butwhyishischinabook

joined 2 years ago
[–] butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I'm completely on the same page here, to clarify I'm a leftist, but a registered Democrat who votes left in the primaries but down the Democrat line in the general election.

And I totally agree it's very lofty, that's why I think more realistic short term goals are to push for things like internal party reforms (e.g., why the feel haven't we had a real primary since Obama's first election? Why are the establishment elites trying over and over to recreate the Obama coalition from the top down when the Obama coalition was an organic group that came together despite the establishment Democrats trying to smother it?) and prohibiting or restricting voting stock for non-employee-shareholders.

Anyway, glad we're actually mostly on the same page. I think a lot of people could get behind things like this, even if they would never back the more lofty ideas I threw out there.

Also in Florida we have a state owned and run insurance company of last resort, and people hate it and are constantly trying to downsize it. Then when, surprise surprise, people get forced onto private insurance companies they hate it even more and have big regrets.

Listen I would love to join Canada, but Dunkin over Tim Horton's and I will die on this hill.

[–] butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Okay serious answer, no I don't think democracy is not feasible, I think that democracy is crucial and the inherently oligarchic elements of American democracy, in particular, and to a lesser extent parliamentary democracy, are exploitable in a way that is especially problematic in the context of the post-1980s "shareholder value" type of corporate governance that has become so common. I think that democracy needs to be restructured in a way that is bottom-up on a sub-municipal level. I know that sounds soviet but that's not what I mean, it should be an open system which is NOT premised on a vanguard party or anything like that. I think that would work in an American context is something more like a Rojavan or Zapatista type of structure, but with higher level protections on a federal level for certain rights, which should include positive rights instead of just negative ones. I also think, unlike democratic confederalist systems currently, there does need to be a separate, yet democratically accountable, judiciary that operates on the basis of stare decisis.

Ultimately, these are very long term and difficult changes, so for the time being I think that building some kind of dual power is a good goal, although to show the viability of this kind of democratic structure rather than, as is usually the goal, trying to somehow smother the state in its entirety. I think site difficult, but actually somewhat feasible, goal should be to enact a third founding, the first being the typical "founding" of America and the second being the reconstruction amendments, which fundamentally changed both the federal structure and almost all federal legal analysis immediately. A third founding, I think, is the only way to do things like enshrine positive rights, abolish the senate or make it proportional, repeal the amendment limiting the size of the House, etc, although making the states themselves bottom-up rather than unitary will require similar, parallel action on the state level.

For the more immediate future, the answer is not, I think, founding some kind of socialist party, but it does require making Democratic Party politics much more democratic and populist. This isn't that hard, relatively speaking. Parties are pretty easy to structurally change. We can't win if we keep attacking anybody going against the establishment consensus and accusing them of fictionalism for being leftist and criticizing the DNC's actions. This thinking is what kills one party states and it will kill the Democratic Party too.

Sorry I'm being such a dick, I just hate seeing such a resurgence of Democratic groupthink at a make or break moment when we reeeeeeeally need to do some internal soul searching and serious self criticism. And most importantly stop trying to uphold norms of decency and reasonableness. It won't work, we unfortunately have to get in the mud and play dirty back. There's no valor in losing on the high ground when democracy itself is at stake.

[–] butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

Get elected lol. Look at me I can be a DNC strategist.

[–] butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (8 children)

"Get elected" lol solid plan bro, let's run the 2016/2024 play again. Gl.

[–] butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago (10 children)

I'll admit leftists, quite famously, never seem to have a plan other than infighting, but this is literally a meme about how leftists are undermining a liberal plan for the midterms which DOES NOT EXIST. Maybe liberals should stop throwing around more whataboutism than tankies and actually come up with a fucking plan.

Wow, this is a... hot take. I mean by all means defend your opinion but hard disagree lol.

[–] butwhyishischinabook@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (13 children)

I'm sorry, what's the liberal plan again??? #resist? Because I haven't heard anything else. I mean Christ Hochul won't even remove Adams.

"How dare you respond to my common-sense based objections with actual information!"

Right that's why I phrased my comment the way I did. Depending on the area it might be perceived as a trailer trash dog, a dog poor black people have, or a Latino dog. Either way, plenty of other breeds just as risky, if not more risky, that people don't perceive the same way.

 

Sad to see reddit effectively die, but a big thank you to everyone who set this community up so that the party can keep rolling! (Budum, ting)

 

Well, it all ended so suddenly, mid scroll through the comments. After a dozen long years RIF, and for me reddit along with it, is finally dead. Thanks for all the entertainment RIF team, sincerely.

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