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No. This is largely one of the most dangerous analyses I’ve read. While I have clear criticisms of the campaign, it failed bc of its establishment led structure not for lack of vitality. This notion ignores election fraud & systemic corruption, & instead blames voters. https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1251551884260884480
1.) I agree with Stoller that we must admit defeat & learn from our mistakes, but admitting defeat starts by embracing our movement not pushing it more toward centrism which is largely what this analysis advocates. Instead we double down on policy but build it outside of party.
6.) This isn’t about “vision”. It’s not about having more elitist platitudes or polite discussion in an age where people are dying due to capitalism. Appealing to centrism doesn’t work. Going through Democrats doesn’t work. Progressives must go beyond to independent sectors.
Appealing to independent, republicans, libertarians, non voters, etc. everything but the small echo chamber contingent that is the centrist neoliberal stack of the Democratic Party. They’re largely irrelevant.
15.) Stop promoting MSM. We know the propaganda is the strong arm of the establishment. Progressives must truly support independent media & walk the walk in terms of it. Support independent journalism. Support building co-ops of new media to counteract establishment narratives.
This means not falling in line to manipulations like supporting alternative media only that’s largely controlled by billionaire elites, but building this giant collective of indie media and citizen journalism, & not kicking it down as “grifting” when it’s trying to do its job.
2.) Our ideas were not “unappealing”. Raw data shows most people want Medicare for all, increased wages & free college. Our ideas certainly appealed, but were stopped by corruption not only in the Democratic Party but within the campaign. We won’t win until we see it & handle it.
9.) There’s no reshaping the Democratic Party. There’s only defeating it. We’ve tried this & it’s failed. Enough. Until we have a fair shake at the system we won’t be able to make changes significantly through the electorate. It would take more time than have allotted.
8.) It’s not “lazy” to staunchly oppose capitalism. It’s not an ideological opposition but one rooted in reality. This pandemic & this sham of an election proves it. The time is ripe to wager in actual workers revolt. Previously apolitical people are now affected, bring them in.
12.) What we can’t do is sit there & pretend our corrupt system can be beat by more corruption & by the same mechanisms that led to it. We can’t pretend to do the same thing & work within a party that will never accept us. Stop voting lesser of evils. Stop giving them everything.
14.) We have to realize that failure came from playing too nice with the establishment & being too inclsusive of it, not bc we didn’t embrace it enough. To win we would have to unapologetically oppose it & go beyond it, like Trump has managed to do-at least perception wise.
