist campaign.
Do I think establishment Democrats have learned their lesson though? I don't know yet. So far, it doesn't look encouraging.
jacobin.com
