Has the Left Surrendered? The Overdue Conversation We Need

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/richard-eskow/54540/has-the-left-surrendered-the-overdue-conversation-we-need

Has the Left Surrendered? The Overdue Conversation We Need
Progressives and the Left
by Richard Eskow | March 1, 2014 - 10:54am

Has the American left ceased to exist as a viable political force by surrendering its power to a corporatized Democratic Party? That’s the argument put forward by political scientist Adolph Reed Jr., first in an essay for Harper’s magazine and then in a televised follow-up interview with Bill Moyers.

Reed’s essay, “Nothing Left: The Long, Slow Surrender of American Liberals,” has a blunt message which might be summarized as follows: The fault, dear liberals, lies not in our political stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings. It’s not necessarily a new thought, but it packs a punch, especially as Reed has organized and expressed it.

“Nothing Left” is an incisive, pointed cri du coeur with the potential to jumpstart some long-overdue conversations. And if there’s one thing the left needs, it’s a serious talk about its future. The alternative is the continued fragmentation of an inchoate movement, accompanied by a never-ending rightward shift in American politics and the continued ascendancy of corporate economic power.

Reed’s analysis, while stated harshly at times, is very much on point. There’s very little “left” left in American politics. But his outlook seems overly pessimistic, and it runs the risk of discouraging the very people who might someday help rebuild an American left. They’re more likely to come together around a concrete agenda built on leftist principles such as job creation, fair wages, and a stronger social safety net. It’s possible to be positive without being Pollyanna-ish.

[KoKo]

1. I like the way Escrow goes through Reed's article and further expands it

into positive actions we need to take. I hope that we can get our act together for the 2016 Election by focusing on Workers issues and Strengthening our social safety net.

But if 80% feel that Hillary Clinton is the one to do this...the article shows that there is a disconnect between what she doesn't talk about abut what her track record shows about her beliefs which are hardly the LEFT of the Democratic Party.

We need new energy in the Party and where it will come from...I don't know. Warren and Sanders at least have the Left Message focusing on the Workers and Social Safety Net...but, neither will have the power and money that a Clinton II team would have. Their voices could be the beginning of the "Democratic Worker Party" but that sounds so Left it would probably not fly well with the rest of the electorate who see socialists and communists under the bed these days.



"They’re more likely to come together around a concrete agenda built on leftist principles such as job creation, fair wages, and a stronger social safety net. It’s possible to be positive without being Pollyanna-ish."

[rhett o rick]

2. The tighter the corps make the noose, the more to the right the country moves.

Doesnt make sense. I guess they buy the propaganda. Shades of Germany as Hitler took more and more control. I am comparing the Power That Be to Hitler's government.

[KoKo]

3. Thanks for posting this...have to read and think about it more...