I'm 82 and this is what I've been looking for for decades. I'm no activist and while I know I'm old, I'm as excited about this as I've ever been about what's happening now with these young, energetic people who are refusing to go for the same old bs decade after decade that unfortunately the stodgy part of the Democratic Party forgot as soon as they were elected and just paid lip service to all that was disappearing through Republican channels in a torrent about now. Very exciting and every single thing they're running on is something for the average American voter. Socialism is a word the Republicans have always tried to dirty up, just like woke and affordability and anything else that would help most Americans, even the ones who can't wait to vote for the criminal and his criminal buddies. They're all energetic, bright and ready to go, something we've been asking for for years and years. Bravo, Socialism. I don't care what you call it, it's what we want and certainly a positive shake up that we need before we get to the last gasp of democracy.
Yes Ian. If fighting for the real essential needs of All People and frankly all sentient life forms and the needs of Mother Earth is called "democratic socialism", then count me in! I'm 80 and I've been waiting for this for decades ever since I first heard Bernie who has never wavered in his beliefs.
I'm 78, and I, too, see that this is the change we need. We need all these young people who disavow the corporations and the wealthy running the country for their benefit. The Republicans don't care about anything but money, and that is not the answer to everything. They are selfish, racist, Christian Nationalists. This is NOT what we want running the country.
I feel like a mere child at 67 LOL but agree wholeheartedly that something's got to give and even though I don't live in Ms Kiros's district, I am very happy she won!
Republicans have worked since 1971 to destroy democracy and steal wealth from 99% of Americans transferring the wealth to billionaire oligarchs while intentionally creating cruel poor affordability of housing food energy and healthcare. Reich has correctly said the Republican Party is a criminal enterprise.
They are few and far in between and don't seem to have a voice. When they come out of hiding and take back the conservative Republican Party they used to be, we will talk about it, but right now, all I see is white trash.
The "happiness gap" between the United States and social democracies has widened over the last 15 years according to The World Happiness Report, published annually since 2012.
I'm not a political scientist or an economist, but I'm pretty confident that the widening happiness gap has a lot to do with the corruption of the American government by unlimited political "donations" and the wealth of America trickling up instead of trickling down as promised.
There are many related reasons why the happiness gap between the US and social democracies exists and persists: In contrast with the US, social democracies have strong social safety nets that protect their citizens well-being. Citizens in social democracies trust their governments because they serve the best interest of the public rather than corporations and their owners, as is so often the case in the US. The trust that citizens of social democracies have in their government to look out for them nurtures a peace of mind that's alien and difficult to imagine for most people in America. Can you imagine not having to worry about medical bankruptcy? Social democracies are heavily invested in community sharing, benevolence, and social support. They're all about collective well-being, instead of the financial well-being of corporations and their owners, and individual wealth, as is increasingly the case in the US.
You'd think that the wealthiest country in the world by far, the United States, would be the happiest... but it's not. Americans have been cheated out of the standard of living they should be enjoying as citizens of the richest country on Earth. They've been cheated by a government that's been corrupted to serve the financial interests of corporations and their owners first and foremost, above and beyond the interests of the rest of America.
Wonderful and accurate comments Ian Ogard. America is unable to effectively separate "common good" freedom from "greed "freedom.
Happiness becomes anger when corporate interests are allowed to interfere with individual rights. People mistakenly fear socialism when sharing interests is considered a challenge to the existing order of capitalism. It is not. I opened a gym in a small NE town and became an immediate enemy of the long established, nationally supported YMCA. The YMCA felt compelled to modernize and both business still co-exist after 40 years. When I return to visit from my retirement home in FL there are those who still resent my successful venture because it was a change. Only 38% of Americans have four year college degrees. Critical thinking skills may improve comfort with facts and change
Labor Unions worked very well as Democratic Socialist organizations for workers. When one belonged to a Labor Union, they could afford a home, a car and a pension plus health insurance coverage all on a single wage earner if desired. Families thrived and mobility upward was encouraged by low cost or free secondary college or university education. Nixon opened China and the good jobs left. Reagan started "Trickle Down" and the money trickled up instead. Trump is cutting taxes on corporations, and the wealth and the national debt and inflations soars while the Federal minimum wage has stayed the same low rate for 14 years. The Democrats should run on the same platform that FDR ran on that gave us Labor Unions, livable minimum wages and social programs like Social Security. Medicare for all would be a good start along with raising the minimum wage to $20.00 per hour over their 4 years of control of the presidency and the congress. Republicans will call that inflationary, but what we have now with tariffs, money all going to the top 1% is also inflationary.
Reich has correctly said the Republican Party is a criminal enterprise. Democrats have been fooled and coerced over the last 55 years ( Clinton and Obama ) into being neoliberals aligned with Republican trickle down economic policy. Yes a new generation of Democrats need to operate as FDR did in the 1930s and 1940s. Unfortunately Biden didn’t enforce the federal law against insurrection and arrest prosecute convict and jail Trump Republicans in Congress and six justices on the Supreme Court who all violated the law.
And in those democratic socialist countries, unions and government are often working together to insure that both workers and the social system benefit from their agreements. They are seen as a partnership, not as combatants.
Every once in a while I think about my field training days in the military and the group exercises I went through. The goal of the exercises was for every member of the group to get through an obstacle course from point A to point B. The obstacles were physical and mental. The point of the exercises was to drive the idea into everyone’s head that the only thing that mattered was everyone in the group got from point A to point B. The exercises forced the smarter people to help those who weren’t as smart, and the stronger people to help those who weren’t as strong. If even only one member of the group didn’t make it from A to B, everybody failed.
I carried the experiences of those field training exercises with me after I was discharged. When I got out of the military and went to work in a machine shop, I felt like everyone was on the same team. It was like everyone doing everything they could to get from point A to point B all over again. There was the union, the machine shop, and the government. They all had their strengths, and they all worked together so everyone would succeed. But then the parent corporation of the machine shop cut deals with the government to throw out the union, shut down the factory, and move all the jobs overseas so they could make more money. I thought that what the corporation and the government did was unforgivable. They turned their backs on the workers, the men and women who devoted their lives to the machine shop and built it up from nothing. They tossed us out on the street so that a few people who already had way too much money could get even richer.
I thought that if they’d done something like that in the military they would’ve been fragged, or court-martialed. Maybe both.
We used to see bumper stickers that read "Live better. Work union." I don't see them very often now, although I know this is a union community. The most important unions in this community are ILWU (divided among their various categories). The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are major employers, hence the strength of ILWU.
I am a retired teacher, living better because of union membership and still pay retired dues - affiliations are NEA/CTA/ and UTLA. The last refers to United Teachers Los Angeles. The area has a major event, including a parade for Labor Day.
The International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union ILWU could not stop Nestle Beverage, in 1992, from buying out MJB Coffee, Hills Brother's Coffee, Chase and Sandborn Coffee or production of Safeway's Edwards Coffee, closing all the plants nationwide and building a new plant and going non-union in Suffolk Va. They liquidated the prime real estate in San Francisco for a Very large profit. But Safeway, a Union company that had sold them their plant in San Francisco, was told they could not have their coffee roasted, ground and packaged on the West Coast anymore because they had 8 years left on their 10-year contract with Nestle Beverage. Safeway dropped the Edward's Brand and started making "Safeway Select" coffees and reduced the shelf space in all 2800 of their Safeway stores for Nestle Beverage products by 80% and the parent company of Albertson's did the same in Lucky and Albertson stores Shelf space was the weapon of choice and Nestle Beverage, without shelf space, sold off the plant in Suffolk VA. You cannot make a profit if you cannot display it to the public to buy.
When they announced the closure of the Union City combined coffee plant, they had Pinkerton men stand next to all the rows of seats set up for the announcement of the closure expecting a riot. The promised to help re-locate the employees but in the end, they just paid a severance package and California State unemployment but the ILWU that represented them opened the union Hall to all the workers and dispatched them to other employers under Union Contracts as jobs became available in 1994. The Union had their backs, and a Union will have your back as well. UNION? YES!
I think that is because he truly does not know what socialism or communism is! He uses them both as if they are the same thing. America will never be entirely socialist; however, we can continue to draw parts of socialism into our ideology. That is how we have Social Security, Firemen, Police, etc.
I have personal experience as to how socialism works. It provides a nice story at the beginning until it obtains full control. Then it becomes a "Do as I say or else." No American has come close to living under a totalitarian regime. The problem becomes real when the Socialists have total control, when there is no way to reverse the outcome except by force - that is why our founding Fathers insisted that an American can carry arms.
A government that primarily serves the public by any other name would smell as sweet. A government that primarily serves corporations and their owners stinketh mightily (my words, not Shakespeare's).
Trump says they are "Marxists" which is very scary to groundlings who do not know what Marx had to say. Since his name contains the letter "x" it must be bad.
Ok, the true story is that I told our kids I was giving back our whole estate to The Government because without them, I couldn't have driven to work everyday for 50 yrs on public roads and wouldn't have survived this long without government healthcare assistance..and they called me a Marxist!
Perilous times merit the truth. Trump uses "COMMIES" FAR more than "marxists." Plus, he adds "They HATE G-D and HATE our country" for good measure. Not the kind of sentiments to engender "live and let live" options.
But look at the facts. The author of this blog does not like Christians, Secularism does not believe there is a God and statistically Democrats are less patriotic.
I mean really mean nasty names. I’m sick of his rant about Dumbocrats , calling Sen Warren Pocahontas, calling journalists stupid, just because they ask him a question he can’t answer! Sleepy Joe Biden when he’s the one falling asleep.
a rose supporting hammas like some of them is a poison ivy to which i am allergic. other than that all power to them.... how are they going to take money out of politics with this supremely corrupt court will be interesting to watch....
I've followed your comments here and have realized that you are a troll that doesn't deserve a reply as you are not here for the purpose of discussion or dialogue but just to give smarky responses.
Tamar, I agree with you. And I believe it is a short stretch between antiZionism and antisemitism. I will watch these candidates closely. And if their socialism includes any shade of antisemitism and anti Israel policies, I’m not supporting that candidate.
I don’t understand why so many of the DSA candidates bring a hatred of Israel into their campaigns. What does it have to do with their districts’ needs? Is it just to get votes (rhetorical question). I would have been for Mamdani if he hadn’t added his avowed Anti-Zionist views to his political positions. I respect his right to his opinions, but I don’t see what it has to do with helping New Yorkers.
Yes, Andrea, The quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
What I meant to say when I borrowed from the quote was that labels don't matter. It's the substance of what's being labelled that matters, call it what you will.
I know what you meant. I'm not sure you know what I meant.
Because socialism and democratic socialism are not the same thing, and the Democratic establishment is deliberately ignoring the difference and trying to scare people using the old "there's a communist hiding under your bed" playbook.
The Republican's attempted appeals to communism are a generation and a half too late. The "red scare" days are long gone (especially since so many Repblican leaders have made pilgrimages to Russia to pay obeisance to Putin). If Socialism is what it takes to clean away the stench of Trumpism, and the shredding of the Constitution by the Roberts Court, the vast majority of Americans are more than ready to embrace it. The vast majority of America's wealthiest citizens and American business enterprises have now given the public ample reasons to reject the idea they provide such amazing public benefit that they deserve protection from socialism.
Mary, You took the words out of my mouth, as the saying goes.
I am 70 and also an activist and have been leaning towards democratic socialism for years, and am so excited and encouraged that it can become mainstream and more supported.
I have run for local office, been the chair of a small town dem committee, treasurer for three candidates, blah blah blah, but all while not satisfied with the “traditional” democratic party.
Senator Schumer is one of my representatives in Congress and would like to celebrate a deserved retirement for him.
Please move over entrenched older folks that just push the big D’s agenda, not what regular working folks need.
Schumer is mine as well... he is truly not the right man to meet the moment. I fear he can't believe that the senate can go on without him. His day has passed. He has not served the people of NY for along time. I do not believe he has ever visited our part of the state as his calculated gambit as been, he doesn't need us to win, so why bother?
You realize more and more how these Dems who have been on the Hill forever just can't let go (many of them) and so show the kind of desire for position and power we often like to view as only a Republican trait. I am glad to see these new people win.
Schumer visited Utica once, a few years ago, promising the nanocenter would be among his highest priorities. It still sits vacant. I envision more distribution centers moving in there. And a data center to boot taking up a hundred acres and generating 6 permanent FT jobs.
I am very grateful to the young people stepping up to run for office now when it is needed more than ever. The changes that are starting to happen will make life better for everyone, and I'm hoping that will resonate with those who have been conned by the empty promises of trump and their destructive notion of nationalism. The democratic party needs to pay attention and change for the better. And by that I mean voting in young, progressive people who will replace those who have failed us.
I am also 82 and you said it perfectly. Watch for the Republicans and even some Dems try to paint these young people as mad communists bent on destroying this country.
For anyone interested in deeper dives than 5 minutes of pugnacious punditry. I encourage you to follow these links in sequence to grasp the full meaning I intend to convey here:
All are questions I've considered at length, and others have discussed far better. In particular, I've given considerable thought to the question addressed in the discussion of Horkheimer.:
Mary Virginia, you took the words right out of my mouth! Our generation fought hard to make things right and we had some great wins; but we've seen most of our accomplishments whittled away by the Epstein class. Our sun has been setting and night fell, the deepest dark night of America's soul in decades, if not a century. I think the sun is rising...are those birds I hear singing?
Dems must do everything possible to avoid this becoming a media obsession with the term "Socialism". There is just too much embedded baggage on that term... and the Repugs LOVE that the term is being emphasized, because it gives them such a divisive target. Dems need to come up with a better term than "Socialism". (How about "Progressive", or even "Bernie Democrats" or "FDR Democrats"?)
We simply don't have the time or resources to 'educate' people on what Socialism really means and implies for public policy. The focus absolutely has to be on attacking the horrors of the Republican Party...and the call must be to vote for EVERY Democrat on the ballot this year... whether they are 'socialist' or moderate. If the Dems don't win the majority this year in at least one chamber, we may never have another chance.
Don't let the Repugs and the compliant media divert everyone's attention from the real issues!
Agree, but we have GOT to stop letting the right define our terms and our values. Democratic Socialism means something and it's not what maga thinks it does. We can't keep running from them and their childhood bully taunts, we've got to stand up and fight back, not keep trying to twist ourselves into knots to avoid their insults.
Just to clarify, I'm not saying to back off on the good policies. But choose terminology strategically. The priority is winning the damn majority...educating people on what "Democratic Socialism" means will take time and can be addressed later.
Bernie’s an actual communist. He should have won the nomination in 2016. We would have had a real communist opposing someone not afraid to call him on it.
Thank you Mary for such an inspiring and wise comment. I'm so excited as well by these young courageous voices emerging who stand for exactly what Americans really need to live a life of dignity. If that is called Socialism, I so agree with you...."Bravo, Socialism".
Absolutely!! I am 83 and came of age during the 1960s with all that encompassed. These young democrats are fighting the same fights we did then: war (Vietnam); racism; misogyny; inequality in income; and bigotry against LGBT, etc. We did it then, and we can, and must, do it again. I totally agree with you! I don't care what you call "it"; it is what this country has always meant to be and must always strive for. We have, and will set the example for the world!
I'm 67 and I have been waiting for this my entire life. Equality. Sharing. Caring. yes. this is what I have wanted forever. We are a democracy. Socialistic thinking is what goes with a democracy. It is all about the people.
“Socialism is a word the Republicans have always tried to dirty up”
Socialism, including its national variety, has been dirtying itself up for over a hundred years now. After so many failures, people who still believe in it can be defined as insane: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
Also in Colorado, happily the active and resourceful current attorney general Phil Weiser has won the Dem gubernatorial nomination, defeating current US senator Michael Bennet, whose 2020 run for Dem presidential nomination had the theme "Shucks, I'm genial and bipartisan."
Sadly, the Dem senatorial nomination went to incumbent John Hickenlooper over dynamic and policy-oriented Senadora Julie Gonzales. Hickenlooper also hoped for 2020 Dem presidential nomination with the campaign theme "Shicks, I'm genial and bipartisan."
I wish that more in a currently fossilized Dem leadership would recognize that voters have no reason to call their Orderly Professional Progression Through the Ranks, but need government structures to support and facilitate civil rights, human lives, and sustainability.
I'm in Douglas county and watched the flaccid corporate Dems assume a fake rear admiral fake democrat who voted for trump twice would be genial and bipartisan enough to displace Lauren Boebert.
I think some independents will vote for her, this Eileen laubacher person. But I won't. I'd rather keep Boebert around until we can replace her with a progressive.
I've met and talked to Phil several times and am thrilled at his win.
As an European, I wonder if there is still time to create a third party? It could become the major strength, uniting those who don’t want the extremes policies of both existing political parties.
There are already alternative parties, and have been for-roughly-ever. For Dem-registered voters to vote in less conservative, more active Dem candidates for office is the more efficient path, barring tremendous surprises.
Marianne, although I understand that you kindly intend new parties to define some of the definitions or characteristics being mentioned, I understand that having or forming more parties, or even one more party than those we already have, would simply divide the votes and give the current majority party far more strength than it has now.
If we are to succeed in having the needed majority so we can help people, we must stick together within the party in order to win elections. Every vote matters! Careful considerations within the party are possible, I believe, but we must be strong in number. Otherwise, we will lose not only votes, but chances to make the positive differences needed.
Judy, I do understand your point of view , but governments in Europe do function and people have a change to find a party, who represents their interests. I admit it became quite more difficult, once there is quite some meddling from outside forces. Internet has done so much harm. I am sure the better you read between the lines in your 2 parties, you will find incredible evidence of malfunctioning. I have read Craig Unger books! Analyzing those, you will be surprised what’s going on in the USA!
Thank you, Marianne. I looked him up, signed up to follow him as the author he is, and have saved his books for later, except the one that lists for several hundred dollars.
Bernie Sanders' and AOC's Fighting Oligarchy tour planted seeds, and we're seeing those seeds sprout. The manure that the current regime spreads is helping the sprouts to grow. There will be a bumper crop in November!
I like "the vigorous young people" part of it, that is what this country needs. I am tired of Jeffries and Shumer, et al, the Dems need new, young people in office - go Ossoff, go Talarico!
I'm tired of all politicians who now think being elected to the same office decade after decade is their permanent job. It's public service, guys. You forgot that drowning yourself in power and money and self-preservation. Finally, young people with fresh ideas and a whole lot of energy are breaking through.
Another thing entrenched politicians, advisors and others clinging to their "careers" when they should have taught the young and gone home and done a different kind of good there. We've been boogeymanned out of term limits with their clever lines to scare everybody that if you didn't reelect them no matter how many times they did nothing for you, you would be lost in the wilderness. Game's over. Go home and enjoy your great great grandchildren.
You mean while he and his criminal sons have now over a billion dollars in pyramid schemes and such? Come on. His salary is a pittance and does anybody have any proof he actually did forgo it? It's money. He never forgos money, just like he never forgos retribution and revenge.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on that, Richard! Not only have I been pushing for Supreme Court Justices term limits, but also on Congressional politicians' term limits. It is ludicrous that this has not been done already!
My reason for fixing them in office for a term of years, rather than for life, was that they might have an idea that they were at a certain period to return into the mass of the people and become the governed instead of the governors which might still keep alive that regard to the public good that otherwise they might perhaps be induced by their independence to forget.
It was never supposed to be a comfortable career. Few exceptions such as John Quincy Adam’s perhaps. It was meant to be a patriotic duty. Not a way to get rich. It would be nice if Senator Ossoff’s bill prohibiting stock trading was enacted.
Thank you Richard! Our country desperately needs these courageous "vigorous young people" in office like Jon Ossoff and James Talarico--2 of my absolute favorites! They are giving me so much hope.
They run as Democratic Socialists probably because the Democratic Party leaders dismiss their progressive ideas out-of-hand. This sclerotic leadership is the problem along with a preternatural fear in the US of the word socialism. I disagree that the source of the new energy is solely derived from their youth and not the ideas coming from the Democratic Socialists. The center/right ideas of the Clinton/Obama era have not delivered. I am a boomer. We have not delivered. We need to cease the knee-jerk hysteria, the demonization the Old Guard associates with the word socialism. I think those voting for Democratic Socialist candidates know perfectly well why they vote.
I totally agree. This is exciting! The center/right Clinton/Obama era was perennially disappointing for this longtime admirer of the New Deal and Great Society Democratic Party.
It is so nice to see these candidates winning and moving forward in a good direction!
Remember that Obama did not just have to fight Republicans but Blue Dog Dems and some of the Establishment Dems as well. Clinton was basically a Republican.
Having LarrySummers in any administration is a near guarantee of big banks and Wall Street getting what they want. He was very good at undermining anyone who disagreed with him. Sadly too many people considered Greenspan and Summers as infallible. As far as banks go they were afraid of freezing the entire financial system. The banks might go down hurting average people where as the big shots would walk away with plenty of $.
"I am a boomer. We have not delivered." So sad and so true. Perhaps it is the degree of our failure that has made so many voters (and non-voters) skeptical and cynical about our politics and has encouraged our selfish economic reactions.
Milet's win is a morning breath of fresh air. Perhaps the "socialists" will really pursue universal health care, broad daycare coverage, housing reform that actually builds affordable places for real people in walkable, bikeable neighborhoods not far from where they work. With encouragement from us, they might pursue getting big money our of politics and put some brakes on corporate consolidation. Maybe the socialists will realize that buying bombs to displace people in other countries is not where we should spend our money. At one point we actually did good things with our foreign aid, like fighting aids, countering malaria, improving sanitation and negotiating the end to conflict where both sides stay home and stop fighting. Perhaps socialists will mention climate change while addressing other problems and solving for both. We have the tools to do this. Imagine them supporting solar on public building, reducing restrictions on solar and wind projects, planting trees all over cities to reduce the heat island effect, expanding battery storage, developing infrastructure that reduces the need for giant pickup trucks, SUVs and even regular cars, and so much more. Like I said, a breath of fresh air, if it weren't so damn hot in here. Sweating before sunrise with the windows wide open ...
What an uplifting column! These young people remind me of the kind of energy unleashed in the late 60s--RFK, MLKing. Big aspirations. Warm hearts. Real intelligence.
It would be great this time is the pro-Israel people did not fight with the anti-Zionist people. Gaza and Netanyahu, West Bank settlements have to be addressed, finally. The issue needs to be settled before the midterms otherwise chaos might settle in, much of it fueled by bad actors inside and outside the US.
Yes, that would be kinda great but I don’t think this issue will be settled anytime soon and certainly not before the midterms. Especially when Morning Joe’s Miska took aim at Chevalier for past social media posts and comments that she has deleted and explained; and then accused Chris Murphy of sidestepping it like the Republicans famously do. That we do not need from MS NOW. The GOP and the conservative corporate owned media and the tabloid media are already labeling these candidates as “COMMUNISTS “.
The younger people see that Netanyahu is a war criminal and has gone way too far in Gaza. It’s not antisemitism to be against Israel wiping out tens of thousands of people in revenge for October 7th. My family is Jewish.
It’s not antisemitic to be against America supporting Israel and its army.
It's a US election, not a Mideast election. Not to be intentionally crude, but screw the Mideast. What "needs to be addressed" is the imminent destruction of the US government by plutocracts.
That is a ridiculous argument. Israel has little to do with what is wrong with major U. S. Cities. Leave out the Trump and Israel bashing and DSA will have a decent platform to include the I dependents. Then it is a presidential potential. This is advice from a former Real Leftist who has been there Done That.
I have always been a Democratic Socialist. Even though you could just as easily call me Antifa. Glad to see the trend. The other trend (antiZionism) was clearly identified in this campaign. And a hearty "thank you" to Netanyahu and his genocidal supporters for delegitimizing the state of Israel! (Sarcasm alert) His government has made support for Israel's continued existence untenable for vast numbers of young progressives. It is terribly sad for those of us who believed in a two-state solution, who have opposed the occupation and the brutality of the settlers. Extremism always seems to triumph these days.
As President Clinton said during the last presidential election, he was astonished that Arafat rejected an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state in 2000 and responded with the second intifada in which 1,000 Israelis were killed in bombings in buses and cafes. Palestinians again rejected their own state in 2008. Hamas is sworn to the destruction of Israel, as their leader said a few weeks ago and a majority of Palestinians support Hamas. I detest Netanyahu and he will lose the next election, but those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
James Carville says that these people should form their own party. The alternative would be for Carville, Schumer and the other geriatrics to form their own party if they don't like what's happening. If the Democrats want to clean up in November and overhaul this rotten governing party they have no time for this silly infighting. It only makes voters think that they are disorganised, sectarian and rudderless.
Bob, great list. The fossils of 80+ should be out, young and well educated and social minded should be in.
But they may call themselves social democrats. Sure, politics is people, symbols and inspiration, but it is analtycal and systematic thinking as well. What is the nature of American society, how do we organise a peacefull transition to a more civilised and more equal society?
You could call it "ideology", but the system might be afraid of the concept: when you talk about it, you're deemed a communist or leftist. But when you are not thinking about what you want and why and how to get there, the seduction of big money remains to powerfull.
It is exciting, but let’s hope these candidates realize the importance of expanding the tent of voters in the next big election. I also hope they are pragmatists and not only dreamers.
This is well put, but it seems important to note that the new movement spearheaded by the DSA is not NOT socialism either. One will not accomplish the programs being put forward - addressing inequality, getting money out of democratic processes, transitioning the economy and society, etc. -- without the public sphere taking (or taking back) ownership both literally and figuratively (robust regulatory frameworks) in a number of areas. Such is the general gist of the typical DSA program and content is important, in addition to the the feel-good fizz of youth, energy, diversity et al., which do genuinely feel good. Nonetheless, bold, "socialized" if you will, program content and policy goals are the bedrock.
When you show low information Republican voters the list of what's already socialism in this country, they just rub their eyes in disbelief because there's nothing on that list they don't want.
Mary Virginia, you are exactly right. Why can’t we simply have people, meaning candidates, within the party state what they want to do and express their fine, helpful ideas without having to use a label that pushes some voters away?
Keep an open mind about these young energetic candidates. The needs of America has changed and so has the kind of leadership needed. Trump and his ilk will try scaremonger tactics by calling them “communists “, which they are not.
The 250th anniversary of the country is a good time to remind us that the nation was founded by young and energetic people and it’s a good time to rebuild from that basis
It will take energy, empathy, and charisma for the new, young candidates to win elections and be instrumental in bringing about a government for the people. We must support them in any way we are able. And there is no question as to where the money needed for programs such as universal healthcare, education, childcare, environmental protection, etc. will come from. The wealthy and corporations need to pay taxes!
I'm 82 and this is what I've been looking for for decades. I'm no activist and while I know I'm old, I'm as excited about this as I've ever been about what's happening now with these young, energetic people who are refusing to go for the same old bs decade after decade that unfortunately the stodgy part of the Democratic Party forgot as soon as they were elected and just paid lip service to all that was disappearing through Republican channels in a torrent about now. Very exciting and every single thing they're running on is something for the average American voter. Socialism is a word the Republicans have always tried to dirty up, just like woke and affordability and anything else that would help most Americans, even the ones who can't wait to vote for the criminal and his criminal buddies. They're all energetic, bright and ready to go, something we've been asking for for years and years. Bravo, Socialism. I don't care what you call it, it's what we want and certainly a positive shake up that we need before we get to the last gasp of democracy.
"Socialism", "democratic socialism", whatever you call it... A rose by any other name is still a rose.
Yes Ian. If fighting for the real essential needs of All People and frankly all sentient life forms and the needs of Mother Earth is called "democratic socialism", then count me in! I'm 80 and I've been waiting for this for decades ever since I first heard Bernie who has never wavered in his beliefs.
I'm 78, and I, too, see that this is the change we need. We need all these young people who disavow the corporations and the wealthy running the country for their benefit. The Republicans don't care about anything but money, and that is not the answer to everything. They are selfish, racist, Christian Nationalists. This is NOT what we want running the country.
I feel like a mere child at 67 LOL but agree wholeheartedly that something's got to give and even though I don't live in Ms Kiros's district, I am very happy she won!
We want to make sure you have democracy when you get as old a some of us are
Let's not vilify all Republicans because the orange biped has commandeered that party. It used to have good ideas. Let's be fair: what a concept!
Republicans have worked since 1971 to destroy democracy and steal wealth from 99% of Americans transferring the wealth to billionaire oligarchs while intentionally creating cruel poor affordability of housing food energy and healthcare. Reich has correctly said the Republican Party is a criminal enterprise.
They are few and far in between and don't seem to have a voice. When they come out of hiding and take back the conservative Republican Party they used to be, we will talk about it, but right now, all I see is white trash.
Exciting times!
Year after year the countries that report the happiest people are the Democratic Socialist countries.
The "happiness gap" between the United States and social democracies has widened over the last 15 years according to The World Happiness Report, published annually since 2012.
I'm not a political scientist or an economist, but I'm pretty confident that the widening happiness gap has a lot to do with the corruption of the American government by unlimited political "donations" and the wealth of America trickling up instead of trickling down as promised.
There are many related reasons why the happiness gap between the US and social democracies exists and persists: In contrast with the US, social democracies have strong social safety nets that protect their citizens well-being. Citizens in social democracies trust their governments because they serve the best interest of the public rather than corporations and their owners, as is so often the case in the US. The trust that citizens of social democracies have in their government to look out for them nurtures a peace of mind that's alien and difficult to imagine for most people in America. Can you imagine not having to worry about medical bankruptcy? Social democracies are heavily invested in community sharing, benevolence, and social support. They're all about collective well-being, instead of the financial well-being of corporations and their owners, and individual wealth, as is increasingly the case in the US.
You'd think that the wealthiest country in the world by far, the United States, would be the happiest... but it's not. Americans have been cheated out of the standard of living they should be enjoying as citizens of the richest country on Earth. They've been cheated by a government that's been corrupted to serve the financial interests of corporations and their owners first and foremost, above and beyond the interests of the rest of America.
Isn't this all such common sense. It is actually government of the people, for the people and by the people.
Wonderful and accurate comments Ian Ogard. America is unable to effectively separate "common good" freedom from "greed "freedom.
Happiness becomes anger when corporate interests are allowed to interfere with individual rights. People mistakenly fear socialism when sharing interests is considered a challenge to the existing order of capitalism. It is not. I opened a gym in a small NE town and became an immediate enemy of the long established, nationally supported YMCA. The YMCA felt compelled to modernize and both business still co-exist after 40 years. When I return to visit from my retirement home in FL there are those who still resent my successful venture because it was a change. Only 38% of Americans have four year college degrees. Critical thinking skills may improve comfort with facts and change
A lot of Americans with 4 year degrees have no concept of critical thinking. They have a meal ticket and that's about it.
Exactly!
Labor Unions worked very well as Democratic Socialist organizations for workers. When one belonged to a Labor Union, they could afford a home, a car and a pension plus health insurance coverage all on a single wage earner if desired. Families thrived and mobility upward was encouraged by low cost or free secondary college or university education. Nixon opened China and the good jobs left. Reagan started "Trickle Down" and the money trickled up instead. Trump is cutting taxes on corporations, and the wealth and the national debt and inflations soars while the Federal minimum wage has stayed the same low rate for 14 years. The Democrats should run on the same platform that FDR ran on that gave us Labor Unions, livable minimum wages and social programs like Social Security. Medicare for all would be a good start along with raising the minimum wage to $20.00 per hour over their 4 years of control of the presidency and the congress. Republicans will call that inflationary, but what we have now with tariffs, money all going to the top 1% is also inflationary.
Reich has correctly said the Republican Party is a criminal enterprise. Democrats have been fooled and coerced over the last 55 years ( Clinton and Obama ) into being neoliberals aligned with Republican trickle down economic policy. Yes a new generation of Democrats need to operate as FDR did in the 1930s and 1940s. Unfortunately Biden didn’t enforce the federal law against insurrection and arrest prosecute convict and jail Trump Republicans in Congress and six justices on the Supreme Court who all violated the law.
And in those democratic socialist countries, unions and government are often working together to insure that both workers and the social system benefit from their agreements. They are seen as a partnership, not as combatants.
Every once in a while I think about my field training days in the military and the group exercises I went through. The goal of the exercises was for every member of the group to get through an obstacle course from point A to point B. The obstacles were physical and mental. The point of the exercises was to drive the idea into everyone’s head that the only thing that mattered was everyone in the group got from point A to point B. The exercises forced the smarter people to help those who weren’t as smart, and the stronger people to help those who weren’t as strong. If even only one member of the group didn’t make it from A to B, everybody failed.
I carried the experiences of those field training exercises with me after I was discharged. When I got out of the military and went to work in a machine shop, I felt like everyone was on the same team. It was like everyone doing everything they could to get from point A to point B all over again. There was the union, the machine shop, and the government. They all had their strengths, and they all worked together so everyone would succeed. But then the parent corporation of the machine shop cut deals with the government to throw out the union, shut down the factory, and move all the jobs overseas so they could make more money. I thought that what the corporation and the government did was unforgivable. They turned their backs on the workers, the men and women who devoted their lives to the machine shop and built it up from nothing. They tossed us out on the street so that a few people who already had way too much money could get even richer.
I thought that if they’d done something like that in the military they would’ve been fragged, or court-martialed. Maybe both.
We used to see bumper stickers that read "Live better. Work union." I don't see them very often now, although I know this is a union community. The most important unions in this community are ILWU (divided among their various categories). The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are major employers, hence the strength of ILWU.
I am a retired teacher, living better because of union membership and still pay retired dues - affiliations are NEA/CTA/ and UTLA. The last refers to United Teachers Los Angeles. The area has a major event, including a parade for Labor Day.
The International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union ILWU could not stop Nestle Beverage, in 1992, from buying out MJB Coffee, Hills Brother's Coffee, Chase and Sandborn Coffee or production of Safeway's Edwards Coffee, closing all the plants nationwide and building a new plant and going non-union in Suffolk Va. They liquidated the prime real estate in San Francisco for a Very large profit. But Safeway, a Union company that had sold them their plant in San Francisco, was told they could not have their coffee roasted, ground and packaged on the West Coast anymore because they had 8 years left on their 10-year contract with Nestle Beverage. Safeway dropped the Edward's Brand and started making "Safeway Select" coffees and reduced the shelf space in all 2800 of their Safeway stores for Nestle Beverage products by 80% and the parent company of Albertson's did the same in Lucky and Albertson stores Shelf space was the weapon of choice and Nestle Beverage, without shelf space, sold off the plant in Suffolk VA. You cannot make a profit if you cannot display it to the public to buy.
When they announced the closure of the Union City combined coffee plant, they had Pinkerton men stand next to all the rows of seats set up for the announcement of the closure expecting a riot. The promised to help re-locate the employees but in the end, they just paid a severance package and California State unemployment but the ILWU that represented them opened the union Hall to all the workers and dispatched them to other employers under Union Contracts as jobs became available in 1994. The Union had their backs, and a Union will have your back as well. UNION? YES!
America is the richest country on earth only for some of the people. For the rest it's the poorest.
Not by some of the names Donald Trump is giving them!
I think that is because he truly does not know what socialism or communism is! He uses them both as if they are the same thing. America will never be entirely socialist; however, we can continue to draw parts of socialism into our ideology. That is how we have Social Security, Firemen, Police, etc.
Trump only knows grift
I agree, Jen. It is so sad.
Coming from supporters of the Bidens and Clintons, that’s truly laughable.
Names aren't important. Actual enacted policies are.
I have personal experience as to how socialism works. It provides a nice story at the beginning until it obtains full control. Then it becomes a "Do as I say or else." No American has come close to living under a totalitarian regime. The problem becomes real when the Socialists have total control, when there is no way to reverse the outcome except by force - that is why our founding Fathers insisted that an American can carry arms.
A government that primarily serves the public by any other name would smell as sweet. A government that primarily serves corporations and their owners stinketh mightily (my words, not Shakespeare's).
I agree - but in our case both are self serving - for different reasons.
Trump says they are "Marxists" which is very scary to groundlings who do not know what Marx had to say. Since his name contains the letter "x" it must be bad.
I’ve been called a Marxist because I wanted more of my tax dollars spent filling pot holes and better management of Medicare.
Although if you look it up, Medicare has the lowest overhead of any of the insurance institutions, and that's because it's not for profit.
I doubt that claim - give us the true story.
Ok, the true story is that I told our kids I was giving back our whole estate to The Government because without them, I couldn't have driven to work everyday for 50 yrs on public roads and wouldn't have survived this long without government healthcare assistance..and they called me a Marxist!
Perilous times merit the truth. Trump uses "COMMIES" FAR more than "marxists." Plus, he adds "They HATE G-D and HATE our country" for good measure. Not the kind of sentiments to engender "live and let live" options.
Live and let live doesn’t work in a flock of sheep targeted by Communist/Marxist wolves.
As Sir Keith Joseph put it (exact wording because it’s memorable and accurate): “it is the socialist/Marxists who are the enemies of the people!”
https://youtu.be/JrwiEjh2AMU?si=gmhEZSaL_DWsfAoS
But look at the facts. The author of this blog does not like Christians, Secularism does not believe there is a God and statistically Democrats are less patriotic.
The groundlings know without knowing why. The acamedia establishment is the one that has failed here.
His vocabulary is so limited that he can’t think of other name! I’m waiting for the day when someone starts calling him names in public!
Where have you been!!!!!
I mean really mean nasty names. I’m sick of his rant about Dumbocrats , calling Sen Warren Pocahontas, calling journalists stupid, just because they ask him a question he can’t answer! Sleepy Joe Biden when he’s the one falling asleep.
It has got to stop!
Or we have to become meaner!
a rose supporting hammas like some of them is a poison ivy to which i am allergic. other than that all power to them.... how are they going to take money out of politics with this supremely corrupt court will be interesting to watch....
There is a big difference between supporting Hamas and supporting the victims in Gaza
No there isn’t. Utterly eliminating Hamas is an essential towards supporting the victims in Gaza.
I've followed your comments here and have realized that you are a troll that doesn't deserve a reply as you are not here for the purpose of discussion or dialogue but just to give smarky responses.
Tamar, I agree with you. And I believe it is a short stretch between antiZionism and antisemitism. I will watch these candidates closely. And if their socialism includes any shade of antisemitism and anti Israel policies, I’m not supporting that candidate.
I don’t understand why so many of the DSA candidates bring a hatred of Israel into their campaigns. What does it have to do with their districts’ needs? Is it just to get votes (rhetorical question). I would have been for Mamdani if he hadn’t added his avowed Anti-Zionist views to his political positions. I respect his right to his opinions, but I don’t see what it has to do with helping New Yorkers.
Most of whom are Jewish!
Check this interesting article for some insight into your question, Helaine
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/left-abandoned-jews-democratic-party-shift?r=zc1b8&utm_medium=ios
It’s “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That’s what you meant, right?
Yes, Andrea, The quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
What I meant to say when I borrowed from the quote was that labels don't matter. It's the substance of what's being labelled that matters, call it what you will.
I know what you meant. I'm not sure you know what I meant.
Because socialism and democratic socialism are not the same thing, and the Democratic establishment is deliberately ignoring the difference and trying to scare people using the old "there's a communist hiding under your bed" playbook.
Andrea, Thanks. I see your point. Please pardon my misunderstanding.
:) Thanks, Ian.
The Republican's attempted appeals to communism are a generation and a half too late. The "red scare" days are long gone (especially since so many Repblican leaders have made pilgrimages to Russia to pay obeisance to Putin). If Socialism is what it takes to clean away the stench of Trumpism, and the shredding of the Constitution by the Roberts Court, the vast majority of Americans are more than ready to embrace it. The vast majority of America's wealthiest citizens and American business enterprises have now given the public ample reasons to reject the idea they provide such amazing public benefit that they deserve protection from socialism.
US Socialism: Goods and/or services paid for with pooled taxpayer dollars. You benefit from that socialism.
love this...
Yes, and after the rank sewage of the current regime, they sure smell like roses!
Be honest. Communism. And “belladonna”’s a nice name, too.
Mary, You took the words out of my mouth, as the saying goes.
I am 70 and also an activist and have been leaning towards democratic socialism for years, and am so excited and encouraged that it can become mainstream and more supported.
I have run for local office, been the chair of a small town dem committee, treasurer for three candidates, blah blah blah, but all while not satisfied with the “traditional” democratic party.
Senator Schumer is one of my representatives in Congress and would like to celebrate a deserved retirement for him.
Please move over entrenched older folks that just push the big D’s agenda, not what regular working folks need.
TY for sharing your inspiring words.
Schumer is mine as well... he is truly not the right man to meet the moment. I fear he can't believe that the senate can go on without him. His day has passed. He has not served the people of NY for along time. I do not believe he has ever visited our part of the state as his calculated gambit as been, he doesn't need us to win, so why bother?
You realize more and more how these Dems who have been on the Hill forever just can't let go (many of them) and so show the kind of desire for position and power we often like to view as only a Republican trait. I am glad to see these new people win.
Schumer visited Utica once, a few years ago, promising the nanocenter would be among his highest priorities. It still sits vacant. I envision more distribution centers moving in there. And a data center to boot taking up a hundred acres and generating 6 permanent FT jobs.
I'm sure that the "entrenched older folks" pushing the big D's agenda do not know where Socialist Democrats are either.
I am very grateful to the young people stepping up to run for office now when it is needed more than ever. The changes that are starting to happen will make life better for everyone, and I'm hoping that will resonate with those who have been conned by the empty promises of trump and their destructive notion of nationalism. The democratic party needs to pay attention and change for the better. And by that I mean voting in young, progressive people who will replace those who have failed us.
I am also 82 and you said it perfectly. Watch for the Republicans and even some Dems try to paint these young people as mad communists bent on destroying this country.
Just remember: "A single fact can silence 50 scholars, but 50 facts can't shut up a single MAGgot."
For anyone interested in deeper dives than 5 minutes of pugnacious punditry. I encourage you to follow these links in sequence to grasp the full meaning I intend to convey here:
"It's always like this before a revolution.":
https://youtu.be/B4YgjL9tdew?is=2ArzweyhlIRihCkZ
----------
"The rise of Pseudo-Intellectualism":
https://youtu.be/_fr6Vxb3vS8?is=8m9r1FZlEXSGfZmt
----------
"Why Every Civilization Collapses the Same Way | Oswald Spengler":
(The opening quote expresses my sentiment exactly.)
https://youtu.be/Ulg3MbsfOCU?is=j2x9L6eBkWv2Oki8
----------
"Why Society is Becoming More Stupid Every Day":
https://youtu.be/HYTInV_4F8U?is=cRY5s6z4pWVT41qe
----------
"You Are Living in Modern Slavery (And Don't Know It)" :
(Much to heed and much to question in this item.)
https://youtu.be/JTCp4uik_N0?is=b92rXXCArlK56VUz
----------
"Clavicular is What Nietzsche Warned Us About":
https://youtu.be/Okp-dG1TczI?is=5mKGwSfRVN1fBJXC
----------
"A Society with No Purpose Beyond Money | Max Horkheimer":
https://youtu.be/ggnj2JIztpU?is=_hYZZQKfnmsIl7QI
-----------
All are questions I've considered at length, and others have discussed far better. In particular, I've given considerable thought to the question addressed in the discussion of Horkheimer.:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=RDDjs-fEFgWI4&playnext=1&si=QChTTbornm8c8GVy
Mary Virginia, you took the words right out of my mouth! Our generation fought hard to make things right and we had some great wins; but we've seen most of our accomplishments whittled away by the Epstein class. Our sun has been setting and night fell, the deepest dark night of America's soul in decades, if not a century. I think the sun is rising...are those birds I hear singing?
Dems must do everything possible to avoid this becoming a media obsession with the term "Socialism". There is just too much embedded baggage on that term... and the Repugs LOVE that the term is being emphasized, because it gives them such a divisive target. Dems need to come up with a better term than "Socialism". (How about "Progressive", or even "Bernie Democrats" or "FDR Democrats"?)
We simply don't have the time or resources to 'educate' people on what Socialism really means and implies for public policy. The focus absolutely has to be on attacking the horrors of the Republican Party...and the call must be to vote for EVERY Democrat on the ballot this year... whether they are 'socialist' or moderate. If the Dems don't win the majority this year in at least one chamber, we may never have another chance.
Don't let the Repugs and the compliant media divert everyone's attention from the real issues!
Agree, but we have GOT to stop letting the right define our terms and our values. Democratic Socialism means something and it's not what maga thinks it does. We can't keep running from them and their childhood bully taunts, we've got to stand up and fight back, not keep trying to twist ourselves into knots to avoid their insults.
Just to clarify, I'm not saying to back off on the good policies. But choose terminology strategically. The priority is winning the damn majority...educating people on what "Democratic Socialism" means will take time and can be addressed later.
Caring Democrats?
Bernie’s an actual communist. He should have won the nomination in 2016. We would have had a real communist opposing someone not afraid to call him on it.
What a great example of how ignorance (or perhaps deliberate disinformation?) of basic civics takes us down a rabbit-hole we don't have time to enjoy.
Amen, Mary Virginia!
Thank you Mary for such an inspiring and wise comment. I'm so excited as well by these young courageous voices emerging who stand for exactly what Americans really need to live a life of dignity. If that is called Socialism, I so agree with you...."Bravo, Socialism".
I’m only 78, but I’m also fully on board with you and this determined young generation!
Thank you, Mary Virginia, for a great comment. I can agree 💯
Mary-To Trump --he would be among the "Grateful Dead" if this country would discriminate against the likes of this "Brown Eyed Woman."
Absolutely!! I am 83 and came of age during the 1960s with all that encompassed. These young democrats are fighting the same fights we did then: war (Vietnam); racism; misogyny; inequality in income; and bigotry against LGBT, etc. We did it then, and we can, and must, do it again. I totally agree with you! I don't care what you call "it"; it is what this country has always meant to be and must always strive for. We have, and will set the example for the world!
"Socialism": expecting government services in exchange for the money you pay in taxes.
Is that really such a radical idea?
I'm 67 and I have been waiting for this my entire life. Equality. Sharing. Caring. yes. this is what I have wanted forever. We are a democracy. Socialistic thinking is what goes with a democracy. It is all about the people.
“Socialism is a word the Republicans have always tried to dirty up”
Socialism, including its national variety, has been dirtying itself up for over a hundred years now. After so many failures, people who still believe in it can be defined as insane: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
There’s no excuse any more.
Also in Colorado, happily the active and resourceful current attorney general Phil Weiser has won the Dem gubernatorial nomination, defeating current US senator Michael Bennet, whose 2020 run for Dem presidential nomination had the theme "Shucks, I'm genial and bipartisan."
Sadly, the Dem senatorial nomination went to incumbent John Hickenlooper over dynamic and policy-oriented Senadora Julie Gonzales. Hickenlooper also hoped for 2020 Dem presidential nomination with the campaign theme "Shicks, I'm genial and bipartisan."
I wish that more in a currently fossilized Dem leadership would recognize that voters have no reason to call their Orderly Professional Progression Through the Ranks, but need government structures to support and facilitate civil rights, human lives, and sustainability.
Absolutely!
I'm in Douglas county and watched the flaccid corporate Dems assume a fake rear admiral fake democrat who voted for trump twice would be genial and bipartisan enough to displace Lauren Boebert.
I think some independents will vote for her, this Eileen laubacher person. But I won't. I'd rather keep Boebert around until we can replace her with a progressive.
I've met and talked to Phil several times and am thrilled at his win.
Yes Trisha Calvarese should be there, not Eileen.
As an European, I wonder if there is still time to create a third party? It could become the major strength, uniting those who don’t want the extremes policies of both existing political parties.
There are already alternative parties, and have been for-roughly-ever. For Dem-registered voters to vote in less conservative, more active Dem candidates for office is the more efficient path, barring tremendous surprises.
Marianne, although I understand that you kindly intend new parties to define some of the definitions or characteristics being mentioned, I understand that having or forming more parties, or even one more party than those we already have, would simply divide the votes and give the current majority party far more strength than it has now.
If we are to succeed in having the needed majority so we can help people, we must stick together within the party in order to win elections. Every vote matters! Careful considerations within the party are possible, I believe, but we must be strong in number. Otherwise, we will lose not only votes, but chances to make the positive differences needed.
Judy, I do understand your point of view , but governments in Europe do function and people have a change to find a party, who represents their interests. I admit it became quite more difficult, once there is quite some meddling from outside forces. Internet has done so much harm. I am sure the better you read between the lines in your 2 parties, you will find incredible evidence of malfunctioning. I have read Craig Unger books! Analyzing those, you will be surprised what’s going on in the USA!
Thank you, Marianne. I looked him up, signed up to follow him as the author he is, and have saved his books for later, except the one that lists for several hundred dollars.
I'm here too and was bummed about Julie's loss.
*offers you a nice clean white handkerchief, like my own slightly soaked one*
Bernie Sanders' and AOC's Fighting Oligarchy tour planted seeds, and we're seeing those seeds sprout. The manure that the current regime spreads is helping the sprouts to grow. There will be a bumper crop in November!
I loved how you said this, Ian! Let those little sprouts grow and grow and grow!
Thanks, Peggy. In November, the Republicans will harvest bitter fruit. “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
— Book of Hosea 8:7
Never were truer words spoken, Ian!
More applicable to the Democrats, who have nourished those vipers in their bosom.
Think Al Wilson’s Snake, you “tender women”.
Beautifully said Ian. Bernie and AOC sure did plant those seeds. I'm so grateful for both of them.
Thank-you, Lilla.
👏👏😊
I like "the vigorous young people" part of it, that is what this country needs. I am tired of Jeffries and Shumer, et al, the Dems need new, young people in office - go Ossoff, go Talarico!
I'm tired of all politicians who now think being elected to the same office decade after decade is their permanent job. It's public service, guys. You forgot that drowning yourself in power and money and self-preservation. Finally, young people with fresh ideas and a whole lot of energy are breaking through.
Amen. Term limits would also help.
Another thing entrenched politicians, advisors and others clinging to their "careers" when they should have taught the young and gone home and done a different kind of good there. We've been boogeymanned out of term limits with their clever lines to scare everybody that if you didn't reelect them no matter how many times they did nothing for you, you would be lost in the wilderness. Game's over. Go home and enjoy your great great grandchildren.
George Washington set a fine example. The man who would not be king.
"The man who would not be king." Good! Washington would have liked it too.
In forgoing his salary (or nearly all of it) the Donald may be seen as a latter-day Washington.
You mean while he and his criminal sons have now over a billion dollars in pyramid schemes and such? Come on. His salary is a pittance and does anybody have any proof he actually did forgo it? It's money. He never forgos money, just like he never forgos retribution and revenge.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on that, Richard! Not only have I been pushing for Supreme Court Justices term limits, but also on Congressional politicians' term limits. It is ludicrous that this has not been done already!
Yes.
My reason for fixing them in office for a term of years, rather than for life, was that they might have an idea that they were at a certain period to return into the mass of the people and become the governed instead of the governors which might still keep alive that regard to the public good that otherwise they might perhaps be induced by their independence to forget.
Thomas Jefferson
Yes. And for the Supreme Court as well.
It was never supposed to be a comfortable career. Few exceptions such as John Quincy Adam’s perhaps. It was meant to be a patriotic duty. Not a way to get rich. It would be nice if Senator Ossoff’s bill prohibiting stock trading was enacted.
I agree
Thank you Richard! Our country desperately needs these courageous "vigorous young people" in office like Jon Ossoff and James Talarico--2 of my absolute favorites! They are giving me so much hope.
Amen!
They run as Democratic Socialists probably because the Democratic Party leaders dismiss their progressive ideas out-of-hand. This sclerotic leadership is the problem along with a preternatural fear in the US of the word socialism. I disagree that the source of the new energy is solely derived from their youth and not the ideas coming from the Democratic Socialists. The center/right ideas of the Clinton/Obama era have not delivered. I am a boomer. We have not delivered. We need to cease the knee-jerk hysteria, the demonization the Old Guard associates with the word socialism. I think those voting for Democratic Socialist candidates know perfectly well why they vote.
I totally agree. This is exciting! The center/right Clinton/Obama era was perennially disappointing for this longtime admirer of the New Deal and Great Society Democratic Party.
It is so nice to see these candidates winning and moving forward in a good direction!
Remember that Obama did not just have to fight Republicans but Blue Dog Dems and some of the Establishment Dems as well. Clinton was basically a Republican.
Remember that Obama chose the banks over homeowners and crowed about being surprised he was so good at killing, extra-judicial included.
Having LarrySummers in any administration is a near guarantee of big banks and Wall Street getting what they want. He was very good at undermining anyone who disagreed with him. Sadly too many people considered Greenspan and Summers as infallible. As far as banks go they were afraid of freezing the entire financial system. The banks might go down hurting average people where as the big shots would walk away with plenty of $.
"I am a boomer. We have not delivered." So sad and so true. Perhaps it is the degree of our failure that has made so many voters (and non-voters) skeptical and cynical about our politics and has encouraged our selfish economic reactions.
Milet's win is a morning breath of fresh air. Perhaps the "socialists" will really pursue universal health care, broad daycare coverage, housing reform that actually builds affordable places for real people in walkable, bikeable neighborhoods not far from where they work. With encouragement from us, they might pursue getting big money our of politics and put some brakes on corporate consolidation. Maybe the socialists will realize that buying bombs to displace people in other countries is not where we should spend our money. At one point we actually did good things with our foreign aid, like fighting aids, countering malaria, improving sanitation and negotiating the end to conflict where both sides stay home and stop fighting. Perhaps socialists will mention climate change while addressing other problems and solving for both. We have the tools to do this. Imagine them supporting solar on public building, reducing restrictions on solar and wind projects, planting trees all over cities to reduce the heat island effect, expanding battery storage, developing infrastructure that reduces the need for giant pickup trucks, SUVs and even regular cars, and so much more. Like I said, a breath of fresh air, if it weren't so damn hot in here. Sweating before sunrise with the windows wide open ...
What an uplifting column! These young people remind me of the kind of energy unleashed in the late 60s--RFK, MLKing. Big aspirations. Warm hearts. Real intelligence.
Exactly! The best dejá vu!
This old fart - 8 years on Bob - says go for it young people! Make the American dream reality!
It would be great this time is the pro-Israel people did not fight with the anti-Zionist people. Gaza and Netanyahu, West Bank settlements have to be addressed, finally. The issue needs to be settled before the midterms otherwise chaos might settle in, much of it fueled by bad actors inside and outside the US.
Yes, that would be kinda great but I don’t think this issue will be settled anytime soon and certainly not before the midterms. Especially when Morning Joe’s Miska took aim at Chevalier for past social media posts and comments that she has deleted and explained; and then accused Chris Murphy of sidestepping it like the Republicans famously do. That we do not need from MS NOW. The GOP and the conservative corporate owned media and the tabloid media are already labeling these candidates as “COMMUNISTS “.
The younger people see that Netanyahu is a war criminal and has gone way too far in Gaza. It’s not antisemitism to be against Israel wiping out tens of thousands of people in revenge for October 7th. My family is Jewish.
It’s not antisemitic to be against America supporting Israel and its army.
A young protester at Columbia said the his grandfather a Holocaust survivor, had taught him that “Never Again” meant everyone.
Thank you....I Agree!!!!
It's a US election, not a Mideast election. Not to be intentionally crude, but screw the Mideast. What "needs to be addressed" is the imminent destruction of the US government by plutocracts.
Maybe AIPAC and the Isreali plutocrats are part and parcel of the imminent destruction of the US government?
A pox on all foreign money in US elections.
1. Put the Mideast in the rear view mirror.
2. Floor it.
3. Don't look back.
I agree. My representative is on the receiving end of AIPAC. We need him gone!
That is a ridiculous argument. Israel has little to do with what is wrong with major U. S. Cities. Leave out the Trump and Israel bashing and DSA will have a decent platform to include the I dependents. Then it is a presidential potential. This is advice from a former Real Leftist who has been there Done That.
Yup. So much for that "Leader of the Free World" crap. Too bad Trump "in our name" already screwed the Mideast.
I have always been a Democratic Socialist. Even though you could just as easily call me Antifa. Glad to see the trend. The other trend (antiZionism) was clearly identified in this campaign. And a hearty "thank you" to Netanyahu and his genocidal supporters for delegitimizing the state of Israel! (Sarcasm alert) His government has made support for Israel's continued existence untenable for vast numbers of young progressives. It is terribly sad for those of us who believed in a two-state solution, who have opposed the occupation and the brutality of the settlers. Extremism always seems to triumph these days.
Netanyahu’s world is heartbreakingly sad for everyone — especially the people of Israel.
The Palestinian people have suffered horribly. At the hands of Israel. And from their own fratricidal politics.
As President Clinton said during the last presidential election, he was astonished that Arafat rejected an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state in 2000 and responded with the second intifada in which 1,000 Israelis were killed in bombings in buses and cafes. Palestinians again rejected their own state in 2008. Hamas is sworn to the destruction of Israel, as their leader said a few weeks ago and a majority of Palestinians support Hamas. I detest Netanyahu and he will lose the next election, but those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
James Carville says that these people should form their own party. The alternative would be for Carville, Schumer and the other geriatrics to form their own party if they don't like what's happening. If the Democrats want to clean up in November and overhaul this rotten governing party they have no time for this silly infighting. It only makes voters think that they are disorganised, sectarian and rudderless.
Time for Carville to retire too. IMHO, he hasn’t been relevant since the Clinton era.
Bob, great list. The fossils of 80+ should be out, young and well educated and social minded should be in.
But they may call themselves social democrats. Sure, politics is people, symbols and inspiration, but it is analtycal and systematic thinking as well. What is the nature of American society, how do we organise a peacefull transition to a more civilised and more equal society?
You could call it "ideology", but the system might be afraid of the concept: when you talk about it, you're deemed a communist or leftist. But when you are not thinking about what you want and why and how to get there, the seduction of big money remains to powerfull.
It is exciting, but let’s hope these candidates realize the importance of expanding the tent of voters in the next big election. I also hope they are pragmatists and not only dreamers.
I think we're watching them expand it in real time.
They may get more pragmatic after getting tossed around like rag dolls once in office. Their sharp edges will get dulled, hopefully not removed.
This is well put, but it seems important to note that the new movement spearheaded by the DSA is not NOT socialism either. One will not accomplish the programs being put forward - addressing inequality, getting money out of democratic processes, transitioning the economy and society, etc. -- without the public sphere taking (or taking back) ownership both literally and figuratively (robust regulatory frameworks) in a number of areas. Such is the general gist of the typical DSA program and content is important, in addition to the the feel-good fizz of youth, energy, diversity et al., which do genuinely feel good. Nonetheless, bold, "socialized" if you will, program content and policy goals are the bedrock.
When you show low information Republican voters the list of what's already socialism in this country, they just rub their eyes in disbelief because there's nothing on that list they don't want.
Mary Virginia, you are exactly right. Why can’t we simply have people, meaning candidates, within the party state what they want to do and express their fine, helpful ideas without having to use a label that pushes some voters away?
Keep an open mind about these young energetic candidates. The needs of America has changed and so has the kind of leadership needed. Trump and his ilk will try scaremonger tactics by calling them “communists “, which they are not.
The 250th anniversary of the country is a good time to remind us that the nation was founded by young and energetic people and it’s a good time to rebuild from that basis
It will take energy, empathy, and charisma for the new, young candidates to win elections and be instrumental in bringing about a government for the people. We must support them in any way we are able. And there is no question as to where the money needed for programs such as universal healthcare, education, childcare, environmental protection, etc. will come from. The wealthy and corporations need to pay taxes!
Not to mention reproductive rights protected.
And that is exactly why we're hearing the word "commie" so much!