Why the era of the 'Emerging Democratic Majority' is collapsing
Why the era of the 'Emerging Democratic Majority' is collapsing
John Judis and Ruy Teixeira, co-authors of “The Emerging Democratic Majority,” are back with a new book that argues that the Democrats are imperiled by a “shadow party” that is forcing them into “radical” positions on cultural issues and diverting them away from their core economic issues.
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On the one hand, this:
“Democrats,” they write, “need to look in the mirror and examine the extent to which their own failures contributed to the rise of the most toxic tendencies on the right.”
Is something party leadership will never even think of doing.
On the other, don't tempt the party with this:
And two is what they call the cultural radicalism of the modern progressive movement, which they dub the “shadow party,” and that they argue is alienating working class voters on four key issues: race, immigration, transgender rights, and climate.
Here is where the party will listen. Moving to the right out of political expedience? Abandoning vulnerable minorities? Letting donors dictate environmental policy? And progressives get hosed? May as well ask if they want cocaine and oral sex.
Democrats will continue to ratchet toward the right until they can no longer win elections by doing that. There's no incentive for them to run anything but the most corporate friendly democrat thats just a little less corporate friendly than actual fascists. Thats literally how they secure donors, by promising things like 'nothing will fundamentally change'.
Ratchet effect in full force
They occasionally sprinkle in human rights for the appearence of still being on the left, but a cursory look as Israel, especially now, should let you know that there's more to the story than basic human rights.
It's not difficult for power structures to concede things that never challenged their hold on material power. Pro LGBT doesn't threaten the American or Isralie defense industry or Cultural status quo that upholds that defense industry.
Yes it's great we have those human rights, but to assume that means the people behind it were doing it for any other reason that to preserve their hold on power by appeasing masses of people in the least expensive way possible for them is like assuming Apple adopting usbc and RCS had nothing to do with Europe. The parts of the government that gave us those rights did so specifically because they're not going to try very hard to meet any other demands from people toward the left, and they still need those people to win.
Democrats will continue to ratchet toward the right until they can no longer win elections by doing that.
I mean, that's pretty much what happened with West Virginia.