Long ass thread Thread: Progressive Vs Centrist and racism in the Democratic Party.

we all know the Republican Party is full of racist goons. Unless you’re a republican, you’re not going to debate that point. But what about Dems

The thing is. Even splitting the party into two is too simple. In reality, there are a few different factions. I name 4 primary ones
1. Racist True Centrists
2. Progressive Centrist
3. Performative Racist Progressives
4. Ideological Progressives

The first is quite easy to identify. Theyre basically republican lite. A great example of this is Bloomberg. A true goon, with some seriously racist policies and rhetoric, Bloomberg is republican lite in almost every sense of the term.

The second is a bit more difficult to detect because of how we brand our politicians. Basically, groups 2 and 4 have the same goals. Group 2, ‘centrists’ prefer to try and work within the system. Group 4 prefers to want to tear it down.

A great example of group 2 is Kamala Harris. She has one of the most progressive voting records in the senate, has been a leading voice in COVID relief, and had one of the most progressive platforms during the primaries

But, because she chose to change the system from within as DA, she was branded a centrist. This kind of ‘either or’ is used in a way to deminish a lot of progressive politicians work, in favor of politicians from groups 3/4, despite them being almost identical in goals.

I’m gonna skip group 3 and talk about group 4 first. An ideological progressive is someone like AOC. AOC has some incredible ideas, supports massive reconstruction of change, and shares a ton of ideological goals with someone like Harris

However, politicians like her do not like to settle for a midway point during negotiations. They stick by their goals and demand better. I would argue both of these groups (2 and 4) and needed in politics.

Ideological progressives push policies as left as possible, refusing to budge in their rhetoric. Progressive centrists negotiate as much of the goals into legislation. Public pressure and negotiating tactics both are crucial in moving policies left

The issue is distinguishing groups 3 and 4. Performative Racist Progressives want to tear down the structures that currently exist in our society, but in their ideas of crafting a new government, they focus on a general overarching approach that centers class over race

But history has literally shown how racism won’t be defeated this way. We tore down slavery, but never codified equality. The reformation of the south, without the centering of black people, lead to Jim Crow. The tearing down of Jim Crow lead to the prison industrial complex

White supremacy will continue to shapeshift like this until we develop targeted policies for black voices. But Performative Racist Progressives don’t want that. They want M4A Bc it benefits them. But ask them to focus on black people specifically and...crickets.

Bernie Sanders flubbed this during the primaries. When asked “what will you do specifically for black people” he responded by pivoting you class and white poor people.

M4A is often used as a shield to defend the questions about racism. “I can’t be racist, I want black people to have healthcare” is a common statement. But that’s not how this works. You can want M4A and be racist

Being against racism, specifically as a white person, means supporting policies that you don’t benefit from because they support black people

To be clear: I don’t think Bernie is racist. Nor are all his supporters. But I do believe the collective group does not support policies that would fight racism.

Now, where does Joe Biden fit in this? Well Joe is not really group 1 or 2. He’s somewhere in between. His policies are not radically progressive like Harris, but his willingness to shift left (far left in many instances) make him a far different from Bloomberg.

The idea that you’re either centrist or progressive is damaging. Because we could’ve had someone like Harris, who was an excellent candidate for President. But, the brand of ‘centrist cop’ given to her by Performative Racist Progressives was damaging.

Especially when it came to fundraising. So, while this label of centrist was used by Performative Racist Progressives, to basically kill everyone but Bernie, we watched it widdle down to a two person race between Joe and Bernie.

So when it was time for black voices in SC and Super Tuesday to vote, what else was going to happen? Bernie Sanders focuses on class, and downplaying the need for true anti racist policies.

He could “find” magic money for free college, M4A, GND and more but reparations was an immediate “we have to look into it”.

Voters were asked to choose between an ideological, far left candidate who has done very little in the form of actual change...and a very flawed, wonder bread candidate who has shown the ability to shift his stance and listen to what voters need. Of course Joe was gonna win

As for VP, the clear choice is Kamala Harris. Biden needs to be pulled to the left. And representation matters. This election will not be won by courting Performative Racist Progressives. Joe needs a progressive voice who’s going to motivate black voters

When looking at how we label our sub parties, we need to start identifying racism. Because racism is not a partisan issue. White supremacy exists in almost every faction of our government. That includes the Democratic Party.

By nominating a powerful black woman with a progressive background, to VP, we can be sure that the interests of rooting out racism will be upheld.